Race by David Mamet, Hampstead Theatre, 31 May 2013

Not David Mamet’s best play, but even modest Mamet on the subject of Race provides plenty tension and interesting drama. We needed to suspend belief a little too much on this one – as is the way with lesser Mamet.

Click here for Hampstead Theatre’s resource on this play/production.

Below is a backstage vid for this production:

The critics were less forgiving than we were for this short play – click here for a link to a search term that finds the reviews.

Still, excellent cast, well directed by Terry Johnson. It was an enjoyable evening at the theatre.

The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O’Neill, Almeida Theatre, 18 April 1998

It had to be good for Janie to stay awake for best part of 4 hours

Thus spake my log.

It was very good. Kevin Spacey in the lead role. Excellent supporting cast, including Tim Pigott-Smith and Rupert Graves. Howard Davies directing.

Here’s a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Nicholas de Jongh liked it a lot in The Standard:

Iceman Standard de JonghIceman Standard de Jongh 15 Apr 1998, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent, though positive, was less sure:

Iceman Independent TaylorIceman Independent Taylor 16 Apr 1998, Thu The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington, in The Guardian, was very keen on it:

Iceman Guardian BillingtonIceman Guardian Billington 16 Apr 1998, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com