Yet another theatre post but I'm Not Happy

[silja_b]

Well, that's two hours of my life I won't get back. My opinion on Be Near Me at Donmar is exactly three words: Don't. Just Don't

Comments

[azmatazz]

Awww, bummer. Too bad it didn't turn out better, but it seems that even the better Shakespeare companies I've seen stateside can't pull off contemporary plays necessarily.

At least you got the opportunity to go see this. Wish it would have gone better. Anything decent of the play though?

[silja_b]

Well, it wasn't terrible. Be Near Me would probably have been quite good someplace else, but I expect more from Donmar. It can't all be The Chalk Garden or Frost/Nixon, but they should be held to a higher standard. It's a pity because there could have been a good play in it and the acting was certainly every bit as good as expected but it was simply too unfocused. And perhaps I should clarify: Donmar isn't a 'Shakespeare company' despite its long affiliation with RSC. They do a blend of classic revivals and contemporary plays. The Donmar Warehouse itself is very small so Michael Grandage, the creative director, came up with the idea of moving their Big Name plays into a year-long season at the Wyndham playing Ivanov (Ken Branagh), Twelth Night (Derek Jacobi), Madame de Sade (Judi Dench) and Hamlet (Jude Law, directed by Ken Branagh) with Grandage directing all but Hamlet. That's all been wonderful, but it's becoming obvious that Grandage is putting too much effort into the Wyndham A-list and not enough into the Warehouse season

[azmatazz]

Maybe Med and I are Shakespeare geeks, but how can anyone's patience with the Bard wear thin?

As for that theater company, I understand now. We have two performing arts centers near us here, and one did that too, where they spent so much money this year on the big-named Broadway acts that the little companies coming in are so unknown that no one is coming. Or even worse, pulling out when the companies don't get paid.