Tag: Ian Bartholomew

The Power Of Yes by David Hare, Lyttelton Theatre, 17 October 2009

We were not overly impressed with this play.

David Hare is very good at burrowing around all manner of interesting topics, but I suspect he was too far away from his spheres of knowledge and understanding with the financial crisis.

Hare almost admits as much, as the narrator of the play is a somewhat perplexed author.

So to me, Hare was making the obvious points about the financial crisis well enough, but there was little dramatic tension and no new insight in the piece.

Janie liked it a bit more than i did, but I suspect that she got more out of it, being less steeped in the financial crisis in the first place.

I’m glad we saw it, but this is second division work from a first division playwright. There was little a good cast and production could do to save it.

 

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

Pravda by Howard Brenton & David Hare, Olivier Theatre, 28 February 1986

Bobbie & I caught this one just before it came off and I am so glad we did. I sense that it was Bobbie’s barrister crowd – she was still doing her pupillage at that time, who had persuaded her (and me through Bobbie) that you HAD to see this play before it comes off.

The last Friday evening – probably all that was available that last weekend of the run.

Gosh this play and production was good.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Anthony Hopkins was predictably strong as the barely disguised Rupert Murdoch-type figure, Lambert Le Roux. Ah, South African, not Australian, so couldn’t possibly be about Murdoch, m’Lud.

Super supporting cast too: probably my first sighting of a young Bill Nighy, plus Tim McInnerny, Kate Buffery, Peter Blyth…

Milton Shulman enjoyed the fun but didn’t much like the play in The Standard:

Pravda Shulman Standard Pravda Shulman Standard 3 May 1985 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Similarly, John Barber in The Telegraph thought the play should have focussed a bit more on the ethics and a bit less on the boistrous fun:

Pravda Barber Telegraph Pravda Barber Telegraph 3 May 1985 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Even Michael Billington sort-of agrees – the play offers little insight into what might be a more ethical Fleet Street – but still the play/production was highly entertaining:

Pravda Billington Gradian Pravda Billington Gradian 3 May 1985 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Heck, we were kids. (Early 20s). We loved it. I remember that evening at the theatre fondly.

According to my diary, Bobbie and I went on for a “Turkish meal after, very nice”. I suspect that must have been Capital Kebab House, which was pretty much the only Turkish show in that part of town in those days. Astonishingly, that place is still there, decades later, in The Cut. I must try it again some time.