FESTEN and History Boys question..advice needed

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:22am

Hello,

I was curious as to whether anybody knew the run times (projected or otherwise) of Festen and History Boys. I'm trying to see if i could squeeze them both into one day. I would appreciate any information. I posted this on the West End Board and i got nothing. Thanks in advance.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:45am

Hmmmmmmmm........ I'm a little confused.

On a matinee day (Wednesday or Saturday) showtimes would be 2 & 8, so unless the matinee show has a running time of over 6 hours, why would there be a problem?

Even O'Neill's Strange Interlude was "only" 5 and a half hours (and Angels in America was done in rep -- 3 hours+ a piece). From what I understand, neither History Boys nor Festen is longer than even three hours (and the shows are playing one block apart). You should have plenty of time in between the shows for dinner, shopping, sightseeing and maybe even a "quickie" back at the hotel, if you're so inclined.

Updated On: 2/5/06 at 01:45 AM

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:10am

hahaha i love it...yeah i realize afterwards it may be a little confusing. I was asking cuz i need to catch a train after the evening show sometime during the 11 o clock hour. I was asking which was the shorter so i could schedule accordingly. I thought I recalled reading that history boys was about three hours. i know all the curtain times, location, and all that , but wasn't sure about the rest. thanks.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:22am

"even a "quickie" back at the hotel, if you're so inclined."

...I feel akward...

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:35am

Alright, dear, I was just curious.

I just looked it up and in London, History Boys ran 2 hours, 50 minutes (with intermission) and Festen ran 1 hour, 50 minutes (with intermission). Make History Boys your matinee show and Festen your evening show and you should be able to be out and heading towards Penn Station (or wherever) no later that 10pm.

And keep me posted on that quickie between shows......

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:41am

Although you're probably going to want to make time for a drink after Festen, considering the material, before you make a long trip home. It's strong stuff. :)

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:42am

ahh perfect, thats what i was hoping for..the show schedule, not the quickie thanks for the help as usual margo.

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:42am

have you seen it Taboo? i've seen the celebration and ever since i heard talk of a play, ive been dying to see it.

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 2:50am

i know there is a time difference and all, but we are a hell of a lot quicker at responding to peoples questions than then the west end board. yay for us!. back to festen and history boys..

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:02am

There's a great review of the play here:

http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/festen-rev.htm

And I've seen the original movie too, it's something.

EDIT: I ordered Festen on bn.com and am waiting for it now. I got History Boys from amazon.co.uk (it's not available in the states for another month or so) and loved it, there were a lot of great moments to make you laugh and think. While I didn't know the background of many of the quotes, they were so wonderfully sprinkled in the play everything always made sense.

BTW, did you know they filmed the movie version last summer?

Updated On: 2/5/06 at 03:02 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 3:09am

Incidentally, the film version of FESTEN -- the Danish film "Celebration" -- is amazing.

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:03am

Yes, THe Celebration was amazing. I had read about the filming of The History Boys , but wasn't sure if it had been completed yet. good to know. thanks.

[Vespertine1228]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 10:51am

The History Boys is basically three hours long?!?! Wow. With Fiddler on the Roof and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? closing recently, Broadway must've been lonely for another 3-hour show.

That actually seems kind of risky though. Have any other new plays in recent memory on Broadway been three hours long? Nothing's coming to my mind.

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 1:39pm

A Touch Of The Poet was 2.40 min

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:29pm

There are a few three hour plays every season. Some recent ones that were at least 2 hours, 45 minutes:

Red Light Winter
Hurlyburly
A Streetcar Named Desire
A Raisin in the Sun
Bombay Dreams
Henry IV (3 hours, 45 minutes)
King Lear (3 hours, 25 minutes)
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 4:47pm

Don't forget the never-ending ROSE RAGE.

Other shows currently playing that nearly break 3-hours:

THE COLOR PURPLE
THE PAJAMA GAME

[broadwaygiant19122]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:06pm

how was Rose Rage? i had wanted to see it, but never got a chance...musicals usually get to the 3 hr line a bit quicker than plays.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:15pm

I thoroughly enjoyed Rose Rage. It was a very creative and clever (and bloody) adaptation of the Henry VI plays that was well-acted and dynamically paced by director Edward Hall (by the way, he used that same blood in the bucket technique that Doyle used in Sweeney - Hall and Doyle are both members of the Propeller Theatre in the UK).

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 2/5/06 at 5:18pm

And while I haven't been lucky enough to see History Boys here in the UK (tickets were impossible to get hold of), I know a lot of people who did see it and all said it was one of the best things they'd ever seen.