Tag: Arts Theatre

Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton, The Arts Theatre, 27 January 2001

After the hoo-ha of being grounded from the Royal Court revival of this play in 1975, Entertaining Mr Sloane had been on my bucket list (not that bucket lists had been invented back then) for more than a quarter of a century.

So the chance to see Alison Steadman reprise the role of Kath at the Arts Theatre seemed too good to miss.  I recall she was a very good Kath, ably supported by Neil Stuke as Sloane, Bryan Pringle as Kemp and Clive Francis as Ed.  Variety magazine was less sure about Steadman, but still rated the production.

Did the play still have what it takes, nearly 40 years on?  Michael Billington certainly thought so.  Janie wasn’t so sure – she’s never been convinced by Orton. I thought this one worked better than the revival of What the Butler Saw at the National, which I recall disappointed me, so I didn’t find it dated; but  Tom Keatinge did.

But who cares – I’ve seen the play now and mum couldn’t stop me this time.

Twilight Of The Golds by Jonathan Tolins, Arts Theatre, 5 July 1997

We rated this good, although I recall not really liking the Wagnerian idée fixe (or should I say leitmotif in the context of Wagner?) underlying this New York drama.

The cast comprised Jason Gould (fanfared as the son of Elliot Gould & Barbara Streisand), Gina Bellman, Mark Hadfield, Sheila Allen and Peter Laird. Theatricalia is not much help on this one.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard hated it:

Twilight de Jongh StandardTwilight de Jongh Standard 20 Jun 1997, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Bassett was no more impressed in The Telegraph:

Twilight Bassett TelegraphTwilight Bassett Telegraph 25 Jun 1997, Wed The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Indy was more generous towards the play & production:

Twilight Taylor IndyTwilight Taylor Indy 24 Jun 1997, Tue The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

We had dinner at Momo in Heddon Street afterwards. It was all the rage at that time, having just opened.

Here is Tracey Macleod’s The Independent review of Momo from a few week’s earlier.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) by Jess Borgeson, Adam Long, Daniel Singer, Reed Martin, Reduced Shakespeare Company, Arts Theatre, 5 August 1992

I went to see this show with Andrea, Maz and Daniel – normally the “three musketeers” of our bridge four.

Not sure whose idea it was to see this show…but I’ll guess that Maz was the ringleader for the trip.

I don’t remember much about it, but the diary says we met at 6:30 so I guess we had a drink before the show and a quick meal afterwards. I’m guessing The Mayflower Chinese, as I have a hint of a memory of dining with those three at that place, but I could be wrong.

Andrea or Maz might remember. Even Daniel might. I’d love to learn of any lingering memories from that evening.

My log simply says “fun”, which I recall it was. A rather silly show, of course, but that’s the idea of it.

Three days later, I met Janie. But that’s another story completely (unabridged).

The Reduced Shakespeare Company has its own website still, would you believe – here is the link.

There is also a Wikipedia entry for this great work – click here.

There is even a YouTube recording of the show – see below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqmfrqAVeK0

I can’t find formal reviews of this production but here is an interesting interview with the Reduced Shakeseare lot:

Veronica Lee With The RSCVeronica Lee With The RSC Mon, Mar 6, 2000 – 53 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com