the difference between...
the cinema and the theatre, is that if you go see a not so good film, you've only lost about £5 (or nothing in my case)... but if you go and see a play that's not so hot, that's £18 a ticket down the shitter.
This conatins spoilers, in case you were thinking of going to see it.. but I'm not recommending any one does.
The acting was stiff at the beginning, warming up to average for the majority, the set was something like Escher meets the TARDIS, and some idiot left their phone on which rang for about a minute during the exposition. But it was the play itself that let it down. The script was clumsy, artificial, and in places just stupid. "But I don't understand..." What?! What do you not understand?! The main plot twist isn't so much a twist as an easily navigable straight bloody line!
Judy has gone away with Sam, who she met over the internet, for what they hope will be a romantic weekend in a cottage in Norfolk. But Judy quickly (FAR too quickly for me, even with the excuse of the pills she was taking) becomes paranoid, discovering that Sam has been lying to her (needlessly, even with the plot), and she feels she can no longer trust him, even to the point of inviting local yokel Tar to stick around once he turns up, depsite the fact she's already revealed she doesn't like him either! In the end Tar leaves, and Ann turns up. Now I'd wanted to slap Ann before she'd even turned up, as almost everything Judy says is related to Ann in some way, setting the scene that Judy and Ann are the greatest of friends.. with a little too much emphasis really. And at the end of the first half, they head off to the pub, and a mysterious figure in black appears in the cottage! Who could it possibly be?! Perhaps the only other person to have been mentioned?! Second half, and they're back from the pub, but wait, Ann's left her bag there, could Sam go and pick it up? With him out of the way, it's time to reveal that cunning and well hidden twist... with an extremely clumsy technique... and who should appear from upstairs, but that self-same shadowy figure from the end of the first half.. and goodness me! It's Judy's ex-husband who'd been broken out of prison after being sent down for drug dealing, and the cause of all Judy's anxiety problems. And what's this?! He and Ann had been having an affair all this time?! You don't say! No please, don't say it, really, because I ALREADY WORKED THAT OUT! The grand scheme is revealed, and it's about as complex and mystifying as one of Wile E Coyote's plans to catch Road Runner, yet Judy is written to be confused and stupid. In the end, Sam turns out to be from Customs, Tar is actually working for him, and didn't actually execute him as he was supposed to, much to the complete lack of amazement from the audience. Tar has his gun taken by Ann, but they allow Sam to keep his.. and what do you know? The rifle isn't loaded! I can't go on.. suffice it to say they all lived happily/miserably ever after, depending on which side of karma they were on.
It was nice to do something different, but I do resent paying that much money to see such a luke-warm play.
This conatins spoilers, in case you were thinking of going to see it.. but I'm not recommending any one does.
The acting was stiff at the beginning, warming up to average for the majority, the set was something like Escher meets the TARDIS, and some idiot left their phone on which rang for about a minute during the exposition. But it was the play itself that let it down. The script was clumsy, artificial, and in places just stupid. "But I don't understand..." What?! What do you not understand?! The main plot twist isn't so much a twist as an easily navigable straight bloody line!
Judy has gone away with Sam, who she met over the internet, for what they hope will be a romantic weekend in a cottage in Norfolk. But Judy quickly (FAR too quickly for me, even with the excuse of the pills she was taking) becomes paranoid, discovering that Sam has been lying to her (needlessly, even with the plot), and she feels she can no longer trust him, even to the point of inviting local yokel Tar to stick around once he turns up, depsite the fact she's already revealed she doesn't like him either! In the end Tar leaves, and Ann turns up. Now I'd wanted to slap Ann before she'd even turned up, as almost everything Judy says is related to Ann in some way, setting the scene that Judy and Ann are the greatest of friends.. with a little too much emphasis really. And at the end of the first half, they head off to the pub, and a mysterious figure in black appears in the cottage! Who could it possibly be?! Perhaps the only other person to have been mentioned?! Second half, and they're back from the pub, but wait, Ann's left her bag there, could Sam go and pick it up? With him out of the way, it's time to reveal that cunning and well hidden twist... with an extremely clumsy technique... and who should appear from upstairs, but that self-same shadowy figure from the end of the first half.. and goodness me! It's Judy's ex-husband who'd been broken out of prison after being sent down for drug dealing, and the cause of all Judy's anxiety problems. And what's this?! He and Ann had been having an affair all this time?! You don't say! No please, don't say it, really, because I ALREADY WORKED THAT OUT! The grand scheme is revealed, and it's about as complex and mystifying as one of Wile E Coyote's plans to catch Road Runner, yet Judy is written to be confused and stupid. In the end, Sam turns out to be from Customs, Tar is actually working for him, and didn't actually execute him as he was supposed to, much to the complete lack of amazement from the audience. Tar has his gun taken by Ann, but they allow Sam to keep his.. and what do you know? The rifle isn't loaded! I can't go on.. suffice it to say they all lived happily/miserably ever after, depending on which side of karma they were on.
It was nice to do something different, but I do resent paying that much money to see such a luke-warm play.