I was partial to a bit of Peter Nichols.
This cast and crew looked too good to miss as well. Gillian Barge, Cherie Lunghi, James Laurenson, Nicky Henson, Nicola Walker & Cheryl Campbell, directed by Michael Grandage. Here’s the Theatricalia entry for it.
In those days, the Donmar was one of our favourites – it didn’t feel quite so corporate/touristic back then. We were able to get decent seats for a Saturday night through a sensible type of membership scheme.
I remember this as a fine production but I also remember us finding it a little underwhelming.
John Gross in The Sunday Telegraph liked it, while finding it a lesser play than Pinter’s Betrayal or Stoppard’s The Real Thing:
Passion Gross Telegraph 23 Apr 2000, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
I sense that the Donmar showings in April/May were actually all deemed to be a preview run ahead of a lengthy West End run with this cast throughout the summer – an experiment that clearly worked and which was part of the Donmar’s journey towards a more commercial/corporate style. Hence few reviews but several preview pieces in the press.
Nick Curtis’s Standard interview with Nichols is interesting:
Nichols Curtis Standard 17 Apr 2000, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com