Free Theatre/Concert Tickets Discussion Thread

[ejwrank]

We saw Krapp's Last Tape on Friday evening. It's only 50 minutes long and that was a blessed relief but not because we didn't like the play. We thought Michael Gambon gave a good performance of what seemed to us to be a difficult play. But unfortunately we had a moron seated in our row, two next to me, who had to laugh and I mean LAUGH and chuckle and I mean CHUCKLE and guffaw and I mean GUFFAW throughout the performance even when there was nothing remotely funny going on. He obviously did this to draw attention to himself and even with lots of people shooting menacing looks he carried on. At the end he stood up immediately and shouted BRAVO and whistled and shouted and I think even Michael Gambon was a bit perplexed but maybe I'm imagining that. At one point I asked the man sitting next to me who was with this moron if his friend could just pipe down a bit and this guy told me in the poshest, snootiest voice ever " He thinks it's very funny and he has every right to laugh as much as he pleases." Ugh, they deserved each other. I gave up but moron did ruin the performance for a lot of us. I wanted to ask him for all the dates he plans to go to the theatre in the next five years so I could avoid him. He obviously thought he knew the play so well that he should lead the audience in its appreciation of it. And he also thought the rest of us must be a bunch of idiots as we did not appreciate it to the same extent he did.

I was really glad to have free tickets because if I'd pa*d for it and sat near this moron I would have wasted my money as he did everything he could to spoil the play for many of us near him. Stupid egotist.

[Beate]

Ah, sorry you had a Krapp seat neighbour! I am with Charlie Brown when he says "I love mankind. It's people I can't stand."

[chemenger]

We saw Krapp's Last Tape on Friday evening. It's only 50 minutes long and that was a blessed relief but not because we didn't like the play. We thought Michael Gambon gave a good performance of what seemed to us to be a difficult play. But unfortunately we had a moron seated in our row, two next to me, who had to laugh and I mean LAUGH and chuckle and I mean CHUCKLE and guffaw and I mean GUFFAW throughout the performance even when there was nothing remotely funny going on. He obviously did this to draw attention to himself and even with lots of people shooting menacing looks he carried on. At the end he stood up immediately and shouted BRAVO and whistled and shouted and I think even Michael Gambon was a bit perplexed but maybe I'm imagining that. At one point I asked the man sitting next to me who was with this moron if his friend could just pipe down a bit and this guy told me in the poshest, snootiest voice ever " He thinks it's very funny and he has every right to laugh as much as he pleases." Ugh, they deserved each other. I gave up but moron did ruin the performance for a lot of us. I wanted to ask him for all the dates he plans to go to the theatre in the next five years so I could avoid him. He obviously thought he knew the play so well that he should lead the audience in its appreciation of it. And he also thought the rest of us must be a bunch of idiots as we did not appreciate it to the same extent he did.

I was really glad to have free tickets because if I'd pa*d for it and sat near this moron I would have wasted my money as he did everything he could to spoil the play for many of us near him. Stupid egotist.

I went to see the Saturday Matinee performance of Krapps Last tape and a couple of rows down was a similar character to the one ejwrank mentioned, maybe not guffawing but definitely a lot of chuckling and the over-the-top Bravos at the end.

As for the play itself, not really my cup of tea at all, I didn't hate it but didn't like it either. I expected a lot from my original expectations, its more a of a short scene than a play and I didn't really feel there was much substance to it. I have nothing bad to say about Michael Gambon, I think he did a good job but it was the play itself that was disappointing. Glad I had free tickets too, the tickets are £37, overpriced for what it is if you ask me.

[cinefila1]

Went to see Lynda Carter at the Garrick. I wasn't expecting much but I absolutely loved it. She gave a great performance and really connected with the audience. All the accompanying musicians were excellent, especially the drummer. A fantastic evening!

[raj101]

that sax player was a muppet, in the true sense.

[superhero]

I am absolutely hopeless with musicians, I went to a concert at some courtyard of a music company this afternoon and thought "oh dear, I've got some tramps on a guitar asking for spare change". How hopelessly wrong of me.....
It was the great Edwyn Collins, of "A Girl Like You". The set wasn't long, only 1/2 hour and he clearly suffered from some condition, but you can hear clearly his love of his music. It wasn't until I got home I read he had suffered some severe cerebral haemorrhages in 2005 and it was just so touching and incredible to see him perform again. It's stuff made for a musical biopic.

[pcRock]

Went to see Evita yesterday evening with my OH, my brother and a friend. We were allocated seats in the penultimum row of the stalls. Unfortunately, this meant that we couldn't see well what was going on in the balcony that was part of the stage. E.g., during me main song we could only see Evita from the waist down.

My OH was very bored and moaned that the musical is "non-stop singing". He didn't like the lead actress' voice as well. The only positive thing for him was the production. The rest of us thought the musical was okay. I hadn't seen the movie so it was nice to learn about Evita's life. However, her story is told from a biased viewpoint. Tbh, I wouldn't p*y to watch this, especially since it took us almost an hour and a half to get home afterwards.

[raj101]

evita - excellent show.

the material itself isnt great (being Lloyd Webber, the king of crap) but its performed as well as a good west end version.


sitting at the back you cant see the top of the stage (ie Evita's head on the balcony scene).


like che guevara after her, she is a sullied icon of South America. its sad that people have to die so young. She would have been chuffed to see the film and show.

[raj101]

the What happend now Suitcase scene was a killer.

[kevinknapman]

I was lucky (if that's the right word) to get a seat near the front of the stalls for Evita. I'm a big fan of musicals but not of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Evita didn't really change that. Although there are some pretty good tunes , the musical as a whole didn't really work for me. There are quite a lot of flat numbers that make little impression. While Abigail Jaye was fine as Evita, I thought both the actors playing Peron and Che were pretty weak. In fact the moment Che opened his mouth I felt like walking out. Terribly cheesy actor. I felt like cheering when he got roughed up a bit at the end.
I also have a problem with Che as a character anyway. Not with the way Tim Rice wrote him but with the way theatre companies choose to portray him. Tim Rice never intended him to be Che Guevara. It was an American theatre producer who insisted on actors dressing like the revolutionary and sadly most adaptations have followed suit (though not the film which made him a bit more anonymous). I just think turning an actual person with their own rich, complex history into a greek chorus for someone else's life is pretty crass. Especially when he sings the godawful ballad High Flying Adored.
I also hate the 70's rock opera moments which are terrible (most of them Che songs). It's fine when the music is classical or Latin, but when those rock guitars start playing it's just naff.
I agree with raj101 though, the song 'Another suitcase in Another Hall' as sung by the mistress was fantastic. Shame the rest is so hit and miss.
I just think Evita is pretty dated overall and occasionally a bit naff and could do with a serious overhaul if attempted again. Getting rid of the rock opera overtones would be a good start.