ROCK N ROLL

[KATHIEB2]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 9:23am

Just saw ROCK N ROLL- what did you think? Very well acted thats a given...

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 10:06am

I saw it in London and absolutely loathed it.

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 12:45pm

It dragged a lot of the time for me. Didn't really like it that much.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 12:57pm

UGH!!!!! Pretentious, overtly arty and BORING.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/14/07 at 1:14pm

I am a HUGE Stoppard fan, and I didn't like it at all. I thought it was incredibly boring. I don't know what all of the rave reviews are about.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 8:19pm

Finally saw this today. I actually made a point of reading the play before seeing it as that can make all the difference. I also love Stoppard (especially last year's UTOPIA) but this one never gelled for me. I thought Brian Cox and Sinead Cusack were riveting and the rest of the cast was interesting but Rufus Sewall drove me up the wall with all of his mannerisms, especially the first two or three scenes of his. I was also struggling to hear a lot of the lines - I was pretty far over on the left, and just felt that I was eavesdropping on private conversations the whole time. Glad I saw it, but can't recommend it.

[postergirl]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 9:24pm

Thought it was great. It was about something. Loved Rufus Sewell. Had no trouble hearing. Nice to be presented with some ideas and some history for a change of pace.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 9:35pm

I enjoyed the show!

[jordangirl]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 9:45pm

I enjoyed it as well. I like being challenged mentally/academically, and this did it. Not saying I don't like fun and fluff sometimes, but I like the challenging stuff more as a rule.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 9:55pm

i posted this elsewhere on the board but i saw it this weekend and while i thought some scenes were electric, overall i was disappointed.

rufus sewell was terrible. his mannerisms drove me up the wall and i couldnt understand him. i also was completely confused by the different accents he used- only at the very end did i realize that Rufus speaking "British" was Rufus speaking Czech and Rufus speaking with a Czech accent was Rufus speaking English.

brian cox and sinead cusack were brillant but could have used more stage time. the scenes that took place in prague dragged on WAY too long.

beautiful production of a really dull play, i thought.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 10:33pm

I hated this show. I found it dreadfully dull and uninteresting. The best part about it was the musical interludes between scenes. I wish I had left at intermission, to be quite honest.

[jaystarr]

Posted: 2/20/08 at 10:55pm

I still have not seen the show... I have TDF ticket but I just did not go bec. I was not feeling well the night before...and dont wanna wake up and take the bus early in the morning.. I am supposed to see this with frogs_fans....oh wel.. I guess.. I did not miss much , huh?

I'll take your word- ed

J*
Updated On: 2/20/08 at 10:55 PM

[HeddaG]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 9:35am

Like a number of others have said - I'm a huge Stoppard fan and had great hopes for this. I grabbed tickets right away and was so excited about the cast. But as much as I wanted to like it - I felt disappointed. Didn't hate it but wouldn't recommend it unless you're a big fan of Stoppard and want to see everything he's written.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 10:54am

Hard to tell about the quality of the play, because the production was so dreadful. Just when I started to feel a flicker of interest in what was going on, there'd be an interminable scene change: that black curtain would come down and I'd be sitting in the dark listening to over-amped rock music, looking at projections telling me that Nick Mason played tympani and cymbals on WELCOME TO THE MACHINE.

Shame on Trevor Nunn. Shame on Stoppard for allowing it.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 11:25am

The changes in-between scenes were incredibly loud and choppy. I also don't know why it received such rave reviews, it is is a good idea, but maybe it is better reading it. The show is targeted for a small audience. I wish I saw another show like August or Sunday.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 11:54am

yeah i should add that the scene changes were also pretty awful and distracting. i love that music but the breaks between each scene destroyed the flow and i found myself thinking "what am i doing here?"

pretty crappy production.

[keen on kean]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 1:46pm

When I read this play, I kept thinking - movie script, especially with Stoppard's use of the term "smash cuts" to describe the music interludes used to mark scene changes and the passage of time. Intellectually I understood the use of the music (most of it music that I know and love), but it drained away all of the emotional content from the scenes. I don't mind being challenged - heaven knows a twelve-hour marathon of UTOPIA took some mental courage, and I loved it - but you have to be careful not to lose me on the journey. Max should have been the main character, but they kept throwing it back to Jan whom I didn't care for. Jan is probably largely autobiographical in some respects, but not sympathetic, or not as sympathetic as Stoppard may have intended for which I hold Sewall responsible.

[sanda]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 4:16pm

I have to disagree. I think Rufus's Jan is the best part in the play. I feel very related to him instead of Max' over-the-top character. I think it depends on your own personal experience.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 2/21/08 at 8:22pm

It was over my head, and not a very good show to see right after contemplating the modern and surelist art at the MET. I wish I brushed up on my history and 60's music before hand.

[cisic]

Posted: 2/22/08 at 9:15am

I thought it was good, but not great. The first act was in dire need of cutting. The second act was more successful because the plot was tighter. I understood the purpose of the rock music, but like others on this board, felt the scene changes took too long and threw you out of the action.

Rufus Sewell was the highlight. His acting was committed, believable, and without any vanity. Brian Cox was a huge disappointment. He played his character on one note the whole evening.