Tag: Michael Gambon

The Unexpected Man by Yasmina Reza, Duchess Theatre, 25 July 1998

Performed without an interval. Not special.

That was our verdict on this one.

Michael Gambon & Eileen Atkins couldn’t save this slight play for us.

Yasmina Reza was all the rage at that time, not least because of Art, so this play transferred for a while – indeed we missed it at The Pit, seeing it at The Duchess (but not WITH The Duchess).

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard really liked it:

de Jongh Standard Unexpectedde Jongh Standard Unexpected 16 Apr 1998, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in the Independent was less sure:

Taylor Independent UnexpectedTaylor Independent Unexpected 17 Apr 1998, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Let’s leave the casting vote to our friend Michael Billington. “A bit too self-consciously exquisite for my carnivorous taste.” So there we have it.

Billington Guardian UnexpectedBillington Guardian Unexpected 16 Apr 1998, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Mountain Language by Harold Pinter, Lyttelton Theatre, 25 October 1988

Wow – this was a real experience in the theatre. Only a short piece – not even half an hour long – Bobbie and I will have both traipsed to the National after work, spending far more time traipsing than watching. But the memory of this piece lingers long in the memory.

Here is the Wikipedia entry about the play.

What a cast – see this Theatricalia entry for details. Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson, Tony Haygarth, Eileen Atkins…

…Pinter himself directing…

…Julian Wadham was also in it – I seem to recall that Bobbie was working with his sister at that time.

I rated it very good indeed in my log and I remember talking and thinking about the piece long after the curtain call.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on Mountain LanguageBillington on Mountain Language Sat, Oct 22, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe on Mountain LanguageRatcliffe on Mountain Language Sun, Oct 23, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I subsequently saw the piece again, in a double bill with Ashes To Ashes at the Royal Court, with Janie second time around. It is a very strong piece and no doubt can still shock and make the audience realise how bad regimes exert their power in part through the suppression and abuse of language.

What an honour to have seen the first production of this important, though short, piece of drama.

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, Vaudeville Theatre, 11 June 1988

I rated this production very good indeed at the time and I can understand why. Superb cast, with Michael Gambon as Vanya, Imelda Staunton as Sonia, Greta Scatcchi as Yelena, Jonathan Pryce as Astrov, Michael Blakemore directing…

…here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Bobbie and I went to this one. I recall sitting very near the front although probably not the very front row.

In 1988 I hadn’t yet formed an aversion to those old-fashioned theatre-land theatres, although we didn’t go to those places all that frequently.

I suspect that we had a late evening Chinese meal in Soho after the show – perhaps Poons, perhaps Mayflower, perhaps Joy King Lau…

A pretty darned good evening as I recall it.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review of the production:

Billington on VanyaBillington on Vanya Thu, May 26, 1988 – 19 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review is below:

Ratcliffe on VanyaRatcliffe on Vanya Sun, May 29, 1988 – 38 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com