Writing this one up more than 30 years later, I am a bit confused about when I saw it and with whom, if indeed anyone else. I do know for sure that I saw this production at The Swan and was very taken with it.
I took a week off work just after Easter that year, visiting various friends about the place. I’ll write that up as best I can in due course. But in my appointments diary it clearly states “Troilus” 19 April.
Roll the clock forward to November, I saw Much Ado at the Royal Shakespeare Memorial with Moose. Tucked in with the Much Ado programme is the Troilus programme.
So did I simply pick up the programme in November having seen a preview of Troilus on my tod in April, or did I duck out in April and see this in the autumn with Moose? I think the former, but I’ll see if Moose can help me unpick this one.
Anyway, what a cast and what a fine production I recall. Ralph Fiennes was Troilus and I think it might have been a conversation with him at Lambton Place (my health club, latterly BWW) that encouraged me to see a preview of this production at Stratford.
Amanda Root played Cressida very well and David Troughton was a top notch Hector, Paterson Joseph a fine Patroclus. Wonderful supporting cast full of names that latterly became big. Sam Mendes was a bit of a Shakespeare novice back then.
Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.
Nicholas de Jongh seemed pretty convinced in the Guardian:
de Jongh on Troilus Sat, Apr 28, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
Michael Coveney loved it in the Observer…
Coveney on Troilus Sun, Apr 29, 1990 – 54 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
…as did I. I only wish I could remember the peripheral details of my visit.
