Month: October 1999

Corpus Christi by Terrence McNally, Pleasance Theatre, 29 October 1999

An unprecedented hat trick of evenings at the theatre concluded with this piece. Little did we know when we booked it that this to be a highly controversial play.

Here’s a newspaper clipping from the following day:

Corpus Christi FatwaCorpus Christi Fatwa 30 Oct 1999, Sat The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Perhaps we should have known, as apparently it had been hugely controversial when first produced in the USA a couple of years earlier.

In truth, we didn’t think all that much of the play and production.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard liked it:

corpus de Jongh Standardcorpus de Jongh Standard 29 Oct 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

No-one else seems to have reviewed it. The other papers seemed obsessed with news of the play’s controversy rather than the play itself, which is a a shame.

I recall that we rather liked the Pleasance Theatre but not its location.

We had been traipsing around that day, having been to the City for a do (neither of us can remember) and then a stop off to see some oriental art at the British Museum before The Pleasance. Would we have the energy for all that 25 years later? Would we have the energy for a hat-trick of evenings at the theatre?

Antigone by Sophocles, The Old Vic, 28 October 1999

For some reason, stuff at The Old Vic rarely works for us and this production of Antigone was no exception. It had been bigged-up in the media on the back of a big name cast, headed up by Tara Fitzgerald alongside Jonathan Hyde, Anna Calder-Marshall, Zubin Varla and several others, under the skilled direction of (and adaption by) Declan Donnellan.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for that production.

Janie and I didn’t think that Tara Fitzgerald suited that part, or indeed possibly the stage, but what do we know?

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard gave it a blob:

Antigone Standard Old Vic Antigone Standard Old Vic 12 Oct 1999, Tue Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

On the other hand, Paul Taylor in The Independent liked it a lot:

Antigone Taylor IndependentAntigone Taylor Independent 12 Oct 1999, Tue The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington, in the Guardian, absolutely loved it:

Antigone Billington Guardian 1 of 2Antigone Billington Guardian 1 of 2 14 Oct 1999, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com Antigone Billington Guardian 2 of 2Antigone Billington Guardian 2 of 2 14 Oct 1999, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

More often than not, if the critics are divided, we side with Billington (Guardian) over Spencer (Telegraph), but Charles Spencer panned this production (perhaps more vociferously than our view). I’ll let him have the last word:

Antigone Spencer TelegraphAntigone Spencer Telegraph 13 Oct 1999, Wed The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Sweet Dreams by Diane Esguerra, Sphinx Theatre Company, Chelsea Place Theatre, 27 October 1999

In truth we remember little about this one. I was taking some time off – mostly to “supervise” the fraught business of Gavin renovating my flat. Janie was trying to work half days and take a bit of time off too. We saw several plays and exhibitions that week.

We had discovered the Chelsea Place Theatre a few months earlier when we saw Home Body/Kabul…

Home Body / Kabul by Tony Kushner, Chelsea Centre Theatre, 31 July 1999

Here is a short review of Sweet Dreams from The Independent:

Sweet Dreams, Halliburton, IndependentSweet Dreams, Halliburton, Independent 20 Oct 1999, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Story of Jude by Geoffrey Beevers, Orange Tree Theatre, The Room, 22 October 1999

This was the last ever production in the Room above The Orange Tree pub itself. The bespoke Orange Tree Theatre had been up and running for a while by then and the decision was made to stop doing some shows above the pub still. A shame in a way, as we loved that small venue. But understandable.

Here is a preview of the show from the Richmond & Twickenham Informer:

Jude Richmond InformerJude Richmond Informer 01 Oct 1999, Fri The Richmond and Twickenham Informer (Richmond upon Thames, London, England) Newspapers.com

Judging by the markings in both of our diaries, we had planned to go away for a couple of weeks that October and then changed our minds. Probably because we didn’t think we could leave Gavin unmanaged doing the works at Clanricarde Gardens. This was one of several things we booked up to replace the holiday. We both did some work but worked light during those weeks.

It wasn’t a great play or production, but the story was interesting and Mairead Carty was always very watchable.

We went to a restaurant named Burnt Chair in Duke Street afterwards. It was loved more for its wine list than its food, according to my 2003 Hardens and also this tombstone piece in The Standard when the place died in 2014.

Hyacinth Blue by Kara Miller, Lyric Hammersmith Studio, 16 October 1999

I don’t remember a great deal about this one. I don’t think we were particularly impressed, although we wanted to be, because the idea of former prisoners making drama feels like a wonderful idea to us.

Our friend, Michael Billington, took the trouble to go and review it for The Guardian. We’ll take his word for it.

Hyacinth, Guardian, BillingtonHyacinth, Guardian, Billington 21 Oct 1999, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, The Questors Theatre, 15 October 1999

A successful night at The Questors with the Duchess (Janie’s mum). I wrote,

very good,

in my log, which will be a comment on the play/production rather than The Duchess’s conduct.

Janie and I subsequently saw a superb production of this play at The Donmar.

I recall having some reservations about seeing an amateur production of this great play, but actually The Questors had actors and creatives of sufficient quality to carry this work well.

Janie’s diary suggests that we went to eat at a place named Rastificia afterwards, on Ealing Broadway, at 10:30. Sounds like Jamaican food from the name.

Just what Janie and I will have needed on a Friday evening after a long week’s work. No doubt the waiters made a fuss of The Duchess and no doubt she wanted to stay for one more cigarette at the end of the meal, so we’ll have got home very late indeed.

Also, no doubt, the deal was that The Duchess did the theatre tickets, Janie did the interval drinks and I did the meal. [Note to historians – The Duchess got several pairs of guest tickets free each year with her membership of The Questors – I’m pretty sure we didn’t go any more often than the using up of the freebies allowed].

“Parsimony is the best policy” – The Duchess of Castlebar

Remember This by Stephen Poliakoff, Lyttelton Theatre, 9 October 1999

My log reads:

I got more out of this one than Janie did. Not SP’s best.

We saw a preview – the press night was about a week later.

Stanley Townsend is always good news and he didn’t disappoint as the charismatic lead. Good support too from Geraldine Somerville and others, directed by Ron Daniels. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

It was the play that lacked coherence. Janie couldn’t see past the fragile conceits of the play.

Our friend, Michael Billington, in The Guardian, seems to have shared our reservations. He says that the plot “has more holes than a second-hand colander”…

…(does a new colander have fewer holes than a second-hand one, Michael?)…

Remember Guardian BillingtonRemember Guardian Billington 18 Oct 1999, Mon The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh seems to have hated it. “Ponderous” is not a desirable adjective if you are Poliakoff:

Remember Standard de JonghRemember Standard de Jongh 18 Oct 1999, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Bassett in the Telegraph described it as “chronically dull”:

Remember Telegraph BassettRemember Telegraph Bassett 18 Oct 1999, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

OK, OK, I’ve got the point. A rare dud from Poliakoff, the master.

Master Class by Terrence McNally, Richmond Theatre, 8 October 1999

The conceit of this play is basically a Maria Callas masterclass towards the end of the great diva’s life.

We saw this one on a Friday evening. This was a touring production by Theatre Royal Bath Productions that was starting off at Richmond for just a few days.

My log reads:

Janie got more out of this one than I did.

So there you have it.

I think I found the play not so interesting. The production did a pretty good job with the material, as I saw it. Jane Lapotaire played the lead and she was very watchable.

Here is a clip from the Surrey Herald as the productions et off on its merry way:

Masterclass Surrey HeraldMasterclass Surrey Herald 30 Sep 1999, Thu Surrey Herald (Chertsey, Surrey, England) Newspapers.com

Here’s Andrew Kersey’s review in Cambridge a few weeks after we saw it:

Masterclass Cambridge KerseyMasterclass Cambridge Kersey 02 Nov 1999, Tue Cambridge Evening News (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England) Newspapers.com

Till Fellner, Wigmore Hall, 2 October 1999

The then young Austrian pianist, Till Fellner, played a mixture of Bach and Beethoven that night:

  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata in A major Op 101
  • Johann Sebastian Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, BWV 850 to 853
  • Ludwig van Beethoven – Six Bagatelles, Op 126
  • Johann Sebastian Bach – The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, BWV 846 to 849

This concert helped to cement Janie’s view that she is more a Bach person than a Beethoven person. I enjoyed all of it.

Here’s a recording of Till Fellner playing book one of The Well-Tempered Clavier with wonderfully light touch:

Here’s Andras Schiff playing and lecturing on the Beethoven A major sonata some 15 years later at The Wig: