Tag: John Harris

The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd by DH Lawrence, Orange Tree Theatre, 6 September 2014

This was Paul Miller’s first production having assume the reins at the Orange Tree.

We were pretty impressed, although we were looking forward a bit more to the modern works we had booked to see later in the season.

This was a very slick production; well directed, well produced and skillfully acted.

It is a grim play, though. mercifully not too long for its period – or perhaps Paul Miller was prepared to cut a bit, whereas Sam Walters was always orthodox as far as the text was concerned.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource on this production.

Below is a vid in which Paul Miller explains himself:

The reviews were good – deservedly so – click here for a link to them.

Did we chow down at Don Fernando after the show? By ‘eck we did.

 

 

It Just Stopped by Stephen Sewell, Orange Tree Theatre, 22 February 2014

A curates egg of a play, this. Good in parts. Irritating in others. It is set in an apartment block in which a pair of Manhatten sophisticates are thrown together with a vulgar pair of Melbournites when their tower apartment block has a total blackout.

Here is the Orange Tree resource on the play – sadly lacking the cast and creatives (but they are nevertheless tagged in this Ogblog piece).

Here is a link to a search term that finds other resources on this play/production.

Below is a Vimeo of the cast talking about the play:

I recall we enjoyed the first half of this one more than the second half. Still, we were glad to have seen it and went to Don Fernando for some Spanish grub afterwards.

Loves Comedy by Henrik Ibsen, Orange Tree Theatre, 17 November 2012

Sometimes there is a reason why a great playwright’s early works don’t see the light of day.

This early Ibsen is a cautionary tale.

Worse, in the hands of the old-style Orange Tree orthodoxy, text that doesn’t deserve such respect is given the full length treatment…

…I don’t think we stuck the two hours and forty minutes of this one.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource on this one.

Not all that many reviews but surprisingly good ones – this search term finds the reviews for you.

I never thought I’d see the day that Janie and I couldn’t stick an Ibsen.

The White House Murder Case by Jules Feiffer, Orange Tree Theatre, 20 October 2012

My weekend pages are a blank at this time, but by a process of elimination Janie and I must have seen this play on 13 October or 20 October 2012. Janie’s diaries (currently in the attic) might help solve that tiny element of the case.

At the time, in 2012, this cartoon-like 1970s play about some bizarre future White House regime, set about 40 years hence…i.e. about now…seemed crazy beyond belief.

Writing in 2018, I realise that the playwright, Jules Feiffer, merely lacked the imagination to envisage a Trump-like character in all his grotesqueness.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource on this play/production.

I don’t think Janie and I were overly smitten with this piece. It had its moments and some good acting – Bruce Alexander as the President I recall was a bit of a standout – but on the whole it seemed a bit silly and superficial to us.

I think the critics quite liked it on the whole – here is a link to a search on the reviews.

Yours For The Asking by Ana Diosdado, Orange Tree Theatre, 7 September 2012

A few days after the end of our Olympic/Paralympic experiences, Janie and I returned to the scene of the (alleged but utterly refuted) crime from just before the Olympics; Richmond:

Mottled Lines by Archie W Maddocks, Orange Tree Theatre, 13 July 2012

This time we saw Yours For The Asking, a Spanish play from the late Franco era in the 1970’s.

Here is the Orange Tree resource on this play/production.

We rather liked this one. It was about a model who advertises a fragrance getting embroiled in a scandal. The themes seemed very modern and relevant in 2012; a prescient play in many ways.

The plot was a little hard to swallow and Sam Walters’ orthodoxy for not shortening scripts made it drag a bit, especially the second half.

Still, it was well performed by some of the Orange tree regulars and we thought it had been a worthwhile visit.

It didn’t go down too well with most of the critics – click here for a link to reviews.

 

Play House And Definitely the Bahamas by Martin Crimp, Orange Tree Theatre, 31 March 2012

A double bill of Martin Crimp plays, the first brand new, the second an older one.

Part of the Orange Tree’s 40th anniversary celebrations and a nod to one of its bigger achievements; championing Martin Crimp’s work in the early days.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource on this double bill.

I recall us liking the first, more recent play more than we liked the older play on this evening.

They were very different and we were pleased to have seen both.

We’re not normally wild about writers directing their own work, but Crimp did a good job with these pieces.

The reviews were good too – click here for a link to them.

Reading Hebron by Jason Sherman, Orange Tree Theatre, 5 March 2011

I wanted to enjoy this play more than I did. It was written soon after the Baruch Goldstein atrocity in Hebron in the mid 1990s.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource on the play & production.

It was an excellent production and a fast moving play to be sure. David Antrobus, one of the Orange Tree regulars, was excellent as the central character Nathan.

But while the play was interesting throughout and covered many pertinent issues, it didn’t quite work for me; nor for Janie. The play is primarily about a young Canadian’s sense of collective guilt for the atrocity; for my part, I found hard to buy into the collective guilt idea.

Somewhat mixed, but most of the reviews are very good for this production – the search term linked here will find them for you.

Did we have a Spanish meal at Don Fernando’s after seeing this play? You bet.

The Promise by Ben Brown, Orange Tree Theatre, 27 February 2010

I don’t think this one really floated our boat. We liked the idea of it but it had a rather laboured feel as a piece of drama.

We were not having a good run at the theatre in the first part of 2010 and this one was part of that poor run for us.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource on the production.

I remember guessing at the time that Michael Billington would like it; he did – click here.

This search term – click here – will find you the other main reviews, most of which were luke warm.

We went for our traditional dinner at Don Fernando afterwards; I have a feeling we even skived the second half of this one.

Factors Unforeseen by Michel Vinaver, Orange Tree Theatre, 16 May 2009

This is one of those rare plays about the workplace; in this case a suntan lotion business. The impecunious Orange Tree is one of the few theatres with solid production stubs going back as far as 2009 – click here for all the details on this one.

As is often the case with workplace plays, this one didn’t quite work for us. The stage was incredibly busy – a huge cast for the tiny Orange Tree. The humour didn’t quite translate/make the grade either.

Still, it was well acted and did provide some interesting points for us to discuss over a Don Fernando Spanish meal afterwards.

 

Greenwash by David Lewis, Orange Tree Theatre, 21 February 2009

We rather liked this one, although more form the point of view of it being a well acted interesting piece on an interesting subject than it being great drama or great comedy.

You can read all about it on the Orange Tree site – here.

Janie and I describe silly or farcical comedies as being “a bit Vincent Golightly” (don’t ask, long/fictional story) and this was a bit Vincent for sure. But we enjoyed our evening in the theatre and topped it off with some Spanish food at Don Fernando, as is our Richmond habit most times.