Tag: Hampstead Theatre

Burning Issues by Ron Hutchinson, Hampstead Theatre, 19 May 2000

I recall this play/production doing less for me than I had hoped. I was expecting something quite visceral from the author of Rat In The Skull, which I had read with wide-mouthed interest back in the day.

We were keen Hampstead goers, even back then when the venue was still a portacabin down the road from the current high-class venue.

We dined at Harry Morgan’s ahead of the show, getting a fix of Jewish deli grub in St John’s Wood on our way to Swiss Cottage, as was our occasional wont back then.

The cast comprised John Gordon Sinclair, Miranda Pleasence, Andrew Woodall, Rob Spendlove, William Chubb and Kenneth Colley. The actor Denis Lawson directed the production.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard panned it.

Burning de Jongh StandardBurning de Jongh Standard 26 Apr 2000, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent also panned it:

Burning Taylor IndependentBurning Taylor Independent 26 Apr 2000, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Whereas my friend Michael Billington…in truth, also panned it:

Burning Billington GuardianBurning Billington Guardian 27 Apr 2000, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I didn’t think about this play when I saw Giant by Mark Rosenblatt, but reflecting on it now, I can see how Rosenblatt managed to make similar subject matter come alive…

Giant by Mark Rosenblatt, Royal Court Theatre, 21 September 2024

…whereas Burning Issues by Ron Hutchinson, a playwright who had proved that he could write good plays on tough topics, somehow couldn’t make this subject matter fizz.

A rare Hampstead dud for us.

My Best Friend by Tamsin Oglesby, Hampstead Theatre, 11 February 2000

In truth we don’t remember much about this one. I made no notes in my log about it. I think we quite liked it, but it felt like fairly standard Hampstead Theatre fare.

The Hampstead was still in the portacabins back then, so small, chamber-style work was all the place comfortably could do. Still, we liked the place and went occasionally.

Paul Taylor in the Indy liked it:

Best Friend Taylor IndyBest Friend Taylor Indy 05 Feb 2000, Sat The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph also liked it quite a bit:

Best Friend Spencer TelegraphBest Friend Spencer Telegraph 27 Jan 2000, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

On the other hand, Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard described it as bland:

Best Friend de Jongh StandardBest Friend de Jongh Standard 25 Jan 2000, Tue Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

We saw it on a Friday evening, so no doubt, in those days, we went to Harry Morgans in St John’s Wood for some crazy=cracing-J-food on the way to the theatre.

Peggy for You by Alan Plater, Hampstead Theatre, 27 December 1999

Our last show of the old millennium.

We rated the play/production “good”.

What was not to like? Maureen Lipman as Peggy Ramsey, with sound support from Tom Espiner, Selina Griffiths, Richard Platt and Crispin Redman, all ably directed by Robin Lefevre.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

Yes, the show was a bit of a luvvy-fest but what else might you expect in the circumstances?

Susannah Clapp in The Observer preferred Mnemonic:

Mnemonic & Peggy Susannah ClappMnemonic & Peggy Susannah Clapp 28 Nov 1999, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington really liked it:

Peggy Billington GuardianPeggy Billington Guardian 24 Nov 1999, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent was entertained but thought that Maureen Lipman as Peggy was a case of miscastology…so at least Maureen got an ology I suppose and for sure she spent a lot of time during the play on the phone.

Peggy Taylor IndependentPeggy Taylor Independent 24 Nov 1999, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Disposing Of The Body by Hugh Whitemore, Hampstead Theatre, 14 August 1999

In truth I remember little about this play/production. I logged it without comment, which doesn’t help.

Super cast and crew. Stephen Moore, Charlotte Cornwell, Gemma Jones and David Horovitch, directed by Robin Lefevre.

John Gross in The Sunday Telegraph gave it a modest review, which doesn’t help the memory much, 25 years later, other than making me feel better about the fact that I remember so little about it:

Disposing Gross S TelegraphDisposing Gross S Telegraph 01 Aug 1999, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michel Billington went into more detail in The Guardian and on balance liked it:

Disposing Billington GuardianDisposing Billington Guardian 15 Jul 1999, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nick Curtis in The Standard went into detail explaining why he didn’t like the piece:

Disposing Curtis StandardDisposing Curtis Standard 14 Jul 1999, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I think, on balance, we were more Curtis than Billington about this one.

Snake by Rona Munro, Hampstead Theatre, 27 March 1999

Very good indeed…

…was our judgment on this one.

Lynn Gardner in The Guardian wrote well of it:

Snake Gardner GuardianSnake Gardner Guardian 23 Mar 1999, Tue The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh did not get it in The Standard:

Snake Standard de JonghSnake Standard de Jongh 22 Mar 1999, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Quite a short play, this was, so we were able to eat at Harry Morgan after the show.

The Closing Number by Mladen Materic, Hampstead Theatre, 5 April 1991

Hmm, my memory on this one is very poor.

My diary says I went to see this play with Jilly. Possibly someone Jilly knew/knows had something to do with it.

The performers were Tony Anthony, Denise Wong, Phil Daniels and Kate France. Materic directed the piece himself and it was a Shared Experience production; possibly the first of theirs I saw.

There’s a good interview with Mladen Materic in The List from that time, about this production – linked here. A rare on-line resource from that era.

Michael Billington to the rescue! He previewed the thing in The Guardian – what would we do without him?

Billington Previews Closing NumberBillington Previews Closing Number Thu, Mar 14, 1991 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney reviewed it in The Observer – let’s just say he didn’t much like the show.

Michael Coveney on Closing NumberMichael Coveney on Closing Number Sun, Mar 24, 1991 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

As for my poor recollection of the evening – perhaps Jilly can come to the rescue on that aspect.

Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, Hampstead Theatre, 18 October 1988

Everyone remembers their first time and I was lucky enough to have my first experience with the wonderful actress, Lindsay Duncan.

Seeing Hedda Gabler, I’m talking about – what did you think I meant?

This was another midweek theatre visit with Bobbie, during that brief period of a few months when I was between qualifying and moving on to my next, fully-fledged career.

I rated this experience as “very good” in my log and why not? Lindsay Duncan as Hedda, Jonathan Coy as Tesman, Dermot Crowley as Lovborg…

…here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Most unusually, I have been to see this play with Janie on (at the time of writing) three further occasions. I guess that Lindsay Duncan as Hedda is a bit like a highly addictive drug – you keep chasing that first high, hoping to experience it again. In truth, it did take us a while to land a really good production; the one at the Almeida in 2005 – all to be written up in future Ogblogs.

But back in October 1988, I was already a bit of an Ibsen fan and for sure was really taken with this production. Trevor Nunn had a hand in it, apparently…

..who’d have thought, back then in 1988, that I’d end up meeting Trevor Nunn socially a few years later? Another matter for another Ogblog piece.

Below is Nicholas de Jongh’s Guardian review:

de Jongh on Heddade Jongh on Hedda Mon, Oct 17, 1988 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s short review in the Observer:

Ratcliffe on HeddaRatcliffe on Hedda Sun, Oct 23, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Fancy Man by Mike Stott, Hampstead Theatre, 17 August 1988

Hmm – I really don’t remember this one. A midweek visit to the Hampstead Theatre with Bobbie. Nothing in the log other than a record of the fact that we went.

And the programme.

Most Mike Stott plays have more “on the record”/on-line than this one. I’m going to guess it didn’t do so well.

A grim -sounding Pennines story about a young man who strangles his wife a year or so after they married. He was more a comedy man, was Mike Stott, but perhaps this grim story turns to comedy.

Ian Mercer and Julia Lane playing the leads.

No reviews to be found, just listings and this type of clipping:

Fancy Man Fringe clipFancy Man Fringe clip Mon, Aug 15, 1988 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I couldn’t even find out that much about Mike Stott, apart from the fact that he was the author of Funny Peculiar – but I did find this obituary for him – click here.

I’m going to guess that we didn’t get a great deal out of this one. perhaps the diary will reveal more – e.g. why we went/whether or not we went with some other people that evening.

Danger: Memory! – I Can’t Remember Anything and Clara by Arthur Miller, Hampstead Theatre, 21 May 1988

The irony in the fact that I can hardly remember anything about this double bill of Arthur Miller plays is not wasted on me.

Nor is that irony likely to be wasted on Bobbie, with whom I saw this double bill at the Hampstead Theatre in 1988, but I’m guessing she remembers little about it. Nor on Janie, with whom I saw it all again at the Orange Tree in 2006.

There is a Theatricalia entry for this production – here.

I’m pretty sure this production was the UK premier of this double bill, which probably felt like an exciting prospect.

But I think we came away from the experience feeling that this was not top notch Miller.

This on-line review from the Guardian, of a subsequent London production, explains the synopses and supports my limited memory.

Here is a link to Frank Rich’s review of the original Lincoln Centre production in New York.

Below is Nicholas De Jongh’s Guardian review:

Nicholas De Jongh Danger: Memory!Nicholas De Jongh Danger: Memory! Fri, Apr 8, 1988 – 28 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Blake Morrison’s Observer review:

Blake Morrison on Danger: Memory!Blake Morrison on Danger: Memory! Sun, Apr 10, 1988 – 37 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Who needs memory once you have subscribed to a Newspaper clippings service?