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The programmes hadn’t arrived, so (most unusually for the Donmar) we got a simple black and white printed A4 foldy. Standards.
The play was very good indeed, though, as was the cast. The usual high production values for the Donmar too.
A bit slow, but then this IS a 19th century Russian story and it IS Brian Friel, whom we like very much, btw.
The critics on the whole shared our enjoyment of it – click here for a link to reviews.
In short, this was a good’n.
This was a really interesting play and it was an excellent opportunity to reciprocate David & Rachel’s hospitality from a couple of month’s earlier:
Apart from the quintessentially US nature of the production and the left field approach to tackling racism through performance, it’s hard to see much similarity between the evenings.
Rebecca Gilman’s play was memorable through its “warts ‘n’ all” approach to anti-racism and political correctness on campus. Also memorable was a superb performance by Emma Fielding in the lead role. The supporting cast were also “Royal Court good”, as was Dominic Cooke’s directing.
Our friends David and Rachel found it interesting and we had plenty to discuss over grub after the play.
Our other friend, Michael Billington, gave it a very good review in the Guardian:
Article from 11 Jan 2001 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England)
Paul Taylor did not like the play, describing it as self-conrgratulatory white guilt in search of a play:
Article from 10 Jan 2001 The Independent (London, Greater London, England)
Nicholas de Jongh couldn’t put aside his issues with the play, describing it as mediocre and giving it the dreaded Standard blob:
Article from 10 Jan 2001 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England)
Charles Spencer thought the play flawed yet intriguing and well worth seeing:
Article from 11 Jan 2001 The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England)
Suzannah Clapp gave it a very balanced review in The Observer, concluding that a play that makes you argue is a play worth seeing:
Article from 14 Jan 2001 The Observer (London, Greater London, England)
Superb…
…was our verdict on this one.
We saw this one as part of an extraordinary whistle-stop long weekend which took in three plays at Stratford (this the first of them), a motorised hike to the Welsh Borders for lunch at The Walnut Tree before going on to Hay-On-Wye for some overnight- second-hand-book-buying on my part before stopping off for a long lunch at Raymond Blanc’s place (Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons) in Oxfordshire and then home. Friday to Monday. The other bits have been written up separately from this piece – click here or below:
I think we stayed in the Shakespeare for this trip. Janie booked it but only wrote down “Twelfth Night Room £115 per night” which I suspect in those days was a suite or certainly a superior room. I looked after most of the rest of the trip, including The Old Black Lion in Hay and Le Manoir.
Fabulous cast for Bad Weather – Emma Handy, Paul Popplewell, Ryan Pope, Susan Brown, Barry Stanton & Susan Engel, directed by Steven Pimlott. Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this one.
Nick Curtis in The Standard liked it:
Curtis Standard Weather 11 May 1998, Mon Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Our friend, Michael Billington, liked the performances more than the play:
Billington Guardian Weather 09 May 1998, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Whereas Richard Edmonds in The Birmingham Post loved the piece and the performances:
Edmonds Brum Post Weather 09 May 1998, Sat The Birmingham Post (Birmingham, West Midlands, England) Newspapers.com
Angels In America is a two part play. I can only talk about the first part, Millenium Approaches, which Janie and I both thought was very good indeed.
We were both due to see the second part, Perestroika, the next day, but I got a bout of the raging trots and was confined to my bed instead.
Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for Angels In America, which covers both parts.
What a cast! Daniel Craig, Susan Engel, Clare Holman, Stephen Dillane, Harry Towd…directed by Declan Donnellan too.
I insisted that Janie go alone to see Perestroika and she told me at the time that it was not as good as Millenium Approaches. But was she saying that just to be kind or was she saying that because she got less enjoyment without me or was she saying that because actually the first part is the better part?
Here is the Wikipedia entry for both.
No on-line reviews from the RNT production back then, sadly. Here is a New York Times transcript from 1993…
…and here is Michael Billington’s review from 1992:
Billington On Angels Kushner Sat, Jan 25, 1992 – 21 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
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 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 & 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 & McKellen Sun, Jul 29, 1990 – 51 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
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 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 Sichuan Sun, Dec 3, 1989 – 43 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com
