Tag: Monica Dolan

The B*easts by Monica Dolan, Bush Theatre, 17 February 2018

This was a very interesting piece about sexual exploitation of children, written and performed by Monica Dolan, who was excellent on the stage.

Click here for the Bush resource on this play/production.

Janie got more out of the piece than I did – I found the ending a little contrived and felt the piece lacked drama. It is difficult to make monologues truly gripping – we’ve seen some corking good ones lately. This one is redeemed for me, though, because the piece is so interesting and Monica Dolan is such a strong stage presence.

Below is the trailer…

…and below is a “meet the writer” vid:

The reviews are, deservedly, pretty darn good – click here for a search term that finds them.

Another winner at The Bush as far as we are concerned.

Plaques and Tangles by Nicola Wilson, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 14 November 2015

This was a very interesting play at the Royal Court Upstairs. As usual these days, there is an information-packed stub on the Royal Court website – here, saving me much of the trouble to write about the basics.

I had been avoiding the subject of dementia for a while, but I guess we booked this some six months after mum died so I was starting to feel able to handle the subject again.

In many ways, this play was about a different type of dementia, as the protagonist has a rare genetic form of the disease that takes over the person’s life much younger and therefore far more invasively.

This difficult subject and the dilemmas that spring from it were handled with skill, dignity and humour in this play. Well acted and produced too.

Lots of rave reviews are linked through the reviews tab in the Royal Court stub – click here specifically for that tab.

Michael Billington was not so sure in Guardian – here...even less sure was Matt Trueman in WhatsOnStage – here.

Janie found the non-linear nature of the piece (moving backwards and forwards in time on several occasions in short scenes) more than a bit confusing. I think we were supposed to feel somewhat disoriented, to enable us to empathise with the protagonist.

Still, we were both glad to have seen this one.

 

The Same Deep Water As Me by Nick Payne, Donmar Warehouse, 24 August 2013

This was an excellent play/production.

We had loved Constellations by Nick Payne, so he was very much on our list of writers to watch…

…yet this one was far more down to earth, subject-wise and style wise…

…but still excellent, just differently so.

Basically about ambulance-chasing lawyers and insurance fraudsters.

It reminded me in style of Mamet plays of the Glengarry Glen Ross type.

Click here for the Donmar’s excellent “Behind The Scenes” document on this play/production.

Below is an interview with Nick Payne about this piece:

Click here for a search term that finds the reviews. This one really split the critics – we’re with the critics who got it, but some of the critics found this piece shallow after Constellations.

Unfinished Business by Michael Hastings, The Pit, 29 January 1994

Janie and I binged on The RSC/ The Barbican at the start of 1994 – this is the first of a hat trick of productions we saw there within the space of a few weeks.

We thought this one was very good. I tend to like Michael Hastings’s plays and what a line up for us to see. Emerging names such as Toby Stephens, Jasper Britton & Monica Dolan alongside established stars such as Gemma Jones, Philip Voss & John Carlisle, directed by Steven Pimlott.

The play is basically about Nazi sympathisers in the UK during the war. It was chilling although it did have its moments of humour, as is Michael hastings’s wont.

Here is a link to this play/production’s Theatricalia entry.

Here is a link to the sole contemporaneous review I can find on-line; The Independent.

Also clippings to be found – here’s Michael Billington’s review:

Billington On Unfinished BusinessBillington On Unfinished Business Fri, Jan 21, 1994 – 32 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Here’s Michael Coveney’s review:

Coveney On Unfinished BusinessCoveney On Unfinished Business Sun, Jan 23, 1994 – 67 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com