Tag: Matthew Dewsbury

The New Real by David Edgar, The Other Place, 14 October 2024

Not to be confused with The Other Palace, in Westminster, which I visited with my old school pals a few days earlier…

“You’re Only Young Once But You Can Be Immature Forever”, Dinner With Fellow Alleyn’s Alums, Then Tink by Lizzy Connolly & Kat Kleve, The Other Palace, 8 October 2024

…this visit to The Other Place, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, was the excuse for me and Janie to take a short break in that wonderful town this autumn.

A Short Autumn Break In A 15th Century Cottage In An Old Market Town Part One: Stratford-Upon-Avon, 13 to 16 October 2024

We’re big fans of David Edgar’s plays. Indeed, this was our second David Edgar premier in the past few weeks – his plays seem to come along with the regularity of London buses these days (nothing for ages, then two together):

Here In America by David Edgar, Orange Tree Theatre, 14 September 2024

But in truth I cannot rave about The New Real the way I raved about Here In America.

There was a lot to like about The New Real. Terrific cast who all acted superbly well. Excellent production using the traverse stage and screen effects well. But the overall effect of this rather long play was a sense of over-stimulation by the end of it. So many ideas about politics. So many screen and stage effects. And relatively little human drama to illustrate rather than declaim the points David Edgar wanted to make.

Anyway, despite both coming out of the experience with headaches of over-stimulation, we’re both glad that we have seen this play.

Here is a link to the RSC resources on this one, which will tell you all about the cast and creatives and that sort of thing.

Here is a Google search which should find reviews for this play/production. I believe many/most reviews express a similar view on this play/production to ours…but perhaps with a bit more critical heft than I choose to muster.

The Buddha Of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi, Swan Theatre, 16 May 2024

To round off our short break in Stratford, we had arranged to see The Buddha of Suburbia.

I read this novel “back in the day” and remember really wanting to like it and enjoying the subject matter yet not liking it all that much as a novel. I also recalled that it had been turned into a TV series “back then”, which I didn’t see but which I imagined might have been a better medium for the story than the novel.

Thus, all those months ago when we planned this trip, I told Janie that I fancied seeing this show and she needed little persuading.

We are so glad we chose it.

The Swan was an excellent setting for this production

Here is a link to the RSC materials on this show – a comprehensive pack which spares me a great deal of trouble, as I need not repeat this stuff!

The reviews were already out by the time we got to this one, not that we are raving about it just because the critics seemed so impressed. Here is an unfiltered link to reviews that should find good and bad ones – they seem pretty much all to be good ones.

We pretty much agree with the main points that flow from the reviews. On the whole we are not mad about long shows, but this seemed a breeze to us despite being close to three hours long (including the interval).

The 1970s look and soundscape was a trip down memory lane for us, much as it was for Hanif Kureishi I suppose. The main sentiment is joyous celebration of the era and coming of age, but there was plenty to think about too, in terms of the ugly aspects of that era, not least overt racism.

We sat in the front row, which got us caught up in the one small piece of audience participation in this show. That was mostly directed at Janie but also, in the end, also at me.

Maybe I shouldn’t have worn THAT shirt.

Still, we survived the experience and anyway Janie and I are used to people laughing at us.

At the time of writing there is as yet no sign of a West End transfer, but surely this wonderful piece will lend itself to a decent and successful run in The Big Smoke.