Tag: Al Weaver

Inadmissible Evidence by John Osborne, Donmar Warehouse, 29 October 2011

I recall looking forward to this play/production a great deal, but not enjoying it as much as we had hoped.

Douglas Hodge was terrific in the lead; indeed all of the supporting cast did well too.

I think it is just a bit of a mess of a play. John Osborne works best for me when his angry, ranting lead has more context than their own small world. The Entertainer and this play lack that context for me, becoming almost lengthy monologue rants.

This production got rave reviews – click here for a search term that finds them – so our disappointment was a minority view.

I also recall us finding the audience a bit irritating the night we went. I think Douglas Hodge and Karen Gillan had attracted a bit of a TV-star-sycophant crowd, which has a tendency to deflate our mood at the theatre.

In truth we were reaching the end of our road with the Donmar by then. For a long while it felt like a slice of fringe in the heart of Covent Garden, but it was starting to feel more like an exclusive, corporate club for West End theatre in a small house.

Here is a link to the excellent “Study Guide” pack which the Donmar has now made downloadable.

They made a movie of this play back in the 1960s, soon after it was first seen on the stage – below is a vid with a clip of that. Nicol Williamson – there is an abbreviated first name to conjure with – John Osborne considered him to be “the greatest actor since Marlon Brando”, apparently…a tough act for even Douglas Hodge to follow, I guess:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOK4ZfpGtlw

House Of Games by David Mamet, Jonathan Katz & Richard Bean, Almeida Theatre, 11 September 2010

We are big fans of Mamet and also big fans of the Almeida, so Janie and I were really looking forward to this one.

We indeed got a fabulous production, wonderfully well acted, directed and produced. But we were less sure about the piece itself.

Of course with Mamet you get more twists and turns than a country lane. Of course you get even riper language than an expletive-filled debate at our place after Janie and I have both had a bad day. And of course, with Richard Bean in the driving seat for the play script itself, you get some lovely stage devices and coups de theatre.

But the piece itself, based on a 1980’s Mamet film script, seemed surprisingly slight and it was unusually easy to predict the twists. I suspect the film worked better, but I haven’t seen it.

Still, with Alleyn’s School alum Nancy Carroll heading up a pretty impressive cast, plus Django Bates providing the atmospheric jazz music, it was an entertaining evening to be sure. Janie enjoyed it thoroughly, but also claimed she let the plot wash over her.

Here is a link to the Almeida resource on the play/production. 

Sceptics might not trust the above resource to link to all the reviews – quite rightly, as the reviews were mixed. Here’s a helpful search term for your own deep dive – click here.

If you’d like to see the trailer, click below – it’s pretty cool: