945 Hard to ignore
“A show you can’t refuse! Great script, great actors! Renly Hall's performance makes every minute of the work a pleasure. Six hours is too short. Bold and brave, delicate and profound, wonderful and magnificent, this is a film that no one should miss. repertoire.”
As a top player in the industry, Alistair Smith’s authority goes without saying..
In the "stage" newspaper, Alistair first made a short review in concise language, published it on the front page, and commented on this high-profile work; then he also wrote a short review of the in-depth drama that followed. In the review section, a detailed review of nearly 3,000 words was published, expressing his love and admiration eloquently..
Any reader who is familiar with Alistair can deeply feel that this theater critic's ecstasy and devotion have been absent for a long time, even in the past few years with "Matilda" and "Jump Out of Me". "Heaven and Earth", nothing could make Alistair lose his temper like this; let alone other drama critics in the industry.？
Different from the movie scoring system, theater critics in London's West End use a five-star rating system. "Matilda" and "Out of My World" both received four and a half stars under Alistair's writing. Recommended; and this time the Almeida Theater version of "Les Misérables" won a five-star recommendation.
This is the only five-star Alistair has received since the new century.
Not in the newspaper, but when Alistair was chatting with fellow theater critics, he said, "If possible, I would give it five and a half stars. The reason for the extra half star is that it was specially given to Renly." - Hall's. The only regret is that the other actors in the work still need time to polish. Tom Holland, Charlotte Kennedy and Michelle Dockery's performances are very good, but they are not as good as Blue. Compared with the etiquette, they still seem inferior..”
Striving for excellence and even finding faults is the job of theater critics. They need to criticize a play from all aspects. There is no such thing as perfection in this world, especially for stage plays. Different performances of the same play Performances, levels and states may all be different. Each performance challenges perfection, and each performance surpasses the perfection of the previous one..
With just this review by Alistair, the Almeida Theater's version of "Les Misérables" has laid the foundation for success. In the theater circle, authoritative theater critics have such appeal; what's more, This time, apart from Alistair, there were also many theater critics who expressed their approval..
Nick Morris, who has written theater reviews for The Times for many years and occasionally writes for The Stage, is another authoritative theater critic in the industry and is known for his sharp style..
“Six hours is indeed a long time, as long as a century. Therefore, those impatient audiences, or those who want to pretend to be stylish with their female companions, can stay away from the Almeida Theater. You will hate this show. repertoire, it doesn't even give you time to sleep.
If I were to list the shortcomings, I could list hundreds of them and advise every viewer to stay away from this show.
I know John Corder’s artistic pursuit, his desire to present the era described by Victor Hugo, and to recreate that history, that society, and those tasks; but, Jesus Christ, it is already the 21st century , who cares about such an old story? Audiences can no longer tolerate even a two-hour art film. Who wants to sit in a dark theater for six hours?？
I also know about John Corder's artistic processing. He did capture the essence of the original work and truly showed the magnificent social situation; however, this is too dull and boring. Corder seems to have lost his ability to interpret and is just refining. The original work has no views or opinions of its own. In this regard, it is even worse than Cameron Mackintosh..
Look, shortcomings, shortcomings, still shortcomings. This is art. Every art has a different way of interpretation. Every reader and every viewer can interpret their own things in their mind. This is the greatest thing about art. So, is the Almeida Theater's version of 'Les Miserables' really that bad?？
No, on the contrary, I think this is the most outstanding work in London's West End since the millennium. There is no one..
Renly Hall, this is the answer.
This 22-year-old actor is a genius. He seems to be born for this stage. Standing on the stage, every move and smile is natural. Everything is so natural and contains The huge energy passes through the skin and body, truly shocking the soul.
Playing the role of Jean Valjean, Hall's performance spanned from his youth to his old age. He performed it easily and in one go. Wonderful, this is the only exclamation. Of course, several of Hall's monologues showed the top of the West End. level, but personally, my favorite is a transition scene without lines..
Near the end of the play, the play reached a sublimated and in-depth moment. Hall only used one step to get up, one step forward, and one pause. His smooth performance distilled the weight of the entire work. This actor's performance is full of spirituality and depth. It is not polished at all, but it can be freely released. It is so beautiful that it makes people dazzled..
God, I love this actor..
For many years, since the death of Laurence-Oliver, we have not found such a talented actor, with lines, singing, body, body, expression, and even eyes, the kind of soul that explodes from the inside out. Energy, addictive.
How many reasons do you need to like a play? For me, just one.”
In his long review, Nick gave all the words of praise without hesitation, and continued his usual tricky and harsh style, clearly stating his personal feelings and attitudes. What is even more interesting is that , in terms of ratings, he also gave the highest rating of five stars.——
Even in his longer career, Nick has only a handful of five-star reviews. However, this is not surprising, because in the review, he has compared Renly to Laurence Olivier..
Laurence Olivier, one of the greatest Shakespearean actors in British history.
Lawrence is the pinnacle of understanding and control of Shakespeare's plays and stage performances. He is a well-deserved legend. He has been in London's West End for nearly sixty years, and later also entered the film field. Not only did he receive a lot of recognition from Oscars; His performance was deeply loved by celebrities, and he was awarded different knighthoods three times - the highest title reached the level of baron to express his respect..
By the way, George Hall is a baron..
1984In 2006, the highest award for British dramas and musicals was named the "Oliver Award" to honor this legendary star's status in film history; now, the British Olivier Award and the American Tony Award are jointly called the highest awards in the theater industry, and their lofty status is even More than the Oscars are to the film field.
In addition, after Lawrence died in 1989, he was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Now, Nick mentioned Laurence Olivier in his review of the play. Any language becomes pale and feeble. Just this analogy is enough to show Nick's admiration and love..
But, this is Nick. He hates to the extreme, loves to the extreme, always has such ups and downs, and is not worried about the possibility of bringing trouble to himself or Renly..
In the Times, Nick also wrote a short review, "An actor who is hard to ignore, feel the ultimate shock of the performance! Excellent viewing experience! God, what are you waiting for?？”
The concise words are laced with a hint of ridicule and excitement. Those who are familiar with them can even picture Nick's roaring and excited face in their minds, as if his eyes are widening, and he is shouting in surprise and excitement, "What are you waiting for?"？”
From Alistair Smith to Nick Morris, these two authoritative drama critics in the industry started from two different audience levels and immediately spread the excellent reputation of "Les Misérables"..
Relatively speaking, the influence of "stage" newspapers is still limited to real professionals. Only stage drama enthusiasts and art practitioners will subscribe and pay attention. However, although the audience is relatively narrow and the sales volume is not Not high, but the circulation rate is very profound. According to the survey, after every newspaper is sold, it will be circulated to at least six audiences.——
To put it simply, a theater lover bought today's "stage". During afternoon tea, after reading through it, his friends would also take it over and read it. This number is at least six.
It can be seen that the depth of influence of "stage" is incomparable.
The Times, on the other hand, has a wider reach. For most general audiences, it is one of the newspapers that must be read every morning, on the subway, in the office, at breakfast time, etc. They Maybe it's just a matter of habitually flipping through the newspaper, and then coming across a review of the latest drama, and then getting attention.
In other words, the breadth of influence of The Times is second to none.
But when these two audiences cross influence, the influence of these two authorities, Alistair and Nick, is further revealed and begins to unfold in a mighty way..
At the same time, in addition to "Stage" and "The Times", other theater critics have also sent their professional reviews immediately, in newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet; the simultaneous spread is also For those who attended the premiere, the precious 350 tickets are finally waiting for the moment of reward.——
The audiences who queued up all night long to grab tickets were not only the first viewers to watch the show, but also became a few opinion leaders on the Internet.：
They can answer other netizens' questions, "Is the work really as good as Alistair Smith and Nick Morris said?" "What kind of experience is it to watch the play up close and live?" "Did Renly Hall really give another top performance?"？”
Answer: yes.
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