Tag: Kathryn Hoodless

Little Eyolf by Henrik Ibsen, RSC, Swan Theatre, 19 April 1997

Janie and I are both partial to a bit of Ibsen and partial to a bit of Stratford-Upon-Avon, so this RSC production of Little Eyolf caught our eye.

A stellar cast and crew, including Robert Glenister, Joanne Pearce and Damian Lewis, directed by Adrian Noble. The Theatricalia entry for this one can be found here.

We rated this production very good, as did our friend Michael Billington in The Guardian:

Billington Guardian EyolfBillington Guardian Eyolf 21 Dec 1996, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas De Jongh in The Standard was less sure:

De Jongh Standard EyolfDe Jongh Standard Eyolf 19 Dec 1996, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph spoke very highly of it:

Spencer Telegraph EyolfSpencer Telegraph Eyolf 20 Dec 1996, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Easter by August Strindberg, The Pit, 25 February 1995

We went on a bit of a Strindberg fest that February – this the second of two Strinds in one month. The first was The Dance of Death at The Almeida:

The Dance Of Death by August Strindberg, Almeida Theatre, 11 February 1995

My log says that we thought Easter “excellent” wheras I rated The Dance Of Death “superb”. Not sure whether one of those big adjectives trumps the other. We clearly very much enjoyed both plays/productions.

Katie Mitchell directed Easter and the cast was excellent. A young Lucy Whybrow picked up an Ian Charleson Award for her role as Eleanora in this production. Adrian Rawlins played Elis, Susan Brown played the mother and Philip Locke played the sinister Lindkvist.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

A wonderful preview of this one and The Dance of Death by Paul Taylor survives in The Independent on-line – click here.

Taylor does mention this production in the review I posted for The Dance Of Death. Nothing else that I can find on-line from 1995.

It was excellent – take our words for it.

Or if you don’t like our word, try this Michael Billington clipping:

Billington On EasterBillington On Easter Sat, Jan 28, 1995 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Or try Kate Kellaway:

Kate Kellaway On EasterKate Kellaway On Easter Sun, Jan 29, 1995 – 75 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Wildest Dreams by Alan Ayckbourn, The Pit, 26 February 1994

My log reads,

Don’t remember this one too well, which says something.

I have managed to find a synopsis, click here, but it doesn’t really help me much.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production. Still only a vague memory.

I don’t think we liked it.

I don’t think we walked out at half time. I suspect the performances from that top notch cast kept us going. But I don’t think we liked the play.

I’ve managed to find an on-line review for this one, in the Variety archive – click here.

Here is the Michael Billington clipping:

Billington On Wildest DreamsBillington On Wildest Dreams Thu, Dec 16, 1993 – 34 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Here’s Michael Coveney’s clipping:

Coveney On Wildest DreamsCoveney On Wildest Dreams Sun, Dec 19, 1993 – 58 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com