Poor Jonathon - It must be terrible to suffer from dyspepsia, it does tend to sour the disposition. I recommend a good dose of antacids, or alternatively a cup of tea and a good lie down!

Walter, it would seem that Mr Raynor is a member of your audience. That of course means that he is of no importance at all. And I'm sure someone will be along shortly to threaten to sue him.
And this is why there has been no discussion of any matter of import on this site for a long time.
We either get swamped with pathetic twelve year old wannabees who don't have the energy or intelligence to actually do a bit of research of their own or by people who simply want to crow about getting into a course. If someone (other than Gordon, God bless him.) attempts to write something other than a sycophantic paean of praise they get accused of defaming someone or of having an axe to grind and get moderated out of existence. Don't get me wrong I have no time for people like Ripper and the moderation of his comments is probably the best way to go despite the fact that it really doesn't sit well with me.
Anyway, I think I'd better shut up before I say something I'll regret.
So sue me.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

Mr Pratt, It is possible that you have been in this business longer than I, however it is unlikely given that I started in 1965. Not a typo.
I have been reviewed many times in terms at least as vitriolic as you were and I too have seen the faces crumble on young people as poor reviews have been read. I still believe and always will that threats to sue are inappropriate and extremely unlikely to succeed.
If you think my living in SA detaches me from this situation you are wrong.
I said then and I repeat, your actions were those of a schoolyard bully.
So sue me.
Edit: (Two days later.) I have just noticed that you do not seem to be a registered member of this site. Very interesting.

Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.
www.tonymoore.id.au

While I'm an active member of Harbour Theatre I'm not going to comment on J Raynor's review - due to other commitments I've not actually seen the play so can't comment - those are his thoughts and he is entitled to them.

But to judge a whole theatre company based on just one performance ("Lets just say that will be the last time I go to that theatre") is very puerile. Every theatre, every play/musical/performance will be different. There are too many variables. Each play has a different director, cast, crew, FOH and a different audience and just because you didn't like ONE show you condemn Harbour and never what to see anything there again? How can you possibly extrapolate that one experience to generalise about the theatre.

Over the years I've seen my fair share of bad plays in a lot of different venues, but that doesn't stop me from going back to those theatres, because I know that companies can have good days and bad days. Sometimes what sounded like a good idea didn't quite come off in the execution. Or one of the actors was off colour and not able to give their best performance on the night. Or a CD got stuck and the sound effect was a couple of seconds late. Or the coffee was too hot/cold at interval. Or any number of things that can, and do, go wrong from time to time. And this occurs in both 'community' and 'professional' theatre. Would you condemn the whole of the West End if you saw ONE bad performance? Or even two, three?

I'm not saying that we are of the calibre of the West End, but Harbour Theatre has been around for 45 years, and if we where putting on consistently bad plays then our audience (or lack of) would have let us know and we would have folded a long time ago.

I hope, J Raynor, that we'll see you back at Harbour again sometime. Hopefully you'll have a better experience. Maybe the food will be better at Clancy's (BTW we have absolutely no control over that!). But if not, no worries - you can't please everyone all the time. And some people you can't please any time...

Thank you Robtag and Smiley - the two most worthwhile comments on this entire thread. Theatre is entertainment - if you are an actor/writer/playwright, and you read a bad review and that destroys you, then perhaps you should choose another industry... People will always have their opinions on a show, whether good or bad. Wouldn't it be worse if you were a performer and had nothing but people inflating your ego and telling you how wonderful it was?? When perhaps there genuinely were some failures and faults in your performance?? I've been around the performing arts long enough to know that sometimes, on some days, it just doesn't work. Everyone has off-days, thats the way it is. And fair enough, Jonathon presented quite a scathing review of the show - but as a paying member of the audience, he had a right to. And perhaps, from the sounds of other people who have seen the show and commented on this thread, maybe he did just see one of the worse shows put on during this particular show run. Big deal. Good on you Jonathon, for speaking your mind and writing a clearly-written, albeit unhappy, review of the show. Forums like this, and of course the entire theatre/performing arts industry in general, need less cliquey 'yes-men' and more people willing to tell it like it is.

David Dalton
Digital Media Coordinator
Arts Hub Australia
dave@artshub.com.au

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