I seem to recall we thought this play was a bit all over the place. It was very well received, but we thought it had glimpses of Miller’s greatness without being of Miller’s very best.
Still, well worth seeing, we felt. It wasn’t until Mr Peters’ Connections a few years later that we concluded that Miller’s light really had (excuse the pun) petered our.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Billington Last Yankee Thu, Jan 28, 1993 – 30 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
Coveney On The Last Yankee Sun, Jan 31, 1993 – 55 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
