Tag: Patsy Rodenberg

Luther by John Osborne, Olivier Theatre, 19 October 2001

We pushed the boat out to see this one. Friday night at the National Theatre – we both had busy Friday schedules well into the afternoon.

Was it worth it, I hear you cry.

So dull, we walked at half time

Seemingly not.

I have a feeling this was the occasion when we bumped into my friends from Lambton Place, Bryan Rostron & Sunny, with their pal Paul Foot. You don’t mess with investigative journalists like Bryan and Paul – we confessed to the fact that we were going to sneak away after the drinks interval.

We wanted to like this play/production. We are partial to John Osborne, although well aware of the fact that his good is very very good, but not all of his drama is of the highest quality. This one felt like a history lesson in a rather dull (to us) aspect of history.

I also felt badly about walking out on Timothy West. He had, after all, sat through hours of dull stuff with me in it on more than one occasion without walking out at half time:

Andorra, 23, 24 & 25 February 1978
Twelfth Night, Alleyn’s School, 12, 14, 15 & 16 December 1978

Returning to Luther, it was, of course, a fine cast and a fine production. Rufus Sewell in the title role. Richard Griffiths, Timothy West, and Maxine Peake in supporting roles, Peter Gill directing with a young Josie Rourke assisting.

Here’s a link to the Theatricalia entry for this one.

But oh boy did we find this dull. What did the critics – possibly better equipped for dull than me and Janie, have to say?

Nicholas de Jongh heaped praise on the production while stating that Luther was “quite the wrong choice of Osborne”:

Luther de Jongh Standard Luther de Jongh Standard 8 Oct 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com


Michael Billington disagreed – loving it especially for its reclamation of potentially lost Osborne:

Luther Billington Guardian Luther Billington Guardian 8 Oct 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer, on the other hand, described it as a long hard slog:

Luther Spencer Telegraph Luther Spencer Telegraph 8 Oct 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

A rare example of a split jury in which we sided with Spencer rather than Billington. “Long hard slog” sums it up rather well from my recollection.

Nightingale And Chase by Zinnie Harris, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 29 September 2001

Janie and I had been most impressed by Zinnie Harris’s Further Than the Furthest Thing the previous year…

Further Than The Furthest Thing by Zinnie Harris, Cottesloe Theatre, 7 October 2000

…so made a bee-line for Zinnie Harris’s next play – this time at the Royal Court.

The subject matter of Nightingale and Chase – a woman being released from prison, was very interesting. I’m not sure this one quite worked as theatre, though.

Mark Cook gave it a short plug in the Guardian:

Nightingale Cook Guardian Nightingale Cook Guardian 22 Sept 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Jasper Rees, meanwhile, wrote an interesting piece about Zinnie and both plays:

Zinnie Rees Telegraph Zinnie Rees Telegraph 27 Sept 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Zinnie explained all of this in her won words in the Guardian:

Zinnie on Zinnie Guardian Zinnie on Zinnie Guardian 29 Sept 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Not many actual reviews, but you can trust our friend Michael Billington to give such a production the full works and to remind me why we wanted to like this one more than we actually did:

Nightingale Billington Guardian Nightingale Billington Guardian 5 Oct 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Redundant by Leo Butler, Royal Court Theatre, 8 September 2001

Another weekend, another preview. I’m not sure what drew us to this one. Coincidentally we had seen some of Leo Butler’s work just a few week’s earlier in the young writers’ fest Cutting Through the Carnival…

Cutting Through The Carnival: Several Sketches & Short Pieces By Various Young Writers, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 17 August 2001

…but I’m pretty sure we must have booked Redundant prior to seeing Carnival.

Anyway, Redundant was our first sighting of Leo Butler’s full length plays and we were mighty impressed if I remember correctly. Lyndsey Marshal starred and Dominic Cooke directed. It was grim, in many ways, yet tinged with humour and hope. Very Royal Court. Dominic Cooke must have rated Butler and this piece to put it on downstairs – a rare 21st century example of a debut on the main stage of the Royal Court. There is a coup de theatre in the play that required it, I suppose. Risky writing.

The Standard previewed it (after we had seen it) thusly:

Redundant Standard Preview Redundant Standard Preview 12 Sept 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

We didn’t see the shocking, late addition of an Osama Bin Laden mention, which dominated the press afterwards, by dint of seeing a preview prior to 11 September.

Patrick Marmion was seduced by the production, if not the character:

Redundant Marmion Standard Redundant Marmion Standard 13 Sept 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

John Gross in The Sunday Telegraph wrote little, but was left feeling a little low by it:

Redundant Gross Sunday Telegraph Redundant Gross Sunday Telegraph 16 Sept 2001 Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Susannah Clapp in The Observer deemed Leo Butler not quite reader for main stage exposure:

Redundant Clapp Observer Redundant Clapp Observer 16 Sept 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Lynn Gardner in The Guardian was even more damning, awarding The Royal Court production a rare meagre two stars:

Redundant Gardner Guardian Redundant Gardner Guardian 14 Sept 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

It certainly didn’t displease us in that way – we noted Leo Butler as one to watch and watch him we did as he matured into a top notch playwright. Possibly if we saw this one again, we’d spot the youthful writing in it. A bit like Chekhov’s Platonov the week before.

Platonov by Anton Chekov, Almeida At Kings Cross, 1 September 2001

This was a very good production with a top notch cast, performed in that pop-up coach station of a theatre that the Almeida used while the main theatre was getting its major revamp. I’m pretty sure we saw a preview.

Helen McCrory and Aidan Gillen led the way, ably supported by solid performers such as Adrian Scarborough and Jodhi May, directed by Jonathan Kent – one of his last productions at The Almeida.

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

This is not the greatest Chekhov play – it is an early play that shows traces of the brilliance to come. Chekhov recycled some of the best bits of this one into his later, now classic plays. This production was based on an adaptation by David Hare.

It was a very good evening at the theatre, as I remember it, albeit rather a bum-numbing long one.

Nicholas de Jongh spoke highly of the production in The Standard:

Platonov de Jongh Standard Platonov de Jongh Standard 12 Sept 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington also wrote highly of it:

Platonov Billington Guardian Platonov Billington Guardian 13 Sept 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph was less sure:

Platonov Spencer Telegraph Platonov Spencer Telegraph 13 Sept 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones, Cottesloe Theatre, 4 August 2001

Image borrowed from Amazon where you can buy the play text.

We saw a preview of this one – I think the second preview.

Janie was super excited at the thought of it. She wrote “Simon Russell Beale & Diana Rigg” in her diary ahead of time. Our verdict:

Not as good as we’d hoped. Super set.

Here’s the Theatricalia entry for this star-studded affair.

Our friend, Michael Billington, had his doubts about it too:

Humble Guardian Billington Humble Guardian Billington 10 Aug 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Rachel Halliburton in The Standard seemed more keen, but not wild about it.

Humble Halliburton Standard Humble Halliburton Standard 10 Aug 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While Kate Kellaway in The Observer loved it:

Humble Observer Kellaway Humble Observer Kellaway 12 Aug 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Go figure.

Mountain Language & Ashes To Ashes by Harold Pinter, & Alive From Palestine by Al Kasaba Theatre Group, Royal Court Theatre, 29 June 2001

We adjudged the event:

Triple bill proved a bit much for us that night!!

Both of us had really busy weeks in the run up to this Friday night at the theatre, with Janie taking patients early and late that week. In my case, as well as many client meetings, a very late night for me the previous evening due to the traditional Children’s Society v Z/Yen cricket match in Regents Park:

The Children’s Society v Z/Yen Cricket Match, Regent’s Park, 28 June 2001

Harold Pinter would have understood.

I had seen Mountain Language before – a most memorable production in 1988 with Michael Gambon, Eileen Atkins, Tony Haygarth and Miranda Richardson, directed by Harold himself..

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

Returning to 2001, our friend Michael Billington reviewed Alive From Palestine, but not the triple bill, giving me the sense that the piece might have had a greater effect on us had it not been preceded by the two Pinter pieces.

Alive Guardian Billington Alive Guardian Billington 30 Jun 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Rachel Halliburton in the Standard raved about the brace of Pinter plays, while remaining silent on the Palestinian play:

Ashes Standard Halliburton Ashes Standard Halliburton 27 Jun 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

To be fair, she reviewed the Pinter double bill ahead of the short late night run of the third play started. And at least The Standard had the good manners to trail the Alive From Palestine one:

Alive Standard preview Alive Standard preview 21 Jun 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in the Telegraph absolutely hated the Pinter and was utterly silent about the Palestinian play:

Ashes Telegraph Spencer Ashes Telegraph Spencer 28 Jun 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Clubland by Roy Williams, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 23 June 2001

We are very partial to modern plays in Royal Court Theatre Upstairs and this play by Roy Williams did not disappoint.

I think this was our first sighting of a Roy Williams play – we started picking him after seeeing this.

Here’s Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard speaking quite highly of it:

Clubland de Jongh Standard Clubland de Jongh Standard 20 Jun 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Jonathan Myerson in the Independent was not so sure:

Clubland Myerson Independent Clubland Myerson Independent 20 Jun 2001 The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend, Michael Billington, suggested that this play was not as good as Roy Williams earlier material and that he needed to branch out a bit. I think he was probably right, as we really went for some of William’s later plays even more than this one, but it was good enough to get us hooked:

Clubland Billington Guardian better Clubland Billington Guardian better 23 Jun 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Playboy Of The Western World by J M Synge, Cottesloe Theatre, 16 June 2001

Janie and I thought this play/production was…

…excellent.

The RNT put on terrific stuff in the Cottesloe at that time. Fiona Buffini directed an excellent cast, including Sorcha Cusack, Patrick O’Kane & Derbhle Crotty. The Theatricalia entry for this production can be found here.

Despite the fact that we thought it was excellent, our friend, Michael Billington, really didn’t like it, bemoaning the fact that the only Synge that ever gets revived is this one.

Playboy Billington Guardian Playboy Billington Guardian 22 Feb 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph loved it:

Playboy Spencer Telegraph Playboy Spencer Telegraph 21 Feb 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in the Standard rated it good, which is sort-of medium:

Playboy de Jongh Standard Playboy de Jongh Standard 21 Feb 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

In that case, the casting vote must go to me and Janie. It was excellent.

Howard Katz by Patrick Marber, Cottesloe Theatre, 2 June 2001

Janie and I thought this one was

Very good.

We saw a preview – the first Saturday.

Excellent cast, led by Ron Cook. We loved Closer, so were keen to see more Patrick Marber, who directed this one himself (not always the best idea…) Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Nicholas de Jongh did not like it, awarding the production the dreaded blob:

Katz de Jongh Standard Katz de Jongh Standard 14 Jun 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent, on the other hand, really liked it:

Katz Taylor Independent Katz Taylor Independent 14 Jun 2001 The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington steers closer to de Jongh, liking the performance more than the play:

Katz Billington Guardian Katz Billington Guardian 14 Jun 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Just as well we thought it was very good, then.

The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute, Almeida Theatre At King’s Cross, 25 May 2001

Superb.

That was my one word log entry for this one, which both of us o indeed remember as superb. We were deep into Neil LaBute back then and might still be if he was still writing plays like this one.

Add to that Almeida quality of production and four fine actors: Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol and Frederick Weller – it wasn’t going to go wrong. I don’t normally approve of playwrights directing their own work, but Neil LaBute was actually very good at doing the director’s job with his own material.

Here is a link to the Thetaricalia entry.

A rare visit to the Almeida on a Friday for us – it was a bank holiday weekend and we had little else on, so I think this will only have come down to getting good seats for a preview.

Here’s what the critics had to say best part of a week after we had seen it. Charles Spencer was very impressed in The Telegraph:

Shape Spencer Telegraph Shape Spencer Telegraph 1 Jun 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

#Susannah Clapp was less sure, but still heaped praise:

Shape Clapp Observer Shape Clapp Observer 3 Jun 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Our friend Michael Billington was not so sure:

Shape Billington Guardian Shape Billington Guardian 31 May 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Indeed, this analytical piece form The Guardian suggest that tis piece divided the critics. The stuff we like best often does:

Shape Guardian analysis Shape Guardian analysis 9 Jun 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com