Written in the Edwardian era. Set 100 years or so before that.
Janie is usually unenthusiastic about these period pieces, but we have been supporters of the Orange Tree for a long time and tend to get withdrawal symptoms if we reject all of the period stuff.
Mostly Orange Tree regulars in the cast. Auriol Smith directing, Sam Walters hovering around like an expectant father (we were there very early in the run).
This was special. We liked the sound of it. We hadn’t heard of anyone to do with it. As it happens, John Simm was well known, but for TV and therefore not to us.
Paul Miller has gone on to be the head honcho at the Orange Tree Theatre, where he is working wonders now (as I write in the mid teenies).
This was a revival of a play from the 1990s which we hadn’t seen and which we fancied seeing.
The subject matter is a bit gruelling and the somewhat sentimental treatment could seem mawkish, but actually we found this a good play and a well-balanced production.
Reviews (and some comparisons with earlier and subsequent productions) can be found through this search term – click here.
One of our better Friday evenings at the Hampstead Theatre back then.
One of those resources is an excellent Donmar “Behind The Scenes/Study Guide” – which I have also scraped to here so you can for sure see it even if the Donmar moves it or closes down!
A rare visit to the theatre on a Thursday on my own. Janie hates Restoration comedy but I had (and at the time of writing, more than 10 years later, still have) an idea for a very thorough updating of one of those Restoration plays, so I very much wanted to see this modern production of a Restoration classic.
I thought it was very well done. Rory Kinnear was exceptional, as was most of the cast, including Alleyn’s alumna Nancy Carroll.
This was before Nick Hytner found his way off my Christmas card list by forgetting where his loyal audience comes from and becoming far too much of a jobsworth cum corporate lick-spittle when running the National. So hats off to him in this regard – Hytner can direct.
I rated this production very good indeed at the time, but it was not the sort of modernisation of a Restoration play which I have in mind…
…which is a good thing…
…if I ever get around to implementing my own cunning plan. But I digress.
Below is the trailer, which is really quite snazzy without giving away much about the show. It has a fair smattering of Nancy Carroll, which might please my fellow Alleyn’s alums…or indeed anyone who watches the vid:
One of my abiding memories of going to the Bush on a Friday evening to see this production was our irritation at the draconian Friday evening parking regulations and driving around desperately seeking a legitimate space.
“This had better be worth it”, I recall Janie saying before the show, followed by “yes it was worth it” afterwards.
A rare visit to the theatre on a Monday – this was Easter Monday.
Janie and I both love a bit of Tennessee Williams and we had only seen an amateur production of the Rose Tattoo before – at the Questors some 10 years earlier.
This was a top notch production at the National – no holds barred.
Zoe Wannamaker was exceptional.
Critics seemed to think the production and performances masked a less than brilliant play – I think I probably agree with that analysis – click here for a link to reviews.
Below is the trailer from the 1955 movie – very different style:
Sam Walters really had got himself locked into the early 20th Century by this time. Frankly, we didn’t think this Galsworthy piece had aged very well. Add to that Sam’s strict orthodoxy about not cutting text, it was quite a long evening at the theatre.
Well acted and directed, we stuck it out for both halves although we did consider making a break for it at half time.
