Lynette H Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 From 23 November "In a crumbling house full of dinosaur bones and fossils, three adopted sisters – Pauline, Petrova and Posy – are learning who they are and what they want to be. Under the watchful eyes and guidance of their guardian Sylvia, Nana, and some unlikely lodgers, they fight to pursue their individual passions. But in a world that wasn’t built for women with big ambitions, can they forge a future, keep their family together, and even learn a dance or two along the way? Katy Rudd (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) returns to the National Theatre to direct this spectacular re-imagining of Noel Streatfeild’s beloved novel, in a new version by Kendall Feaver (The Almighty Sometimes)." Public booking opens 2 May. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 Wonderful! I have just dug out my ancient book copy to re-read, what a co-incidence! 🩰 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollylamb1 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 We are offering £30 tickets for the performance of Lucia di Lammermoor on Monday 22nd April. The performance lasts for 3 hours, including 1 interval. You can purchase tickets via the ROH website here. Once you select the relevant date, you will be directed to a page where you'll be able to enter a code. Please enter the code PRELUDIO30 in the box and click apply. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 Wonder if anyone knows about casting? Or indeed if there could be a way to audition for the dancer daughter role…? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munchkin16 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 They were casting recently through agents but if you have an experienced dancer who doesn’t have an agent you could try reaching out to the National Theatre casting team. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 On 19/04/2024 at 10:34, Lynette H said: From 23 November this spectacular re-imagining of Noel Streatfeild’s beloved novel, in a new version by Kendall Feaver (The Almighty Sometimes)." Public booking opens 2 May. Why does the word "re-imagining" fill me with dread!! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 4 minutes ago, Fiona said: Why does the word "re-imagining" fill me with dread!! And indeed the word 'spectacular'! Apart from their stage/film efforts (and even those would not have been 'spectacular' in the circumstances/era), the children (and the adults) led lives of genteel poverty relieved only by what they could earn. I hope this will be good, but I fear that the children will simply be turned into fiery mini-feminists with 21st-century attitudes/vocabulary etc. Will I go to it? Don't know yet! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 1 hour ago, Fiona said: Why does the word "re-imagining" fill me with dread!! Everything is “reimagined” these days! 😫😂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I'm puzzled by the description of the house as "crumbling". I thought that the reason the family took in boarders was because a decent house was their only asset at the time. I can't believe they would have attracted several boarders of professional social standing if the house had been falling to bits! I've always imagined it as a solid, probably Victorian, townhouse. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 6 hours ago, Fiona said: Why does the word "re-imagining" fill me with dread!! Well, I saw London Tide at the NT last night. An ‘adaptation’ of Dicken’s ‘Our Mutual Friend’, this version has been given a woke ending along the same lines as ENB’s Raymonda. Much as Raymonda abandons a man she might love, instead leaving to ‘find herself and her destiny’, in London Tide, Lizzie Hexham doesn’t marry the man she thinks she might love but instead heads out to ‘find herself and her destiny’. Can we expect the same for Ballet Shoes or some gender swapping of the characters perhaps? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 6 hours ago, Fiona said: Why does the word "re-imagining" fill me with dread!! I think we can very probably hazard an accurate guess. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 To be fair, it was ‘re-imagined’ the last time a version of it was made for television. ‘Garnie’ and Theo were rivals for the love of Mr Simpson, if I remember correctly? That put me right off! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 2 minutes ago, CCL said: To be fair, it was ‘re-imagined’ the last time a version of it was made for television. ‘Garnie’ and Theo were rivals for the love of Mr Simpson, if I remember correctly? That put me right off! To be equally fair, the late great Victoria Wood was excellent as Nana, Emilia Fox was suitably droopy as Garnie, and the whole "Mr Simpson is single" idea was WRONG. I also liked the children who played Posy and Petrova, and who could possibly go wrong casting Dame Harriet Walter and Gemma Jones as the Doctors? Dame Eileen Atkins as Madame Fidolia was good, but IMHO Granada/the BBC missed a trick in not casting someone like Marcia Haydée or Lynn Seymour 🤭 TIL that the girl who played Petrova also appeared in The Sarah-Jane Adventures! "Posy" also has an extensive list of adult acting credits. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 I had forgotten that Victoria Wood was Nanna - an inspired piece of casting! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 I won’t be going to this as although was into ballet as a child I was never attracted to reading these particular books. I was one of those weirdos who went virtually straight from reading “Five go to Smugglers Top” to Don Camillo and the Devil and Somerset Maugham short stories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akh Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 2 hours ago, CCL said: I had forgotten that Victoria Wood was Nanna - an inspired piece of casting! Our Granddaughter was lucky enough to be cast as an extra and had a lovely time filming. A friend of hers was Posy's double for the point work. Great experience, 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 19 minutes ago, LinMM said: I was one of those weirdos who went virtually straight from reading “Five go to Smugglers Top” to Don Camillo and the Devil and Somerset Maugham short stories. Not so weird, @LinMM I went from The Famous Five straight to Rider Haggard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Our daughter auditioned for Pauline in that version and there were many girls there. A lot didn’t make the first cut because they were too old but what none of them knew was that Emma Watson had already been cast as Pauline. Why they went ahead with the audition is beyond me. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 1 hour ago, Scheherezade said: Not so weird, @LinMM I went from The Famous Five straight to Rider Haggard. What a coincidence - I went from The Famous Five to Rider Haggard!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 28 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: What a coincidence - I went from The Famous Five to Rider Haggard!! Oh, most definitely great minds … 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Allegedly I went from Ant and Bee to Shakespeare 🤯 one of my parents' friends has an old film, with audio, of me reading something to her eldest, from a collected works. We were four or five at the time. Such early precocity was not followed through! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelphiumBlue Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 I am in two minds about this ….while the life-long Ballet Shoes fan in me would like to see it, the voice of reason reminds me that I didn’t like the earlier, fairly faithful BBC series where nothing was re-imagined , spectacularly or otherwise. Suppose the best way would be to consider it as a modern version, based on an original idea by NS … a bit like the difference between The Wicharts and Ballet Shoes . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelphiumBlue Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 The Wicharts was Ballet Shoes mark 1 but absolutely not written for children. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePigeon Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 16 hours ago, San Perregrino said: Well, I saw London Tide at the NT last night. An ‘adaptation’ of Dicken’s ‘Our Mutual Friend’, this version has been given a woke ending along the same lines as ENB’s Raymonda. Much as Raymonda abandons a man she might love, instead leaving to ‘find herself and her destiny’, in London Tide, Lizzie Hexham doesn’t marry the man she thinks she might love but instead heads out to ‘find herself and her destiny’. Can we expect the same for Ballet Shoes or some gender swapping of the characters perhaps? A bit like the awful My Fair Lady revival at the Coliseum a few years back where Eliza rejects Higgins and walks off on her own. I know she doesn’t end up with Higgins in Pygmalion, but this wasn’t Pygmalion and I left feeling so deflated - and I say this as someone who much prefers Freddie to Higgins, largely because of the gorgeous Jeremy Brett and because if anyone sang On the Street Where you Live about me I would fall at their feet 🤣. 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 @OnePigeon I always felt like that too about Jeremy Brett and On The Street Where You Live - it makes me quite tearful! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 (edited) Well I loved the NT Treasure Island (originally Christmas 2014 I think, will check?) Yes Aargh Jim lad was Jim lass and very good she was too. Patsy Ferran So who knows, it could be a lovely surprise. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/dec/14/treasure-island-national-theatre-observer-review Edited April 21 by Roberta 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Dancer Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 1 hour ago, OnePigeon said: A bit like the awful My Fair Lady revival at the Coliseum a few years back where Eliza rejects Higgins and walks off on her own. I know she doesn’t end up with Higgins in Pygmalion, but this wasn’t Pygmalion and I left feeling so deflated - and I say this as someone who much prefers Freddie to Higgins, largely because of the gorgeous Jeremy Brett and because if anyone sang On the Street Where you Live about me I would fall at their feet 🤣. Jeremy Brett was gorgeous in his youth - so handsome. I'd agree she doesn't walk off on her own. I'm not sure she ends up with Higgins. I always took My Fair Lady as being a bit ambiguous. She might stay and she might not. She might marry Higgins or Freddie or she might get Higgins to support her setting up a flower shop, meet someone else and marry them or even marry Pickering. The thing I like about the film ending is that she doesn't fall into anyone's arms, but she might. I like that they make up as friends at the end, even if I don't buy them as a couple. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tattin Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 "Ballet Shoes" was serialised on what in those days was called the wireless in the 1950s. I was a great fan. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 1 hour ago, Tattin said: "Ballet Shoes" was serialised on what in those days was called the wireless in the 1950s. I was a great fan. Yes! More about that here! 🩰 https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/whirligigtv/ballet-shoes-t11295.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 On 19/04/2024 at 16:48, lollylamb1 said: We are offering £30 tickets for the performance of Lucia di Lammermoor on Monday 22nd April. The performance lasts for 3 hours, including 1 interval. You can purchase tickets via the ROH website here. Once you select the relevant date, you will be directed to a page where you'll be able to enter a code. Please enter the code PRELUDIO30 in the box and click apply. Not quite sure what this is doing here but if they sent me that offer for a date I *could* do (tonight clashes with Melissa Hamilton at the Ballet Association) I might well be tempted to take them up on it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 On 21/04/2024 at 08:22, CCL said: ‘Garnie’ and Theo were rivals for the love of Mr Simpson, if I remember correctly? That put me right off! Yes and I have to say I found that hilarious, given that he is happily married in the book. I liked the actor for Mr Simpson though, I remember seeing him in Doctor Who around the same time. His bond with Petrova was sweet and well done on screen (loved the Petrova actress, though since this and Sarah Jane adventures I haven’t seen much of her which is sad). I think it was pretty well cast overall, all the sisters had a good family bond on screen. However, I do think it would have been a good idea to cast a more unknown actress who needed the exposure as Pauline, instead of Emma Watson - though she was so big at the time casting her was a guarantee loads of kids would watch it. I thought Theo was a good choice of actress minus the love story, lol. Loved Emilia Fox and Victoria Wood’s relationship on screen. I remember the actor who played Mr Dursley from Harry Potter was also in it as Gum. I watched it so many times as a kid (think we recorded it on a disc) and I used to act out scenes with my friends at sleepovers. Book sales must have had a resurgence around that time, I remember getting a copy for my Xmas present. Maybe because of nostalgia I will go and see this production, not sure yet! I assume they will definitely cast an actual ballet dancer as Posy this time - I very much liked Posy in the 2007 adaptation though. The main thing I didn’t like was how they made Winnifred out to be a bit catty, when she was a sweet child and friend of theirs in the book. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 In addition to auditioning for Pauline, my dd thought about auditioning for Posy but they wanted the level above Inter Foundation and confident pointe which my dd wasn’t then so she didn’t go for it. Then we found out later that the pointe scenes were intercut with another dancer so our dd lost out twice over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 On 20/04/2024 at 22:40, San Perregrino said: Can we expect the same for Ballet Shoes or some gender swapping of the characters perhaps? I am hoping for colour blind casting, otherwise I hope they don't change much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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