Tag: Anthony Ward

Josephine And I by Cush Jumbo, Bush Theatre, 13 July 2013

Not normally our type of show, but we loved the idea of this one – performed cabaret style and about Josephine Baker, who had such an interesting life.

Cush Jumbo, who wrote and performed this show, is clearly a very talented young person.

We enjoyed our unusual evening at the Bush. In truth, though, we thought the show a victory of style over substance – we wanted to learn a lot more about Josephine Baker and or experience more drama. We were there very early in the run – in effect at a preview – so the show might have matured/improved after we saw it.

Click here for a link to the Bush resource on this production.

Below is a little promo vid/interview with Cush Jumbo about the show:

Click here for a link to a search term that finds the reviews – which were mostly excellent.

The show got a transfer to New York too, so our relative indifference towards the show wasn’t shared by the critics nor the producers.

Janie and I also recall running into our theatre friends John and Linda at this show – this is a couple we often see at the theatre – but because of the nature of this show we got a chance to have a proper chat with them in this cabaret-style setting of the Bush.

The Last Of The Duchess, Nicholas Wright, Hampstead Theatre, 21 October 2011

We quite liked this play. I recall it was an excellent production, very well acted and directed, but it had a slightly old-fashioned feel to it…

…perhaps that was the effect Nicholas Wright and Richard Eyre were after.

In truth, not really our sort of play. But it covered an interesting, almost comical, moment in history and we had the benefit of a superb cast to depict it.

So we were glad to have seen it, despite it not really being our type of play.

The reviews were pretty much universally good. Here is a link to term that should find all of them.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Cottesloe Theatre, 15 January 2011

Janie really isn’t into Shakespeare, but Twelfth Night is a play close to my heart, having “done it” at Alleyn’s for the Dramatic Society in 1978.

Twelfth Night, Alleyn’s School, 12, 14, 15 & 16 December 1978

Ever since, I had been keen to see productions of Twelfth Night when they came around. Further, this production with Rebecca Hall as Viola and possibly a last chance to see a by then 80 year old Peter Hall directing…Janie said yes.

In truth, I don’t think this was the best Twelfth Night I have ever seen. It was of course very well acted, directed and produced, but it was a little old-fashioned in style for my taste; it felt like the sort of Shakespeare production I might have seen at the National 20-25 years earlier. I guess I should have expected.

It certainly didn’t do anything to improve Janie’s view on Shakespeare. I explained how much better it was done in the hands of Alleyn’s schoolkids in 1978 and Janie said she could understand exactly what I must mean.

She wasn’t humouring me, was she?

“After all,” said Janie, “you are practically a reincarnation of The Bard, are you not?”

Anyway, here is a link to a search term that finds reviews and other resources on this production. The reviews are a little mixed; mostly suggesting that it was a good, but not great production, which I think sums it up pretty well.

Small Change by Peter Gill, Donmar Warehouse, 12 April 2008

I’m not too sure why we booked this. to be honest.

We had not enjoyed Cardiff East at the National 10+ years earlier, despite the presence of the wonderful (ex NewsRevue) Di Botcher in that play/production.

Small Change is a revival of one of Peter Gill’s earlier plays around similar subject matter. So why we thought we might like another of Peter Gill’s working class Welsh drab-fests I cannot imagine.

Here is a link to the Donmar’s excellent downloadable Study Guide on the production.

Anyway, we didn’t much like it, although it was a less bleak and more lyrical piece than the relentlessly miserable Cardiff East.

…you get the drift. Wonderfully well acted and produced. It was just one of those minimalist pieces that didn’t really float Janie’s or my boat.

 

 

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Almeida Theatre, 29 March 2008

We had such high hopes for this one. We love the Almeida. We loved Jesus Hopped The ‘A’ Train by the same author at the Donmar a few years ago…

…but this one didn’t really work for either of us. The acting was good, but the play left us cold and disappointed. Perhaps we were expecting too much.

The Almeida provides a superb stub that explains the conceit of the play and sets out the cast and creatives – here.

There’s a good Wikipedia entry for this play and production too. It states that the original off-Broadway production was reasonably well received, whereas the Almeida production was almost universally well received. I’m not so sure about more-or-less universal:

The Arsonists by Max Frisch, Royal Court Theatre, 3 November 2007

After an aborted evening at the Hampstead Theatre the night before, this was a much better theatre experience for us.

I have liked this play ever since I read it, hundreds of years ago…well, soon after doing Andorra by Max Frisch at school. This production at the Royal Court Theatre, performed in rep alongside Rhinoceros which we saw a few weeks earlier, promised a fresh translation and another chance to see up and coming young star Benedict Cumberbatch before he became too famous to watch.

We both really enjoyed this production. It isn’t one of Janie’s favourite plays, but the translation and production were indeed fresh. Will Keen was excellent as Biedermann.

Most of the major reviews were highly favourable and are reproduced faithfully on the Royal Court stub for this production – here.

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph thought it tailed off – here. Sarah Hemming in the FT was also less than sure – here. Philip Fisher in British theatre Guide missed the epilogue – here – (I thought its omission was a good thing, on balance).

 

Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco, Royal Court Theatre, 6 October 2007

I’ve liked this play for almost as long as I can remember; certainly since school. Janie and I saw a quirky production of this at the Lyric Hammersmith years ago, but I thought this version at the Royal Court, translated by playwright Martin Crimp might have a bit extra. It did.

Benedict Cumberbatch was a young actor on the “one to watch” list in those days; now (writing in 2016) one might pay good money to avoid him – simply because of extreme overexposure to his manifest talent, you understand.

The above link (or click here if you prefer) takes you to the Royal Court archive, which has the who’s who and excellent reviews, saving me time and effort. But the absence of Michael Billington’s name in the Royal Court resource led me to suspect that Billi-o didn’t like it and I was right – click here for his review.

Philip Fisher in British theatre Guide (also unmentioned) did like it – click here.

 

 

The Invention Of Love by Tom Stoppard, Lyttelton Theatre, RNT, 27 December 1997

We normally liked to see these “Cottesloe-type plays” at the Cottesloe, but we missed the boat with this one, seeing it a few month’s later at the Lyttelton.

Not really our cup of tea, this one. Janie isn’t all that keen on Stoppard in general and I found this one “a bit slow”.

I suspect we were both exhausted having worked all the way up to Christmas and then done the family bit for Christmas itself. I can see that Janie arranged a cab for Pauline, so I suspect this is the Christmas that Pauline came to the house and was thoroughly rude to my mum, dad, Hilary, Jacqui and Len – Len tried snipping back – good for him.

But away from the real life drama, this Stoppard drama was about A. E. Housman, with a marvellous cast, including John Wood as “the man in old age” and Paul Rhys as “a younger version of the man”. Also a selection of the usual suspects for fine National Theatre character acting, including Michael Bryant, Robin Soans, Benjamin Whitrow and John Carlisle. Richard Eyre directing – at the National for the last time. There is a Theatricalia entry – here.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard loved it:

Invention Standard de JonghInvention Standard de Jongh 02 Oct 1997, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in the Independent also loved it:

Invention Standard de JonghInvention Standard de Jongh 02 Oct 1997, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

My friend Michael Billington was also taken with it:

Invention Guardian BillingtonInvention Guardian Billington 02 Oct 1997, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Othello by William Shakespeare, Cottesloe Theatre, 2 August 1997

I don’t think Othello & I get on.

I was underwhelmed when I saw this play for the first time, with Bobbie, in 1989.

Again, this time with Janie, we saw a stellar cast and the work of a fine director (Sam Mendes rather than Trevor Nunn).

My log says:

Sadly, Janie hated it and I had pulled my neck, so we bowed out gracefully at half time. (Well, Janie bowed, I couldn’t bow of course).

My neck condition was doubtless not improved by Janie’s manifest disquiet and the length of the play. Perhaps I had overdone it the previous weekend at Andrea’s BBQ party on the Saturday and Kim & Micky’s evening do the next day.

Apologies to the fine cast who had to do without us for the second half of that evening; Simon Russell Beale, David Harewood & Claire Skinner leading the pack. Trevor Peacock, Colin Tierney, Indira Varma and others supporting well no doubt. It’s either me, or the play, or me & the play…it’s not you, loves. The Theatricalia entry gives you chapter and verse on the cast and crew.

There was a hoo-ha in the press that summer about whether or not Othello could or should be played by a white actor. Having seen Willard White in 1989 and David Harewood in 1997, I was not really party to the phenomenon that Othello is usually played by a white actor and that the play is increasingly rarely performed because some people are uncomfortable about skin colour with regard to that part.

Janie and I saw a preview long before the press night of this production – indeed before most of that press hoo-ha kicked off, which made the hoo-ha seem even more weird to us.

Anyway, Charles Spencer seemed very impressed with the production once press night came around:

Othello Spencer TelegraphOthello Spencer Telegraph 18 Sep 1997, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh seemed to quite like it in The Standard

Othello de Jongh StandardOthello de Jongh Standard 17 Sep 1997, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington found it “brilliant” in the Guardian:

Othello Billington GuardianOthello Billington Guardian 18 Sep 1997, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I am happy to concede that the critics were right and/but this simply isn’t a play for Janie and probably (even though i am far more partial to Shakespeare than she) not for me either. A pain in the neck is how I remember it.

Dona Rosita The Spinster by Federico García Lorca, Almeida Theatre, 10 May 1997

We were on quite a roll with our theatre going that spring. We thought this one was very good, as indeed we had consistently said for some time – certainly everything we had seen since our return from the Middle East.

We are both partial to a bit of Lorca, but Dona Rosita is considered to be a difficult Lorca play. This production did the piece proud.

A superb cast for this one, including Celia Imrie, Eleanor Bron, Phoebe Nicholls, Justin Salinger, Amanda Drew, Kerry Shale, Kathryn Hunter (she seemed to be everywhere at that time) with Phyllida Lloyd directing. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Our friend, Michael Billington, was suitably impressed with it.

Billington Guardian Dona RositaBillington Guardian Dona Rosita 30 Apr 1997, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul taylor in the Indy, similarly lauding it and comparing the piece with high-class Chekhov:

Paul Taylor Indy Dona RositaPaul Taylor Indy Dona Rosita 01 May 1997, Thu The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Basset in the Telegraph was less keen:

Kate Bassett Telegraph Dona RoistaKate Bassett Telegraph Dona Roista 07 May 1997, Wed The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Not for absolutely everyone, then, but certainly good enough for us!