Tag: Nigel J Edwards

Riddance by Linda McLean, Paines Plough, Lyric Hammersmith Studio, 25 September 1999

I wrote “very good indeed” in my log for this one, which means that we both must have thought it very good indeed.

Paines Plough tended to do good stuff and Vicky Featherstone knows how to direct. This long precedes her dystopian miserabilist phase at The Royal Court, of course, although it had traces of misery in it.

In those days the Lyric Hammersmith Studio was putting on quite a lot of good stuff of this kind and getting good notices in places that mattered too.

Here’s Kate Bassett in the Telegraph:

Riddance Telegraph BassettRiddance Telegraph Bassett 27 Sep 1999, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

This production had clearly taken the Edinburgh Fringe by storm, as the following preview from the Feltham Chronicle attests:

Riddance Feltham GauntRiddance Feltham Gaunt 16 Sep 1999, Thu The Feltham Chronicle (Hounslow, London, England) Newspapers.com

According to my diary, we ate at Riso in Chiswick afterwards. I cannot find anything about it on-line and cannot remember anything much about the place. My handy copy of the 2003 Harden’s suggest that the place was not so memorable. That might explain it.

Still, the play/production was memorable, which matters more.

The Cosmonaut’s Last Message To The Woman He Once Loved In The Former Soviet Union by David Greig, Lyric Studio, Followed By Dinner At Grano, 10 May 1999

A rare visit to the theatre by me and Janie on a Monday evening. We had chosen to take a week off work; partly for culture and partly, in Janie’s case, I think to spend time with Phillie and her medical stuff. We had little opportunity to go away properly around that time, so it made sense to take a bit of time.

But this play/production was a waste of time for us.

It was doing very little for us, so we left at half time to enjoy a longer session over a super meal at Grano.

One of Vicky Featherstone’s earlier efforts at directing.

Nicholas de Jongh did not rate it highly:

Cosmonaut Standard de JonghCosmonaut Standard de Jongh 14 May 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

I don’t think Susannah Clapp in The Observer was too impressed either:

Cosmonaut Clapp ObserverCosmonaut Clapp Observer 16 May 1999, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Like a spacecraft that has lost its bearings…I’m sue you get my drift.

Grano Restaurant in Chiswick was something special. New in 1998, award-winning “best Italian Restaurant in London” in 1999. We had a super meal there. Sadly, now gone.