Tag: Mark Dakin

Life x 3 by Yasmina Reza, Lyttelton Theatre, 2 December 2000

Janie and I rated this one in my log:

very good.

We also both remeber it quite well, 25 years later. That might have a fair bit to do with the superb cast: Mark Rylance, Harriet Walter, Imelda Staunton and Oliver Cotton. The production was directed by Matthew Warchus. We didn’t recogognise his name then but we certainly do now. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Yasmina Reza (as translated by Christopher Hampton) was all the rage in the English speaking world back then. This was our fourth go at one of hers – Art having been the piece that kicked off the Reza fashion…

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

…we’d even seen one of hers at The Almeida just 10 weeks earlier:

Conversations After A Burial by Yasmina Reza, Almeida Theatre, 16 September 2000

Anyway, apart from Art, with thought Life x 3 to be the most interesting and memorable of Reza’s works.

Again we went to a preview, so we were ahead of the critics. What did they think? Here’s Charles Spencer who seemed pretty impressed with it, at least as entertainment if not as profound drama:

Life Spencer Telegraph Life Spencer Telegraph 11 Dec 2000 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Bassett wrote an interesting profile-cum-review with some equivocation about this piece and Reza-ism generally:

Life Bassett Indy Life Bassett Indy 10 Dec 2000 The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington, was not at all sure about this piece:

Life Billington Guardian Life Billington Guardian 8 Dec 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh was impressed, while spotting something a bit Ayckbournish about the piece, which I remember thinking/saying myself at the time:

Life de Jongh Standard Life de Jongh Standard 8 Dec 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Lyttelton Theatre, 4 November 2000

It was a bit of a Shakespeare week for us, that week. From Ivan Shakespeare at the Canal Cafe on the Sunday…

A Night For Ivan, (A Random Act Of Kindness & Tribute To The Works Of Ivan Shakespeare), Canal Café Theatre, 29 October 2000

…to one of the Bard’s most famous plays at The National on the Saturday.

Janie isn’t naturally drawn to Shakespeare, but she had never seen Hamlet before and Simon Russell Beale in the eponymous role was a big draw.

I had seen Hamlet before…and at the National before. I had a rare sighting of Daniel Day Lewis in the role before he famously withdrew early in the run to be replaced by Ian Charleson.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Olivier Theatre, 18 March 1989

Anyway, The National obviously felt the urge to have another go at Hamlet less than 12 years later, with Simon Russell Beale, Peter McEnery, Sara Kestleman and Denis Quilley to name but a few.

Janie remembers being impressed by the acting, but still not really relating to or engaging with Shakespeare. I remember feeling that I had probably previously seen the best production of Hamlet I was ever going to see, despite thinking that this was pretty darned good; especially Simon Russell Beale’s performance.

Very good indeed.

That’s what I wrote in my log.

But you don’t want to listen to us. Here are some reviews. First up – Nicholas de Jongh, who also liked Simon Russell Beale more than he liked the production

Hamlet de Jongh Standard Hamlet de Jongh Standard 6 Sept 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Similarly, our friend Michael Billington applauds SRB’s performance and John Caird’s directing of it, but feels that the production strips out the big picture political aspects of the play:

Hamlet Billington Guardian Hamlet Billington Guardian 6 Sept 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer, similarly, applauds the performances but finds the production too stripped back for his taste:

Hamlet Spencer Telegraph Hamlet Spencer Telegraph 7 Sept 2000 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Janie noted in her diary that the play ran for 3 hours and fifteen minutes, so I’ll guess that she was grateful for John Caird’s cuts of the political elements – goodness knows how long the play would have taken in John Caird’s hands if we’d also had the Fortinbras sub-plot to deal with.

Still, to summarise the critics – they warmed to the production almost exclusively because of Simon Russell Beale’s quality. I’m surprised that no-one gave their review the headline, “Saved By the Beale”. They missed a trick there.

The Island by Athol Fugard, John Kani & Winston Ntshona, Lyttelton Theatre, 5 February 2000

Janie and I rated this one very highly…

Really good

…says my log.

I had been a fan of Athol Fugard for many years by then and was very keen to see his long-time associates, John Kani & Winston Ntshona, perform. A set up that can lead to disappointment, but in this instance my enthusiasm was fully justified.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph loved it:

Island Spencer TelegraphIsland Spencer Telegraph 28 Jan 2000, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard also rated it very highly:

Island de Jongh StandardIsland de Jongh Standard 27 Jan 2000, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington gave it a rare full five stars, so he must have really loved it:

Island Billington GuardianIsland Billington Guardian 27 Jan 2000, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

One of those special nights at the theatre, for us, this was.

Battle Royal by Nick Stafford, Lyttelton Theatre, 11 December 1999

Our verdict on this one:

Had its moments.

That is not a rave review.

This production was awash with star names; Zoe Wanamaker, Simon Russell Beale, Gemma Jones, Suzanne Burden, Brendan Coyle, Matthew Macfadyen…

…directed by Howard Davies.

Here is the Theatricalia link for this play/production.

The production and talent on show was all very high quality – I don’t think the play did it for us.

It didn’t seem to please all the critics either. Nick Curtis in the Standard gave it the dreaded blob:

Battle Curtis StandardBattle Curtis Standard 10 Dec 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor, in the Independent, also panned it.

Battle Taylor IndependentBattle Taylor Independent 10 Dec 1999, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

On the other hand, Charles Spencer in the Telegraph rather liked it:

Battle Spencer TelegraphBattle Spencer Telegraph 10 Dec 1999, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

But our charitable friend, Michael Billington, awarded it a rare mediocre two stars:

Battle Billington GuardianBattle Billington Guardian 11 Dec 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Remember This by Stephen Poliakoff, Lyttelton Theatre, 9 October 1999

My log reads:

I got more out of this one than Janie did. Not SP’s best.

We saw a preview – the press night was about a week later.

Stanley Townsend is always good news and he didn’t disappoint as the charismatic lead. Good support too from Geraldine Somerville and others, directed by Ron Daniels. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

It was the play that lacked coherence. Janie couldn’t see past the fragile conceits of the play.

Our friend, Michael Billington, in The Guardian, seems to have shared our reservations. He says that the plot “has more holes than a second-hand colander”…

…(does a new colander have fewer holes than a second-hand one, Michael?)…

Remember Guardian BillingtonRemember Guardian Billington 18 Oct 1999, Mon The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh seems to have hated it. “Ponderous” is not a desirable adjective if you are Poliakoff:

Remember Standard de JonghRemember Standard de Jongh 18 Oct 1999, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Bassett in the Telegraph described it as “chronically dull”:

Remember Telegraph BassettRemember Telegraph Bassett 18 Oct 1999, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

OK, OK, I’ve got the point. A rare dud from Poliakoff, the master.

Betrayal by Harold Pinter, Lyttelton Theatre, 3 April 1999

Very good.

Our verdict in the log back then.

This was a major revival of Pinter’s classic, directed by Trevor Nunn with a cracking cast including Imogen Stubbs, Douglas Hodge, Anthony Calf and several other fine actors.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Unusually, we got to this one late – it had been running at the National for a while, since November 1998, by the time we saw it, towards the end of its run.

Charles Spencer had given it a rave review in The Telegraph:

Betrayal Telegraph SpencerBetrayal Telegraph Spencer 26 Nov 1998, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington, in The Guardian, confessed that he hadn’t “got” this play first time around but got it through this production:

Betrayal Guardian BillingtonBetrayal Guardian Billington 25 Nov 1998, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard also liked it:

Betrayal de Jongh StandardBetrayal de Jongh Standard 25 Nov 1998, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

John Gabriel Borkman, Henrik Ibsen, Lyttelton Theatre, 20 July 1996

This was a great production of great play.  Paul Scofield as the big man, Vanessa Redgrave as the long-suffering wife, Eileen Atkins, Michael Bryant, a great supporting cast, Richard Eyre directing, what was not to like?

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Janie doesn’t tend to like “classics” but tends to makes an exception for Ibsen. This production was no exception to her exception.

As is often the case, the Lyttleton did the play no favours, too big and set back for intimacy yet not quite big enough or shaped right to be the big stage. But when the only criticism one can muster is that, the fact is that this was a great night at the theatre and I am so glad we saw this production.

Paul Taylor in the Independent loved it – click here.

Here’s another little review archive link – click here.

Michael Billington in the Guardian waxed lyrical about it:

Billington on BorkmanBillington on Borkman Sat, Jul 13, 1996 – 30 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

But in truth, you had to be there.  One of the more memorable evenings at the theatre.

Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter, Lyttelton Theatre, 25 May 1996

I’ve long been partial to a bit of Potter, as has Daisy.

I had seen the original TV film of this one and to some extent had my doubts about it, as I have never much enjoyed the conceit of adult actors playing the role of children.

Still, the chance to see a National production of a Potter won the day. Many members of this fine cast went on to bigger and bolder things. Steve Coogan, Nigel Lindsay, Debra Gillett, Geraldine Somerville. Patrick Marber directed it.

The Theatricalia entry for this play/production can be found here.

Michael Coveney in The Observer hated it:

Coveney on HillsCoveney on Hills Sun, May 5, 1996 – 65 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Whereas Michael Billington wrote highly of it, finding it more translatable from screen to stage than most Potter and describing it as “Potter at his best”:

Billington on HillsBillington on Hills Sat, May 4, 1996 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

We were both ambivalent about it. It was clearly a fine production. It pleased me more than the TV version. But that “adults playing children” thing still didn’t really work for me.

Below is an excerpt from the original 1979 TV film:

Blue Remembered Hills _ Scene 1+2 from rob blake on Vimeo.

Mary Stuart by Friedrich von Schiller, Lyttelton Theatre, 20 April 1996

Frankly, Janie and I were not too much taken with this one. And how were we to know that, 10 years later, Anna Massey would become one of Janie’s regular clients? And that more than 20 years later both of us would have a go on Mary Stuart’s tennis court at Falkland Palace, which remarkably still plays?

Edinburgh Day Five: Falkland Palace Gardens And Tennis, 21 August 2018

But I digress.

A fine cast, not only Anna Massey but Isabelle Huppert, Tim Pigott-Smith and a fine collection of RNT regulars, directed by Howard Davies. The Theatricalia entry for this production can be found here.

It just didn’t really float our boat.

What did the critics make of it, I hear you cry?

Michael Billington described it as “far from perfect” but commendable. I’d go with that:

Billington on Mary StuartBillington on Mary Stuart Fri, Mar 22, 1996 – 2 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent described it as a “far from unrewarding evening” – I can go with that too.

Michael Coveney, on the other hand, was absolutely taken with it:

Coveney on Mary StuartCoveney on Mary Stuart Sun, Mar 24, 1996 – 71 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, Lyttelton Theatre, 30 December 1995

I liked this more than Janie did. I thought it was a very good production and I have long had an affection for the play.

Janie sees this as an example of Tom Stoppard being “a bit too clever for his own good”, a view I can understand but with which I don’t agree. Let’s just say that Janie does not remember this fondly.

Amazing cast, with Adrian Scarborough & Simon Russell Beale in the eponymous roles. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Michael Billington is with Janie on the play and with me on the production:

Billington on RosencrantzBillington on Rosencrantz Sat, Dec 16, 1995 – 27 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney strangely liked the play but not so much the production.

Sun, Dec 17, 1995 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com