Tag: Irina Brown

Further Than The Furthest Thing by Zinnie Harris, Cottesloe Theatre, 7 October 2000

Janie and I gave this one a single word review in my log:

Superb.

A very memorable evening in the theatre. Set on and about the people of the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, we were both captivated by this play and production.

The cast: Paola Dionisotti, Gary McInnes, Kevin McMonagle, Darrell D’Silva, Arlene Cockburn and Greg Knowles were all superb, with Paola Dionisotti being the stand out performer. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

We saw a London preview, although the production was a transfer from Edinburgh.

Nicholas de Jongh was pretty pleased with it, rating it very good:

Further de Jongh Standard Further de Jongh Standard 11 Oct 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The production had played in Edinburgh at the Traverse a couple of months earlier – most of the national papers’ reviews were from Edinburgh.

Here’s Charles Spencer gushing about it:

Further Spencer Telegraph Further Spencer Telegraph 8 Aug 2000 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in the Independent also spoke highly:

Further Taylor Indy Further Taylor Indy 19 Aug 2000 The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

A few of the reviews, including this anonymous one from The Guardian, suggest that the play was too long – but clearly Janie and I were sufficiently captivated, as long plays rarely got “superb” ratings form us:

Further Guardian Further Guardian 8 Aug 2000 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.