Tag: Gillian Barge

Mary Stuart by Friedrich von Schiller, Lyttelton Theatre, 20 April 1996

Frankly, Janie and I were not too much taken with this one. And how were we to know that, 10 years later, Anna Massey would become one of Janie’s regular clients? And that more than 20 years later both of us would have a go on Mary Stuart’s tennis court at Falkland Palace, which remarkably still plays?

Edinburgh Day Five: Falkland Palace Gardens And Tennis, 21 August 2018

But I digress.

A fine cast, not only Anna Massey but Isabelle Huppert, Tim Pigott-Smith and a fine collection of RNT regulars, directed by Howard Davies. The Theatricalia entry for this production can be found here.

It just didn’t really float our boat.

What did the critics make of it, I hear you cry?

Michael Billington described it as “far from perfect” but commendable. I’d go with that:

Billington on Mary StuartBillington on Mary Stuart Fri, Mar 22, 1996 – 2 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent described it as a “far from unrewarding evening” – I can go with that too.

Michael Coveney, on the other hand, was absolutely taken with it:

Coveney on Mary StuartCoveney on Mary Stuart Sun, Mar 24, 1996 – 71 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman, Lyttelton Theatre, 24 September 1994

Some rare long intervals between visits to theatre and concert hall that summer, all down to the dawning of my business Z/Yen, which took up ludicrous amounts of time including weekends.

So this was our first arty-evening since Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass at the same venue some six week’s before.

Broken Glass by Arthur Miller, Lyttelton Theatre, 13 August 1994

The Children’s Hour is a great play – Wikipedia describes it here.

The Lyttelton production we saw was very good. Super cast including Harriet Walter and Clare Higgins. Howard Davies directed it. Theatricalia sets out the cast and crew here.

No on-line reviews for the 1994 production that we saw…

…except I now have the odd clipping:

Billington On The Children's HourBillington On The Children’s Hour Sat, Sep 24, 1994 – 30 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

…and this one from Michael Coveney:

Coveney On The Children's HourCoveney On The Children’s Hour Sun, Sep 25, 1994 – 81 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

But anyway you can take our word for it that this was a very good production.

Black Snow by Keith Dewhurst, Cottesloe Theatre, 15 June 1991

I don’t really remember much about this one, which suggests it was not so memorable an evening at the theatre.

Bobbie might remember it better, but I doubt it.

Excellent cast of National Theatre usual suspects. Ron Cook, Marion Bailey, Sally Rogers, Paul Moriarty, Peter Wight, Gillian Barge, Karl Johnson and many others. William Gaskill directed. The Theatricalia entry for this one can be found here.

Michael Coveney absolutely loved it in The Observer:

Coveney on Black SnowCoveney on Black Snow Sun, Apr 28, 1991 – 56 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington also thought it was well worth seeing.

Billington on Black SnowBillington on Black Snow Sat, Apr 27, 1991 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I think there was just too much going on for me. Wonderful acting and all that, but I struggled to engage with it. My bad.

Mrs Klein by Nicholas Wright, Cottesloe Theatre, Followed By Dinner at RSJ, 19 November 1988

The diary is quite clear about this one:

I rated the play/production very good indeed at the time. I am pretty sure that Bobbie rated this highly too.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production. Some cast: Gillian Barge, Francesca Annis and Zoe Wanamaker. Peter Gill directed.

There is a page about this production on Zoe Wanamaker’s website – here.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on Mrs KleinBillington on Mrs Klein Fri, Aug 12, 1988 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe on Mrs KleinRatcliffe on Mrs Klein Sun, Aug 14, 1988 – 37 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

More than 20 years later, Janie and I went to see the revival of this play at the Almeida – which I also rated highly:

Mrs Klein by Nicholas Wright, Almeida Theatre, 24 October 2009

Bobbie and I went to RSJ’s after seeing the 1988 production. RSJ was one of our favourite places back then. I recall Janie liking that place too. It is still there in 2018 but apparently with a different formula.

That was a top notch evening back in November 1988.