Tag: Almeida Theatre

The Life Of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, Adapted by David Hare, Almeida Theatre, 12 March 1994

Janie and I see a lot of theatre and on the whole go to see productions that we find good or very good. But just occasionally we see something that is a cut above and is truly memorable as one of the best productions we have ever seen.

That is how my memory (25 years later) recalls this adaptation/production of The Life Of Galileo and my log from the time registers the simple phrase, “excellent production”.

Here is the Theatricalia record for this production.

Contemporaneous reviews only through the following clippings of Michael Billington’s review:

Billington On GalileoBillington On Galileo Fri, Feb 18, 1994 – 34 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com Billington On Galileo Part TwoBillington On Galileo Part Two Fri, Feb 18, 1994 – 35 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

My take is that Richard Griffiths was superb as Galileo, ably supported by a top notch cast dirtected by Jonanathan Kent.

This a David Hare adaptation was revived at The National some 12 years later; there are on-line reviews of that production – e.g. this one, which mentions the 1994 production.

The Wikipedia entry for the play provides a good synopsis.

An exceptionally good night at the theatre, I remember it well.

Moonlight by Harold Pinter, Almeida Theatre, 23 October 1993

Yes, yes, yes! We thought this was a really, really good night at the theatre.

I’d long been a Pinter fan. Janie wasn’t really familiar with his work, but Janie made the running for this night at the Almeida, booking us the front row seats we craved for that place (still do) and jotting down all the details. 90 minutes without an interval. Seats A7 & A8.

This play/production was our first sighting of Pinter together.

I think we ran into Ivan Shakespeare again that night; volunteering for the Almeida selling programmes.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

Here is the Wikipedia entry, which shows who did what etc. What a cast it was too. Claire Skinner, Ian Holm, Anna Massey, Michael Sheen, Douglas Hodge, Jill Johnson and Edward de Souza – directed by David Leveaux.

Below is Michael Coveney’s review:

Michael Coveney MoonlightMichael Coveney Moonlight Sun, Sep 12, 1993 – 49 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington’s review was on the front page of the Guradian – how often does that happen? Along with a luvvie-fest piece (I’m glad we weren’t there that night and a continuation on Page 18.

Billington MoonlightBillington Moonlight Wed, Sep 8, 1993 – 1 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Billington continued on Page 18:

Billington Moonlight ContinuedBillington Moonlight Continued Wed, Sep 8, 1993 – 18 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Also in the Guardian, an Anna Massey interview about Moonlight. Anna Massey went on to become one of Janie’s regular clients, but Janie didn’t yet know her when we saw Moonlight.

Anna Massey MoonlightAnna Massey Moonlight Thu, Sep 9, 1993 – 35 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

We stayed at mine by the looks of it. I think I probably cooked, given the short play and my having been in the West End on the Friday.

Anyway, it was a fabulous, memorable night at the theatre.

The Showman by Thomas Bernhard, Almeida Theatre, 12 June 1993

Janie and I both thought this play/production was very good.

Alan Bates was a superb actor and was espececially suited to this role. The supporting cast were excellent under Jonathan Kent’s expert direction.

Below is Michael Billington’s judgment on the piece:

Billington On the ShowmanBillington On the Showman Wed, May 19, 1993 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney was also very keen on this play/production:

Michael Coveney On The ShowmanMichael Coveney On The Showman Sun, May 23, 1993 – 64 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Janie and I still say “my dear child” in the gnarley style that Alan Bates delivered that phrase in this production.

This was our first visit to the Almeida together and I have a feeling we ran into my NewsRevue friend Ivan Shakespeare on this occasion and indeed on more than one of our first few occasions at the Almeida. Ivan was a volunteer there and I think he did Saturday evenings whenever he could.

Mozart And Salieri by Alexander Pushkin, Almeida Theatre, 11 March 1989

I went to see this production at the Almeida with Kate (previously and latterly Susan) Fricker. I rated it as very good and I’m pretty sure that Kate really enjoyed this production too.

It was an adaptation of a short Pushkin play about the interaction/rivalry between the two composers. This play inspired Peter Shaffer to write Amadeus on the same topic but the pieces are quite different other than the core topic. Here is the Wikipedia entry about the play.

Of course there is little on-line about these old productions – this one doesn’t even have a Theatricalia entry – but I did find this fascinating Guardian piece, including a wonderful photo of Tilda Swinton in the role of Mozart – click here.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on Mozart SalieriBillington on Mozart Salieri Mon, Apr 10, 1989 – 37 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe on Mozart SalieriRatcliffe on Mozart Salieri Sun, Apr 16, 1989 – 43 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The dates on these reviews imply that Kate and I attended a preview in March 1989.

The diary is silent about what Kate and I did before or after the show; I’m sure we will have eaten something or at least taken some refreshment and had a chat. Perhaps Kate remembers.

My memory isn’t brilliant on this one. I would have sworn that we saw Stella Gonet opposite Tilda Swinton in this, but all the evidence says we saw Lore Brunner. I can see no sign of ever having seen those two (Swinton and Gonet) on stage together, although both were prominent in the leading roles we were seeing at that time.

In any case, I believe this was only my second visit to the Almeida, the first having been some six months earlier, to see Hello And Goodbye. I do recall falling for the Almeida as a place itself on this second visit – whereas that first visit I was simply bowled over by the production and didn’t especially associate that visit with the Almeida. That was partly, I think, because Kate was especially taken with what they seemed to be doing at the Almeida in terms of restoring an old theatre for modern use.

Hello And Goodbye by Athol Fugard, Almeida Theatre, 6 September 1988

My log says that this play/production was superb and I certainly remember it as so.

The play is one of Fugard’s earliest – a two-hander about a brother and sister in the Eastern Cape; somewhat down-at-heel Afrikaners. Here is a link to a Jhu article about this lesser-known Fugard play.

This might have been my first sight of Tony Sher performing live and it was, I think, my first ever visit to the Almeida Theatre. Those things were oft-repeated after this night.

I don’t think I have ever seen Estelle Kohler perform since, but I recall thinking that her performance, as well as Tony Sher’s, was acting from the very top drawer.

But then what did I know? Or indeed what do I know? Except that, on Googling this production, it seems that both performers picked up Olivier Award nominations for their performances in this one that year – click here.

I saw this production with Bobbie midweek – on a Tuesday – whatever next?

I wonder whether Ivan Shakespeare sold us the programme or ushered us to our seats – I didn’t know him back then, but I believe he was volunteering at the Almeida for many years before I met him through NewsRevue.

The production was actually an RSC thing – a brief exile from the Barbican at the Almeida.

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

Below is Nicholas de Jongh’s Guardian review:

Nicholas de Jongh on Hello & GoodbyeNicholas de Jongh on Hello & Goodbye Tue, Aug 9, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below in Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratclliffe on Hello & GoodbyeRatclliffe on Hello & Goodbye Sun, Aug 7, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

This was a really memorable night at the theatre – more than 30 years later, I can still visualise the Johnny and Hester characters hollering at each other – I can still almost feel their pain.