Tag: Clare Holman

Each His Own Wilderness by Doris Lessing, Orange Tree Theatre, 18 April 2015

This one didn’t really do the business for us.

We found the bohemian older generation a bit too bohemian and the surprisingly conservative younger generation irritatingly conservative.

Perhaps it all meant more in the late 1950s, but it certainly didn’t pack a punch in the way that its contemporaries (Wesker, Delaney, Osborne and the like) did.

Good cast, well directed…here’s a link to the Orange Tree resource on the play/production…including some review quotes indicating that some reviewers really liked it…

…but others didn’t:

You get the idea. I think we might have escaped early and cut our losses at half time on this one. Janie might remember for sure but I have no recollection at all about the ending and do recall not caring.

Spanish food at Don Fernando rounded off the evening nicely nonetheless.

 

The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder by Matt Charman, Cottesloe Theatre, 7 July 2007

We quite liked this play, although I think we were more taken by the excellent production and cast than the play itself.

I think that means that we basically agreed with Michael Billington’s take on it – click here.

British Theatre Guide was luke warm – here.

Ditto  the Stage – click here.

London Theatre summarises the other, mixed reviews.

 

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, Aldwych Theatre, 14 December 1996

This was a wonderful production of “Virginia Woolf” which lives long in my and Janie’s memories.

Superb production

…was my comment in the log.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Diana Rigg, David Suchet, Lloyd Owen and Clare Holman, with Howard Davies directing. Need I say more?

Paul Taylor in The Independent liked it:

Who's Afraid Taylor IndependentWho’s Afraid Taylor Independent 27 Sep 1996, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michael Billington was full of it:

Who's Afraid Billington GuardianWho’s Afraid Billington Guardian 28 Sep 1996, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in The Observer liked it too:

Who's Afraid Coveney ObserverWho’s Afraid Coveney Observer 29 Sep 1996, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The following clip from The Evening Standard includes Nicholas de Jongh’s review and a review of reviews:

Who's Afraid StandardWho’s Afraid Standard 26 Sep 1996, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Angels in America – Millenium Approaches, Tony Kushner, Cottesloe Theatre, 8 April 1994

Angels In America is a two part play. I can only talk about the first part, Millenium Approaches, which Janie and I both thought was very good indeed.

We were both due to see the second part, Perestroika, the next day, but I got a bout of the raging trots and was confined to my bed instead.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for Angels In America, which covers both parts.

What a cast! Daniel Craig, Susan Engel, Clare Holman, Stephen Dillane, Harry Towd…directed by Declan Donnellan too.

I insisted that Janie go alone to see Perestroika and she told me at the time that it was not as good as Millenium Approaches. But was she saying that just to be kind or was she saying that because she got less enjoyment without me or was she saying that because actually the first part is the better part?

Here is the Wikipedia entry for both.

No on-line reviews from the RNT production back then, sadly. Here is a New York Times transcript from 1993…

…and here is Michael Billington’s review from 1992:

Billington On Angels KushnerBillington On Angels Kushner Sat, Jan 25, 1992 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Olivier Theatre, 30 June 1990

I rated this production very good and I remember it surprisingly well.

Howard Davies directed this one and gathered an excellent cast. Tom Wilkinson as John Proctor, Zoe Wanamaker as Elizabeth Proctor, Clare Holman as Abigail, plus a top notch RNT ensemble, as was the way at that time.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Below is Nicholas de Jongh’s review from The Guardian:

de Jongh on The Cruciblede Jongh on The Crucible Sat, Jun 2, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

This production must have been very good, because it is quite a long play and I had “done my back” pretty dramatically the week before. Thus started a period when my back would tell me whether or not I was fully engaged in a theatrical production. For this one, I only recall the superb drama; I don’t recall the pain!