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.

If you can't get to the big theatres (or afford the eyewatering prices) then rather than staying at home, try going to your local cinema's live screenings instead. It really does make a difference having other audience members all around you and there's a buzz you don't get in front of the telly or laptop. Our cinema does National Theatre, Royal Ballet & Opera and a variety of other event screenings. The tickets were about £20 the last time we went a few weeks ago.

I will take you to my local theatre!

Theatre is the shared experience between the audience and the actors. Which is why you can go see the same play twice and it be different- it’s an ethereal momentary never to be replicated experience.

Theatre on screen is flat. Also theatre acting is a different style to tv/film acting and it doesn’t translate well. Part of being in the theatre and the space is your eyes scan - with film and TV the camera angle determines what you look at.

So, really I think you need to go!!

Theatre is not everyone's taste, though I would say to the OP that it is better being there in person. Sometimes cinema or watching the play at home may be the only feasible option, as there are many places in the country with limited or no theatre.

Surely in answer to your actual question “is theatre overrated?”…..isn’t that a personal thing? Surely it’s something that’s personal to an individual. I’m very old and have never seen the appeal in going to the pub, but that’s me and lots of people enjoy it. Just as some enjoy football, cinema, whatever.
I live in central London and I’ve always love theatre, although it holds no interest to me now. There was a point in my life where I’d seen everything, some of them twice if I loved them enough and tickets could be bought fairly cheaply if you’re prepared to sit up in the gods.
I do think theatre is not as accessible as it used to be….some of the costs are eye watering…and particularly you have to add in travel etc. My husband has never loved it as much as me, but he could appreciate the atmosphere of some, some amazing scenery and actors in others. I think with everything, you need to have a broad broad experience of something before you can have such an extreme opinion on it.

The Royal Opera are doing Rigoletto soon - do go if you can…

It's absolutely not the same watching it on TV. Theatre acting and TV acting are totally different for a start, and theatre acting in a huge stage like the Olivier stage is different again.

You really need to actually go before you say theatre is overrated!

I'm with you OP. I don't like the intimacy of theatre, though i enjoy theatrical productions at the cinema.
When i tell people they are amazed, as though i'd confessed something horrible.
Cinema for me, any time.
You might enjoy this
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So accurate

OP, try and see something good, live.

Theatre can be very expensive but you can also see amazing stuff at affordable prices.

Sign up to sites such as Central Tickets, look out for shows in advance and book for previews. Or get ‘rush’ tickets on TodaysTix or £10 tickets for the following week on the National Theatre Friday Rush.

Try out a few live shows.

Theatres is made to be live, to have immediacy between stage and audience.

You may or may enjoy it. Maybe not your thing. But that doesn’t make it ‘over rated’

Sorry, another poster got there before me

That’s true — I sometimes think we should have different terms for stage acting vs screen acting, they’re such different things. Some people only really do one or the other, like I don’t think I’d have come across the ridiculously brilliant Simon Russell Beale if I hadn’t gone to the NT a lot when I lived in London. He’d done very little film or tv then. Ditto someone like Alex Jennings. Or the Irish actress Olwen Fouré. Fiona Shaw has done a lot of TV and some film in more recent years, but she was mesmerising on stage long before that. Or there’s an Irish actor called Mikel Murfi who’s had a few bit parts in film but is an astonishing stage actor. And I find Cillian Murphy way more interesting on stage.

I think overrated is the wrong word. People are clearly spending hundreds of pounds a year going - there must be something good about it to them. Theatre is expensive and something like opera is even more so, but somepeople adore it and think it’s worthwhile. If it’s not to your taste then say that, but I don’t think even that’s a fair judgement when you’ve only seen one big theatrical production live.

This is so true. One of the reasons why British theatre actors are so in demand in the US is the fact that they are so well trained in actual, real acting.

Yes I think it's a bit overrated too. Though I do enjoy it when I go, it's not exactly a comfortable experience, costs a fortune if you actually want to have a good view, then there's the queuing for the toilets etc. The most captivating productions I've seen were at the Edinburgh fringe, not at proper theatres. I've had some very underwhelming experiences watching famous actors.
If you live or work nearby and can access last minute tickets, or get given free tickets, it is totally different from having to plan tickets and travel far in advance, pay top weekend prices because that's the only time you can get there, etc.

If you live or work nearby and can access last minute tickets, or get given free tickets, it is totally different from having to plan tickets and travel far in advance, pay top weekend prices because that's the only time you can get there, etc.

I think that’s a really fair point. Most of the theatregoing I’ve done was when I was living in London and could go on a weeknight after work, possibly getting a cheap rush ticket. It meant I was willing to take a chance on things I wouldn’t have done if I’d had to do a 4 hour train journey to London, pay for accommodation etc. I can see that if you’re doing all that, you’d want it to be really spectacular.

I actually think moving theatre doesn’t need a spectacular setting. Evita doesn’t have this. We saw Shirley Valentine - one women and it was Sheridan Smith. Minimal scenery for Jerusalem with Mark Rylance. These are not block buster performances but they are showcasing superb acting and are memorable for different reasons. Yes, tickets are not cheap but we choose wisely and what we believe we will enjoy.

I’ve seen dozens of NTLive productions over the years at the cinema. Mostly been hits, some have been misses. Absolutely love it, yes it’s not the same as being there in the room but it really is the next best thing. In fact I prefer to see them in the cinema than at home, even if there aren’t that many folk in the cinema it feels more like an event on the big screen. There is no way I’d be able to go and see so many in London, it would cost me hundreds each time.

I have a new found love for West End musicals and have been to many in recent years and most of them were amazing. The standard of singing, the beautiful sets, incredible atmosphere and set design. Am lucky to live in London so it is easy for me. But no, I think they are underrated if anything.

If you want "staging", go to Disneyland. They build all kinds of big fake sets there.

If you want photo-realistic backgrounds, watch a movie.

Great theatre is about the communal experience of watching great storytellers (actors, writers and technicians) coming together on one night to tell you all a compelling story. Yes, the atmosphere is part of it.

I absolutely love the theatre, musicals in particular, and have been lucky enough to see many many productions (not so often recently as prices are very expensive these days) - but I’ve loved every performance I’ve been to.

Also, "big" theatre is not what makes great theatre.

@icreatedascene If you're looking for a technically, accessible and child-friendly show, The Lion King would be a fantastic introduction to live theatre. Get seats in the stalls if you can.

Where in the country are you OP?

I’ve only been to the West End once, as a child, to see Lion King and it was amazing.

I’m local to Sheffield and have seen lots of equally amazing musicals and plays at the Lyceum theatre. There are many great theatres all over the UK, not just London.

To me the experience of seeing a play live is like nothing else and something I will prioritise paying for.

I will say that I’ve had some awful evenings when it hasn’t worked - it’s risky. Probably the worst ever was Indian Ink - a big, high end production, Stoppard wrote it, Felicity Kendal starred. It was so dull that I fell asleep and I didn’t see another play for a while. When Stoppard died I noted that it seemed to have disappeared from his biography. Likewise seeing a Russian play with John Hurt and Helen Mirren - I just didn’t care about any of it.

But then there are nights when the magic happens and there is simply nothing like it. I went with a few school friends to see Noises Off when we were 15, the original production - I have never laughed like that before or since, the entire theatre was packed and roaring. Taking ds to see Ben Hur at the Kiln Theatre, again absolutely hilarious. Most of all Macbeth at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. It was less than a year after Dh died and something weird happened. Michelle Terry was Lady Macbeth and I thought she was me. It wasn’t a classic hundreds of years old, or an out-there tragedy, it was my life and dh’s life, being acted out in front of me. I locked eyes with Macbeth at one point and felt like I’d been hit. Actually before Dh died we went to see King Lear at a production near us and watched him break down and destroy his life… Shakespeare knew so much about mental illness. I was changed by those evenings.

YANBU, I'm the same. Can't see the appeal but to each their own. Theatre used to be one of the most sophisticated ways to be into society and entertain yourself, now it's simply not anymore. Vinyl record players are also in the same category for me, you can be a collector and genuinely and enjoy it all but to most people it's just inconvenient and that's ok.