Tag: Jonathan Munby

A Human Being Died That Night by Nicholas Wright, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, 10 May 2013

Occasionally an evening of theatre is so different and electrifying it sticks permanently in your memory as one of our very best theatre experiences. Janie and I both feel that way about A Human Being Died That Night.

The play is based on a book by Pumla Gobodo-Madikiezla, describing her work as a member of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission interviewing Eugene de Kock, who had been jailed for his murderous role in the apartheid regime.

Here is a link to the Hampstead resource on this play/production.

We attended the first ever performance of this play, at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs.

The downstairs lobby area is actually part of the performance space. We were told to sit around and wait, then the character of Pumla Gobodo-Madikiezla, played by Noma Dumezweni does a sort of presentation for us, explaining the background to her involvement and the effect that her interactions with de Kock had on her…

…then she invites us to join her to witness her experiences and leads us into the main downstairs studio space, which is an interview space in the prison where de Kock (played by Matthew Marsh) is incarcerated.

Below is a vid of an interview with the two main actors when the production was revived at the Hampstead the following year:

Below is a short, sharp vid of an interview with Noma when the play transferred to New York:

The version we saw was not reviewed, but basically the same production did the rounds and was reviewed elsewhere – click here for a search term link to those reviews.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Young Vic Theatre, 3 June 2000

This was a great production. I recall gently persuading Janie to see Macbeth again – she’s no fan of Shakespeare and felt that she had “done” Macbeth when seeing the 1994 Jacobi version.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Barbican Theatre, 19 February 1994

It was the pull of Tony Sher and Harriet Walter that won Janie round, firstly to attending and in the end to admitting what a fabulous production this production at The Young Vic was. It was fast, it was furious, it was very memorable. Greg Doran knows a thing or two about doing Shakespeare.

The Theatricalia entry reminds me that the 2000 version was an RSC touring production that started at the Swan in late 1999 and ended up at The Young Vic in mid 2000.

Here’s Charles Spencer’s review from the Swan:

Macbeth Spencer Telegraph

Article from 18 Nov 1999 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England)

While Spencer gushed, Susannah Clapp really raved about it in the Observer:

Macbeth Clapp Observer

Article from 21 Nov 1999 The Observer (London, Greater London, England)

Paul Taylor also spoke very highly of it in The Independent:

Macbeth Taylor Independent

Article from 17 Nov 1999 The Independent (London, Greater London, England)

Here’s Nicholas de Jongh’s take on the production, once it landed at The Young Vic:

Macbeth de Jongh Standard

Article from 28 Apr 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England)

Is the ultimate accolade five stars from our friend, Michael Billington?

Macbeth Billington Guardian

Article from 17 Nov 1999 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England)

Of course not – the ultimate accolade is Janie admitting that this was an exciting, jaw-dropping production of a play she didn’t much like.