Tag: Bob Crowley

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.

“Clubbing” Up West, 13 March 1992, The Night Of The Iguana by Tennessee Williams, Lyttelton Theatre, 14 March 1992

Excellent

I wrote in my log and I remember this production as such too. In 1992 I was still going to this sort of production with Bobbie as long as she was available, which most often she was, despite her protests that mebooking stuff so far ahead meant she couldn’t/wouldn’t guarantee her availability.

Bobbie was there for this one.

I’m pretty sure I had seen Bobbie the night before as well. The diary simply says “clubbing” which, as I recall it, meant a West End evening with Bobbie and several of her law reporter friends.

I remember the evening of Friday 13 March 1992 clearly, because I almost lost my life earlier that day on the M11, driving out to see Schering, when a lorry shed its load of timber on the two-lane motorway ahead of me and I had nowhere to go (other than into a central reservation barrier to the right or into the vehicles to my left) so I slowed down as much as I could through the timber and then vehicularly limped to the hard shoulder to have my broken car and shaken me rescued.

I must have bored everyone shitless with my Friday 13th story that previous evening and for sure the events of the day and evening of 13th were small beer compared with the drama that unfolded at The Lyttelton on the Saturday Night.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

I’ve always been partial to a bit of Tennessee Williams and this play/production is a good example of why Williams is worth watching.

There’s a good synopsis of the play on Wikipedia – here.

Frances Barber as Maxine, Alfred Molina as The Reverend Shannon, Eileen Atkins as Hannah…top cast. Richard Eyre in the director’s chair.

Richard Burton, Ava Gardner & Deborah Kerr starred in the Hollywood film version – films are different, but here is a clip:

Returning to the 1992 production, here is Kate Kellaway’s preview piece from the Observer:

Kate Kellaway Preview IguanaKate Kellaway Preview Iguana Sun, Feb 2, 1992 – 59 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Coveney’s Observer review:

Michael Coveney on IguanaMichael Coveney on Iguana Sun, Feb 9, 1992 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on IguanaBillington on Iguana Sat, Feb 8, 1992 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

It really was a cracking night of theatre.

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

Henry IV Parts One & Two by William Shakespeare, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Part Of A Back-Aching Weekend In Stratford With Bobbie, 27 to 29 September 1991

Back in the day, when I didn’t look much like the bard, Bobbie and I were partial to a bit of Shakespeare.

This sounded like the real deal, with Robert Stephens as Falstaff and Michael Maloney as Hal. A little-known (at that time) actress Linda Bassett played Mistress Quickly and Adrian Noble directed the thing.

Besides, I had studied Henry IV Part One for my English ‘O’ Level, so obviously I knew what I was talking about.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for Henry IV Part One – which we saw on Friday 27 September.

My log for Henry IV Part One reads:

Back-aching but worth it

Whereas for Henry IV Part Two, which we saw on Saturday 28 September, it reads:

Seriously back-aching but still worth it

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for Henry IV Part Two.

Both plays were long – hence the back ache. I was still suffering the aftermath of my multiple lower back disc prolapses the previous year.

They were very good productions though.

Below is Michael Coveney’s Observer review of Henry IV Part One:

Coveney on Henry IV Part OneCoveney on Henry IV Part One Sun, Apr 21, 1991 – 56 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Billington’s take on Part One in the Guardian

Billington on Henry IV Part OneBillington on Henry IV Part One Thu, Apr 18, 1991 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Kate Kellaway’s Observer review of Part Two

Kate Kellaway on Henry Part TwoKate Kellaway on Henry Part Two Sun, Jun 2, 1991 – 72 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Here’s Michael Billington in The Guardian ecstatic about the pair after seeing Part Two

Billington On Part TwoBillington On Part Two Sat, Jun 1, 1991 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

We stayed in an unmemorable B&B on the edge of town. I vaguely recall a bossy (i.e. rule-laden) owner.

I think we ate good food. Fatty Arbuckle’s or Lambs, and then The Glory Hole, if I recall correctly. I’m pretty sure the latter on the Saturday night because Henry IV Part Two was so darned, back-achingly long, there was only one eatery in Stratford open that late in those days.

We suffered for our art, going to Stratford, back then.

The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare, Lyttelton Theatre, 28 July 1990

Bobbie & I were both very keen to see this one – hence our appearance on the first Saturday after press night, booking the tickets long before.

We weren’t disappointed. My log reads:

Superb. The setting was 1930’s style and they made a movie based on this production.

Below is a link to a National Theatre clip:

While below is a clip from the 1995 movie:

Janie would have got less out of this than Bobbie and I did – she is not so keen on Shakespeare, Sir Ian McKellen nor Dame Maggie. (The latter was not in the National Theatre stage production – Susan Engel played Queen Margaret.)

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for that Richard Eyre stage production.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review. He also thought this production excellent:

Billington on Dick The ShitBillington on Dick The Shit Fri, Jul 27, 1990 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

In The Observer, Michael Coveney reviewed this Dick The Shit production and also the King Lear with which it was repping:

Coveney on Dick Shit & LearCoveney on Dick Shit & Lear Sun, Jul 29, 1990 – 51 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

While Kate Kellaway (also in the Observer) interviewed the two protagonists, Ian McKellen (Dick) & Brian Cox (Lear).

Kate Kellaway with Cox & McKellenKate Kellaway with Cox & McKellen Sun, Jul 29, 1990 – 51 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Othello by William Shakespeare, RSC at the Young Vic, 4 November 1989

My log says that this was a transfer from The Other Place in Stratford and that I (possibly we – Bobbie was with me) was/were not 100% sure about it.

What was there not to be sure about? Splendid cast: Willard White as Othello, Ian McKellen as Iago, Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona, Zoe Wannamaker as Emilia…Trevor Nunn directing.

Well, actually, I think I have a bit of a problem with this play. Janie and I saw a National Theatre production about eight years later and I just couldn’t get on with that either.

https://ianlouisharris.com/2022/08/02/othello-by-william-shakespeare-cottesloe-theatre-2-august-1997

I also have a feeling that the 1989 RSC production felt a little over-theatrical to me. There is a certain Trevor Nunn style. Little did I know then that Janie and I would meet Trevor and Imogen – strangely around about the time we saw the 1997 RNT Othello.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Here are Ian McKellen’s thoughts on the matter.

Bobbie might be full of memories of this one and chime in…let’s see!

Michael Ratcliffe in The Observer wrote this:

Ratcliffe On OthelloRatcliffe On Othello Sun, Aug 27, 1989 – 36 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington in the Guardian wrote this:

Billington on OthelloBillington on Othello Sat, Aug 26, 1989 – 20 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com