The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco, Royal Court Theatre At The Duke Of York’s Theatre, 31 January 1998

Weird evening

That’s all I wrote in my log.

I’m not too sure what made the evening weird.

We ate at Fung Shing afterwards, as planned, that I do know. Which was a return to the “scene of the crime” from the Z/Yen Christmas do a few week’s earlier…

I guess neither of us quite got our heads around The Chairs. You need to be in the mood for Ionesco and perhaps we weren’t.

This version was Martin Crimp’s adaptation and Simon McBurney/Théâtre de Complicité’s production, so weirdness was probably very much the order of the evening. Richard Briers and Geraldine McEwan led the cast. Here is the Theatricalia entry for the production.

“What did the papers say about it?” I hear you cry.

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph liked it, while denying that we should read too much into the piece – darned right!

26 Nov 1997, Wed The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard said it is the “weirdest French farce of them all”, making my simply “weird” comment more understandable.

25 Nov 1997, Tue Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michael Billington in The Guardian thought the production brilliant:

Chairs Billington GuardianChairs Billington Guardian 25 Nov 1997, Tue The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt, Lyttelton Theatre, 9 March 1991

I think this was my first encounter with Complicité, or Théâtre de Complicité as it was then known.

I saw this production with Bobbie Scully.

Superb

…was my verdict at the time and I do still remember this as an especially wonderful night at the theatre.

Complicité stalwarts were out in force; Kathryn Hunter, Marcello Magni, Simon McBurney (the latter also directed this one)…plus Jasper Britton, who I wouldn’t normally think of as a Complicité dude.

The Theatricalia entry for this production can be found here.

Michael Billington wasn’t 100% sure about it, admiring the style but suggesting that the style somewhat swamped the content:

Billington on VisitBillington on Visit Fri, Feb 15, 1991 – 35 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Kate Kellaway in The Observer didn’t like it either.

Kellaway on The VisitKellaway on The Visit Sun, Feb 17, 1991 – 57 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The critics were wrong and I was right, is all I can say!