Tag: Royal National Theatre

The Homecoming by Harold Pinter, RNT Lyttelton Theatre, 5 April 1997

We celebrated our homecoming from the Middle East with a visit to the theatre to see this wonderful production of, coincidentally, Pinter’s The Homecoming.

What a cast. Lindsay Duncan, Michael Sheen, Eddie Marsan, Keith Allen & David Bradley. Roger Michell directed it.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry.

Janie and I were both really taken with the play and the production.

Paul Taylor in the Independent really didn’t like it:

Paul Taylor Homecoming IndyPaul Taylor Homecoming Indy 25 Jan 1997, Sat The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh in The Standard was not too sure either:

Nicholas de Jongh Standard HomecomingNicholas de Jongh Standard Homecoming 24 Jan 1997, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph seemed more or less to “get it” in the way we got it:

Homecoming Spencer TelegraphHomecoming Spencer Telegraph 24 Jan 1997, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While my friend Michael Billington in the Guardian got it:

Billington Guardian HomecomingBillington Guardian Homecoming 24 Jan 1997, Fri The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Cardiff East by Peter Gill, Cottesloe Theatre, 22 February 1997

My log is quite clear about our opinion of this piece:

It was dreadful. We walked out at half time.

But wait – look at the stellar cast. Here’s the Theatricalia entry for it. Kenneth Cranham, Karl Johnson, Elizabeth Estensen, Windsor Davis…

…and Di Botcher. Di Botcher who directed Newsrevue in 1994 and seemed so keen on my stuff. Where’s the mutual support?

Well, in truth I do think that Di Botcher can act. Her role in this miserablist piece, as far as I could tell, was mostly to stand around looking miserable. Di stood around looking miserable with aplomb.

Here’s what our friend Michael Billington had to say…and you know for sure that when he uses the phrases “important” and “not an easy evening” that misery must be part of it:

Billington On Cardiff EastBillington On Cardiff East Thu, Feb 13, 1997 – 2 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

East of Cardiff…

Michael Coveney in the Observer speaks more highly of it…

Michael Coveney on Cardiff EastMichael Coveney on Cardiff East Sun, Feb 16, 1997 – 73 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

…perhaps we should have stuck it out to the second half after all. But we were about to fly off to Lebanon & Syria just over a week later, so time was at a premium…and they really know how to play for sympathy over there.

We didn’t learn our lesson about Peter Gill’s miserablist Welsh plays, because just over 10 years later we went to see a revival of Small Change at the Donmar and got precious little out of that one either:

Small Change by Peter Gill, Donmar Warehouse, 12 April 2008

Some folk never learn, mark you.

The Cripple Of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, Cottesloe Theatre, 1 February 1997

We were neither of us too sure about this play/production.

Granted, it was extremely well received. Granted, we recognised Martin McDonagh’s talent and said we’d like to see more of his work, which subsequently we have done.

But this particular play/production felt like a pastiche of a pre war Irish play to us and left us a bit cold.

Here is a link to the production’s Theatricalia entry.

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph shared some of our concerns:

Inishmaan Charles Spencer TelegraphInishmaan Charles Spencer Telegraph 09 Jan 1997, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh similarly:

Inishmaan Nicholas de Jongh StandardInishmaan Nicholas de Jongh Standard 08 Jan 1997, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While Michael Billington praised the work highly while also signalling that he felt McDonagh could achieve yet greater things:

Inishmaan Billington GuardianInishmaan Billington Guardian 09 Jan 1997, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Elsinore by Robert Lepage, Lyttelton Theatre, 4 January 1997

Elsinore image borrowed from Ex Machina website – click here.

Fewer than 24 hours after my hive-ridden return from the frozen north of England, Janie and I went to see this Robert Lepage/Ex Machina production from The Great White North (Canada).

In truth I remember little about it. I think I was squirming in my seat only in part because of the hives.

At the time, this sort of multimedia theatrical experience was novel, but it did seem, to us, that the technological wonder of it was rather superseding the drama and/or tension that we normally experience at the theatre.

Carole Woddis, in The Independent, made some rather similar points.

Here’s Charles Spencer’s take from the Telegraph:

Elsinore Charles Spencer TelegraphElsinore Charles Spencer Telegraph 22 Nov 1996, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nick Curtis in the Standard truly rubbished the production.

06 Jan 1997, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Perhaps this piece worked better in colder climes.

Blinded By The Sun by Stephen Poliakoff, Cottesloe Theatre, 31 August 1996

I wrote in my log:

Yes, we saw it before it opened. Yes, it was very good.

Press night was early the following week.

I was always partial to a bit of Poliakoff, so this will have felt like a bit of a birthday treat, opening at that time of year.

In fact, we had been due to go to the Proms on my actual birthday that year, but “Proms 7:30” is scribbled out in my diary for the preceding Wednesday. Not sure what went wrong there – probably we simply failed to get tickets (Claudio Abbado & The Berlin Phil doing Brahms – very popular).

But I digress.

Stellar cast for this one – as was the way back then with Poliakoff at the National or the RSC: Douglas Hodge and Frances de la Tour the biggest names; Graham Crowden & Hermione Norris also standout performers. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

This is Lyn Gardner’s review from The Guardian:

Blinded Lyn Gardner GuardianBlinded Lyn Gardner Guardian 04 Sep 1996, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Here is Michael Coveney’s Observer review:

Blinded Coveney ObserverBlinded Coveney Observer 08 Sep 1996, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in the Independent also liked it a lot:

Blinded Paul Taylor IndyBlinded Paul Taylor Indy 05 Sep 1996, Thu The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter, Lyttelton Theatre, 25 May 1996

I’ve long been partial to a bit of Potter, as has Daisy.

I had seen the original TV film of this one and to some extent had my doubts about it, as I have never much enjoyed the conceit of adult actors playing the role of children.

Still, the chance to see a National production of a Potter won the day. Many members of this fine cast went on to bigger and bolder things. Steve Coogan, Nigel Lindsay, Debra Gillett, Geraldine Somerville. Patrick Marber directed it.

The Theatricalia entry for this play/production can be found here.

Michael Coveney in The Observer hated it:

Coveney on HillsCoveney on Hills Sun, May 5, 1996 – 65 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Whereas Michael Billington wrote highly of it, finding it more translatable from screen to stage than most Potter and describing it as “Potter at his best”:

Billington on HillsBillington on Hills Sat, May 4, 1996 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

We were both ambivalent about it. It was clearly a fine production. It pleased me more than the TV version. But that “adults playing children” thing still didn’t really work for me.

Below is an excerpt from the original 1979 TV film:

Blue Remembered Hills _ Scene 1+2 from rob blake on Vimeo.

Mary Stuart by Friedrich von Schiller, Lyttelton Theatre, 20 April 1996

Frankly, Janie and I were not too much taken with this one. And how were we to know that, 10 years later, Anna Massey would become one of Janie’s regular clients? And that more than 20 years later both of us would have a go on Mary Stuart’s tennis court at Falkland Palace, which remarkably still plays?

Edinburgh Day Five: Falkland Palace Gardens And Tennis, 21 August 2018

But I digress.

A fine cast, not only Anna Massey but Isabelle Huppert, Tim Pigott-Smith and a fine collection of RNT regulars, directed by Howard Davies. The Theatricalia entry for this production can be found here.

It just didn’t really float our boat.

What did the critics make of it, I hear you cry?

Michael Billington described it as “far from perfect” but commendable. I’d go with that:

Billington on Mary StuartBillington on Mary Stuart Fri, Mar 22, 1996 – 2 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent described it as a “far from unrewarding evening” – I can go with that too.

Michael Coveney, on the other hand, was absolutely taken with it:

Coveney on Mary StuartCoveney on Mary Stuart Sun, Mar 24, 1996 – 71 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Stanley by Pam Gems, Cottesloe Theatre, 13 February 1996

My log and indeed my memory is unequivocal about this one:

Quite outstanding. One of the very, very best.

A rare visit to the theatre midweek, I’m guessing that our impending trip to Thailand & Vietnam restricted our choices of dates for this one. Such was our desire to see it, we booked a midweek evening to be sure of seeing the production.

Both Antony Sher and Deborah Warner were superb in their roles, as indeed was the whole supporting cast.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

In truth, Stanley Spencer’s art is not really my bag, but his story is strange and peculiarly touching, certainly as told in this excellent play by Pam Gems.

Strangely, I cannot find a Guardian review for this one, but Michael Simons previewed it:

Michael Simons Previews StanleyMichael Simons Previews Stanley Mon, Jan 22, 1996 – 57 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor gave the play & production rich praise in The Independent.

Michael Coveney in The Observer agreed the play was excellent and enjoyed the production too:

Coveney On StanleyCoveney On Stanley Sun, Feb 4, 1996 – 68 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

It picked up awards and stuff, did Stanley. But there’s no praise higher than the Ged & Daisy accolade quoted at the top of this piece.

Violin Time by Ken Campbell, Cottesloe Theatre, 16 January 1996

This evening – a rare visit to The Cottesloe on a Tuesday evening – was the first time I saw Ken Campbell perform.

I was really smitten with this piece – I found it very funny. I think I got more out of it than Janie did, but she was fascinated enough to want to see more of his work after that.

One of the things that attracted us to the piece, apart from the weirdness of the blurb, which promised us – I paraphrase from various book blurbs available:

“Cathar heretics, a mysterious female French book thief and a Vietnamese violinist who does pig impressions”.

It would be difficult to say no to that, especially as we had booked to go to Vietnam a couple of months later.

Janie and I saw an early preview of the show; it didn’t get reviewed until October but we saw a preview in January.

There is a somewhat tepid Independent review of the piece by Robert Hanks available on-line – here.

Michael Coveney in the Observer liked it, perhaps because he got a name drop:

Coveney on Violin TimeCoveney on Violin Time Sun, Oct 6, 1996 – 76 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Unusually, it doesn’t look as though The Guardian reviewed it.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard, Lyttelton Theatre, 30 December 1995

I liked this more than Janie did. I thought it was a very good production and I have long had an affection for the play.

Janie sees this as an example of Tom Stoppard being “a bit too clever for his own good”, a view I can understand but with which I don’t agree. Let’s just say that Janie does not remember this fondly.

Amazing cast, with Adrian Scarborough & Simon Russell Beale in the eponymous roles. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Michael Billington is with Janie on the play and with me on the production:

Billington on RosencrantzBillington on Rosencrantz Sat, Dec 16, 1995 – 27 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney strangely liked the play but not so much the production.

Sun, Dec 17, 1995 – 60 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com