Tag: Andrew Woodall

Burning Issues by Ron Hutchinson, Hampstead Theatre, 19 May 2000

I recall this play/production doing less for me than I had hoped. I was expecting something quite visceral from the author of Rat In The Skull, which I had read with wide-mouthed interest back in the day.

We were keen Hampstead goers, even back then when the venue was still a portacabin down the road from the current high-class venue.

We dined at Harry Morgan’s ahead of the show, getting a fix of Jewish deli grub in St John’s Wood on our way to Swiss Cottage, as was our occasional wont back then.

The cast comprised John Gordon Sinclair, Miranda Pleasence, Andrew Woodall, Rob Spendlove, William Chubb and Kenneth Colley. The actor Denis Lawson directed the production.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard panned it.

Burning de Jongh StandardBurning de Jongh Standard 26 Apr 2000, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent also panned it:

Burning Taylor IndependentBurning Taylor Independent 26 Apr 2000, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Whereas my friend Michael Billington…in truth, also panned it:

Burning Billington GuardianBurning Billington Guardian 27 Apr 2000, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I didn’t think about this play when I saw Giant by Mark Rosenblatt, but reflecting on it now, I can see how Rosenblatt managed to make similar subject matter come alive…

Giant by Mark Rosenblatt, Royal Court Theatre, 21 September 2024

…whereas Burning Issues by Ron Hutchinson, a playwright who had proved that he could write good plays on tough topics, somehow couldn’t make this subject matter fizz.

A rare Hampstead dud for us.

Murmuring Judges by David Hare, Olivier Theatre, 20 January 1992

Two visits to the Olivier Theatre with Bobbie in 48 hours. Just fancy. Must have been an availability thing and both of us wanting to see both plays.

In my log I wrote,

Good, but not as good as I had hoped it would be.

I seem to recall finding the play a bit wordy, a bit worthy and also some of the legal aspects a little unconvincing. I think the feedback from Bobbie’s legal entourage was similar on that last point when we ended up comparing notes.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry for this play.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington Judges JudgesBillington Judges Judges Sat, Oct 12, 1991 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Coveney’s Observer review:

Coveney Judges JudgesCoveney Judges Judges Sun, Oct 13, 1991 – 56 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Shape Of The Table by David Edgar, Cottesloe Theatre, 10 November 1990

Lots of memories from this one.

It was my “get out of jail” weekend. Michael Durtnall (my chiropractor) had insisted that I “lock down” for a month to enable my back to start healing – otherwise he wouldn’t treat me. More on that elsewhere, but basically this weekend was the end of my confinement and boy did I make the most of it with Bridge on Friday, this theatre visit on Saturday and a wedding on the Sunday.

I am very keen on David Edgar so we (me & Bobbie) will have long before booked to see this just after press night. I was very pleased to have negotiated my way out of lockdown to see this.

All I wrote in my log is:

Very good. Neil Kinnock and his entourage were there the night we went.

At the time Neil Kinnock was leader of the opposition. I don’t know whether he and/or his entourage took notes during this paly, but it was a political drama to be sure.

It is set in an unspecified former communist country that resembles the former Czechoslovakia.

Excellent cast; Karl Johnson, Stratford Johns and Katrin Cartlidge standing out in my mind.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for the production.

Michael Billington spoke highly of it in the Guardian:

Billington on The TableBillington on The Table Sat, Nov 10, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in the Observer was also impressed:

Coveney on tableCoveney on table Sun, Nov 11, 1990 – 62 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com