Tag: RNT

Accidental Death Of An Anarchist by Dario Fo, Cottesloe Theatre, 26 January 1991

Very good.

That was my verdict in my log and that is my recollection of this production, which I saw with Bobbie.

I also saw the Donmar production in 2003 with Janie. I preferred the 1991 version. Perhaps it was the version or perhaps I had outgrown the play a bit by 2003. Both were excellent productions. I shall write up the Donmar production in the fullness of time.

Meanwhile, in 1991, Alan Cumming played the lead and won the Best Comedy performance Olivier award that year for his trouble. Cumming was involved in the adaptation for the version performed, along with Tim Supple who directed it..

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Below is Michael Billington’s up beat review:

Billington on AnarchistBillington on Anarchist Wed, Jan 9, 1991 – 38 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

That visit to the theatre was part of a highly active weekend, by the looks of it.

I test drove a Honda in the morning before the play – this was presumably to ascertain whether it would make sense for me to take the souped-up automatic Honda Civic (which subsequently became known as “Red Noddy”) from the Binder Hamlyn car pool, in exchange for my less impressive Renault stick-shift. The answer was yes.

On the Sunday I had lunch with Jilly Black (location lost in the mists of time) and went to Pam & Michael’s place in the evening – possibly for bridge or possibly just supper.

Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel, Lyttelton Theatre, 22 December 1990

Wow.

I have strong memories of this one. Just one word in my log:

Superb.

It was a convoluted process getting to see it, as I was really suffering with my back knack when this production opened in London (October 1990; it had spent the spring and summer at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin).

Anyway, Bobbie and I sorted out some good tickets for just before Christmas and my goodness this one was worth seeing.

Excellent cast, including Brid Brennan, Stephen Dillane and Alec McCowen. In truth I don’t know Director Patrick Mason for anything else but he can come visit again.

I remember early the next year recommending it to a Dutch software developer, Gerard Mey, who was working on a project with me in London and asked me to recommend a show. I wondered if it was too challenging for someone who does not boast English as a first language. Gerard told me how much he enjoyed it, while admitting that he found some of the language difficult, but said that his head had been full of so many interesting thoughts and ideas since seeing it. That’s a recommendation in my book!

I’ll leave it to the experts to explain in their words just how good this show was.

Michael Billington spoke very highly of it in The Guardian

Billington on LughnasaBillington on Lughnasa Wed, Oct 17, 1990 – 38 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney gushed about it in The Observer when he saw it at the Abbey in the spring:

Coveney on LughnasaCoveney on Lughnasa Sun, May 6, 1990 – 57 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Shape Of The Table by David Edgar, Cottesloe Theatre, 10 November 1990

Lots of memories from this one.

It was my “get out of jail” weekend. Michael Durtnall (my chiropractor) had insisted that I “lock down” for a month to enable my back to start healing – otherwise he wouldn’t treat me. More on that elsewhere, but basically this weekend was the end of my confinement and boy did I make the most of it with Bridge on Friday, this theatre visit on Saturday and a wedding on the Sunday.

I am very keen on David Edgar so we (me & Bobbie) will have long before booked to see this just after press night. I was very pleased to have negotiated my way out of lockdown to see this.

All I wrote in my log is:

Very good. Neil Kinnock and his entourage were there the night we went.

At the time Neil Kinnock was leader of the opposition. I don’t know whether he and/or his entourage took notes during this paly, but it was a political drama to be sure.

It is set in an unspecified former communist country that resembles the former Czechoslovakia.

Excellent cast; Karl Johnson, Stratford Johns and Katrin Cartlidge standing out in my mind.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for the production.

Michael Billington spoke highly of it in the Guardian:

Billington on The TableBillington on The Table Sat, Nov 10, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in the Observer was also impressed:

Coveney on tableCoveney on table Sun, Nov 11, 1990 – 62 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

My Children! My Africa! by Athol Fugard, Lyttelton Theatre, 15 September 1990

I’m very partial to Athol Fugard’s work, but thirty years on, I remember very little about this one. Even the log, which was only a few years after the event, says:

Little recollection, strangely.

I saw this with Bobbie Scully, who seemed keen to see Fugard with me back then. Janie also has a taste for his work.

Here is the Wikipedia entry for this play/production.

I think the problem for me/us was that it was a story that pre-dated Nelson Mandela’s release but we were seeing it very soon after that momentous event. In that sense it felt a bit like old news, although of course the injustices and arguments depicted were still (are still) relevant.

Michael Billington in the Guardian loved it:

Billington on My Children!Billington on My Children! Sat, Sep 8, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in The Observer was less sure, finding it, unusually for Fugard, overly sentimental.

Coveney on My Children!Coveney on My Children! Sun, Sep 9, 1990 – 50 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare, Lyttelton Theatre, 28 July 1990

Bobbie & I were both very keen to see this one – hence our appearance on the first Saturday after press night, booking the tickets long before.

We weren’t disappointed. My log reads:

Superb. The setting was 1930’s style and they made a movie based on this production.

Below is a link to a National Theatre clip:

While below is a clip from the 1995 movie:

Janie would have got less out of this than Bobbie and I did – she is not so keen on Shakespeare, Sir Ian McKellen nor Dame Maggie. (The latter was not in the National Theatre stage production – Susan Engel played Queen Margaret.)

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for that Richard Eyre stage production.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review. He also thought this production excellent:

Billington on Dick The ShitBillington on Dick The Shit Fri, Jul 27, 1990 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

In The Observer, Michael Coveney reviewed this Dick The Shit production and also the King Lear with which it was repping:

Coveney on Dick Shit & LearCoveney on Dick Shit & Lear Sun, Jul 29, 1990 – 51 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

While Kate Kellaway (also in the Observer) interviewed the two protagonists, Ian McKellen (Dick) & Brian Cox (Lear).

Kate Kellaway with Cox & McKellenKate Kellaway with Cox & McKellen Sun, Jul 29, 1990 – 51 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Olivier Theatre, 30 June 1990

I rated this production very good and I remember it surprisingly well.

Howard Davies directed this one and gathered an excellent cast. Tom Wilkinson as John Proctor, Zoe Wanamaker as Elizabeth Proctor, Clare Holman as Abigail, plus a top notch RNT ensemble, as was the way at that time.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Below is Nicholas de Jongh’s review from The Guardian:

de Jongh on The Cruciblede Jongh on The Crucible Sat, Jun 2, 1990 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

This production must have been very good, because it is quite a long play and I had “done my back” pretty dramatically the week before. Thus started a period when my back would tell me whether or not I was fully engaged in a theatrical production. For this one, I only recall the superb drama; I don’t recall the pain!

The School For Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Olivier Theatre, 19 May 1990

I thought this one was very good and I am pretty sure Bobbie thought so too.

An amazing cast directed by Peter Wood. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry – feast your eyes on that list of names. the big draw names were Jane Asher, John Neville, Prunella Scales and Dennis Quilly, but there is a plethora of fine actors and actresses on that list, several on the up with small parts in this production. Also notable was Richard Bonneville, who played Charles Surface, and is latterly very well known as High Bonneville.

Michael Coveney in The Observer was not so keen on this:

Coveney on ScandalCoveney on Scandal Sun, Apr 29, 1990 – 54 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in The Guardian seemed to like it a bit better:

de Jongh on Scandalde Jongh on Scandal Thu, Apr 26, 1990 – 24 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

The Good Person of Sichuan by Bertolt Brecht, Olivier Theatre, 3 March 1990

Very good indeed…

I said in the log, which is almost to be expected with a cast as fine as this under Deborah Warner.

This was an evening at The National with Bobbie. I have subsequently seen a good “Good Person” at The Orange Tree with Janie too, but this Olivier production was especially fine in my view.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Superb cast; Bill Paterson, Fiona Shaw, Susan Engel, Pete Postlethwaite and fine support too.

Michael Billington found the production powerful but sedate:

Billington on SichuanBillington on Sichuan Thu, Nov 30, 1989 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Ratcliffe liked it but reckoned that Warner was better at doing RSC Studio work. I bet Deborah Warner appreciated that epithet.

Ratcliffe on SichuanRatcliffe on Sichuan Sun, Dec 3, 1989 – 43 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Bent by Martin Sherman, Lyttelton Theatre, 13 January 1990

I have very limited recollection of this one, other than finding it shocking and hard to watch.

My diary is ludicrously light on detail and I got confused between this one and another production I failed to get a programme for. In this case, I think we saw a preview and the programmes weren’t ready.

I dined with (presumably) Bobbie at the Archduke before the theatre and we then went on to Jilly’s place, presumably for a birthday party. The diary suggests we had lunch on Sunday also.

Fortunately for the theatre element of the weekend, there are Theatricalia entries and reviews to help me out. Here is the former – click here.

Below is Michael Billington’s top notch review of this production:

Billington on BentBillington on Bent Mon, Jan 22, 1990 – 38 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney in The Observer described it as “grim”. Hard to disagree.

Coveney on BentCoveney on Bent Sun, Jan 28, 1990 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Man Beast And Virtue by Luigi Pirandello, Cottesloe Theatre, 7 October 1989

My log says “little recollection” for this one, so I guess it didn’t make a big impression. Bobbie was with me.

Pirandello is one of those playwrights whose work I want to like more than actually do like. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that I tend to enjoy reading his plays, because the ideas are fascinating, but many of them are difficult to produce in an entertaining way – at least to the eyes of the modern audience.

Man, Beast And Virtue is an early Pirandello, written in 1919 (100 years ago as I write in 2019), about two years before his breakthrough play, Six Characters In Search Of An Author.

A relatively straightforward, slightly farcical, love-triangle piece, there is a synopsis of the 1950s film version, in somewhat broken English at the time of writing, on Wikipedia.

Trevor Eve played Paolino, the lover, Terence Rigby played Captain Perella and Marion Bailey (best known for her Mike Leigh connections both professionally and privately) played Mrs Perella. William Gaskill directed. Charles Wood had written a new adaptation of the play fro this production. A fine supporting cast too – here is the Theatricalia entry.

So did all that research just now bring the experience flooding back to me? Ever so slightly yes…but basically no.

Probably not really my type of play. I do recall the setting being very imaginative and a sense that I felt entertained for the evening.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on Man BeastBillington on Man Beast Sat, Sep 9, 1989 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Ratcliffe in The Observer thought little of it:

Ratcliffe on Man BeastRatcliffe on Man Beast Sun, Sep 10, 1989 – 46 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Perhaps Bobbie remembers something more about it?