Category: Theatre

Fast Labour by Steve Waters, Hampstead Theatre, 20 June 2008

We thought this was a good play and production, a rare hit in our view during the Anthony Clark era. Perhaps the fact that it was a West Yorkshire Playhouse import helped.

Topical then, topical at the time of writing this Ogblog piece (December 2016), the play is the story of a Ukrainian migrant worker and the exploitative gangmasters he comes up against.

Another of those plays and productions that shocked us and got us thinking all weekend. Friday evening again too, making it quite hard work after a week’s work but never mind. Janie and I had taken sustenance at Harry Morgans early evening before the play, as was our wont when going to the Hampstead in those days.

No Hampstead stub to be found from those days, but there is an Official London Theatre stub – click here.

An interesting interview with the playwright Steve Waters is available – click here or below:

We’ve enjoyed his work before, not least World Music at the Donmar, which is probably the main reason why we booked to see Fast Labour.

 

2,000 Feet Away by Anthony Weigh, Bush Theatre, 13 June 2008

Quite a shocking play centring around a man on a sex offenders’ register in small town USA. “Shocking” as in mood-affecting.

It was good drama, although in some ways lacked something dramatically given the quality of the material and the superb cast and crew lined up at the Bush of all places.

Here is the Bush’s stub for the production – click here.

We found this evening hard going on a Friday evening, but for the right reasons. The play really made us think about the subject matter; Janie and I were talking about it all weekend. That’s good theatre in our book, even if the play and production fall short of the “absolutely top notch” class.

Really good stuff from the Bush, this.

Afterlife by Michael Frayn, Lyttelton Theatre, RNT, 7 June 2008

This one didn’t really float our boat, although it should have done. Michael Frayn, wrote it, Michael Blakemore directed it, Roger Allam was starring in it, the full forces of the RNT were behind it…

…but it didn’t work for us.

It is basically the story of the turn of the 20th century German/Jewish impresario Max Reinhardt, retold as a morality play.

We saw a preview and wondered whether the production was not quite ready when we saw it, but the reviews seemed to share our reservations:

…you get the idea. A real shame.

As is the RNT’s wont, no on-line archive resource (inverse correlation between organisation’s size/budget and its ability to do sensible things on-line blah blah), but there is an Official London Theatre stub – click here.

 

Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen, Almeida Theatre, 24 May 2008

Janie and I really like a bit of Ibsen. In some ways that is odd, in Janie’s case, as she tends to prefer modern plays and eschew classics. But she makes an exception for some classics; not least Ibsen, Strindberg and to some extent Chekhov.

Anyway, Rosmersholm is rarely performed and here was a production at one of our favourite theatres with a stellar cast and production team.

It’s hard to explain why this play is so rarely performed. In some ways Rosmersholm is über-Ibsen; it seems to throw in a lot of Ibsen’s favourite political, social and moral themes all at once. But then most of his great plays do that. Perhaps it is über-gloomy.

So although this was a superb night at the theatre, with wonderful performances and a truly top-notch production, we didn’t end up thinking that “everyone should see a great production of Rosmersholm” in the same way that we might say that about Hedda Gabler, Ghosts or A Dolls House, for example.

Still, a great theatrical event and right up our street.

There is an excellent stub resource on this play/production on the Almeida site – click here.

 

The Year Of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, Lyttelton Theatre, 10 May 2008

A heartbreaking, true story.

Joan Didion wrote a memoir about her double-loss – first her husband and then her daughter. This is her one woman play based on that memoir. Vanessa Redgrave plays Joan.

We found it moving, although the critics tended to be equivocal in their praise and in their sense that the production moves as much as it should:

The audience went a bit Vanessa-sycophantic at the end, which always tends to irritate us a bit, but then she is one heck of an actress.

The City by Martin Crimp, Royal Court Theatre, 3 May 2008

Weird play, this one. You never quite know what’s going on with Martin Crimp. This play is a companion piece to one named The Country, which we saw at the Royal Court in the summer of 2000 and rated as “very good”.

The Country was also weird, but The City was, I think, even weirder. Short play, though. I seem to recall it got us talking and thinking, which is good.

A young Benedict Cumberbatch, still emerging as a star, was in this one. Hattie Morahan and Amanda Hale were also very good in it.

 

 

Harper Regan by Simon Stephens, Cottesloe Theatre, 19 April 2008

So there’s more to Uxbridge than the cricket ground.

Seriously, Janie and I both really liked this play. Simon Stephens is one of our favourite playwrights these days and this one worked really well in the Cottesloe for us.

The eponymous lead is a big part; Lesley Sharp is a correspondingly big part actress who was able to deliver big time on this play/production.

Very shocking in parts and also very moving.

Wedding Day At The Cro-Magnons by Wajdi Mouawad, Soho Theatre, 14 April 2008

We rounded off our incredibly arty day – click here for the earlier events of the day – with a visit to the Soho Theatre.

From memory, I think we grabbed some delicious tea-time food in the afternoon a Yauatcha in Soho, unless I am confusing this occasion with another.

Anyway, we went to the Soho Theatre to see Wedding Day At The Cro-Magnons – see Dialogue Productions’ stub by clicking here.

It was a weird play/production, somewhat surreal, set in a sort-of war-torn Lebanon. I don’t think you could put this play on now, with the Syrian civil war so fresh and raw in people’s minds.

Lyn Gardner in The Guardian was not too sure about it, although agrees that it makes interesting points about war – click here.

Suman Bhuchar in the British tTheatre Guide found the piece compelling – click here.

I think it was a bit much for us after such a packed, arty day, but it was a short play which had caught our attention, so we were glad to have seen it.

Small Change by Peter Gill, Donmar Warehouse, 12 April 2008

I’m not too sure why we booked this. to be honest.

We had not enjoyed Cardiff East at the National 10+ years earlier, despite the presence of the wonderful (ex NewsRevue) Di Botcher in that play/production.

Small Change is a revival of one of Peter Gill’s earlier plays around similar subject matter. So why we thought we might like another of Peter Gill’s working class Welsh drab-fests I cannot imagine.

Here is a link to the Donmar’s excellent downloadable Study Guide on the production.

Anyway, we didn’t much like it, although it was a less bleak and more lyrical piece than the relentlessly miserable Cardiff East.

…you get the drift. Wonderfully well acted and produced. It was just one of those minimalist pieces that didn’t really float Janie’s or my boat.

 

 

Briefing by Doris Lessing, Camden People’s Theatre, 11 April 2008

Trying to work out how we ended up in a small theatre watching this production, I spotted the director’s name, Avye Leventis, which made me realise that this event occurred because one of Janie’s client’s daughters was making her directorial debut.

The Camden New Journal wrote highly of the play/production – click here.

The piece is an adaptation of Doris Lessing’s novel “Briefing for a Descent into Hell”. It wasn’t that bad, but we were neither comfy nor inspired by the work.

As Janie said when I raised the matter with her just now (2016), “we’re too old and ugly now to allow ourselves to be bullied into seeing stuff in such circumstances any more”.

Ouch.

By all accounts, Avye’s career has progressed from here. Which is good.