Tag: Demetri Goritsas

Mr Burns by Anne Washburn, Almeida Theatre, 7 June 2014

We really didn’t like this play. I can see from the reviews that it was a “marmite” show.

The problems we had with it were many and varied.

We struggled to suspend belief for the notion that a disaster of the kind described could lead the USA into an autarkic breakdown of society. (Mind you, writing three-and-a-half-years later…)

We struggled to engage with the characters, who were a little too “everyman/no man” for us.

We struggled with the length of the play.

We (or certainly I) found every twist and change predictable and obvious…so much so, that, during the second interval, although we had not looked at a synopsis or review before our visit, I told Janie what the third part was bound to be about…and (by all accounts, we gave it a miss) got it pretty much spot on.

Here is a link to the Almeida’s ever-excellent on-line resource.

The following is the Almeida’s audience response vid:

…and here is a link to a search term that will find the reviews, good and bad.

Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman, Royal Court Theatre, 3 November 2001

We rated this one:

…excellent.

Memorable too, in its creepiness. Yet it somehow Boy Gets Girl doesn’t seem to have hit the radar of the enduring drama canon. The Wikipedia entry at the time of writing this (October 2026) doesn’t even mention the Royal Court production, just the original production in Chicago.

We were treated to a terrific cast for the Royal Court production: Demetri Goritsas and Katrin Cartlidge in the lead roles. Fine support from Nicholas Day, Jason Watkins, Lucy Punch, Karl Johnson, and Lolly Susi – directed by Ian Rickson.

Nicholas de Jongh rated it highly in the Standard:

Boy Gets de Jongh Standard Boy Gets de Jongh Standard 8 Nov 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer was taken by the production and the ideas in it more than the play itself:

Boy Gets Spencer Telegraph Boy Gets Spencer Telegraph 9 Nov 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington, also has some reservations about the play but praises the end result at the Royal Court highly:

Boy Gets Billington Guardian Boy Gets Billington Guardian 8 Nov 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Stalking is a discomforting and difficult topic – perhaps that fact, more than anything else, explains why this piece has somewhat vanished from view in the quarter-of-a-century since.

Marriage Play & Finding The Sun by Edward Albee, Cottesloe Theatre, 5 May 2001

Janie and I have a very clear memory of the opening of Marriage Play, in which Bill Paterson’s character, Jack, repeatedly taunts his wife, played by Sheila Gish, with the phrase “I’m leaving you”. It’s a bit “Who’s Afraid…” meets “Dances of Death”, I suppose. But we both recall really enjoying Marriage Play, while we thought a lot less of the second half’s short play, Finding The Sun.

What did the critics think?

Our friend, Michael Billington, was not wild about the evening as a whole, much preferring Marriage Play:

Marriage Billington Guardian Marriage Billington Guardian 9 May 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer seems to have seen it similarly, while gushing even more about Sheila Gish and Bill Paterson.

Marriage Spencer Telegraph Marriage Spencer Telegraph 10 May 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh, on the other hand, was much taken by both plays, even preferring Finding The Sun:

Marriage de Jongh Standard Marriage de Jongh Standard 9 May 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Earlier that day, Janie and I had warmed up for our evening at the theatre by seeing Greta for massage (in my case) and pilates in Janie’s case.