Month: November 1988

Went To See An Enemy Of The People by Henrik Ibsen (Arthur Miller Adaptation), With Bobbie & Ashley, Young Vic, 9 November 1988

What a super production this was. I remember being much taken with it, although, strangely, while I clearly recall seeing this with Bobbie, I did not recall Ashley joining us for this one. But the diary is clear:

What a cast and crew too. Here is the Theatricalia page for it. A young Tom Wilkinson and Connie Booth playing the big leads, with lots of good folk in support. David Thacker directed.

This was the Arthur Miller adaptation of the Ibsen play. WhatsOnStage.com listed this production as one of the six best Miller productions – with a tribute from Jeremy Herrin. So there.

I’m pretty sure this production was in the round and I remember feeling a sense of claustrophobia being so close to the action and the intense dilemmas and pain of the central characters.

This play, its morality and injustices came to my mind so many years later, in the late teenies, when the British gutter press started to brand anti-Brexit folk as “Enemies of the People”. Although I had seen a good production of the play subsequent to this 1988 production, it is Tom Wilkinson’s agonies, witnessed at close quarters so long ago, that sprang into my mind.

I’m struggling to remember the rest of the evening, but perhaps Bobbie and/or Ashley will recall it. I’m guessing that Ashley stayed with Bobbie on that occasion, as she was, by then, ensconced in her natty new pad in DuCane Court, whereas I was still plotting my imminent escape from my parents’ house – which I pulled off just a few week’s later.

Left My Job At Newman Harris, Moved To Clanricarde Gardens And Started Work For Binder Hamlyn Management Consultants, 18 November to 1 December 1988

We three won’t simply have parted company at the doors of the Young Vic, that’s for sure. I’m guessing we might have taken a late meal at the Archduke or perhaps RSJs at that time. Anyone remember?

Postscript: Ashley Fletcher has chimed in to deny all involvement in this particular evening. The Ashley mention must have been Ashley Michaels, my (by then former) colleague from Newman Harris. I’ll pick Bobbie’s brain if/when I get the chance, but I suspect she’ll do that, “I can’t even remember what I did last week” routine.

Fortunately my subscription to the clippings service yields some retained memory – here is Michael ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe on EnemyRatcliffe on Enemy Sun, Oct 16, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington’s Guardian review is shown below:

Billington on EnemyBillington on Enemy Sat, Oct 15, 1988 – 36 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

A Surprisingly Quiet Week, 31 October to 6 November 1988

I led a pretty lively existence between passing my accountancy finals and starting the next major chapter of my life, but this particular week was surprisingly quiet – at least as far as my diary is concerned.

I remember the function at Chartered Accountants’ Hall quite well, writing some 30 years later. I didn’t feel a strong sense of affinity or identity with that group, nor did I feel that I had achieved all that much in qualifying, other than a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Whereas some of the people I chatted to at the function seemed to be in thrall to their achievement and to the physical symbols of the profession…which I suppose was the main purpose of the function.

My meeting with Brian Fraiman on 2 April would have been in his capacity as client and mine as professional; I was doing a small assignment for his legal firm, Fremont, at that time. Our subsequent engagements have all been the other way around.

I do not recall the Enterprise Forum evening at all. It won’t be anything to do with the modern Tory Party Enterprise Forum thingie, which didn’t even exist back then. Goodness knows what this 1980s Enterprise Forum even was.

I used to visit Grandma Jenny after work fairly regularly – probably not noted in the diary every time – but these particular weeks I made more notes than usual and my Thursday visit gets a mention.

I’ll write more about her on a more appropriate occasion than simply one of my after work visits towards the end of her life. She was lovely.

Grandma Jenny no doubt gave me some chicken soup from a tin and at that time was possibly still able to make something substantial for me to eat, although she was going blind. I probably helped her to wade through her post, which was mostly requests for charity which she could ill afford but which she acquiesced to if the ask was right; about half of the requests.