Category: Theatre

Disposing Of The Body by Hugh Whitemore, Hampstead Theatre, 14 August 1999

In truth I remember little about this play/production. I logged it without comment, which doesn’t help.

Super cast and crew. Stephen Moore, Charlotte Cornwell, Gemma Jones and David Horovitch, directed by Robin Lefevre.

John Gross in The Sunday Telegraph gave it a modest review, which doesn’t help the memory much, 25 years later, other than making me feel better about the fact that I remember so little about it:

Disposing Gross S TelegraphDisposing Gross S Telegraph 01 Aug 1999, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michel Billington went into more detail in The Guardian and on balance liked it:

Disposing Billington GuardianDisposing Billington Guardian 15 Jul 1999, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nick Curtis in The Standard went into detail explaining why he didn’t like the piece:

Disposing Curtis StandardDisposing Curtis Standard 14 Jul 1999, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I think, on balance, we were more Curtis than Billington about this one.

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

I remember this play warmly, as does Janie. Kika Markham put in a superb solo performance.

I’m not sure how we came across this production – possibly Newsnight Review on the TV, which we were following in those days, as I don’t think we even knew of the Chelsea Centre Theatre prior to this.

It was well received by Susannah Clapp in The Observer.

Home Body Kabul Clapp ObserverHome Body Kabul Clapp Observer 25 Jul 1999, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Rachel Haliburton in The Indy also liked it:

Kabul Haliburton IndyKabul Haliburton Indy 31 Jul 1999, Sat The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

It seems that the thing we saw is only part of a longer Tony Kushner epic. Declan Donnellan revived the short Kika Markham element that we saw, at The Young Vic in 2002 – here is a link to Michael Billington’s review of that.

Eurydice by Jean Anouilh, Whitehall Theatre, 24 July 1999

In truth, I don’t remember all that much about this production. I’ve long been partial to a bit of Anouilh, which would have been the main reason we booked it.

Excellent cast, including Orlando Seale, Edward de Souza, Desmond Barrit, Ray Llewellyn, Roz McCutcheon, Amy Marston, Susan Tracy & Geoffrey Beevers.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Charles Spencer suggests that he unexpectedly liked it:

Eurydice Spencer TelegraphEurydice Spencer Telegraph 15 Jul 1999, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Dominic Cavendish also wrote well of it in the Indy:

Eurydice Cavendish IndyEurydice Cavendish Indy 14 Jul 1999, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Similarly, our friend, Michael Billington, seemed surprisingly pleased with it:

Eurydice Billington GuardianEurydice Billington Guardian 14 Jul 1999, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Look Back In Anger by John Osborne, Lyttelton Theatre, 17 July 1999

This was a very good production of this iconic play. I had been keen to see a decent production of it and was not disappointed by the National’s effort.

I don’t think we’d heard for Michael Sheen before this production; he was excellent as Jimmy Porter and Emma Fielding was also excellent as the long-suffering Alison.

Here’s the Theatricalia link for this production.

Patrick Marmion in the Standard liked it:

Marmion Standard AngerMarmion Standard Anger 16 Jul 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michael Billington chose to talk about the play’s importance rather than the production we saw:

Billington Guardian AngerBillington Guardian Anger 17 Jul 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Susannah Clapp liked it in The Observer:

Clapp Observer AngerClapp Observer Anger 18 Jul 1999, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Dinner With The Family by Jean Anouilh, Questors Playhouse, 10 July 1999

To the Questors with the Duchess of Castlebar (Janie’s mum) to see a student production.

No danger that The Duchess had to fork out for our tickets (I think she only took us to shows of any variety there on guest freebies).

Anouilh comedies tends to be quaint and within the grasp of student drama groups, so I suspect that the production was pretty good, but my log is silent on the matter.

Here is a link to The Questors archive resources on that production.

I escaped the duty to reciprocate the freebie tickets with a dinner, because Janie and I went on to Rupert Stubbs’s 40th birthday do on Sailing Barge Resourceful in Chiswick.

Resourceful, now relocated to the estuary as a tea house

Given that we had fed the multitudes the week before for The Duchess’s birthday…

Dinner With The Family: A 70th Birthday Do For The Duchess, 3 July 1999

…she could hardly complain.

Our Country’s Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, Richmond Theatre, 19 June 1999

This production began its life at The Young Vic in the autumn of 1998, wending its way to several regional theatres before returning to London in 1999, when we saw it at The Richmond Theatre.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

In 1998, I was busy getting friendly with Nicole Kidman in the Blue Room while Michael Billington was reviewing Our Country’s Good:

Blue Room & Our Country's Good Guardian BillingtonBlue Room & Our Country’s Good Guardian Billington 19 Sep 1998, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

But I digress.

Fascinating piece about the production in the Telegraph by Charles Spencer. Joe White assisted Max Stafford-Clark directing this piece after release from Wormwood Scrubbs:

Spencer Our Country's Good Joe White TelegraphSpencer Our Country’s Good Joe White Telegraph 15 Sep 1998, Tue The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Janie might have got more out of this production had she known all that and had she known then what she knows now about rehabilitation of former prisoners…or lack thereof.

Our verdict on this piece/production at the time:

I liked it more than Janie did

Possibly it helped that I know (and like) The Recruiting Officer better than Janie does/did.

The cast no doubt changed over the year or so it toured, but we saw David Fielder, Stuart McQuarrie, David Beames, Fraser James, Ian Redford, Mali Harries, Ashley Miller, Sally Rogers and Michele Austin. Not bad.

I have no doubt that we ate at Don Fernando’s afterwards…and why not? Well, 25 years later, we couldn’t because the place has now closed down.

The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca, Young Vic Theatre, 5 June 1999

Very good indeed…

…we both said. We’re both partial to a bit of Lorca in any case.

Wonderful play, excellent production.

This production had been doing and continued to do the rounds for some time, at regional theatres. A superb cast, including Sandra Duncan, Amanda Drew, Tanya Ronder & Carolyn Jones, directed by Polly Teale – here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Our friend, Michael Billington, was also impressed by the production, once it landed at the Young Vic.

Bernarda Guardian BillingtonBernarda Guardian Billington 22 May 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard was also mostly very impressed:

Bernarda, de Jomgh, StandardBernarda, de Jomgh, Standard 20 May 1999, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Rose by Martin Sherman, Cottesloe Theatre, 29 May 1999

Janie and I remember being really impressed by Olympia Dukakis’s performance in this one woman play, while finding the play itself “a bit much”.

To be fair, we were a bit numb that weekend – we had attended Jenny Jamilly’s funeral the day before and were possibly not in the mood for high drama. Let alone uber-Jewish high drama, nach.

We saw a preview late May although the play didn’t receive its press night until some four weeks later.

The critics seem to have sided with us viz the performance and the play. Here’s Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard:

Rose de Jongh StandardRose de Jongh Standard 25 Jun 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington similarly liked the performance but not the play:

Rose Billington GuardianRose Billington Guardian 26 Jun 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Only Charles Spencer in the telegraph, amongst the reviews I can find, lauded both the performance and the play:

Rose Spencer TelegraphRose Spencer Telegraph 28 Jun 1999, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Late Middle Classes by Simon Gray, Richmond Theatre, 22 May 1999

Very good indeed. Thought provoking.

That’s what I wrote in my log at the time.

Janie booked this one, so I can report that we sat in seats D6, D7 & D8…and that she paid £20 a pop for this excellent evening at the theatre. I suppose £20 really was £20 back then. Still sounds like value.

The third ticket was for “The Duchess” (Janie’s mum).

Harold Pinter directed an excellent cast including Nicholas Woodeson, Harriet Walter & Angela Pleasence. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Our friend, Michael Billington, liked it in The Guardian:

Late Middle Guardian BillingtonLate Middle Guardian Billington 27 Mar 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Indy also thought highly of this production:

Late Middle Taylor IndyLate Middle Taylor Indy 27 Mar 1999, Sat The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

We’ll have eaten at Don Fernando’s after theatre, because in those days, if we went to Richmond for theatre, that’s what we did afterwards. {Insert your own joke about “the late-dining middle classes” here].

The Cosmonaut’s Last Message To The Woman He Once Loved In The Former Soviet Union by David Greig, Lyric Studio, Followed By Dinner At Grano, 10 May 1999

A rare visit to the theatre by me and Janie on a Monday evening. We had chosen to take a week off work; partly for culture and partly, in Janie’s case, I think to spend time with Phillie and her medical stuff. We had little opportunity to go away properly around that time, so it made sense to take a bit of time.

But this play/production was a waste of time for us.

It was doing very little for us, so we left at half time to enjoy a longer session over a super meal at Grano.

One of Vicky Featherstone’s earlier efforts at directing.

Nicholas de Jongh did not rate it highly:

Cosmonaut Standard de JonghCosmonaut Standard de Jongh 14 May 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I don’t think Susannah Clapp in The Observer was too impressed either:

Cosmonaut Clapp ObserverCosmonaut Clapp Observer 16 May 1999, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Like a spacecraft that has lost its bearings…I’m sue you get my drift.

Grano Restaurant in Chiswick was something special. New in 1998, award-winning “best Italian Restaurant in London” in 1999. We had a super meal there. Sadly, now gone.