Tag: Michael Gregory

An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, Olivier Theatre, 20 September 1997

Very good.

That was my vote…or should I say our vote?…on this excellent production of this oft-revived play.

I had seen it “back in the day” with Bobbie and Ashley Michaels…:

Went To See An Enemy Of The People by Henrik Ibsen (Arthur Miller Adaptation), With Bobbie & Ashley, Young Vic, 9 November 1988

The National production in 1997 was more “classic” Christopher Hampton adaptation with an exceptional cast including Sir Ian, Penny Downie, Stephen Moore, Lucy Whybrow and many others, directed by Trevor Nunn. The Theatricalia entry lists them all.

Nicholas de Jongh seemed quite taken with it…just “quite”:

Enemy de Jongh StandardEnemy de Jongh Standard 22 Sep 1997, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington found it a bit too “classic” for his taste:

Enemy Billington GuardianEnemy Billington Guardian 22 Sep 1997, Mon The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer, like the others, made much of the fact that this was Trevor Nunn’s inaugural piece for the RNT. While not damning it, he does use the word “flash”:

Enemy Spencer TelegraphEnemy Spencer Telegraph 22 Sep 1997, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright, Cottesloe Theatre, 1 August 1992

This was the Saturday before my life-changing first encounter with Janie at Kim & Micky’s party.

I went to see this play with Bobbie Scully. I remember it very well; both of us were very taken with it. It did prove to be a big hit, transferring and being produced again many times.

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

This original production really was a cracker. I think it pretty much made Jane Horrocks’s name; I don’t think she was all that well known before – perhaps she was known on the TV. Pete Postlethwaite and Alison Steadman were terrific.

I’m not sure what we did for food, but we tended to go to The Archduke or possibly RSJs after the show in those days.

No on-line reviews from those days, so you’ll just have to take my word for it – it was a cracking show. I rated the evening very good in my log, that’s for sure. Several reviews on-line for subsequent versions refer to the 1992 production – click here for the search term that brings those up.

Better yet, below is Michael Billigton’s Guardian review:

Billington on Little VoiceBillington on Little Voice Fri, Jun 19, 1992 – 36 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Coveney’s Observer preview, mostly about Alison Steadman:

Michael Coveney Preview's Little VoiceMichael Coveney Preview’s Little Voice Sun, Jun 14, 1992 – 63 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Then the following week Coveney reviewed Little Voice:

Coveney reviews Little VoiceCoveney reviews Little Voice Sun, Jun 21, 1992 – 56 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Lyttelton Theatre, 25 June 1988

Hot on the heels of seeing an excellent Uncle Vanya…

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

…Bobbie and I saw a very good production of The Changeling at The National.

Miranda Richardson played Beatrice-Joanna, Rebecca Pidgeon played Isabella, George Harris as De Flores, Richard Eyre directing…

…here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

It isn’t a jolly play and I did see it again only a few years later at Stratford, with Janie:

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton & William Rowley, RSC Swan Theatre, 29 October 1992

I think this National production was the better of the two.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review, plus an interview with Miranda Richardson

Billington on ChangelingBillington on Changeling Sat, Jun 25, 1988 – 18 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Kate Kellaway’s Observer review is below:

Kate Kellaway on ChangelingKate Kellaway on Changeling Sun, Jun 26, 1988 – 40 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The diary is silent on what we did afterwards. For some reason, is think that we ate at the National that evening. It is quite a long play and I think the restaurant there was doing arrangements to eat part of your meal during and part after show at that time. But I could be mistaken.