Janie and I were quite excited about this one.
In the summer of 1996 (or was it spring 1997?), we had spent a Sunday on the Thames, on Michael & Elisabeth’s Thames sailing barge, The Lady Daphne, along with, amongst others, Trevor Nunn & Imogen Stubbs. Trevor was busy reading an early Tennessee Williams script, Not About Nightingales, which had never been performed in the UK. Despite not being among Williams best work, Trevor suggested to us the play had a lot going for it. He was thinking of putting it on at the Royal National Theatre once he became Artistic Director there. I think his appointment had been announced but Trevor had not yet taken up the role when we met him.
Anyway, we were very keen to see the finished product once the production was announced and booked to see it at the start of its run.
The only critic who really matters here on Ogblog…me…wrote:
Powerful stuff – not a great play but very well executed.
I especially remember Finbar Lynch and Corin Redgrave putting in standout performances.
Charles Spencer in The Telegraph seemed to like it:
Nightingales Spencer Telegraph 09 Mar 1998, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Susannah Clapp in The Observer was not so convinced:
Nightingales Clapp Observer 08 Mar 1998, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
John Gross in The Sunday Telegraph was quite keen:
08 Mar 1998, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard seemed particularly taken with it.
Nightingales de Jongh Standard 06 Mar 1998, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Don’t ask me how or why we had the stomach for this violent play but not for Shopping & F***ing the week before. Perhaps the violence seemed less gratuitous. Perhaps the way it was produced/directed.
Perhaps because we were demob happy – although we had cancelled our main spring holiday plans because of Phillie’s indisposition, we had decided to take a week off an go to Majorca for some much needed rest. We flew off early the next morning.