Pulcinella Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Still no casts for Birmingham and they open next Wednesday. I really think it's a bit much leaving cast announcements this late. I hope the new director, whoever it may be, has a more enlightened outlook to announcing casting a bit further (or preferably a lot further) in advance. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Totally agree, Pulcinella. I would go up to Birmingham more often if I knew the cast well in advance so that I could buy cheaper advance train tickets. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 11 hours ago, RuthE said: For the record, TKTS didn’t get it. However as top price is only £35 I treated myself to a decent seat anyway. For the record I was at the matinee and, honestly, I don't ever think I have EVER seen the Second Circle (the proverbial cheap seats) SO very empty. It didn't seem to really matter what the letter and number was on your ticket was ... You could go with 'choose your row' .... (and that I promise is only a VERY slight exaggeration) ... and this was MacMillan IN LONDON ... and R& J to boot .... T'was passing strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 23 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said: ... and this was MacMillan IN LONDON ... and R& J to boot .... T'was passing strange. And a Wednesday afternoon, with almost a complete absence of London marketing. I was fortunate to have had today off work anyway, and grateful that there were empty seats, as I missed most of the action in Act 1 thanks to being behind a very tall person in the Stalls. I moved in the first interval and enjoyed it much more thereafter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, Bruce Wall said: For the record I was at the matinee and, honestly, I don't ever think I have EVER seen the Second Circle (the proverbial cheap seats) SO very empty. It didn't seem to really matter what the letter and number was on your ticket was ... You could go with 'choose your row' .... (and that I promise is only a VERY slight exaggeration) ... and this was MacMillan IN LONDON ... and R& J to boot .... T'was passing strange. I'm sorry to hear this. But as has been noted, there really is a surfeit of ballet in London at the moment. Even for enthusiasts, it's just not possible to go to everything. It seems poor co-ordination of the part of the companies (in so far as they can/do co-ordinate). And I wonder if SW now markets itself so much as a contemporary dance venue that it no longer has much of an audience for classical ballet? Edited June 14, 2018 by bridiem 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 But Northern Ballet sold to full houses with Jane Eyre last month - although the midweek matinee apparently had good availability. Perhaps midweek matinees don't do well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Bruce: You might also look at this morning's Links, just posted, and wonder about the papers not listed there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Douglas Allen Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 1 hour ago, Ian Macmillan said: Bruce: You might also look at this morning's Links, just posted, and wonder about the papers not listed there. Excellent point, Ian. It's probably not appropriate in this thread, but for BRB's Romeo and Juliet at Sadlers Wells to be reviewed only in two nationals (so far) is disturbing. The position at the Guardian is particularly worrying but it's little better at the others. There was a time when all the broadsheets, as well as the Express, Mail and Standard had regular (and usually competent) ballet reviews. Now......... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 I suppose the attitude is that the run's over already, so what's the hurry? At least, I hope that's the answer. But not having had the MacMillan R&J in London for the last couple of seasons, I'm still surprised at the lack of take-up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 The lack of casting information does a great disservice to BRB's young talent. They should be being put 'out there', not least because that is one of the ways of helping the company to thrive. AND BRB's press office should be doing everything in its power to get the critics along. Maybe they are but the minimal coverage so far (3 entries in Links as opposed to 5 for ENB's Emerging Dancer) is seriously disappointing. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaC Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Although casting information may only influence a small proportion of the audience, the appalling delay in providing cast details (only made available on the Monday before the season) will have been a factor for some ballet lovers. I needed to know if there was a cast I wished to see, as arrangements for child care, hotel and expensive trains would be necessary if I had gone. In the end, in desperation, I contacted the company but still got no information until the day the press release came out. Far too late. Under David Bintley casting information has got later and later (apart forJapan!). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Well, as Pulcinella says, let's hope this changes under the new director. I know that David Bintley's logic is "we want people to see the company, not individuals" but hey BRB, get real. Many of us want to see particular dancers, even those people who aren't necessarily 'regulars' or balletomanes. For instance, the lovely publicity poster of Brandon Lawrence and Celine Gittens in R&J could be enticement to members of the public to go and see the production, but not knowing when they are dancing until a couple of days before could well scupper their plans. It's all very unnecessary and it needs to change, pronto. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 8 hours ago, Jan McNulty said: But Northern Ballet sold to full houses with Jane Eyre last month - although the midweek matinee apparently had good availability. Perhaps midweek matinees don't do well. I went to the matinee performance at The Lowry, and I was so surprised to see so many empty seats - because it was Jane Eyre I had expected the theatre to be full of school kids. Do they not study Jane Eyre at school these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 24 minutes ago, Sharon said: I went to the matinee performance at The Lowry, and I was so surprised to see so many empty seats - because it was Jane Eyre I had expected the theatre to be full of school kids. Do they not study Jane Eyre at school these days? Northern Ballet are still building their audience up in Salford. (They lost a lot of the Greater Manchester audience when they moved, of necessity, from Hulme in Manchester to Halifax before settling in Leeds.) At all the other performances the stalls and the dress circle were well attended but the top tier was not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 To be fair, there may have been some injury uncertainties, given that Delia Mathews had to pull out of performances in Japan (although I see she was dancing the lead harlot yesterday, so hopefully recovered or on the way to recovery) and that we now know Chi Cao was injured, but this seems to be the same virtually every time these days. Do BRB operate on such a knife-edge so much that casting can't actually be announced until shortly before because they don't know who'll be fit? I certainly hope not! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Alison, I've always stood up for BRB's latish casting policies but they made a mockery of the whole thing when the casting for Japan was announced 6 months in advance! I do not know why they have left it so late to announce casting - it's now less than a week to the mixed programme in Birmingham and there is no sign of the casting. As people have commented to make a trip affordable some degree of notice is required to book advance train fares and hotels. I don't believe they operate on such a knife edge and I have no idea why they are leaving it so late to announce the casting. The vast majority of ballet fans are fully aware that the casting can change very late in the day but it would be nice to have some idea of who is scheduled to be on and when. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulcinella Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 They obviously have the casting in place well in advance as they were able to announce some time ago that Jenna Roberts will be performing in Romeo and Juliet on the Friday and Nao Sakura and Chi Cao on the Saturday as these will be their last performances in Birmingham. They actually want people there to say goodbye to them but it doesn't seem to matter that some people also want to see certain other dancers in the roles as well. I always maintain they would probably sell more tickets by announcing casts well in advance of performances as the general public will just book for whichever performance suits them by day of the week anyway but the ballet fans will book extra tickets to see particular dancers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 10 hours ago, Pulcinella said: They obviously have the casting in place well in advance as they were able to announce some time ago that Jenna Roberts will be performing in Romeo and Juliet on the Friday and Nao Sakura and Chi Cao on the Saturday as these will be their last performances in Birmingham. They actually want people there to say goodbye to them but it doesn't seem to matter that some people also want to see certain other dancers in the roles as well. I always maintain they would probably sell more tickets by announcing casts well in advance of performances as the general public will just book for whichever performance suits them by day of the week anyway but the ballet fans will book extra tickets to see particular dancers. Hear, hear Pulchinella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Casting finally up on the BRB website! One or two surprises there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Would you like to enlighten us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Regrettably I am not sufficiently proficient to do a link but, for me, the main surprises are that the first night isn't Momoko Hirata with César Morales but Celine Gittens with the man himself - Brandon Lawrence. Secondly Delia Mathews is giving performances with Yasuo Atsuji. Two performances I would very much like to see. Throw in Jenna Roberts and Tyrone Singleton and you have all the bases covered for me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 If Brandon Lawrence doesn't get a promotion after this, I'll...! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Tuesday 26th and Thursday 28th evening: Gittens/Lawrence Wednesday 27th: Shang/Morales Thursday 28th matinee and Saturday 30th matinee: Matthews/Atsuji Friday 29th: Roberts/Singleton Saturday 30th evening: Sakuma/Cao https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/event/romeo-and-juliet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Sorry if I've missed this somewhere, but is Mathias Dingman injured or something? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 6 minutes ago, Jane S said: Sorry if I've missed this somewhere, but is Mathias Dingman injured or something? I was wondering the same... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said: I was wondering the same... There has been a happy event at home 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Oh, so there has ... Atsuji certainly deserves another go at the role after his debut last week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 3 hours ago, Two Pigeons said: Regrettably I am not sufficiently proficient to do a link....... It works for me if I stay on BCF and open the relevant window as well. I then highlight the web address for (say) BRB's R&J casting and click COPY. Then I go back to BCF, go to the point in my reply where I want to put the link and click PASTE. It's really helpful on here if one can provide the link as it saves each one of us doing an individual search. Some posters who are much more technically-minded than me provide links which substitute the long web address with the word HERE. Maybe they could explain how they do that? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 Investigate the "Link" icon next to the Smiley when you're posting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 13 minutes ago, capybara said: Some posters who are much more technically-minded than me provide links which substitute the long web address with the word HERE. Maybe they could explain how they do that? Like this you mean? Write the word(s) you want to appear, then select/highlight them, then click on the "link" symbol in the editor (it looks like a bit of chain and appears to the left of the "smiley" symbol in my editor, at least). Then you can paste the link address into the URL box. Is that what you meant, Capybara? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said: Like this you mean? Write the word(s) you want to appear, then select/highlight them, then click on the "link" symbol in the editor (it looks like a bit of chain and appears to the left of the "smiley" symbol in my editor, at least). Then you can paste the link address into the URL box. Is that what you meant, Capybara? Yes - thank you. I must experiment. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryo Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 R&J at Birmingham Hippodrome Casting are now available! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webfoot Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Casting now available but can't get any tickets as the Hippodrome website tells me I am number 5700 in the queue and have an hour to wait. No point me making the journey for tonight's performance as originally planned. It's a complete joke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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