Birthday by Joe Penhall, Royal Court Theatre, 14 July 2012

After all the excitement of the previous evening at the Orange Tree in Richmond:

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

…this evening at the theatre seemed remarkably sedate and incident free.

We are fans of Joe Penhall’s writing – in particular we thought Blue/Orange was a cracking good play. This one, with a stellar cast at the Royal Court, sounded intriguing.

Here is a link to the Royal Court resource on this play/production.

The conceit of the play is the idea that there is a new procedure that enables the man, rather than the woman, to carry a baby through pregnancy and birth.

 

Below you can see the trailer:

The idea does have lots of room for comedy, but in truth we found it rather obvious comedy and thought the piece was a little underwhelming.

It was well received by the audience our night, not least my friend John from the gym who was sitting near us.

It got reasonable/mixed reviews – click here for a link that finds them.

Rope by Patrick Hamilton, Almeida Theatre, 19 December 2009

We weren’t as keen on this one as we had hoped to be, given the synopsis and the fact that the Almeida was going through a purple patch at that time.

I’m not sure that Patrick Hamilton works for us on the stage – indeed we have recently at the time of writing (May 2017) passed up an opportunity to see one of his in the forthcoming Hampstead Theatre run.

We’re becoming an increasingly picky pair these days. We tend to avoid booking much in that pre-Christmas period also, now, given the nightmare journeys that often ensue at that time of year.

Anyway, here is the Almeida on-line resource about the play and production, which includes information, review links, photos and even a vid from the rehearsals.

It was of course an excellent production and very well acted. I think it was the play that didn’t quite do it for us. Janie and I like 1920’s and 1930’s styles generally, but strangely we don’t tend to like plays/the theatrical style of that era.

The reviews – mostly very good but not great – are mostly linked from the Almeida resource – here’s that link again.

For some reason British Theatre Guide doesn’t usually make it to those links – Philip Fisher makes good points in this review, not least that the play is quite long compared with the much vaunted Hitchcock film version.

Skimming the reviews reminds me how very well acted and produced the piece was, it just wasn’t really our type of piece.

Still, we’re both glad we caught this production; I have little doubt that this production is as good as it gets for Rope.

England People Very Nice by Richard Bean, Olivier Theatre, 7 February 2009

Janie and I really liked this play/production, well summarised on the Official London Theatre site – click here. It is basically about migration to/through London from the late 16th century until today.

It’s a slightly show-bizzy play, with some of the humour being a little obvious, plus some singing and dancing thrown in. Which doesn’t sound like our sort of play. Yet, there was an interesting enough narrative line and some fabulous performances to keep us interested throughout.

We saw a preview, so were unaware, when we discussed the play/production afterwards, how much it would divide the critics.

Quite a mixture of opinions. Mark Espiner’s analysis of the reviews from the Guardian might help – click here.

A very memorable show for me, which is an element of praise indeed. Olivia Coleman and Michelle Terry were standout performances among many good ones.

I wonder how the piece would come across to me now, in our Brexity times (writing in April 2017) – would my sense of humour still be in tune with it, or should I say would the play’s sense of humour now be in tune with mine?

The Rose Tattoo by Tennessee Williams, Olivier Theatre, 9 April 2007

A rare visit to the theatre on a Monday – this was Easter Monday.

Janie and I both love a bit of Tennessee Williams and we had only seen an amateur production of the Rose Tattoo before – at the Questors some 10 years earlier.

This was a top notch production at the National – no holds barred.

Zoe Wannamaker was exceptional.

Critics seemed to think the production and performances masked a less than brilliant play – I think I probably agree with that analysis – click here for a link to reviews.

Below is the trailer from the 1955 movie – very different style:

The Blue Room by David Hare, (adapted from Arthur Schnitzler), Donmar Warehouse, 26 September 1998

By gosh there was a fuss in the UK press about this one, with theatre journalists falling over themselves to heap praise, in particular on Nicole Kidman, essentially for looking the part and being able to act.

We had tickets for the first Saturday, because back then, as members of the Donmar, that was the sort of thing we did, especially if someone as grand as David Hare was credited with writing a whole new version of a play.

The play, originally known as La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler, was highly controversial when it was written at the turn of the 20th century. There are 10 characters. David Hare’s version at Sam Mendes’s request at The Donmar (subsequently transferred to the Cort Theatre in New York) was not the first time the play was staged as a two-hander. It starred Iain Glen and Nicole Kidman.

Janie and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening, but probably for all the wrong reasons. My log comment speaks volumes:

Nice bodies, shame about the play.

Having been wowed by David Hare’s wonderful solo performance piece Via Dolorosa the week before…

…Janie and I found The Blue Room to be comparatively thin dramatic gruel.

Still, nice bodies as I (and the fawning journalists) said, plus a bizarre moment for me personally. Janie and I were sitting right at the front at one of the sides of the stage, as oft we did at the Donmar. As the stars took their final bow and departed the stage, Nicole Kidman seemed to look straight at me and wave at me with her fingers. One of Janie’s patients was in the audience that night and came up to us as we were leaving the theatre in a state of great excitement, because she had seen Nicole Kidman waving at me. The patient wondered whether I knew Nicole Kidman personally, to which my answer was, “not until this evening”.

25 years later, all I can say is that me and Nicole, we go back a long way.

Here are some of the fawning newspaper pieces. The Standard, seemingly without irony, devoted its Page 3 to the news & review. Frankly some of the language used in this Standard page would not be acceptable 25 years later:

Blue Room Standard Blue Room Standard 23 Sep 1998, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph was blown away by Kidman’s bravura performance:

Blue Room Spencer TelegraphBlue Room Spencer Telegraph 23 Sep 1998, Wed The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

In the Guardian, there is a gushing piece in The Arts Diary which, like the other papers, probably would get heavily edited or spiked today, while our friend Michael Billington did the worthy thing and reviewed Our Country’s Good at The Young Vic instead. (Janie and I went to see that the following spring when it came back from its tour.)

Blue Room & Our Country's Good Guardian BillingtonBlue Room & Our Country’s Good Guardian Billington 19 Sep 1998, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Unexpected Man by Yasmina Reza, Duchess Theatre, 25 July 1998

Performed without an interval. Not special.

That was our verdict on this one.

Michael Gambon & Eileen Atkins couldn’t save this slight play for us.

Yasmina Reza was all the rage at that time, not least because of Art, so this play transferred for a while – indeed we missed it at The Pit, seeing it at The Duchess (but not WITH The Duchess).

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard really liked it:

de Jongh Standard Unexpectedde Jongh Standard Unexpected 16 Apr 1998, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in the Independent was less sure:

Taylor Independent UnexpectedTaylor Independent Unexpected 17 Apr 1998, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Let’s leave the casting vote to our friend Michael Billington. “A bit too self-consciously exquisite for my carnivorous taste.” So there we have it.

Billington Guardian UnexpectedBillington Guardian Unexpected 16 Apr 1998, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Day I Stood Still by Kevin Elyot, Cottesloe Theatre, 24 January 1998

Superb. One of the best.

My logged comment suggest that we really liked this one. We both really did.

There is a Theatricalia entry for this one with all the details – click here. Adrian Scarborough was excellent in the lead role. Ian Rickson directed.

Nicholas de Jongh liked it in The Standard:

23 Jan 1998, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

My friend Michael Billington liked it but didn’t love it in The Guardian:

23 Jan 1998, Fri The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Similarly Suzannah Clapp in The Observer, whose review reminds me that the critics main reservation about this play is that they didn’t like it as much as they liked Elyot’s (also wonderful) My Night With Reg.

25 Jan 1998, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph also spoke highly of it with some limitations:

31 Jan 1998, Sat The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Art by Yasmina Reza, Wyndham’s Theatre, 11 January 1997

Oh by gosh we enjoyed this one. I wrote in my log:

Great fun. Subsequently, the cast changed every five minutes, but we saw the “original” UK cast.

And what a cast that was: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott.

Unusually, it was Janie who booked this one. How do i know – because the details are all over her diary, not mine…and boy did Janie write down details. So I can report that the play was 1 hour 40 minutes without an interval and that we sat in K22 & K23.

While the play/production was a huge hit and ran for yonks, it was not universally praised by the critics.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard quite liked it:

Art Nicholas de Jongh StandardArt Nicholas de Jongh Standard 16 Oct 1996, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

My friend Michael Billington was not too sure about the take on art while accepting that it was an enjoyable night at the theatre:

Art Billington GuardianArt Billington Guardian 16 Oct 1996, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While David Benedict in the Independent wrote:

Art David benedict independentArt David benedict independent 26 Oct 1996, Sat The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton, Lyttelton Theatre, 27 May 1995

I rated this “good” but frankly I rated it higher than Janie did. I have always been partial to a bit of Joe Orton, while Janie finds the farce element of Orton’s plays not to her taste.

This production pushed my Orton boundaries somewhat as Phyllida Lloyd certainly accentuated the farce aspect.

Still, it was a fabulous cast, with John Alderton, Nicola Pagett, Debra Gillett, David Tennant and Richard Wilson to name but five. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Michael Billington really liked it:

Billington on What the ButlerBillington on What the Butler Sat, Mar 4, 1995 – 28 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney also liked it:

Coveney on What the ButlerCoveney on What the Butler Sun, Mar 5, 1995 – 79 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Hysteria by Terry Johnson, Royal Court Theatre, 29 October 1993

This was a very interesting play about a meeting between Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dali. We both really enjoyed it.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for the play.

Here is the Theatricalia entry.

Super cast, with Henry Goodman as Freud, Tim Potter as Dali. Phyllida Lloyd directed this production, which was the premier.

The play has oft been revived since.

Here is Michael Billington’s review from the Guardian:

Billington on HysteriaBillington on Hysteria Mon, Sep 6, 1993 – 25 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Coveney’s review – not so keen:

Coveney on HysteriaCoveney on Hysteria Sun, Sep 12, 1993 – 49 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

We rounded off our evening with Chinese food from The Park Inn. Quite right too.

The diary suggests that we planned to have Marianne and Anil over for dinner the next evening, the Saturday, but Anil doesn’t get beyond a question mark and Janie is sure she has never met him, so my guess is that the whole idea fell though.