Tag: Jeremy Swift

Feelgood by Alistair Beaton, Hampstead Theatre, 26 January 2001

We had a very entertaining weekend at the end of January that year, seeing Feelgood on the Friday and then Entertaining Mr Sloane on the Saturday…

Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton, The Arts Theatre, 27 January 2001

…just before heading off for a wonderful holiday in South-East Asia.

Cambodia Laos and Thailand, Placeholder and Links, 4 February to 27 February 2001

On the Friday evening, we saw Feelgood. We would have eaten at Harry Morgans before the show. I remember this play having a superb cast: Jeremy Swift, Henry Goodman, Amita Dhiri, Nigel Planer, Pearce Quigley, Sian Thomas, Nigel Cooke and Jonathan Cullen (according to my log), and being lots of fun. Max Stafford-Clark directed it. It transferred to the Garrick with a slightly different cast – Peter Capaldi taking Jeremy Swift’s place. Here’s the Theatricalia entry for that one.

Nicholas de Jongh really liked it in The Standard, especially heaping praise on Henry Goodman’s performance:

Feelgood, de Jongh Standard Feelgood, de Jongh Standard 1 Feb 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph gave it a short but positive review too:

Feelgood Spencer Telegraph Feelgood Spencer Telegraph 10 Feb 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington covered Feelgood in a general piece about political theatre at the start of 2001:

Feelgood plus, Billington Guardian Feelgood plus, Billington Guardian 17 Feb 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Billington concludes that article with a statement that seems oh so apposite as I write 25 years later:

…theatre is a place of information as well as entertainment and the more it cuts itself off from society – and relies on a mixture of anodyne musicals and Hollywood-star casting, the more it is doomed to glamorous irrelevance.

What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton, Lyttelton Theatre, 27 May 1995

I rated this “good” but frankly I rated it higher than Janie did. I have always been partial to a bit of Joe Orton, while Janie finds the farce element of Orton’s plays not to her taste.

This production pushed my Orton boundaries somewhat as Phyllida Lloyd certainly accentuated the farce aspect.

Still, it was a fabulous cast, with John Alderton, Nicola Pagett, Debra Gillett, David Tennant and Richard Wilson to name but five. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Michael Billington really liked it:

Billington on What the ButlerBillington on What the Butler Sat, Mar 4, 1995 – 28 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney also liked it:

Coveney on What the ButlerCoveney on What the Butler Sun, Mar 5, 1995 – 79 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Mother Courage And Her Children by Bertolt Brecht, version by Hanif Kureishi, Cottesloe Theatre, 15 January 1994

Our first theatre visit of 1994 which, according to my log, we both thought was a very good production.

The Theatricalia entry for this production can be found here.

I cannot find any contemporaneous reviews on-line for this production…

…but there are some clippings, e.g. Michel Billington:

Billington On Mother CourageBillington On Mother Courage Wed, Dec 8, 1993 – 28 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

A smaller clipping also from Michael Coveney:

Coveney on Mother CourageCoveney on Mother Courage Sun, Dec 12, 1993 – 79 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Ellie Haddington played the lead role very well.

My log describes this as an “RNT Education Department Mobile Production”, so my guess is that it toured extensively beyond the Cottesloe. Good for it.