Tag: Stanley Townsend

The Nether by Jennifer Haley, Royal Court Theatre, 2 August 2014

Just occasionally we see a play/production that really sticks in our minds, so much so that we are talking about it and/or referring to it for years afterwards,

The Nether was such a piece.

Here is a link to the Royal Court resource on The Nether.

It is set in a dystopian future in which many of the real things we cherish (such as trees) have gone but humans spend much of their time in virtual reality worlds.

The play grapples with some of the ethical issues we need to think through in this context; not least moral injury.

But this is no mere preachy issues play – it is a gripping drama too and you end up really grappling with many moral dilemmas in 80 minutes.

Stanley Townsend led a tip-top cast.

The production deservedly got excellent reviews – click here for a search term link to those – and it got a west end transfer.

Below is a vid of a Royal Court debate with the playwright and Professor Anthony Beech:

Gethsemane by David Hare, Cottesloe Theatre, 8 November 2008

This one felt like a hot ticket when we booked it months before and also seemed well suited to my mind set just 48 hours after my Gresham Lecture on Commercial Ethics.

But this play was about the arguably thornier topic of political ethics and political pragmatism.

What a posse of cast and creatives for this one – click here for the Official London Theatre information stub.

I recall being most impressed by the performances and the production. Also, the play did its job of getting me and Janie talking about its big issues for the rest of the weekend. Yet this didn’t feel like premier league David Hare to me; I felt there was something lacking in the play.

It was that sort of play/production – influential people were supposed to talk about it but not all that many people got to see it. Janie and I saw a preview, so had every right to wax lyrical from an informed perspective and from the outset.

What good news for everyone that Janie and I tend to keep our counsel to ourselves on such matters.

Well worth seeing.

Happy Now? by Lucinda Coxon, Cottesloe Theatre, 9 February 2008

Unusually, we took Phillie to the theatre with us on this occasion. It must have been a long prearranged thing; I think Tony was doing one of his long business trips in the far east, so we had Phillie to stay for the weekend and it was planned far enough in advance for us to book a good Cottesloe production for us all to see.

This was a very good play/production. Funny, thought-provoking and very well acted. Great cast; not least Stanley Townsend, Olivia Williams and Dominic Rowan. Thea Sharrock, who had impressed us so much directing at the Gate, was starting to get higher profile gigs; this being an early example of one of those.

This award-winning play and production has a comprehensive Wikipedia entry – click here, which includes links to some of the better reviews.

Phillie, bless her, unaccustomed as she was to the theatre, was a bit “west-end theatre-ish” at first, talking as if she was in her living room watching TV, until Janie gave her “the look” a couple of times. I think Phillie enjoyed that theatre trip very much.

I’m pretty sure this was the occasion that, afterwards, we went on to Zinc Bar and Grill in Heddon Street.  Now gone, I believe, a couple of reviews of that Conran place survive:

Anyway, Phillie really enjoyed herself that evening – she got quite tipsy at Zinc, as was her wont by then, but the important thing was that she had a good time.

Remember This by Stephen Poliakoff, Lyttelton Theatre, 9 October 1999

My log reads:

I got more out of this one than Janie did. Not SP’s best.

We saw a preview – the press night was about a week later.

Stanley Townsend is always good news and he didn’t disappoint as the charismatic lead. Good support too from Geraldine Somerville and others, directed by Ron Daniels. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this play/production.

It was the play that lacked coherence. Janie couldn’t see past the fragile conceits of the play.

Our friend, Michael Billington, in The Guardian, seems to have shared our reservations. He says that the plot “has more holes than a second-hand colander”…

…(does a new colander have fewer holes than a second-hand one, Michael?)…

Remember Guardian BillingtonRemember Guardian Billington 18 Oct 1999, Mon The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh seems to have hated it. “Ponderous” is not a desirable adjective if you are Poliakoff:

Remember Standard de JonghRemember Standard de Jongh 18 Oct 1999, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Kate Bassett in the Telegraph described it as “chronically dull”:

Remember Telegraph BassettRemember Telegraph Bassett 18 Oct 1999, Mon The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

OK, OK, I’ve got the point. A rare dud from Poliakoff, the master.