To feel theatre is overrated?

[icreatedascene]

I've never been to a really big theatre and circumstances mean that it's not feasible to go to a London or other 'big' one. I subscribed to the National Theatre at home in a bid to give myself some access/awareness and I have to say I'm glad I haven't paid to go in person. Admittedly I've only watched four productions (all of which had raving reviews) but I'm somewhat underwhelmed.
I'm wondering is theatre only deemed a MC thing because it's expensive? Am I missing something?The acting in The Boy with the Two Hearts was very high school drama club IMO. The book was so much better, but I understand it's hard to squeeze a book into 1.5 hours. Why were people raving about it? Perhaps I'm not getting the point? I've removed the poll because obviously it's very subjective, but just want to know if anyone else feels like this.

Is Present laughter with Andrew Scott still on there? That is really funny - Andrew Scott is brilliant.

Also, Prima Facie with Jodie Comer is amazing.

I love going to the theatre. There's something more to the entertainment experience that I can't get from even the most high-budget, flawless, seamless movie.

That said, I've never felt the attraction of watching a televised version of a theatre production, like the occasions when you can go to a cinema to watch a play being braodcast from the National Theatre or similar. It has to be live or not at all for me!

Really interesting, thanks. I think something's definitely gone in my brain post DC as I used to be really good at reading between the lines but admittedly was a bit lost at times in Yerma. Did she stab herself at the end? Was she pregnant?

I think its a bit like the difference between putting an audiobook on for a child, vs reading it to them live yourself. Its not that you are a better reader, but the child will engage with it much more when you are reading it in the flesh.

I think live theatre is like that - for a lot of people they are much more drawn in and find it more engaging and immersive because it is real live people singing/dancing/acting right in front of them. It's more "real".

Its complete incomparable to watch a production on the tv, that's almost like the worst of both worlds - none if the benefits of tv production with fab outdoor sets and edited scenes to produce that seamless experience, but none of the sensory "live theatre" impact either.

No, it's only All of My Sons up until end of June, but will watch out for those, thanks.

I tried to watch a version of Hamilton online. Couldn't get into it. Went to see tour version omg. Blown away.

Shakespeare comes to life seeing it live - I've seen local performances of everything from Othello, R&J, Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, all wonderfully and skilfully performed. I was given tickets to The Globe Theatre and it was a brilliant experience to see acting in the round the way they would have performed in Shakespeare's day.

I still remember the experience of Les Mis in the Westend as if it were yesterday.

The Mousetrap was awful, two hours of my life I'll never get back, but that was more about the plot than the acting. Likewise, Wicked.

having been to maybe 100 different performances I'd say over 90% of them were memorable and very enjoyable. Not everyone likes theatre, but I find it to be unique and something I always look forward to, because it brings the drama to life.

I'm definitely missing this perspective and it's really helpful. When I was doing GCSE English Lit we had a very special theatre group come to perform Macbeth in our assembly hall. They had made this spider web scaffolding thing and that was the stage. We all came out of it saying wtf, no one knew why they did that or how or if it was in any way relevant to the play. If the teacher has given perspective or even just what you said about suspending belief it would have made so much more sense. I got an A in English Lit and Lang, so I'm supposed to know a bit about this stuff, but something has definitely been lost!

Agree - I saw Inter Alia NT live at the cinema and it was amazing, and felt v immersive. OP I’d recommend that one at the cinema if you get a chance.

OP there’s usually a middle ground between the top few central London theatres and am dram in the local church hall. If you share your approx area of the country people might be able to suggest good regional theatres - it’s not west end or nothing, there are loads of excellent theatres around the UK.

I go to the theatre most weeks, but I’m fortunate because I work in the West End, and can often get good, last minute seats for £30 or less. I often go by myself, but I recently got two £10 tickets for a play at the National and I couldn’t get anyone to go with me as it wasn’t their cup of tea. That’s fine. Some of these friends would have jumped at the chance to see Les Mis or Oliver! which are very different productions to some you might see at the NT.

Try different things. I saw Waiting for Godot recently and loved it, having thought I really disliked it because I’d studied it 30 years ago and didn’t appreciate it. Plays are written to be watched in real life, not watched on screen or studied in a book.
Get yourself to London and see Oliver! You can’t not love it.

I do like live theatre; I'd say live performance is best, then recorded shows in cinema, and TV is least good. Theatre acting is a bit different because everything has to be projected across the theatre so voices, expressions and body language have to be exaggerated. Sets are designed and lit to be seen from across the theatre, maybe only from one side, and they may not come across so well on film/tv.

I do have access to good local theatres (not West End) but I have also mightily enjoyed some of the NT Live and Globe Theatre productions at local cinemas. Stand-outs were "Prima Facie" (better than its sequel), "Good", the Lehmann Trilogy (first two parts were best) - and NT Live's "Julius Caesar" -- "The crowd is pushed around by security guards, and when shots are fired they are forced to drop to the ground. Later debris rain down, smoke billows and an orange glow suggests fires" and I was quite glad not to be in the live audience!

It's a way to see some great performances that I wouldn't get to see otherwise and for a lot less money. Of course not all of them are that good - plays vary, productions vary, and some are filmed better than others.

The main thing I dislike about recorded performances is the introductions they insist on brodcasting. Sometimes they do have interesting info about the play or staging but mostly they're just smug and irritating. I came to see the show same as I would in the theatre so just tell me what time it starts and then get on with it!

I think this is a great example (although tounge in cheek i expect!) of the difference between movie/TV and theatre and the difficulty of putting theatre on TV where people are expecting a more TV experience.

Watching it theatre on a TV means people compare it more to filmed things, and find it harder to suspend belief. We are so used to having snazzy special effects, cgi etc to support stories with massive sets that it makes look theatre look basic. You have to sort of switch your mind to be more focused on acting without all the flashy bits that are actually distracting and can ruin the heart of a story.

There's a couple of shows at the moment (harry potter, stranger things, back to the future) which have some really cool special effects/magical moments and its amazing seeing them infront of your eyes and knowing your own eyes saw it so its not cgi, theres a collective gasp in the audience and its genuinely shocking. I suspect it would look really underwhelming filmed, because we are so used to million dollar effects.

You would also probably be able to see how it is done watching it at home. All theatre isn't designed to be watched close up, but from the middle of the stalls/ people sat in row m 2 teirs away. Most of the costumes, facial expressions, voices, make up, emotions etc are designed to be seen from quite far away and not in a close up. You can't have the really subtle facial expressions you do in a film because it doesn't read past the front row. So if you aren't used to it, it can look odd.

The filming of stuff is amazing for access but I do think it loses the atmosphere and puts people expectations to be to watch a set filled, prop filled subtly acted in 300 takes type show rather than the raw, on the night buzzy show

A bit like if you listen to a live recording of an album vs the released , its more atmospheric with more raw vocals, where you might get more voice cracks and lose being able to hear the subtle piano line you love, vs being there in person and seeing it preformed live. They all have their place

And of course not everyone shares the same tastes, ask anyone about any adaptation and everyone will have a fight about the favourite of the book vs the movie or that the 3rd adaptation is shit but love the 2nd. Pride and prejudice is a great argument starter for this!

£55 to see a filmed performance of War Horse? Blimey! I would definitely want to see that live onstage, the beauty of the live performance is that we could see the puppeteers but very quickly stopped noticing them, just the horse. It's like animation, you can see it's just a drawing and yet you don't focus on the flat colours and the outlines instead you "see" the characters.

You need to see at least one good one.

‘Theatre’ is a pretty broad description, probably as broad as saying you do or don’t like TV. I don’t like stage musicals but I love opera. I love RSC but not Broadway particularly, and prefer a good, silly John Godber or a Tom Stoppard to a gritty kitchen sink drama. All depends on finding your own likes and dislikes.

I would also add that some of my least favourite things ive seen are productions with many set changes, many props, that try to imitate more tv shows.

Too many props and scene changes often feels like rehearsals were focused on that, and money was spent on that rather than concentrating on acting

A really good example of mis matched expectations is the recent hunger games play. There's lots of reviews critiquing that she was hiding on lighting rigs rather than trees, and that they were wearing flack gear rather than camouflaged.

Logically you don't want to hide your lead actress in a tree in camouflage for a big chunk of the play. She needs to be able to be seen by a large audience.

Equally please don't make a cardboard tree, or put a smattering of leaves. Id rather imagine a lighting rig as tree then be taken out of a story by a poor attempt

If you can't accurately replicate an animal, then it's better to do a more surrealist version like lion king/war horse/ life of pi that becomes beautiful in its own way rather than some terrible animal actors, a bloke in a costume or a terrible stuff toy effect. The same applies for stuff like cars, buildings etc. Its better to stare off in the distance then appear with a cardboard version of something that jars

I love going to the theatre but I wouldn’t watch it on TV - it’s very different experience, it feels flat against the real performance.

I also saw To Kill a Mockingbird recently and agree it’s brilliant it’s different from the book but still amazing.
There were performances I wasn’t keen much so maybe you were just unlucky.

Illyria are fabulous! We saw a fair few of their productions when DD was younger!

I don't have much experience of "big" theatre - only been a couple of times in London, but do go to a local amateur theatre which is frequently excellent. Agree with the others that the physical experience is very important, being in the same space as the actors. Also being in a decent seat is important - I saw Maxine Peake recently and we had circle seats. Moving down into the stalls for the Q and A afterwards was a totally different perspective - it felt like you were in the same room rather than looking on.

You honestly cannot compare watching National Theatre Live to being present at an actual play. I've done both, in one case the same play because I enjoyed it so much.
Not the same at all.
But it very much depends on the play, the actors and staging. Sorry to say I went to an RSC Shakespeare that was meh [also been to wonderful Shakespeare at the Globe].
But a student production that was top rate. No need to rely on big theatres.

I think when you are in you sort of process everything at once - whereas if you are watching on TV you have one bit at a time so the experience is lacking.
I also agree that it depends on seats they can make or break the performance for you, and it’s very personal. I’m not very tall so if I have a tall person sitting in front of me in stalls - it’s ruined.

I’m finding I’m appreciating theatre more as I’m getting older. Saw The Spy who came in from the cold recently and have tickets to see Silence of the lambs this summer, both locally.

I absolute can’t bear musicals however and have an almost visceral discomfort reaction to them. I can’t quite put my finger on why but some of it is that everything is So Exaggerated. I find the acting is mediocre and the singing and placement of songs feels like a lazy way to move a story along. Doesn’t help that once someone who loves musicals discovers my opinion they seem determined to be evangelical about them and try and convince me I’m wrong 😄 Also the trend of making everything a frigging musical now - Back to the Future? WTF!!!! Just a perfect film, leave it the hell alone!

I realise I’m definitely in the minority with this opinion 🤣

I have to say OP, I can’t decided whether to feel impressed or exasperated by your determination to find an answer as to why you’re not enjoying theatre 😂 (I mean that lightheartedly)

I went to opera once and it absolutely wasn’t for me and I wouldn’t want to spend that money going again, but it honestly never occurred to me to seek a reason beyond ‘different people have different tastes’. I admire your desire to get to the bottom of your feelings about theatre!

though I think, initially at least, the answer is that you’re not going to live performances.

re: Yerma, I mean it’s been about 10 years since I saw it, but to my recollection

spolier alert

yes, and no

I don't get go to the theatre often but I always enjoy it when I do. I did see Nye two years ago in the cinema and it was absolutely electrifying. I also saw Macbeth with Brannagh streamed live to the cinema. I also went to see Murder on Trial where, we, the audience were the members of the jury. Extremely thought provoking and audible gasps from the audience.

If you haven't experienced it then how can you know you don't like it?

I just saw this comment too OP, and if you’re interested in the themes etc of plays (and have enjoyed studying English literature) maybe you’d find it interesting to do some reading round the plays before watching them, especially some of the classics? I have a friend who does this sort of thing as she likes to feel she isn’t missing anything, is ‘understanding’ it all, it wouldn’t be for me as I like to watch the plot unfold and get swept up in the characters stories, but it increases her enjoyment and maybe it would suit you?