As a filmmaker, what drives me nuts about 'live filming' onstage is that the laws of physics are annoyingly immutable, and the image on the screen is thus very clearly out of synch. Bad enough in theatre, but having seen it twice in operas, where one might have hoped that singing in synch with the music mattered - that is, if possible, worse.
Far better to trek out beyond Newbury to watch the certifiably insane but brilliant 'Fanny!' at the Watermill. I may be prejudiced because my two favourite art forms are farce and pantomime, and also because it's ostensibly about my ancestor. With luck it will transfer inside the M25 soon...
I think the Reality TV industrial complex is one of those phenomenon that people will back on in future and say, ‘people were allowed to do *that*??’
It’s an industry that deliberately manipulates people’s interpersonal relationships, mines their mental health problems and insecurities for entertainment content, and doesn’t even pay them properly. It makes previously mentally-healthy people mentally unwell and previously mentally-ill people suicidal.
And they select for that - they literally use the therapists and psychologists to find out how to manipulate the cast.
And the producers know it. Which is why Andy Cohen agreed with Robbie Williams when he said he had his wife turn down Real Housewives because it would be ‘inviting a trauma whirlwind’ into their marriage:
I used to be a once-a-week theatregoer but the pandemic broke the habit and I am now out of the loop. Ben Whishaw is one of my favourite actors, so when I read that line about seeing him in a play at the Royal Court I had a moment of dismay that I’d missed out. And then I read on: Katie Mitchell - eeek; live filming - meh; ‘a depressing version of having to look at someone’s holiday photos’ - oh thank god I really dodged a bullet there!
I actually did hear about the Jamie Lloyd Romeo and Juliet (and Sunset Boulevard) but tickets sold out/were far too expensive. On reflection I am content not having seen them. I’ve seen both pieces before in acclaimed productions, and I’ve seen more than enough Jamie Lloyd to anticipate the style, plus, live filming - meh. Both Jamie Lloyd’s typical style and the live filming gimmick grow tiring after a while. Lloyd’s productions are always good, at least, unlike Katie Mitchell, but at this point they won’t tempt me to spend £100 for a night at the theatre.
Yes, the theatre is now a big investment in both time and money if you’re WFH and paying face value for a ticket. However I went to Player Kings last night—too late to include in this edition — and that is worth it. Genuinely fizzing Shakespeare that’s allowed to be itself rather than being fed into a stylistic meat grinder.
James O’Malley is spot-on about the Government Digital Service. The depressing thing is that the sceptics he cites won the argument a few years ago and departments are now back to outsourcing to Fujitsu et al in the name of independence.
Have you watched Unreal? I'd never watched a reality dating show ever before watching this show. It's nuts and silly but totally changed how I view reality tv. I watched a couple of seasons if the bachelor and the bachelorette to spot all the strange shit. And don't get me started on Big Brother Australia, which I was hooked on for a while. Great list, as always.
As a filmmaker, what drives me nuts about 'live filming' onstage is that the laws of physics are annoyingly immutable, and the image on the screen is thus very clearly out of synch. Bad enough in theatre, but having seen it twice in operas, where one might have hoped that singing in synch with the music mattered - that is, if possible, worse.
Yes, I ended up watching the big screen only because the delay was too annoying. But then why did I trek out to west London to watch a video?
Far better to trek out beyond Newbury to watch the certifiably insane but brilliant 'Fanny!' at the Watermill. I may be prejudiced because my two favourite art forms are farce and pantomime, and also because it's ostensibly about my ancestor. With luck it will transfer inside the M25 soon...
"It was like a depressing version of having to look at someone’s holiday photos."
This is a really excellent description of a play I don't wish I could go see.
I think the Reality TV industrial complex is one of those phenomenon that people will back on in future and say, ‘people were allowed to do *that*??’
It’s an industry that deliberately manipulates people’s interpersonal relationships, mines their mental health problems and insecurities for entertainment content, and doesn’t even pay them properly. It makes previously mentally-healthy people mentally unwell and previously mentally-ill people suicidal.
And they select for that - they literally use the therapists and psychologists to find out how to manipulate the cast.
And the producers know it. Which is why Andy Cohen agreed with Robbie Williams when he said he had his wife turn down Real Housewives because it would be ‘inviting a trauma whirlwind’ into their marriage:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/robbie-williams-terrified-wife-ayda-142627611.html
I used to be a once-a-week theatregoer but the pandemic broke the habit and I am now out of the loop. Ben Whishaw is one of my favourite actors, so when I read that line about seeing him in a play at the Royal Court I had a moment of dismay that I’d missed out. And then I read on: Katie Mitchell - eeek; live filming - meh; ‘a depressing version of having to look at someone’s holiday photos’ - oh thank god I really dodged a bullet there!
I actually did hear about the Jamie Lloyd Romeo and Juliet (and Sunset Boulevard) but tickets sold out/were far too expensive. On reflection I am content not having seen them. I’ve seen both pieces before in acclaimed productions, and I’ve seen more than enough Jamie Lloyd to anticipate the style, plus, live filming - meh. Both Jamie Lloyd’s typical style and the live filming gimmick grow tiring after a while. Lloyd’s productions are always good, at least, unlike Katie Mitchell, but at this point they won’t tempt me to spend £100 for a night at the theatre.
Yes, the theatre is now a big investment in both time and money if you’re WFH and paying face value for a ticket. However I went to Player Kings last night—too late to include in this edition — and that is worth it. Genuinely fizzing Shakespeare that’s allowed to be itself rather than being fed into a stylistic meat grinder.
James O’Malley is spot-on about the Government Digital Service. The depressing thing is that the sceptics he cites won the argument a few years ago and departments are now back to outsourcing to Fujitsu et al in the name of independence.
'No Double-Dipping' was one of the first lessons I taught my children when they went to parties. The second was the 'regift.'
Have you watched Unreal? I'd never watched a reality dating show ever before watching this show. It's nuts and silly but totally changed how I view reality tv. I watched a couple of seasons if the bachelor and the bachelorette to spot all the strange shit. And don't get me started on Big Brother Australia, which I was hooked on for a while. Great list, as always.
Maggie Nelson interviewed by Shon Faye at SouthBank was very ramshackle and also featured a dominant screen with subtitles.
Excellent beeb a while since I have been to watch a play.🙏🏻