The Story of Jude by Geoffrey Beevers, Orange Tree Theatre, The Room, 22 October 1999

This was the last ever production in the Room above The Orange Tree pub itself. The bespoke Orange Tree Theatre had been up and running for a while by then and the decision was made to stop doing some shows above the pub still. A shame in a way, as we loved that small venue. But understandable.

Here is a preview of the show from the Richmond & Twickenham Informer:

Jude Richmond InformerJude Richmond Informer 01 Oct 1999, Fri The Richmond and Twickenham Informer (Richmond upon Thames, London, England) Newspapers.com

Judging by the markings in both of our diaries, we had planned to go away for a couple of weeks that October and then changed our minds. Probably because we didn’t think we could leave Gavin unmanaged doing the works at Clanricarde Gardens. This was one of several things we booked up to replace the holiday. We both did some work but worked light during those weeks.

It wasn’t a great play or production, but the story was interesting and Mairead Carty was always very watchable.

We went to a restaurant named Burnt Chair in Duke Street afterwards. It was loved more for its wine list than its food, according to my 2003 Hardens and also this tombstone piece in The Standard when the place died in 2014.

Eurydice by Jean Anouilh, Whitehall Theatre, 24 July 1999

In truth, I don’t remember all that much about this production. I’ve long been partial to a bit of Anouilh, which would have been the main reason we booked it.

Excellent cast, including Orlando Seale, Edward de Souza, Desmond Barrit, Ray Llewellyn, Roz McCutcheon, Amy Marston, Susan Tracy & Geoffrey Beevers.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Charles Spencer suggests that he unexpectedly liked it:

Eurydice Spencer TelegraphEurydice Spencer Telegraph 15 Jul 1999, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Dominic Cavendish also wrote well of it in the Indy:

Eurydice Cavendish IndyEurydice Cavendish Indy 14 Jul 1999, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Similarly, our friend, Michael Billington, seemed surprisingly pleased with it:

Eurydice Billington GuardianEurydice Billington Guardian 14 Jul 1999, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com