Category: Theatre

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Lyttelton Theatre, 25 June 1988

Hot on the heels of seeing an excellent Uncle Vanya…

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, Vaudeville Theatre, 11 June 1988

…Bobbie and I saw a very good production of The Changeling at The National.

Miranda Richardson played Beatrice-Joanna, Rebecca Pidgeon played Isabella, George Harris as De Flores, Richard Eyre directing…

…here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

It isn’t a jolly play and I did see it again only a few years later at Stratford, with Janie:

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton & William Rowley, RSC Swan Theatre, 29 October 1992

I think this National production was the better of the two.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review, plus an interview with Miranda Richardson

Billington on ChangelingBillington on Changeling Sat, Jun 25, 1988 – 18 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Kate Kellaway’s Observer review is below:

Kate Kellaway on ChangelingKate Kellaway on Changeling Sun, Jun 26, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The diary is silent on what we did afterwards. For some reason, is think that we ate at the National that evening. It is quite a long play and I think the restaurant there was doing arrangements to eat part of your meal during and part after show at that time. But I could be mistaken.

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, Vaudeville Theatre, 11 June 1988

I rated this production very good indeed at the time and I can understand why. Superb cast, with Michael Gambon as Vanya, Imelda Staunton as Sonia, Greta Scatcchi as Yelena, Jonathan Pryce as Astrov, Michael Blakemore directing…

…here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Bobbie and I went to this one. I recall sitting very near the front although probably not the very front row.

In 1988 I hadn’t yet formed an aversion to those old-fashioned theatre-land theatres, although we didn’t go to those places all that frequently.

I suspect that we had a late evening Chinese meal in Soho after the show – perhaps Poons, perhaps Mayflower, perhaps Joy King Lau…

A pretty darned good evening as I recall it.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review of the production:

Billington on VanyaBillington on Vanya Thu, May 26, 1988 – 19 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review is below:

Ratcliffe on VanyaRatcliffe on Vanya Sun, May 29, 1988 – 38 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Danger: Memory! – I Can’t Remember Anything and Clara by Arthur Miller, Hampstead Theatre, 21 May 1988

The irony in the fact that I can hardly remember anything about this double bill of Arthur Miller plays is not wasted on me.

Nor is that irony likely to be wasted on Bobbie, with whom I saw this double bill at the Hampstead Theatre in 1988, but I’m guessing she remembers little about it. Nor on Janie, with whom I saw it all again at the Orange Tree in 2006.

There is a Theatricalia entry for this production – here.

I’m pretty sure this production was the UK premier of this double bill, which probably felt like an exciting prospect.

But I think we came away from the experience feeling that this was not top notch Miller.

This on-line review from the Guardian, of a subsequent London production, explains the synopses and supports my limited memory.

Here is a link to Frank Rich’s review of the original Lincoln Centre production in New York.

Below is Nicholas De Jongh’s Guardian review:

Nicholas De Jongh Danger: Memory!Nicholas De Jongh Danger: Memory! Fri, Apr 8, 1988 – 28 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Blake Morrison’s Observer review:

Blake Morrison on Danger: Memory!Blake Morrison on Danger: Memory! Sun, Apr 10, 1988 – 37 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Who needs memory once you have subscribed to a Newspaper clippings service?

Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Lyric Hammersmith, 11 & 18 May 1988

This was a rare opportunity to see Goethe’s Faust in all of its glory – not only the better known Part One but also Part Two.

Bobbie and I saw it over two Wednesday evenings – these were late midweek nights I seem to remember, but I also recall that it was very much worth it.

Simon Callow played Faust. Paul Brightwell played Wagner. Andy Serkis, Linda Kerr Scott, Caroline Bliss…it was quite a cast and crew. Here is the Theatricalia entry.

My log for both evenings reads “very good indeed”.

I do recall that Part One made more sense to me than the ethereal, impressionistic Part Two. But both parts were very entertaining and well worth seeing.

Below are Michael Billington’s Guardian reviews:

Billington On Faust Part OneBillington On Faust Part One Fri, Apr 8, 1988 – 29 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com Billington on Faust Part TwoBillington on Faust Part Two Wed, Apr 13, 1988 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Ratcliffe reviewed it in the Observer over two weeks. His short Part One review is appended to his Common Pursuit review, embedded in my piece on The Common Pursuit.

Here is Ratcliffe’s review of the whole Faust thing/Part Two:

Ratcliffe On Faust Part TwoRatcliffe On Faust Part Two Sun, Apr 17, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Common Pursuit by Simon Gray, Phoenix Theatre, 30 April 1988

I went to see this production of The Common Pursuit with Bobbie.

It had received a lot of publicity at that time, due to its stellar cast of comedy folk: Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry, Sarah Berger, John Sessions, John Gordon Sinclair and Paul Mooney.

We didn’t realise at the time that the piece was a rewrite/revival of a play produced at the Lyric a few years earlier. The Wikipedia entry for The Common Pursuit explains.

I remember thinking it was actually a very good play. I had already formed a liking for Simon Gray plays by reading many of them in the mid 1980s. This might have been the first one I saw on the stage.

I also recall not liking the sycophantic audience who seemed to think it was hilarious if Rik Mayall or Stephen Fry merely walked onto the stage. But that was the audiences problem, not the play’s. Nor the production’s, really.

I think the play has been somewhat under-rated in the Simon Gray canon as it has not often been revived in the 30 years since.

My log registered “very good” for this one.

The next time Simon Gray was partnered with Rik Mayall and Stephen Fry in the West End was Cell Mates in 1995, which did not end up so well; especially for Stephen Fry. Janie and I missed that one as I guessed that “sycophantic audience syndrome” would displease Janie even more than it had displeased me and Bobbie in 1988. But Janie and I did go to the revival of Cell Mates at the Hampstead in 2017:

Cell Mates by Simon Gray, Hampstead Theatre, 9 December 2017

But back to The Common Pursuit. Bobbie’s memory of it has yet to be tested. I’ll get back to this piece in the unlikely event that something specific about this piece or this evening emerges.

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe On Common Pursuit & Faust Part OneRatcliffe On Common Pursuit & Faust Part One Sun, Apr 10, 1988 – 37 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Billington’s review:

Michael Billington On Common PursuitMichael Billington On Common Pursuit Sat, Apr 9, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I vaguely remember taking after theatre supper with Bobbie at one of those West End restaurants after this one but cannot recall which particular restaurant it was.

Playbill: The Browning Version & Harlequinade by Terence Rattigan, The Royalty Theatre, 26 April 1988

The Browning Version is one of Rattigan’s best known plays, originally performed, as it was in the production we saw, jointly with Harlequinade. This Wikipedia piece explains all that background and has good links.

I have little recollection of this particular production and midweek evening at the theatre with Bobbie.

Starry cast, we saw, with Paul Eddington and Dorothy Tutin as the Crocker-Harris couple in The Browning Version. The same cast and crew performed/produced both plays.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production of The Browning Version.

Below is Steve Goldman’s Guardian review:

Steve Goldman on RattiganSteve Goldman on Rattigan Mon, Mar 21, 1988 – 32 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Kate Kellaway’s Observer review:

Kate Kellaway on RattiganKate Kellaway on Rattigan Sun, Mar 20, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I think I concluded that Rattigan isn’t really my thing when I saw these plays. It all seemed rather old-fashioned in style, although I do also recall that there were interesting themes and the plays were well written.

Bobbie might remember more…but I doubt it.

Tis Pity She’s A Whore by John Ford, Olivier Theatre, 16 April 1988

A superb run of seeing amazing productions started to break down just a little with this one.

Again a Saturday evening, again with Bobbie. My log says the production was good. It also says:

Suzan Sylvester was indisposed that day, so we saw Michelle Evans understudy the lead

Tis pity that, as I think Suzan Sylvester must have been a very good Annabella opposite Rupert Graves as Giovanni. I do remember Bobbie and I feeling that the understudy did well, though.

My friend Michael Simkins was also in it, as Soranzo. Coincidental at the time of writing, in early 2019, as we saw Michael at the Hampstead Downstairs just a couple of weeks ago:

Eden by Hannah Patterson, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, 16 February 2019

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Alan Ayckbourn directed the production – there is some additional information about it on his site – click here.

It’s not a happy story and matters unsurprisingly…spoiler alert…do not end well for the protagonists. The Wikipedia entry gives a good synopsis.

In those days I think we were quite partial to some Jacobean blood and gore. It’s only latterly that I’ve gone all snowflake.

Below is Michael Radcliffe’s review from The Observer:

Tis Pity RadcliffeTis Pity Radcliffe Sun, Mar 6, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington in The Guardian found this production “too tasteful”:

Tis Pity BillimgtonTis Pity Billimgton Sat, Mar 5, 1988 – 16 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

A Touch Of The Poet by Eugene O’Neill, Comedy Theatre, 26 March 1988

Not one of Eugene O’Neill’s greatest plays, but my log suggests that Bobbie and I both found this production very good…

…and why shouldn’t we. Vanessa Redgrave & Timothy Dalton, with support from Amanda Boxer, Malcolm Tierney and several other good names. David Thacker directed it.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

This was, in fact, a West End transfer of a much-lauded Young Vic production; the UK premier of this play. Bobbie and I couldn’t get in at the Young Vic but got in early during the transfer, so saw the original Young Vic cast/production.

Here is the Wikipedia entry on this lesser-known O’Neill play.

A rarity for a production of this antiquity, I have managed to find a review by Frederick Wilkins in The Eugene O’Neill Newsletter – dated Spring 1988 – which reviews the Young Vic production at both of its locations.

(Just in case anything ever happens to that Newsletter, I have scraped that fascinating review to here)

Michael Ratcliffe’s review is clipped below:

Michael Ratcliffe On CatMichael Ratcliffe On Cat Sun, Feb 7, 1988 – 26 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington admired the piece thus:

Billington on PoetBillington on Poet Thu, Feb 4, 1988 – 14 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I wonder what Bobbie remembers of that production and that evening?

Postscript: a couple of days before I got to this piece, to add the clips, in January 2020, I ran into Vanessa in Speck. Small world.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, Lyttelton Theatre, 12 March 1988

Bobbie and I were on a bit of a roll, theatre-wise, at the start of that year, seeing some great productions. This was certainly one of them.

Lindsay Duncan was a most memorable Maggie The Cat and Ian Charleson was superb as Brick; tragically Charleson died just a couple of years after this production. The cast also included Eric Porter, Alison Steadman, Henry Goodman…plus many other fine performers. Howard Davies directed.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for the production.

The Lyttelton is not my favourite place for this sort of play, but somehow this one seemed to work in that space. I seem to recall it received superb notices and for good reason.

Michael Billington loved this production – his review clipped below:

Billington On CatBillington On Cat Fri, Feb 5, 1988 – 18 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Clearly Michael Ratcliffe liked it too:

Michael Ratcliffe On CatMichael Ratcliffe On Cat Sun, Feb 7, 1988 – 26 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

There’s little on-line about this particular production, given its antiquity, but if you have no idea even what the piece looks/feels like, here is a clip of Paul Newman and Elisabeth Taylor from the 1950’s film version:

…while the following clip is from a subsequent National theatre production of Cat:

https://youtu.be/GobBM0Tt0j4

Anyway, the Lindsay Duncan & Ian Charleson version will live long in my memory. Bobbie’s too, I’ll guess. I’d better ask her.