Tag: Abigail McKern

Travelling Light by Nicholas Wright, Lyttelton Theatre, 28 January 2012

We both found this piece charming and entertaining. It is about the birth of the cinema in the late 19th early 20th century shtetl.

It doesn’t get full marks for historical authenticity and it is a very sentimental piece, but that’s not always so terrible.

Superb cast, very well directed and some wonderful effects with the use of film.

Nicholas Wright has previous on these history-based imaginings. We loved Vincent in Brixton for example. Also Mrs Klein – click here or below for that one:

Mrs Klein by Nicholas Wright, Almeida Theatre, 24 October 2009

Travelling Light got mixed reviews – click here for a search term that finds them. Several critics really liked it. Others felt the sentimentality and stereotypes were not for them.

We very much enjoyed our evening, while recognising that this is an entertaining play, not a great play.

Below is the trailer…

…and the following vid has mini interviews with the key cast and creatives.

The Merchant Of Venice by William Shakespeare, Phoenix Theatre, 29 August 1989

I saw this production of The Merchant Of Venice with Bobbie. I don’t think either of us was overly enamoured of it. I registered “quite good” in my log, which is faint praise from me.

There was a lot of hype about this production because Dustin Hoffman was playing Shylock. I recall that Bobbie’s friend May Lamb referred to that actor as “Dustbin Hoffman” – I must admit that I have never been able to process his name the same way since.

There were other good folk in this production; Geraldine James as Portia for a start. Michael Sibbery as Gratiano, Ian Lavender as Solanio, Leigh Lawson as Antonio, Peter-Hugo Daly as Launcelot Gobbo and many other good names. Peter Hall directed it.

Here is its Theatricalia entry.

Sometimes a collection of big names is not, in itself, enough.

Also, I have a feeling that this is not really a great play; that’s my opinion anyway. Technically it is a comedy in the Shakespeare canon, but well short of laughs for the modern audience, even by Shakespeare comedy standards.

This review piece from the New York Times archive suggests that the critics weren’t overly impressed with this production either.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on MerchantBillington on Merchant Fri, Jun 2, 1989 – 27 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe on MerchantRatcliffe on Merchant Sun, Jun 4, 1989 – 44 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Here is a little YouTube clip of Dustbin…

…I mean Dustin Hoffman rehearsing with Peter Hall: