Royal Shakespeare Bewertungen 

The Buddha of Suburbia Review

Introduction

The play, The Budda of Suburbia is based on Hanif Kureishi’s award winning 1990 novel. It was directed and adapted for the theatre by Emma Rice and Hanif Kureishi. The story is semi-autobiographic and is about a dual heritage, 17-year-old boy called Karim Amir and his family and friends in the suburbs of London.

Storyline

In the Buddha of suburbia, Karim’s race and class played a significant part in his life. At the very beginning of the play Karim explained to the audience about his school life, about him being a victim of racism and the way he was treated. Later, in the play Jamila’s (Karim’s best friend) husband (Changez) was attacked by a racist gang who made fun of him being Indian. These points are important to include in the play to show that Karim was affected by racism.



Karim’s class in England also affected his childhood, we were told that Karim’s family, when they were in India, did not work and they had freedom. This in the play is represented by playing cricket. When they moved to England Karim’s Dad (Haroon) had to work, he struggled to find work, having never done so before, so he became a Buddhist (the Buddha of Suburbia). This is how the class system is mentioned in the play.

Set

The set of the play was created well, there was a large platform on the actual stage where the door and garden were attached to, and the upstairs was positioned diagonally up from the platform. I think this was cleverly built to be able to see everyone at one time.

Also, the actors would occasionally get changed at the back of the stage where everyone could see them, they would never change into a different character, (many of the actors played multiple characters throughout the play) just a different outfit. I found this interesting that the cast was almost inviting the audience backstage.

Performance

The overall performance was amazing, it was well polished and perfected and all the actors were outstanding. The parts that I particularly liked were when Karim would talk to the audience explaining the moment whilst everyone else on the stage were frozen or in slow motion. I think that this works well to focus the people’s attention on Karim and to what he was saying.

I also found that the lighting and sound played a huge part in what the atmosphere and scene was like and the way that they created the outside and the inside depended quite a lot on the lighting and sound.

Conclusion

I would definitely recommend this play, it is funny, the actors are brilliant and there is never a dull moment. One of my favourite parts of the play is how none of the actors ever break character and they always focus on what they are doing and not anyone else (like the in sync dancing). I think that that is what makes the play so professional and with no mistakes.

The think that the one thing that was a bit confusing was when the actors played multiple characters, for example when the same actress who had played Karim’s mother (Margert) also played his lover (Elenor), I first found this misleading but later I managed to catch on.

I can't comment on the shows they do, but the customer service is non existent. I have purchased the tickets for me and my daughter to go to see a show and by mistake when entering my email address I made an error (totally my fault), after realising it, I email them via provided contact details to advise what happened and requested if they could sent me tickets to the right email address which I provided, I hear absolutely nothing from them. Chased them multiple times on different emails I could find on the web and heard nothing.

Many thanks,
Asta

We are frequent visitors to the RSC at Stratford. Went to see Midsummers Nights Dream on 29th March. Unfortunately the sound quality was quite poor and a lot of the dialogue was inaudible. We were sat in the Circle facing the front of the stage. We spoke to one of the Staff members at the interval but they didn't seem too interested. We along with a number of others left before the start of the 2nd half.

The box of Delights is delivered mostly in a harsh, shouty, almost aggressive tone. Not very enjoyable! Not condusive to sending my imagination on an exciting flight of fantasy.

I rarely write reviews but on this occasion, I feel motivated to do so.
My grandson is doing is GCSEs this coming year; they started Macbeth last year and it will continue to be one of their GCSE texts this year. I thought I would take him and three friends to see a live performance. We live in a London suburb and I am aware Macbeth is coming to the Globe in October, but I have been attending RSC productions for years and never been disappointed so I thought we would travel to Stratford and make a night of it. We had a quiz during the car journey and I was impressed how well they knew and understood the play.
So, to the production. I love the RSC. This is the first time my grandson has attended a live production.
Reviewer Katy Roberts, in the Central Drama Review, uses the word self-indulgent. Absolutely. My own view is that this production is for the director/ producer and whoever else decided on the approach. It is not for the audience.

Instead of just over two hours, over three hours in length.
The pace of the play failed.
We have Queen Duncan. She then appears at the end as a different character.
Banquo is also played by a woman. A Scottish female playing the part of Banquo might have worked but not when she alters Banquo's character. At certain moments Banquo resembled a Scottish comedian, who is no doubt very funny BUT Banquo is not funny.
Malcolm and Donalbain are also played by women; also they do not present the characters in a way that as either my grandson and friends, or I, could recognise.
Lady Macbeth was weak and did not present as the ambitious, driving force I have understood her to be.
As for the Porter's scene - had I been at Comedy Central or the Apollo then it would have been appropriate.
Finally, the fight between Macbeth and Macduff at the end - on and on, with all the effectiveness of a wrestling match.
I am a retired educator. My message to pupils when they were writing a story etc. was to remember to consider their audience. I would agree with the term - self-indulgent. I was very disappointed.

Appaling seating in swan theatre -hard and unstable - moves everytime someone in the same row moves
Little cushioning in seat base
Now have back pain the next day
And these are a replacement to the previous seating which was just as bad

We as a pensioner and daughter went to see the production of As You Like It on the 1st August 23 at the RSC Stratford on Avon.
On the RSC website there is no facility for the public to leave reviews of their plays, hence leaving one here.
Never having seen 'As You Like It' we had no idea what to expect. The actors were in casual clothes with no set, almost as though it was a rehearsal. We had no idea what was happening, there appeared no story that was followable, the whole production was rather bizarre and disjointed.
So disappointed we left at the interval. Thankfully as local residents we only paid £20 for two tickets.
As a first visit to a RSC production it was awful.

Unfortunately I didn't watch a play as the one showing was not suitable for those under 14.

We had a lovely time in the cafe and wandering about. Cannot fault the courtesy and knowledge of staff but this was spoilt by the policy not to accept cash. How many are budgeting and having to use cash but now can't access the many wonderful books, games etc in there. You have excluded some individuals by this policy I hope it is overturned when you come to discuss it again.

We have been to many performances at this theatre over the years but this was our first time doing the 'behind the scenes' tour.

Just amazing the work, commitment and passion that everyone puts in to enabling these performances

A friendly, knowledgeable guide, with an obvious passion for the theatre showed us 'behind the velvet curtain' to see costumes, lighting, sound and stage and we had a rare visit to the wings that made this a trip to remember!

Not to mention the Shakespeare museum with its interactive displays and a rare original copy of the 2nd portfolio... Just a tremendous hour that even engaged our teenage children.

Just a shame there are only 5 stars to give!

We watched a good performance of Alls Well That Ends Well. The actors were great and the staff were friendly.

We were also able to take a tour of the theatre from knowledgeable tourguides and look around the museum which was really interesting.

There is also a shop which was full of lovely items I wanted to buy.

The only disappoinment was the food from the cafe, which wasn't the best. Hopefully this was a one off and would be better on another visit.

So disappointing. Cancelled the performance a few days before we were due to visit, too late to cancel trains and hotel etc. - refunded ticket price but ignored several messages when trying to raise a complaint on the matter. Clearly don’t care about the customers.

If this is due to Covid 19 I understand but customer service certainly leaving something to be desired.

Really great experience and friendly staff

If you visit Stratford-Upon-Avon set aside a couple of hours to visit the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Unfortunately I didn't have time to see any productions but had a coffee and a wander around the place. No charge to go in, large gift shop, two coffee shops and a bar, lovely.