Category: Theatre

Marriage Play & Finding The Sun by Edward Albee, Cottesloe Theatre, 5 May 2001

Janie and I have a very clear memory of the opening of Marriage Play, in which Bill Paterson’s character, Jack, repeatedly taunts his wife, played by Sheila Gish, with the phrase “I’m leaving you”. It’s a bit “Who’s Afraid…” meets “Dances of Death”, I suppose. But we both recall really enjoying Marriage Play, while we thought a lot less of the second half’s short play, Finding The Sun.

What did the critics think?

Our friend, Michael Billington, was not wild about the evening as a whole, much preferring Marriage Play:

Marriage Billington Guardian Marriage Billington Guardian 9 May 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer seems to have seen it similarly, while gushing even more about Sheila Gish and Bill Paterson.

Marriage Spencer Telegraph Marriage Spencer Telegraph 10 May 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh, on the other hand, was much taken by both plays, even preferring Finding The Sun:

Marriage de Jongh Standard Marriage de Jongh Standard 9 May 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Earlier that day, Janie and I had warmed up for our evening at the theatre by seeing Greta for massage (in my case) and pilates in Janie’s case.

Buried Alive by Philip Osment, Hampstead Theatre, 27 April 2001

Janie and I thought this one was:

Good.

A fine cast, including Jane Arnfield, Louise Bush, Paul Higgins, Michelle Joseph, Veronica Roberts, John Ramm, Simon Trinder, Al Nedjari, and Gary Lilburn, directed by Mike Alfreds.

Our friend, Michael Billington, was not so impressed, praising the acting but not the play, awarding a rare, mere, two stars:

Buried Billington Guardian Buried Billington Guardian 23 Apr 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh described it as “disappointing” and awarded a dreaded Standard blob:

Buried de Jongh Standard Buried de Jongh Standard 23 Apr 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Unusually, Janie & I agreed with Charles Spencer more than Billington on this one:

Buried Spencer Telegraph Buried Spencer Telegraph 27 Apr 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I guess we could fall for “the oldest of reactionary canards” occasionally, especially when we went to the theatre after an early Friday evening supper at Harry Morgans.

The following day we went to Kim’s birthday party, which would for sure have lightened our mood after that dark play.

Tales From Hollywood by Christopher Hampton, Donmar Warehouse, 21 April 2001

We saw a preview of this production, which I gave a one word review in my log:

Excellent.

It was memorably good.

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph clearly liked it a lot:

Hollywood Spencer Telegraph Hollywood Spencer Telegraph 3 May 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard also reviewed it positively:

Hollywood de Jongh Standard Hollywood de Jongh Standard 2 May 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington was with us (opinion-wise) on this one too:

Hollywood Billington Guardian Hollywood Billington Guardian 2 May 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Clean by Clare Duffy, & Static by Chris Thorpe, Riverside Studio 3, 12 April 2001

Two short plays at The Riverside.

In truth, 25 years later, I remember little about this evening and/or these plays.

Unusual for us to go to the theatre on a Thursday evening, so something must have inspired us to do that. Possibly the secure knowledge that after my Washington trip the week before, Passover at my parent’s place the preceding weekend, and dinner with Anthea and Mitchell arranged for the next day, this would be our only chance to see this production. I’ll write some more about the Washington trip and those other events elsewhere, when the time feels right.

Still, something else must have inspired us to choose this twinning of short plays by writers we hadn’t heard of, with cast and creatives we also hadn’t heard of.

Theatricalia can’t help me with this one.

To the rescue, Mark Cook with this preview in The Guardian.

Static Cook Guardian Static Cook Guardian 7 Apr 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Also to the rescue, Patrick Marmion in The Standard. This pretty good review, published the very evening we went:

Static Marmion Standard Static Marmion Standard 12 Apr 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Boston Marriage by David Mamet, Donmar Warehouse, 31 March 2001

Janie and I are partial to a bit of David Mamet. We were also very excited to be seeing Zoe Wanamaker & Anna Chancellor (plus a young, then unknown, Lyndsey Marshal), directed by Phyllida Lloyd, early in the run at the Donmar Warehouse.

My memory and my single word log review…

pretentious

…suggests that we were a bit disappointed by the play.

Let’s see what the professionals thought of it.

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph really liked it:

Boston Spencer Telegraph Boston Spencer Telegraph 19 Mar 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington was more critical, especially with regard to the plot -or rather, its near-absence – but still mustered four stars.

Boston Billington Guardian Boston Billington Guardian 17 Mar 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh, similarly, suggests that the performances trump the play to make a worthwhile production.

Boston de Jongh Standard Boston de Jongh Standard 19 Mar 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Janie and I defer to the wisdom of the professional critics. The performances were good, we grant. But don’t attempt this play as am-dram unless you have three superb actresses to carry the evening.

Lulu by Frank Wedekind, Almeida Theatre At Kings Cross, 24 March 2001

To the bus station we went that Saturday to see Lulu very early in the Almeida run. The theatre was being refurbished that season – hence the bus station.

This play might have benefitted from the more intimate atmosphere of the Almeida Theatre itself. The coldness of the bus station served to emphasise the absence of warmth in a sex worker’s craft.

With Anna Friel, Oliver Milburn and Alan Howard taking lead roles and Jonathan Kent directing, it was always going to be a well put together show. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Nicholas de Jongh was captivated by Anna Friel’s Lulu, but several of his critic colleagues were not. The following piece from the Standard shows the critical divide.

Lulu de Jongh Standard Lulu de Jongh Standard 20 Mar 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Janie and I were similarly conflicted over this one It wasn’t just about the bus station setting. Wedekind’s work is open to wide interpretation and this version seemed to be hedging its bets.

Our friend, Michael Billington, expressed similar sentiments well:

Lulu Billington Guardian Lulu Billington Guardian 20 Mar 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Susannah Clapp was kinder to it than most:

Lulu & Boston Marriage, Clapp Observer Lulu & Boston Marriage, Clapp Observer 25 Mar 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Were we glad to have seen this production? Of course we were.

Out In The Open by Jonathan Harvey, Hampstead Theatre, 23 March 2001

I remember this play in particular for its juxtaposition, a week after our visit to Doug and Paul’s house, as a quintessentially gay play.

I remember quite liking the play and being impressed by the cast, while feeling that “we can get all that at home”…or at least, at Doug and Paul’s home.

Excellent cast: Mark Bonner, James McAvoy, Linda Bassett, Sean Gallagher, Michele Austin and Vilma Hollingbery, directed by Kathy Burke.

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph rather liked this one:

Out Spencer Telegraph Out Spencer Telegraph 22 Mar 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh gave it the dreaded Standard blob:

Out de Jongh Standard Out de Jongh Standard 21 Mar 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While our friend, Michael Billington, hedged and gave it three stars. I think we sort of went with three stars too.

Out Billington Guardian Out Billington Guardian 21 Mar 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Walls by Colin Teevan, Cottesloe Theatre, 10 March 2001

We went to a preview of this one and decided…

…so awful we walked out at half time!

Very unusual for us and almost unheard of at The National. Fabulous cast: Toby Jones, Clare Higgins, Karl Johnson, Michael Culkin, Gary Lydon, Declan Conlon, Monica Dolan, Tony Rohr.

What went wrong? In truth, we don’t tend to recall the bad experiences unless they are bad for a memorable reason Let’s see if the reviews help me.

Twos tars from Michael Billington…”dated Dublin Ionesco”…that’s NOT good:

Walls Billington Guardian Walls Billington Guardian 19 Mar 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh tries to be balanced, but awards a dreaded blob nonetheless:

Walls de Jongh Standard Walls de Jongh Standard 15 Mar 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer’s phrase, “as dire an evening as I have spent in a theatre so far this year” kinda sums it up.

Walls Spencer Telegraph Walls Spencer Telegraph 16 Mar 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

It wasn’t just us, then.

Mouth To Mouth by Kevin Elyot, Royal Court Theatre, 3 March 2001

Janie and I had loved The Day I Stood Still…

The Day I Stood Still by Kevin Elyot, Cottesloe Theatre, 24 January 1998

…so thoroughly expected to enjoy Kevin Elyot’s next play, Mouth To Mouth, which indeed we did. Not quite to the same extent as The Day I Stood Still – Mouth to Mouth was quite dark – but still we liked it a lot. Fine acting and thought provoking writing.

Here is the Theatricalia entry. Michael Maloney, Lindsay Duncan, Adam Godley, Peter Wight, Andrew McKay, Lucy Whybrow and Barnaby Kay, directed by Ian Rickson. What’s not to like?

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph loved it.

Mouth Telegraph Spencer Mouth Telegraph Spencer 8 Feb 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh also spoke very highly of it:

Mouth de Jongh Standard Mouth de Jongh Standard 7 Feb 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Indy was more measured, sensing that Kevin Elyot constantly returns to the same themes…but does so very well!

Mouth Taylor Indy Mouth Taylor Indy 7 Feb 2001 The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton, The Arts Theatre, 27 January 2001

After the hoo-ha of being grounded from the Royal Court revival of this play in 1975 …

The Production We Didn’t See – Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton, Duke of York Theatre, Possibly 7 July 1975

…Entertaining Mr Sloane had been on my bucket list (not that bucket lists had been invented back then) for more than a quarter of a century.

So the chance to see Alison Steadman reprise the role of Kath at the Arts Theatre seemed too good to miss.  I recall she was a very good Kath, ably supported by Neil Stuke as Sloane, Bryan Pringle as Kemp and Clive Francis as Ed.  Variety magazine was less sure about Steadman, but still rated the production.

Did the play still have what it takes, nearly 40 years on?  Michael Billington certainly thought so.  Janie wasn’t so sure – she’s never been convinced by Orton. I thought this one worked better than the revival of What the Butler Saw at the National, which I recall disappointed me, so I didn’t find it dated; but  Tom Keatinge did.

But who cares – I’ve seen the play now and mum couldn’t stop me this time.