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theatreguys.co.uk presents:
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Welcome to our Theatre Group website where we hope you will find all the information you need.
This is a not-for-profit UK theatre-going group for our friends and colleagues and their own extended group of friends. It costs nothing to join us but must be by personal introduction from another member of the group. We provide theatre tickets (and coach transport from Southend, if required) for theatres in the West End. We do not sell tickets to the public.
Organisers: Fredo & Mike
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OnOurOwn
A new section on the website: click HERE.
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ABOUT THE ADVERTISEMENTS:
Theatre links and show ads are chosen by us for their relevance to our interests and those of the Group.
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>News and Information: Please scroll down the page
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Venice Footnotes
+ photos
2011
2012
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A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
Conor McPherson was only 26 when he wrote The Weir. It was an instant classic, and transferred from the Royal Court to the Duke of York’s where it enjoyed a long run. Winning the Olivier Award for Best New Play drew some attention to it as well.
Kate Pakenham, Executive Producer at the Donmar, told us (at the Director's Forum post-performance Q&A) that they had worried that memories of that first production were still too vivid; was the play ripe for revival? They took a chance, and the current production has been very highly praised, and there isn’t a ticket to be had at the box-office.
Josie Rourke, the director, said that this play was one of the perks of being Artistic Director at the Donmar - and it had been a dream to cast, as all the actors said Yes the first time they were asked to do it.
Brian Cox, whose stage appearances are all too rare, recalled doing Conor’s play St Nicholas at the Bush, and told us that Conor is completely without ego, although he is simply the best and greatest young playwright around. No, he’s a nightmare, joked Ardal O’Hanlon. Peter McDonald had been at university with Conor, and remembered that the first time he saw one of Conor’s plays, he knew immediately that you were dealing with someone who was going to be recognised for his talent. He thinks that Conor doesn’t just write the play; it’s as though he has seen it in his head, and at the end he leaves us with dramatic possibilities.
Ardal pointed out that this is a very fluid play: there are subtle shifts in the stories and the tone. This requires the actors to be very focused, and to change gear from the naturalistic to the more intangible parts of the story. There is great honesty in the characters, and no cynicism. Risteard Cooper added that his character, Finbar, is set up as being dislikeable, but in fact all the characters have flaws, and Conor is generous to them. Their common denominator is a fear of loneliness.
A large quantity of alcohol is consumed at each performance, and the actors had had a drinks rehearsal. Ardal owned up to 3 pints and 5 shorts per performance. Brian told us that at the point he goes off for a pee, he does indeed go off for a pee!
Brian admitted that while he had been itching to do something on stage, he was nervous of taking the role of Jack, as he had seen his great friend Jim Norton play it in the original production. However, this production had a different quality. A good director starts from the point of the innocence of the actors. Ardal agreed; another director may have chosen another, more humorous route, but sometimes he had to suppress his instinct for comedy for the betterment of the play. They had spent a long time talking about the play, and their understanding of it is unique to them, and different from the interpretation of any other five people.
Certainly, these four actors, with Dervla Kirwan as the catalyst in the play, have created a special and memorable evening in the theatre.
   
Brian Cox; Ardal O’Hanlon; Risteard Cooper; Peter McDonald
Fredo 13/05/13
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The Weir
by
Conor MacPherson
Dervla Kirwan
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You all know it pays to book early. But sometimes that is not possible. A friend paying a sudden visit to me last week wanted to see Helen Mirren in The Audience. So does every other visitor to London. The theatre is Sold Out for the whole of the run so what to do? Queue for Day Seats? As the queue reportedly forms before I am even awake, that was not an option. Queue for returns then? We crossed our fingers and we joined the queue of about 8 people at 6.00pm. That queue grew to about 20 by 6.30 but there were still no tickets available. A little later the box-office offered 2 Premium tickets at £125 each, way beyond our price range, but they were snapped up. And then there were 6, ahead of us in the queue.
At 6.45 the box-office manager came out to announce that unfortunataely he had no house-seats to release today and so far no tickets had been returned to the box-office. And still about 15 of us waited.
It was around that time I became aware of a suspicious looking man hovering around the front of the theatre. He asked if anyone was looking for tickets, several of us put our hands up, but then he said he was wanting tickets too. He also whispered conspiratorially to another man waiting way back in the queue. Instead of joining us he continued to lurk and leer at the arriving audience. Tout, I thought! I left the queue to see what he was up to, and soon he was asking "Any spare tickets?" of those arriving. Definitely a tout, the scum of the West End (or perhaps a Thatcherite entrepreneur). I did my theatreland-spirited thing and reported him to theatre staff, but what can they do? It seems nothing, if touts operate off the theatre premises.
At around 7.20pm he reappeared, a ticket in hand. "I have just 1 ticket if anyone wants it" he offered to those at the back of the queue, away from the theatre entrance. An American woman asked how much it was, he paused, looked her up and down, and replied "£100". The ticket may or may not have been genuine, it certainly was not a £125 ticket and could have been a £39.50 Upper Circle ticket, but she paid him £100 in cash. I hope she enjoyed the play. He was delighted, hugged his accomplice still in the queue (maybe waiting for any genuine returns to resell at a rip-off price) and together they skipped off down the street laughing, profit in pocket.
At 7.28pm a genuine couple turned up and offered an unwanted ticket (someone hadn't turned up) at the correct £58.50 price "or nearest offer". My friend, first in the queue wanting a single ticket, paid £55 in cash and entered the theatre just before the curtain rose. He had had no time to eat, drink or even find the Gents, but he got there, he had a seat, he had his audience with the Queen. And he was delighted.
(Never buy a ticket from a tout - you are being ripped off, the ticket may not be genuine and you may not be admitted, it may be a duplicate, you are supporting the underworld, and you are depriving the theatre of income.)
Mike 06/05/13
We Are Not Amused
The queen tells drummers to "Shut the f*** up!" - click HERE.
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Touting
the
audience
for
Mirren
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HOUSE FULL
A recent stroll round the West End revealed a sight that we hadn’t seen for many years: HOUSE FULL notices outside so many theatres. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Audience, Les Miserables, The Book of Mormon, Peter and Alice, Matilda, The Judas Kiss, Macbeth, War Horse, Old Times and The Lion King were all playing to turn-away crowds, with queues of eager customers paying top-price for returned tickets. Over at the National, People and This House were still packing them in.
It’s not uncommon for smaller theatres, such as the Donmar, the Royal Court, the Almeida and Hampstead to be sold out for the entire run of their plays, but what surprised us on this weekday evening was how many of the larger theatres were bursting at their seams. Theatre, one box-office manager told me, seems to be recession-proof.
Why is this important? In terms of tickets sales alone - and not including merchandising and bar-sales - the revenue for London Theatre is in excess of £500 million. London theatre alone returns almost as much to the Treasury in VAT receipts as Arts Council England gives to the theatre across the whole country.
There are other considerations too. Each production employs a small army of people to keep it running, as well as generating employment in ticket and advertising agencies. These employees are all paying their taxes.
And audiences spend money on travel and food and drink; the manager of a restaurant near Cambridge Circus (close to Singin’ in the Rain and Jersey Boys) told me that when the theatres are dark, his takings reduce by two-thirds.
In addition, UNESCO has identified the UK as the world’s largest exporter of cultural goods - consider the success of War Horse, One Man,Two Guv’nors, Matilda and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows in America.
It’s necessary to be aware of this while the Culture Secretary Maria Miller warns the UK arts community to expect their share of cuts. Yes, it’s inevitable, but it still matters for the damage it will do.
London is the envy of the world in terms of its theatre. We know that Helen Mirren and Judi Dench are national treasures, but their talents are part of the country’s natural resources. Their names, and Rupert Everett’s and James McAvoy’s, can transform an empty theatre into an exciting - and lucrative - destination. Year by year, directors like Michael Grandage, Marianne Elliott and Jamie Lloyd are adding to the cultural heritage - and there isn’t room here to consider the writers!
As I write, Burn the Floor has posted early closing notices, and one or two other shows are rumoured to be struggling, but they are in the minority. There’s still an audience out there, even in a recession, who have a hunger for entertainment and stimulation when the right shows come along.
Don’t take for granted the standard of excellence that we have grown accustomed to. It must be encouraged and nurtured. There may be no business like show business, but it is a business, and it’s an important one worth investment, sponsorship and subsidy.
Fredo 30/04/13
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