Tag: Ken Stott

Art by Yasmina Reza, Wyndham’s Theatre, 11 January 1997

Oh by gosh we enjoyed this one. I wrote in my log:

Great fun. Subsequently, the cast changed every five minutes, but we saw the “original” UK cast.

And what a cast that was: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay and Ken Stott.

Unusually, it was Janie who booked this one. How do i know – because the details are all over her diary, not mine…and boy did Janie write down details. So I can report that the play was 1 hour 40 minutes without an interval and that we sat in K22 & K23.

While the play/production was a huge hit and ran for yonks, it was not universally praised by the critics.

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard quite liked it:

Art Nicholas de Jongh StandardArt Nicholas de Jongh Standard 16 Oct 1996, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

My friend Michael Billington was not too sure about the take on art while accepting that it was an enjoyable night at the theatre:

Art Billington GuardianArt Billington Guardian 16 Oct 1996, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While David Benedict in the Independent wrote:

Art David benedict independentArt David benedict independent 26 Oct 1996, Sat The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Broken Glass by Arthur Miller, Lyttelton Theatre, 13 August 1994

The play is well described on Wikipedia here. We saw the UK premier at the RNT.

What a cast; Henry Goodman, Margot Leicester, Ken Stott…David Thacker directed it. Theatricalia has this record for the play/production we saw – click here.

Janie and I rated it “very good indeed” at the time. I do recall it being a very interesting play and the RNT production was top notch, as RNT productions were wont to be at that time.

Here is a link to a review of the original New York production of this play, a few months before the RNT production.

Here’s Michael Billington’s review:

Billington On Broken GlassBillington On Broken Glass Sat, Aug 6, 1994 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney hated it:

Coveney On Broken GlassCoveney On Broken Glass Sun, Aug 7, 1994 – 68 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Lots of Olivier Awards for the RNT production, including BBC Best Play Award.

The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar, Olivier Theatre, 27 June 1992

I have carried a fondness for this play with me for as long as I can remember, despite it not really being my type of play.

Revisiting my first encounter with it for Ogblog, some 25 years later (August 2017) I can understand why. This was one heck of a good production.

The Theatricalia website has recorded all the cast and crew details, mercifully, so I don’t have to – click here – then gasp in awe and wonderment. What a cast, what a production team.

Photostage has some photos, which you can peruse if you wish – here.

All my notes say is that I went with Bobbie Scully and that we thought it was very good.

I remember thinking Ken Stott was superb – I don’t think I had seen him before. It might have been my first encounter with the excellent Alex Jennings. Des Barrit was also a standout performer, as usual. But in truth the whole cast was good and you can see many names on the list who went on to do bigger and bolder things.

There are no on-line reviews to be found – until now – my one right here – yay!

I’m not sure what Bobbie and I did about eating afterwards, but in those days we would sometimes eat at the RNT itself – we might well have done that – or sometimes we’d go to The Archduke or somewhere of that ilk nearby.

 

Below is Michael Coveney’s Observer review:

Coveney on RecruitingCoveney on Recruiting Sun, Mar 15, 1992 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Billington’s review:

Billington on RecruitingBillington on Recruiting Sat, Mar 14, 1992 – 30 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, Olivier Theatre, With Bobbie, 15 November 1988

This production started its life at the Cottesloe, then went on tour and then returned to the National at the Olivier. Bobbie and I caught it on its return.

Theatricalia lists the production here.

I recall not much liking this play. We had seen a cast comprising mostly this ensemble perform The Tempest some months earlier, which I had loved. I think it was that experience that drew us to Cymbeline.

I also realised by then that I prefer smaller spaces than the Olivier – there was a comparatively impersonal feel to the Cymbeline and I remember wondering whether I would have liked it more in the Cottesloe.

Still, it was a fine production with an excellent cast. I wonder what Bobbie thought of it and/or recalls about it?

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review of Cymbeline:

Billington on CymbelineBillington on Cymbeline Mon, May 23, 1988 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review, which also covers The Tempest:

Ratcliffe on Tempest & CybelineRatcliffe on Tempest & Cybeline Sun, May 22, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

This was my last week working for Newman Harris, I was doing exam marking for Financial Training college to make a few extra bucks and on the preceding Monday my parents went on holiday. How do I remember all that?:

The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Cottesloe Theatre, 23 July 1988

This was a very good production of The Tempest at the National Theatre. Peter Hall directed it. Superb cast.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review of the Tempest

Billington On The TempestBillington On The Tempest Sat, May 21, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review of the Tempest and Cybeline:

Ratcliffe on Tempest & CybelineRatcliffe on Tempest & Cybeline Sun, May 22, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

It was part of repertory trio of productions of late Shakespeare plays, of which we also saw Cybeline a few months later:

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, Olivier Theatre, With Bobbie, 15 November 1988

I rated this production very good. I think we benefited from seeing The Tempest in the intimate environment of the Cottesloe – certainly when compared with Cybeline at the Olivier.

Not sure what we did afterwards – the diary might have some info on that, which I shall add in the fullness of time if it does.