Live theatre performances at cinemas

[oggbashan]

I have just come back from yet another stunning performance screened at our local multiplex cinema.

Tonight was the National Theatre's Live production of Shakespeare's Othello. Iago was superbly villainous, Othello was human, less of a African out of his depth and much more a trusting man, betrayed by his own trust. Even the minor characters were shown as real people, not just foils for the main cast.

Over the past few years I have been to live performances of Opera and Ballet from Covent Garden, Shakespearean performances from the Globe Theatre, exhibitions from the British Museum.

We have booked for every screening we can fit in from now until 2014, and tomorrow we will be booking more for the first few months of 2014.

If you can, find out whether such screenings occur in your area. They are much cheaper and easier than going to the location yourself (particularly for me those from the New York Met!) and everyone we have been to so far has been of world-class standard.

Many of these live events are transmitted to countries all over the world. If your local multiplex isn't doing them, ask them why not.

 

[oggbashan]

Trailer for the Othello I saw last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuza9jF7zgg

 

[MasterEnna]

thank you evry much for the link.

 

[Handley_Page]

Trailer for the Othello I saw last night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuza9jF7zgg

I have to confess a bit of envy when I hear of these performances, despite my gross ignorance of most of 'art'.
What surprised me was the Army uniforms.

 

[oggbashan]

I have to confess a bit of envy when I hear of these performances, despite my gross ignorance of most of 'art'.
What surprised me was the Army uniforms.

The idea was that for most of the play Shakespeare set it in a garrison in Cyprus after the war had been won.

By transferring it to a modern garrison in Iraq or Afghanistan, the producer was trying to reproduce the feel of a group of bored soldiers, fed up, drinking too much, and the petty intrigues that occur in a closed community.

Iago is the soldier just out for himself. Cassio is the officer who is too friendly with the troops and gets into trouble because of that (and Iago). Othello is the competent commander who trusts too much, is upset by Cassio's lapse, and is easy prey for Iago's scheming because he trusts Iago - with his life, and with his wife.

I am not generally a fan of modern dress productions but the National Theatre's production worked very well and has won almost universal praise from the critics.

 

[Handley_Page]

The idea was that for most of the play Shakespeare set it in a garrison in Cyprus after the war had been won.

By transferring it to a modern garrison in Iraq or Afghanistan, the producer was trying to reproduce the feel of a group of bored soldiers, fed up, drinking too much, and the petty intrigues that occur in a closed community.

Iago is the soldier just out for himself. Cassio is the officer who is too friendly with the troops and gets into trouble because of that (and Iago). Othello is the competent commander who trusts too much, is upset by Cassio's lapse, and is easy prey for Iago's scheming because he trusts Iago - with his life, and with his wife.

I am not generally a fan of modern dress productions but the National Theatre's production worked very well and has won almost universal praise from the critics.

From what I saw in the trailer, it has worked very well.

 

[oggbashan]

We've just returned from seeing the Met's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

The production and principal singers were magnificent but:

During the intervals they showed back stage scene changing and setting. The number of stage hands and supervisors was ridiculously large. Most opera houses would have achieved the same effect with a quarter of the number and in half the time, or less.

There was no real use of hydraulics or machinery as used at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. There were far too many people wielding brooms to sweep up between each scene/act despite some using vacuum cleaners. Several people were hand-strewing snow for the duel scene and about twice as many were needed to sweep it up afterwards. The sweepers seemed disorganised, ineffective and tripping over each other. One New York street sweeper could have done the whole stage in less time.

If the intention was to show high production values, it failed.

If the intention was to show incompetence, overmanning, chaos and ineffective use of resources, they succeeded. No commercial company could make a profit by using manpower that prodigally for so little effect.

At one point a woman was touching up the scenery with paint - during an interval in the performance. Some world class opera companies use the same sets for many years without needing painters on stage. What do the Met use? Finger paint that washes off between acts?

The intervals spoilt my experience of the rest of the production.

The commentary admitted that ticket sales covered only half the cost of staging an opera. I'm not surprised when the stage crew appeared to outnumber the total of the cast, chorus and orchestra.

 

[Bramblethorn]

At one point a woman was touching up the scenery with paint - during an interval in the performance. Some world class opera companies use the same sets for many years without needing painters on stage. What do the Met use? Finger paint that washes off between acts?

Maybe their scenery-chewers are exceptionally powerful?

 

[oggbashan]

Art for a change

Tonight's movie viewing was of the exhibition at the National Gallery: Vermeer and Music.

It was very interesting but Vermeer is so peaceful that my wife missed the last few minutes - she was asleep!

We were on grandchildren minding duty yesterday from 9 am to 11 pm.

 

[oggbashan]

Ballet Don Quixote

Tonight's performance, a live transmission to our local cinema, was the Royal Ballet's production of Don Quixote.

The stars were Carlos Acosta (also producer and choreographer) and Marianela Nunez. They were fantastic, as were the supporting soloists particularly Ryoichi Hirano as the lead Matador.

It wasn't a ballet I am familiar with. I did know that despite its title, Don Quixote is a comparatively minor role, the main plot being the love affair between Carlos as Basilio and Marianela as Kitri.

Some of the set pieces ended with recognisable versions of the Gustave Doré illustrations in my massive 19th Century edition of Cervantes Don Quixote.

Next week: Hamlet

 

[annanova]

We've just returned from seeing the Met's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

The production and principal singers were magnificent but:

During the intervals they showed back stage scene changing and setting. The number of stage hands and supervisors was ridiculously large. Most opera houses would have achieved the same effect with a quarter of the number and in half the time, or less.

There was no real use of hydraulics or machinery as used at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. There were far too many people wielding brooms to sweep up between each scene/act despite some using vacuum cleaners. Several people were hand-strewing snow for the duel scene and about twice as many were needed to sweep it up afterwards. The sweepers seemed disorganised, ineffective and tripping over each other. One New York street sweeper could have done the whole stage in less time.

If the intention was to show high production values, it failed.

If the intention was to show incompetence, overmanning, chaos and ineffective use of resources, they succeeded. No commercial company could make a profit by using manpower that prodigally for so little effect.

At one point a woman was touching up the scenery with paint - during an interval in the performance. Some world class opera companies use the same sets for many years without needing painters on stage. What do the Met use? Finger paint that washes off between acts?

The intervals spoilt my experience of the rest of the production.

The commentary admitted that ticket sales covered only half the cost of staging an opera. I'm not surprised when the stage crew appeared to outnumber the total of the cast, chorus and orchestra.

As has come up a few times around some threads, I am involved with amateur theatre in my community. While we've done a few shows where needed scene changes between acts turned out to be an unintended attraction, we would NEVER allow such a clusterfuck to occur.

A bit of touch-up paint might be going on between performances, but the audience will not see it happen. Of course, we're going to be re-using that flat in another three months.

Any clean-up that needs to happen between scenes or acts will be tightly coordinated by the stage manager and will be complete before the lights return to full.

Twice the brooms needed? Boy, we should have that problem....

 

[oggbashan]

As has come up a few times around some threads, I am involved with amateur theatre in my community. While we've done a few shows where needed scene changes between acts turned out to be an unintended attraction, we would NEVER allow such a clusterfuck to occur.

A bit of touch-up paint might be going on between performances, but the audience will not see it happen. Of course, we're going to be re-using that flat in another three months.

Any clean-up that needs to happen between scenes or acts will be tightly coordinated by the stage manager and will be complete before the lights return to full.

Twice the brooms needed? Boy, we should have that problem....

What puzzled me about the Met was that they SHOWED their own incompetence and overmanning live around the world. What were they thinking?

Last night's live transmission of Don Quixote from the Royal Opera House was praised by the critics in glowing terms - except for the scenery.

It moved TOO OFTEN.

The main staging was a village square. The buildings on the edge and rear of the square slid apart or together to indicate whether the action was IN the square or in a street leading from the countryside.

The movements were quiet and drama free but they often happened while dancing was on stage. The critics view, and I agree, is that moving the scenery distracted from the performances on stage.

Part of the action involved setting up tables and chairs for a scene in a tavern. The tables were large and strong enough for the principals to dance on them in pairs. Yet the dancers moved the tables, acting in their roles as barmaids and villagers. Can you imagine that happening at the Met?

 

[ishtat]

Going back to your comment on Othello Ogg, I thought it was good but not without flaws. The modern military setting worked well up to a point; but I thought that the hyper- aggresiveness of the characters in the military context was a little overdone thus losing some of the more subtle undertones. However, Othello is always difficult because of the way WS wrote it, Othello himself has to be almost unbelievably naive (in believing Iago) in order to carry the story forward.

Nonetheless some good acting and a steal at $20 a head. I'm looking forward to Frankenstein which is on in a few weeks in Parramatta.

 

[annanova]

What puzzled me about the Met was that they SHOWED their own incompetence and overmanning live around the world. What were they thinking?

Last night's live transmission of Don Quixote from the Royal Opera House was praised by the critics in glowing terms - except for the scenery.

It moved TOO OFTEN.

The main staging was a village square. The buildings on the edge and rear of the square slid apart or together to indicate whether the action was IN the square or in a street leading from the countryside.

The movements were quiet and drama free but they often happened while dancing was on stage. The critics view, and I agree, is that moving the scenery distracted from the performances on stage.

Part of the action involved setting up tables and chairs for a scene in a tavern. The tables were large and strong enough for the principals to dance on them in pairs. Yet the dancers moved the tables, acting in their roles as barmaids and villagers. Can you imagine that happening at the Met?

No, I don't understand the decisions made for Onegin at all. Our theatre is required to live with the motto, "Less is more." As for Don Quixote, I've seen similar productions before and I have to agree with you that such movements are best when they blend seamlessly with the action.

Going back to your comment on Othello Ogg, I thought it was good but not without flaws. The modern military setting worked well up to a point; but I thought that the hyper- aggresiveness of the characters in the military context was a little overdone thus losing some of the more subtle undertones. However, Othello is always difficult because of the way WS wrote it, Othello himself has to be almost unbelievably naive (in believing Iago) in order to carry the story forward.

Nonetheless some good acting and a steal at $20 a head. I'm looking forward to Frankenstein which is on in a few weeks in Parramatta.

So much of Othello is best when it is grey. The best production I've seen was when I was in uni. We had a great theatre department and the guy who played Iago was a TA in one of my classes. Running into each other on campus a day or two later, he greeted me normally and I said hello before frowning and telling him, "I'm sorry, I just saw the show and I kind of still hate you."

Nothing could have made him happier.

 

[oggbashan]

Going back to your comment on Othello Ogg, I thought it was good but not without flaws. The modern military setting worked well up to a point; but I thought that the hyper- aggresiveness of the characters in the military context was a little overdone thus losing some of the more subtle undertones. However, Othello is always difficult because of the way WS wrote it, Othello himself has to be almost unbelievably naive (in believing Iago) in order to carry the story forward.

Nonetheless some good acting and a steal at $20 a head. I'm looking forward to Frankenstein which is on in a few weeks in Parramatta.

Before I went, I was concerned that Othello was to be in a modern army setting. I was pleasantly surprised that it worked so well, but I would still have preferred a more traditional production.

For me, the best part of the modern version was that the unreasonable trust between the characters was 'justified' by the loyalty expected of soldiers.

But having had experience of military establishments, any competent commander should have enough person management knowledge to know that Iago was working for himself.

As Iago was played, although suitably devious and cunning, he was too obviously a disgruntled soldier. A commander of Othello's stated experience should have been able to see that.

I enjoyed the performance, and it will be a yardstick to judge future performances against but it didn't meet my idea of Othello and Iago. That wouldn't matter if I thought that the producer and actors' idea were valid. I'm not sure they were.

Close, but no cigar.