Month: January 1990

Paul McCartney, Wembley Arena, 23 January 1990

Paul McCartney at Wembley January 1990; see review below for link/full credits

Only a couple of weeks earlier I had seen The Shaughraun at the National Theatre with this “West End Client” crowd from Hesketh House:

The Shaughraun by Dion Boucicault, Olivier Theatre, 8 January 1990

We saw a few things as a group around that time. Actually I think there was a somewhat enlarged crowd for the Paul McCartney. I think Stephen Lee was the ringleader for these gatherings and this one proved especially popular. I have a feeling Beatrice was there for this one and I think a good few other people.

I am glad that I have seen Paul McCartney perform live; of course this type of 20 to 30 years on concert covers a lot of classics, but in truth I don’t think this was a great gig. I didn’t think Wembley Arena suited this type of band/arrangement (insufficiently intimate – although you are unlikely to get an intimate gig with Paul McCartney).

Now we live in the internet era, I have quickly and easily found and embedded a recording of the whole gig and the Guardian review from the time – see below.

Aspden on McCartneyAspden on McCartney Mon, Jan 15, 1990 – 38 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Bent by Martin Sherman, Lyttelton Theatre, 13 January 1990

I have very limited recollection of this one, other than finding it shocking and hard to watch.

My diary is ludicrously light on detail and I got confused between this one and another production I failed to get a programme for. In this case, I think we saw a preview and the programmes weren’t ready.

I dined with (presumably) Bobbie at the Archduke before the theatre and we then went on to Jilly’s place, presumably for a birthday party. The diary suggests we had lunch on Sunday also.

Fortunately for the theatre element of the weekend, there are Theatricalia entries and reviews to help me out. Here is the former – click here.

Below is Michael Billington’s top notch review of this production:

Billington on BentBillington on Bent Mon, Jan 22, 1990 – 38 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in The Observer described it as “grim”. Hard to disagree.

Coveney on BentCoveney on Bent Sun, Jan 28, 1990 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Shaughraun by Dion Boucicault, Olivier Theatre, 8 January 1990

I’ve no idea why I didn’t go and see this production with Bobbie Scully at some point during its nearly two-year on-off run. I have a funny feeling we had planned to go and then events intervened. Perhaps she saw it at that point while I was left in a state of shaughraun with regard to this play/production, until some client friends came along with a yearning to see some theatre.

I’m not sure whose idea it was to go and see this in early 1990. Perhaps someone asked me to suggest a production for an outing…or perhaps I tagged along with something they had already planned. I’m pretty sure that Stephen Lee, Rosemarie Whiteley and Suan Yap were part of that group, but my log is silent on the detail of who made up that “crowd”. I’d guess there must have been at least five or six of us to constitute a “crowd” in my log.

Anyway, I/we voted the production good. Fabulous cast, with Stephen Rea dominating the proceedings in the eponymous role. Lots for the superb supporting cast to do. Howard Davies directed it very well.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

Below is Michael Billington’s review from May 1988 when this production started:

Billington on The ShaughraunBillington on The Shaughraun Fri, May 13, 1988 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com Michael Ratcliffe in The Observer also liked the production a lot. It didn’t get extended twice for no reason… Ratcliffe on the ShaughraunRatcliffe on the Shaughraun Sun, May 15, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com