Once in a Lifetime

So, I'm pretty sure, from reading my site statistics, that someone at the National Theatre knows how to use google to find out what people are saying about their shows. So, regarding Once in a Lifetime in the Olivier: if I'm sitting there thinking, "Gah, I really should be using this time to finish that chapter from Eichmann in Jerusalem for Thursday," it probably isn't a very good sign. Or this: THBBBBBBBB! (That was an all-American raspberry.)

I should have figured it out from the crowd; if the average age for Coram Boy was in the late 20s (guessing here), then tonight's average age was closer to 50. And, sadly, it was far better attended than those early Coram Boy's that I saw. I can see why the show isn't often performed, it was HORRIBLY dated and, frankly, slow as heck. I did have to supress a few yawns (when I wasn't worried about people falling off/down the stairs or ready to kill the next person who appeared out of a door). Good job on the American accents, though; ususally fake ones just jump out and kill me. It was the kind of show that should have had the audience smiling as it left the theatre, but most people looked like they'd just been to a rather routine church service. And maybe its just because theatre at my high school was of such good quality or because we did Anything Goes many years ago (and an AWESOME production at the NT, btw), but this felt very, very high school to me. Which is fine if you are a high school, but I felt kinda let down by the National. Which sucks.

That's very negative of me, but it really was a blow after the awesomeness of Coram Boy.

Pooh. I'm going to go read Arendt now.