Tag: Catherine Kanter

Tolstoy by James Goldman, Richmond Theatre, 5 April 1996

I lost all record of this one, other than the diary notes. If I recall correctly, the programmes weren’t yet available as we saw a preview of this ill-fated play/production at The Richmond Theatre.

Janie made the arrangements and it seems we took The Duchess with us. So if the play was as tedious as the reviews and poor audiences suggest, we had quite an evening. No wonder I blotted it out of my mind.

Here is the Theatricalia entry, which on this occasion is my sole canonical source of “who was in it” type information – thanks for that.

Michael Billington in The Guardian (a friendly critic, not known for his damning reviews), describes the piece as a “piffling bio-play”.

Billington on TolstoyBillington on Tolstoy Wed, May 1, 1996 – 2 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent describes it as “a largely dire production” – click this link to read on-line.

Peter Preston wrote a biting obituary for the play/production when it closed due to poor audiences (see below):

Preston on TolstoyPreston on Tolstoy Sun, May 19, 1996 – 58 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

With the cast including F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Marsh and Gemma Jones, there should have been some salvation in the performances, but it clearly wasn’t a good play/production.

I suspect that The Duchess was not impressed and that it was our fault that the theatrical part of the evening did not meet her high expectations. I’m guessing we ate at Don Fernando’s in Richmond, as we hadn’t booked anything and that’s where we would go without a booking.

Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen, Swan Theatre, 5 November 1994

If my memory serves me correctly, we saw this play as a matinee on the Saturday and then Twelfth Night in the evening. It might have been the other way around.

Anyway, Janie and I voted this one very good.

Theatricalia shows a full list of credits for this production here.

Janie and I are fans of Ibsen for the moral dramas; this play is very different – a fantasy poem of sorts, although grounded in Ibsen’s family experience. Wikipedia explains the play well here.

Paul Taylor previewed this production in The Independent in 1994 just before it opened – click here.

Below is the Michael Billington clipping:

Billington On Peer GyntBillington On Peer Gynt Fri, May 6, 1994 – 45 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Robert Hanks reviewed it for the Independent in 1995 when it transferred to the Young Vic – click here…

But who needs experts? Janie and I thought it was a very good production, so it was just that. Alex Jennings memorable in the lea but well supported by the whole cast.

Pentecost by David Edgar, The Other Place, 4 November 1994

In amongst the heave of getting Z/Yen started that autumn, Janie and I did make the time for a solitary long weekend in Stratford-Upon-Avon, during which we saw three plays.

Not exactly a rest cure…

…said Janie, when I latterly (c25 years later, October 2019) showed her the evidence of that weekend.

The evidence shows that we stayed at The Shakespeare Hotel that time; I think for the second and possibly the last time. We found the room a bit pokey.

Anyway, we saw this David Edgar play on the Friday evening and thought it superb. I’ve always been a fan of Edgar’s plays and this is a good example of his work.

Wikipedia is not all that forthcoming about the play – click here – but I learn that we saw the premier and that it won an Evening Standard Award the following year on transfer to The Young Vic.

Theatricalia sets out the cast and crew here.

I’ve managed to find a contemporaneous review of this one on-line – Paul Taylor from the Independent – click here…

…scraped to here just in case the above link goes down.

Here’s a Michael Billington clipping:

Billingtpn On PentecostBillingtpn On Pentecost Fri, Oct 28, 1994 – 40 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Billington On Pentecost Part TwoBillington On Pentecost Part Two Fri, Oct 28, 1994 – 41 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Here’s Michael Coveney’s take:

Coveney On PentecostCoveney On Pentecost Sun, Oct 30, 1994 – 79 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Anyway, we loved this play/production, that’s for sure. The notion of art and culture fusing/transferring both from west to east and from east to west is more or less received wisdom now, but the debate in the play, especially while the southern slavic region of Europe was still in turmoil, felt very topical and of the moment in 1994.

Did we eat in Fatty Arbuckle’s that evening? Quite possibly, but unless more evidence turns up we’ll not know for sure.