Tag: John Gordon Sinclair

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.

The Common Pursuit by Simon Gray, Phoenix Theatre, 30 April 1988

I went to see this production of The Common Pursuit with Bobbie.

It had received a lot of publicity at that time, due to its stellar cast of comedy folk: Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry, Sarah Berger, John Sessions, John Gordon Sinclair and Paul Mooney.

We didn’t realise at the time that the piece was a rewrite/revival of a play produced at the Lyric a few years earlier. The Wikipedia entry for The Common Pursuit explains.

I remember thinking it was actually a very good play. I had already formed a liking for Simon Gray plays by reading many of them in the mid 1980s. This might have been the first one I saw on the stage.

I also recall not liking the sycophantic audience who seemed to think it was hilarious if Rik Mayall or Stephen Fry merely walked onto the stage. But that was the audiences problem, not the play’s. Nor the production’s, really.

I think the play has been somewhat under-rated in the Simon Gray canon as it has not often been revived in the 30 years since.

My log registered “very good” for this one.

The next time Simon Gray was partnered with Rik Mayall and Stephen Fry in the West End was Cell Mates in 1995, which did not end up so well; especially for Stephen Fry. Janie and I missed that one as I guessed that “sycophantic audience syndrome” would displease Janie even more than it had displeased me and Bobbie in 1988. But Janie and I did go to the revival of Cell Mates at the Hampstead in 2017:

Cell Mates by Simon Gray, Hampstead Theatre, 9 December 2017

But back to The Common Pursuit. Bobbie’s memory of it has yet to be tested. I’ll get back to this piece in the unlikely event that something specific about this piece or this evening emerges.

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe On Common Pursuit & Faust Part OneRatcliffe On Common Pursuit & Faust Part One Sun, Apr 10, 1988 – 37 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Billington’s review:

Michael Billington On Common PursuitMichael Billington On Common Pursuit Sat, Apr 9, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I vaguely remember taking after theatre supper with Bobbie at one of those West End restaurants after this one but cannot recall which particular restaurant it was.