Mark Henderson – Page 2 – Ian Louis Harris

The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute, Almeida Theatre At King’s Cross, 25 May 2001

Superb.

That was my one word log entry for this one, which both of us o indeed remember as superb. We were deep into Neil LaBute back then and might still be if he was still writing plays like this one.

Add to that Almeida quality of production and four fine actors: Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol and Frederick Weller – it wasn’t going to go wrong. I don’t normally approve of playwrights directing their own work, but Neil LaBute was actually very good at doing the director’s job with his own material.

Here is a link to the Thetaricalia entry.

A rare visit to the Almeida on a Friday for us – it was a bank holiday weekend and we had little else on, so I think this will only have come down to getting good seats for a preview.

Here’s what the critics had to say best part of a week after we had seen it. Charles Spencer was very impressed in The Telegraph:

Shape Spencer Telegraph 1 Jun 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

#Susannah Clapp was less sure, but still heaped praise:

Shape Clapp Observer 3 Jun 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington was not so sure:

Shape Billington Guardian 31 May 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Indeed, this analytical piece form The Guardian suggest that tis piece divided the critics. The stuff we like best often does:

Shape Guardian analysis 9 Jun 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Lulu by Frank Wedekind, Almeida Theatre At Kings Cross, 24 March 2001

To the bus station we went that Saturday to see Lulu very early in the Almeida run. The theatre was being refurbished that season – hence the bus station.

This play might have benefitted from the more intimate atmosphere of the Almeida Theatre itself. The coldness of the bus station served to emphasise the absence of warmth in a sex worker’s craft.

With Anna Friel, Oliver Milburn and Alan Howard taking lead roles and Jonathan Kent directing, it was always going to be a well put together show. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Nicholas de Jongh was captivated by Anna Friel’s Lulu, but several of his critic colleagues were not. The following piece from the Standard shows the critical divide.

Lulu de Jongh Standard 20 Mar 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Janie and I were similarly conflicted over this one It wasn’t just about the bus station setting. Wedekind’s work is open to wide interpretation and this version seemed to be hedging its bets.

Our friend, Michael Billington, expressed similar sentiments well:

Lulu Billington Guardian 20 Mar 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Susannah Clapp was kinder to it than most:

Lulu & Boston Marriage, Clapp Observer 25 Mar 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Were we glad to have seen this production? Of course we were.

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

I should describe this as “the weekend of the playwright Rezas”, shouldn’t I, having seen Reza de Wet’s play Crossings on the Friday…

Crossing by Reza de Wet, Riverside Studio 3, 15 September 2000

…we ventured to the Almeida for Yazmina Reza’s much anticipated follow up to Art…except it turned out to be an earlier play, not a subsequent one.

I wrote nothing in the log about this one, and sense that we weren’t overly impressed, but nor were we especially disappointed. I remember little about it other than it being a very high-end Almeida cast and production.

Paul Higgins, Amanda Root, Clare Holman, Claire Bloom, Matthew Marsh & David Calder were the cast. Howard Davies directed it. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Let’s see what the pundits had to say.

Susannah Clapp was not impressed, other than with Claire Bloom:

Burial Clapp Observer 17 Sept 2000 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

On the other hand, John Gross in the Sunday Telegraph really liked it:

Burial Zinc Gross Sunday Telegraph 17 Sept 2000 Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh also talks up Claire Bloom while damning the production with faint praise:

Burial de Jongh Standard 13 Sept 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Casting vote to our friend Michael Billington, who liked its Chekhovian quality:

Burial Billington Guardian 13 Sept 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

All My Sons by Arthur Miller, Cottesloe Theatre, 5 August 2000

I gave this production a one word review in my log:

Marvellous.

I remember that Janie and I had awaited this one eagerly. I remember that Ben Daniels was especially good in it, as were James Hazeldine, Paul Ritter, Julie Walters and Catherine McCormack. Howard Davies directing – and indeed the Cottesloe, now Dorfman as a location – were consistently good back then.

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph had to set aside his antipathy towards Arthur Miller because he thought this production so good:

Sons Spencer Telegraph
Article from 10 Jul 2000 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England)

Susannah Clapp loved the play and the production:

Sons Clapp Observer
Article from 9 Jul 2000 The Observer (London, Greater London, England)

Patrick Marmion in The Standard issued a rare “outstanding” mark:

Sons Marmion Standard
Article from 7 Jul 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England)

John Gross, like his mate Charles Spencer, liked the production more than the play:

Sons & Samaritan Gross Sunday Telegraph
Article from 16 Jul 2000 Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England)

A rare and unexpected downbeat note comes from our friend, Michael Billington, who didn’t like the choice of play, nor did he like the production.

Sons Billington Guardian
Article from 8 Jul 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England)

I guess you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

Mr Peters’ Connections by Arthur Miller, Almeida Theatre, 22 July 2000

In truth, I remember little detail about this piece. My impressionistic memory of it is that we found the piece impenetrable and sensed that Miller was, sadly, well past his prime when he wrote it. I didn’t write anything positive or negative about it in my log…which is a tad negative.

We leapt in early and saw a preview on 22 July.

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

Susannah Clapp compared it unfavourably with the Steppenwolf production that was touring at the same time.

Peters’ Clapp Observer
Article from 30 Jul 2000 The Observer (London, Greater London, England)

David Benedict slammed the piece directly in the Independent:

Peters Benedict Indy
Article from 27 Jul 2000 The Independent (London, Greater London, England)

While Kete Bassett Telegraphed her antipathy in the ehadline:

Peters’ Bassett Telegraph
Article from 28 Jul 2000 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England)

Nicholas de Jongh gave it a dreaded Standard blob rating, with words of damnation and occasional faint praise:

Peters’ de Jongh Standard
Article from 27 Jul 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England)

Would our friend, Michael Billington, rescue this one with his trademark kindness and positivity? The almost unheard of two star review says, “no”.

Peters’ Billington Guardian
Article from 28 Jul 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England)

Even Arthur Miller, even the Almeida (which was terrific back then) could muster the occasional dud and this was one of those.

Janie and I quietly agreed that we’d think twice before again booking to see plays written by great writers once they were quite so deep into their dotage.

Richard II by William Shakespeare, Almeida at Gainsborough, 20 May 2000

We were still at the stage that I thought Janie might just be converted on to Shakespeare, so I booked a couple of Bard productions that spring: Ralph Fiennes playing the title role in this one and Tony Sher playing the title role in the Scottish one.

The idea didn’t really work on Janie – especially Richard II, which she found long and dull, despite a great cast and very solid production.

If I remember correctly, Gainsborough was a pop up theatre on the site of a disused film studio in Hoxton. This was one of the Almeida’s homes for a while, during which time the theatre was being poshed-up a bit.

Ralph Fiennes was a nodding acquaintance of mine back then – one of several actors who frequented Lambton Place in those days. This I disclose in the interests of openness and transparency, not that nodding acquaintanceship might affect my judgment.

I thought this production was very good, but I have always had my doubts about Richard II as a play. It is one that I “studied” at school, as a precursor to Henry IV Part one being my ‘O’ Level text. If Michael Lempriere couldn’t make it interesting for me, even Ralph, Jonathan Kent directing and an excellent supporting cast were going to struggle.

Paul Taylor in The Independent liked it but was a little underwhelmed:

Richard Taylor Independent 13 Apr 2000, Thu The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard was more impressed by the set than anything else:

Richard de Jongh Standard 13 Apr 2000, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Even Charles Spencer in The Telegraph described it as “far from electrifying” and “dull”:

Richard Spencer Telegraph 14 Apr 2000, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Not our greatest weekend of theatre, 19/20 May 2000. But you cannot win them all.

The Novice by Jean-Paul Sartre, Almeida Theatre, 6 May 2000

Very good indeed,

I wrote, and no doubt it was. A fine cast, led by Jamie Glover, Natasha Little & Kenneth Cranham, directed by Richard Eyre, doing Sartre. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

Nicholas de Jongh wrote highly of it:

Novice de Jongh Standard 11 May 2000, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Bassett in the Telegraph also liked it:

Novice Bassett Telegraph 12 May 2000, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

But on this occasion, our friend, Michael Billington, disagreed with us, comparing The Novice unfavourably with a play at the Royal Court, Mr Kolpert, which we did not see, despite going to the theatre an infeasible number of times that May.

Novice Billington Guardian 13 May 2000, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, Albery Theatre, 26 February 2000

This production was credited as “Donmar Warehouse at the Albery” and everything about it was Donmar Warehouse, but playing away from home. This production had received glowing reviews and awards the year before at the Donmar. We missed out then but were not about to miss out on it now.

Excellent cast, Nigel Lindsay, Sarah Woodward, Stephen Dillane & Jennifer Ehle leading, with David Leveaux directing.

Here is a Theatricalia entry link for this one.

No notes in the log, but I remember it as a very good production and I am pretty sure that Janie warmed to it.

We had seen an amateur production of The Real Thing at The Questors a few year’s earlier, along with The Duchess (Janie’s mum)…

The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, The Questors Theatre, 3 April 1993

Our “Donmar Warehouse at The Albery” experience was a more relaxing evening and a very fine production. Janie doesn’t really warm to Stoppard, but she did warm to this one.

I won’t overdo the reviews, as they are from the original production 9 months earlier, but here’s just a couple of examples of the raving – the first from our friend Michael Billington in The Guardian…

Real Thing Billington Guardian 03 Jun 1999, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

…followed by a fairly rare example of Charles Spencer in the Telegraph lining up with Billington to praise the same production to the rafters:

Real Thing Spencer Telegraph 03 Jun 1999, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I think Janie must have sourced these tickets, because her diary notes that we’ll be sitting in the fifth row. Great diary detail, 25 years on, that one.

Bash by Neil LaBute, Almeida Theatre, 29 January 2000

This production blew us away. It was shocking and also intensely gripping drama.

We trusted the Almeida in those days, so we booked a preview of this one, “on spec”, although we were unfamiliar with Neil LaBute’s work and also unfamiliar with the imported cast and director.

We were right to trust!

Bash is a collection of short plays, rather than “a play”. All were excellent in our view. The last one was the most shocking, but all were shocking in their own way. Brilliantly well acted by Mary McCormack, Zeljko Ivanek & Matthew Lillard. Joe Mantello directed. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

I’m pretty sure the critics tended to be with us in admiring this one. Let’s see.

Yup, Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard waxed lyrical: