Month: October 2014

Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Almeida Theatre, 18 October 2014

An unusual play and production, this.

An American classic, performed on a very sparse set in a sort-of workshop style.

It worked for us.

There are elements of this play that could easily seem cheesy to the modern and non-US audience, yet this production managed to avoid the worst excesses of fromage and mawkishness – the piece came across to us as charming and touching.

Here is a link to the Almeida resource on this production.

Below is the trailer, with some interviews:

It didn’t please all the critics, but it did please many of them – click here for a search term that finds the reviews.

The Distance by Deborah Bruce, Orange Tree Theatre, 11 October 2014

This was a good play and a very good production – further confirming our view that the Orange Tree had moved on positively to a bold new generation.

Here is a link to the Orange Tree resource for this production.

It wasn’t just us who liked it – it was very well received on the night and by the critics – click here for a link term to reviews.

Unusually, I mislaid the programme for this one. Perhaps abandoned at Don Fernandos – who knows? – I didn’t realise it was missing until it was far too late to do anything about it – such was the way back then…

…Stop Press – March 2021 – rummaging in a file for something completely different (don’t ask) I found the programme.  Hurrah.

Deborah Bruce wrote it, Charlotte Gwinner directed it, Helen Baxendale, Clare Lawrence-Moody and Emma Beattie were especially good in it, as was the supporting cast.

Meanwhile this production did so well that Paul Miller revived it the following year as part of his “hunkering down because we have no Arts Council funding” programme. It is a real shame that the Arts Council was so far behind the curve with regard to the Orange Tree. Some would even say more than shame…disgrace.