Tag: Kevin McNally

The Lady In The Van by Alan Bennett, Queen’s Theatre, 4 February 2000

This play/production was hugely hyped and got rave reviews when it opened a few week’s before we attended. I think we applied for our tickets before the show opened, opting to wait until good seats were available. Even then, we needed to opt for a Friday rather than a Saturday to get what we wanted. Such was the pull of the West End, not least Maggie Smith…or rather “Dame Maggie”…in those days.

Here’s a link to the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Here’s a gushing preview from The Telegraph, by way of example:

Dame Maggie Telegraph PreviewDame Maggie Telegraph Preview 03 Dec 1999, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Despite Janie’s reservations about Dame Maggie, we were drawn in and actually rather enjoyed this production. The play is a little contrived and mawkish, but the performances, especially Dame Maggie’s, were excellent, as was the intriguing van-themed set.

Van Butler IndependentVan Butler Independent 12 Dec 1999, Sun The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer also loved it:

Van Spencer TelegraphVan Spencer Telegraph 09 Dec 1999, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Some equivocation in Nicholas de Jongh’s Standard review, that reflects my thoughts on the play/production more than the utter gush reviews:

Van de Jongh Standard

Praise with some equivocation also from our friend Michael Billington in the Guardian:

Van Billington GuardianVan Billington Guardian 08 Dec 1999, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Looking back 25 years Janie and I are both glad we saw this one.

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