A Weekend During Which Janie & I Did More Than Plenty, including…Plenty by David Hare, Albery Theatre, 17 April 1999

Richard Croft / The George Hotel Wikimedia Commons

Elvis Has Entered The Building

The highlight of this weekend – or at least the most memorable event – was me being recognised by Elvis Costello when he and his misses were heading for their seats just behind us at the Albery.

I have written that up in my piece about the play/production:

Prior To the West End, A Jaunt To Lincolnshire & Nottingham

Our diaries indicate a flurry of activity on the Friday and the Saturday, which I only vaguely remember. Janie had a podiatry course at Nottingham University on the Saturday morning and we had chosen to take the Friday off to make that a more palatable affair, not least because Janie didn’t fancy the crack of dawn start to go to Nottingham and back in a day.

We lunched at The George At Stamford, in Lincolnshire, a place I knew and linked from “back in the day” when business took me up that way. Janie checked us in to The Village Hotel and Leisure Club in Nottingham, which enabled me to enjoy facilities while she was on her training course. Janie’s diary reminds me that she arranged for both of us to have massages there on the Friday evening when we arrived, which we both deemed to be a very ordinary “pitty-pat” experience, unlike our regular arrangements in London.

After Janie’s course we legged it back down to London and then on to The Albery. It all reads very hectic in the diaries – we’d for sure avoid such a crush 25 years later, as I write.

And The Next Day…

We went to the Barbican Hall for a concert, which I have written up here, with yet more celebrity name-dropping potential for me and Janie:

Plenty by David Hare, Albery Theatre, 17 April 1999

A star-studded audience our night: me, Janie, Elvis Costello…

…we didn’t/don’t normally go to celebrity gala preview evenings for productions. Indeed, I think we ended up at this one by accident.

If I remember correctly, Janie booked this one on an early priority booking as she was a member of the Almeida Theatre, which was responsible for (or at least heavily involved with) this production. We tend to like and book previews, because they are usually low key and precede the hullabaloo of press nights and the like. For some reason this one seemed to be different.

We got to the Albery and our seats in good time. Then someone in the row behind me taped my shoulder and said “hello” as he was going past towards his seat. It was Elvis Costello, whom I had got to know reasonably well in the 1990s at Lambton Place Health Club (now BodyWorksWest).

In fact, for several years at Lambton Place, I was aware of this friendly fellow who was obviously in the music business, as indeed were many members at Lambton’s. I had not recognised him as Elvis Costello, despite my having several of his albums and having seen him live several times in the 1980s. On one occasion, a few years before The Albery, he and I were chatting in the steam room and I asked him what he did. He said that he used to be in a band called Elvis Costello and the Attractions. “Oh yes”, I said “I have several of your albums and saw the band live more than once. Do you mind telling me your name?” He told me, and clearly found my embarrassment at my gaff funny.

I even reviewed one of Elvis Costello’s gigs for Concourse, our student newspaper, in 1983. That was only seven or eight years before I first met him.

Anyway, roll the clock to April 1999 again. We were still on “chat quite regularly at the health club” terms, hence Elvis Costello tapping me on the shoulder, saying hello and stopping for a brief chat as he was going through to his seat.

“Who was that?” asked Janie after he and his Mrs had moved on. “Elvis Costello”, I said, quietly and matter-of-factly I thought, but my words caused a flurry among a group of celebrity-spotters in the row in front of us, who proceeded to keep turning around at regular intervals, looking at Elvis Costello and quizzically looking at me and Janie whom, I suppose, they now suspected of being celebrities worth spotting in our own right. I found this more amusing than Janie did.

Unfortunately, the pre-show hullabaloo was probably the most entertaining aspect of the evening from my point of view. I didn’t much like the play and found Cate Blanchett’s character Susan incredibly irritating.

Not as good as we had hoped it would be

…was my log comment, so I am pretty sure Janie felt the same way.

It was all very well produced and had a tip-top cast under Jonathan Kent, but that couldn’t rescue the evening for us. Here’s a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Paul Taylor in The Independent shared our doubts about this play/production, although saying that he would sooner spend three weeks stuck in a lift with Hedda Gabler than have a drink with Blanchett’s character Susan is harsher than I could have been:

Taylor Independent PlentyTaylor Independent Plenty 28 Apr 1999, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph hated the play but fell in love with Cate Blanchett

Spencer Telegraph PlentySpencer Telegraph Plenty 29 Apr 1999, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

We had posh nosh at The Beaumont afterwards. I think it had recently had a makeover at that time – it will have had a makeover or two since (he says, writing 25 years after the event).

From Square (14 February) To Naked The Next Weekend: Naked by Luigi Pirandello, Almeida Theatre, 21 February 1998

The Square (Restaurant), 14 February 1998

“Dinner with some chick”

…reads my diary entry for that evening…

“8:00 Valentine Night The Square Restaurant” 6 Bruton Street W1 Karine”

…reads Janie’s more helpful entry.

Janie’s diary also informs me that we went to Sound On Wheels in North Harrow that morning, where the indomitable Maurice & Ray will have sorted out the latest arrival in our household, my souped-down Honda CRX, Nobby, with a sound system.

Picture borrowed from allinlondon.co.uk

25 years on, Sound On Wheels has gone. As has The Square, which presciently closed down just before the Covid 19 pandemic.

When we went it was all the rage, having relatively recently moved to Mayfair. It was in the process of collecting its second Michelin Star had it not done so already.

Also borrowed from allinlondon.co.uk, for consistency’s sake

Janie remembers this as one of the finest meals we have had, with superb service too. It was a very special evening.

Naked by Luigi Pirandello, Almeida Theatre, 21 February 1998

There had been a lot of hype about Juliette Binoche coming to tread the Almeida boards, so we were really looking forward to this one.

Our review:

Not as good as we expected – the critics were more convinced by Ms Binoche than we were

My recollection is that we found it hard to hear what she was saying despite the fact that we were sitting in the front row.

The critics fell in love with her, though. My friend, Michael Billington, going a little overboard. I agree with him about Juliette Binoche’s “eccentric inflections” and that Oliver Ford Davies put in a blinder of a performance.

Naked Billington GuardianNaked Billington Guardian 19 Feb 1998, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

David Benedict in The Independent leapt to Juliette’s defence, like a knight in shining armour, denying even the accusation that the inflections were eccentric:

Naked Benedict IndependentNaked Benedict Independent 25 Feb 1998, Wed The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard hated the play but loved Juliette Binoche. I would agree that part of the problem was the play – not one of Pirandello’s best:

Naked de Jongh StandardNaked de Jongh Standard 19 Feb 1998, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Unsurprisingly, Charles Spencer was star struck by Juliet Binoche in The Telegraph:

Naked Spencer Telegraph (for real)Naked Spencer Telegraph (for real) 19 Feb 1998, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I stand by our own review – we couldn’t hear clearly what Juliet Binoche was saying in a play that, in any case, would have been a fairly difficult watch.

We ate at Pasha afterwards. Another once-excellent eatery that is no longer there 25 years later:

A hat trick of thanks for pictures to allinlondon.co.uk

The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, Almeida Theatre, 20 December 1997

“Back in the day” when we didn’t mind going off to the theatre in the pre-Christmas maelstrom.

Also back in the heyday of the Almeida. I’m glad we went, as this was a very good production indeed.

Tom Hollander as Khlestakov, the civil servant mistaken for the Government inspector. My neighbour, Iain McDiarmid, performing as the Lord Provost (rather than directing this time), Jonathan Kent directing. There is a Theatricalia entry for this one – here.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard was more taken with the production than the play…I am inclined to agree, not being a great lover of farce:

18 Dec 1997, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

However, my friend Michael Billington in The Guardian suggests that it is the production, not the play, that, if anything, errs towards farce in this instance:

20 Dec 1997, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

John Gross in The Sunday telegraph seemed to like it, admiring its universal appeal:

Waste Land & Government Inspector Sunday telegraphWaste Land & Government Inspector Sunday telegraph 28 Dec 1997, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

My records tell me that we ate at Granita after the show. As far as I know Janie and I didn’t make any sort of deal there in the Blair/Brown style.

Ivanov by Anton Chekhov, Almeida Theatre, 1 March 1997

We loved this play and production.

In those days, Ralph Fiennes was one of my buddies as Lambton Place…

…OK, what I really mean is that I’d quite often see him there and we were nodding acquaintances.

Anyway, Fiennes was doing great theatre work in those days, not least at the Almeida, which was having a heyday under the joint leadership of Iain McDiarmid (also one of my nodding acquaintances in the Notting Hill neighbourhood back then, as it happens) and Jonathan Kent.

I wrote in my log:

Very good production. Ian McDiarmid near stole the show the night we went understudying as Kosykh.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry, which informs us that John cater was supposed to play Kosykh.

Anyway…

Charles Spencer loved it in The Telegraph:

Ivanov Spencer TelegraphIvanov Spencer Telegraph 20 Feb 1997, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh was less sure in The Standard:

Ivanov, de Jongh, StandardIvanov, de Jongh, Standard 20 Feb 1997, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul taylor spoke highly of it in The Independent:

Ivanov, Taylor, IndependentIvanov, Taylor, Independent 21 Feb 1997, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While my friend, Michael Billington, loved it:

Ivanov, Billington, GuardianIvanov, Billington, Guardian 20 Feb 1997, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

…as did we (have I mentioned that yet?) – then we left the country for a few weeks.

The Life Of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, Adapted by David Hare, Almeida Theatre, 12 March 1994

Janie and I see a lot of theatre and on the whole go to see productions that we find good or very good. But just occasionally we see something that is a cut above and is truly memorable as one of the best productions we have ever seen.

That is how my memory (25 years later) recalls this adaptation/production of The Life Of Galileo and my log from the time registers the simple phrase, “excellent production”.

Here is the Theatricalia record for this production.

Contemporaneous reviews only through the following clippings of Michael Billington’s review:

Billington On GalileoBillington On Galileo Fri, Feb 18, 1994 – 34 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com Billington On Galileo Part TwoBillington On Galileo Part Two Fri, Feb 18, 1994 – 35 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

My take is that Richard Griffiths was superb as Galileo, ably supported by a top notch cast dirtected by Jonanathan Kent.

This a David Hare adaptation was revived at The National some 12 years later; there are on-line reviews of that production – e.g. this one, which mentions the 1994 production.

The Wikipedia entry for the play provides a good synopsis.

An exceptionally good night at the theatre, I remember it well.