Tag: Shirley Henderson

Anna Weiss by Mike Cullen, Whitehall Theatre, 26 November 1999

A rare visit to theatre in town on a Friday evening for us – I think the plan was for Janie’s sister Hilary and her husband Chris to visit that Saturday/Sunday but in the end that visit got postponed.

My log is silent on this play/production, so it obviously didn’t have a profound impact on us. Excellent cast though: Shirley Henderson, Catherine McCormack & Larry Lamb, directed by Michael Attenborough.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

Nick Curtis in The Standard admired the attempt to tackle the very difficult issue of extreme child abuse, but felt that this play/production didn’t work:

Weiss Curtis StandardWeiss Curtis Standard 23 Nov 1999, Tue Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Charles Spencer in The Telegraph expressed similar sentiments to those of Nick Curtis:

Weiss Spencer TelegraphWeiss Spencer Telegraph 27 Nov 1999, Sat The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Other regulars don’t seem to have reviewed this piece – perhaps they were stunned into similar silence to my own.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Cottesloe Theatre, 23 July 1988

This was a very good production of The Tempest at the National Theatre. Peter Hall directed it. Superb cast.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review of the Tempest

Billington On The TempestBillington On The Tempest Sat, May 21, 1988 – 17 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael Ratcliffe’s Observer review of the Tempest and Cybeline:

Ratcliffe on Tempest & CybelineRatcliffe on Tempest & Cybeline Sun, May 22, 1988 – 39 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

It was part of repertory trio of productions of late Shakespeare plays, of which we also saw Cybeline a few months later:

Cymbeline by William Shakespeare, Olivier Theatre, With Bobbie, 15 November 1988

I rated this production very good. I think we benefited from seeing The Tempest in the intimate environment of the Cottesloe – certainly when compared with Cybeline at the Olivier.

Not sure what we did afterwards – the diary might have some info on that, which I shall add in the fullness of time if it does.