We Had A World by Joshua Harmon, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, 13 June 2026

Excellent play and production, not very accurately described in the blurb!

Janie and I were both really taken with this play/production. In some ways, not really our type of play. Indeed, had the Hampstead blurb for this production described the play more accurately, we might have chosen not to go, on the basis…

haven’t we seen enough of these Jewish families with grudges plays?…can get all that at home…not another narrator looking back at his family upbringing play…

…which would have been a terrible shame, because this one really is excellent, both as a play and a production. Well drawn characters – you end up caring about all of them – even the old dragon of an alcoholic, mischief-making grandmother.

Suzanne Bertish, Anna Francolini and Ryan Kopel all put in superb performances, ably directed by Josh Seymour.

The house was not full on the Saturday evening we attended. Perhaps the blurb, which made us imagine that the play was about modern art, attracted a smaller audience than a more accurate blurb might have done.

Who knows? In any case, it still has a couple of weeks to run at the time of writing and we would recommend this highly if there are still some tickets available when you read this.

I haven’t yet studied the formal reviews – click here for them – but sense that they, like us, were impressed.

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, Cottesloe Theatre, 23 September 2000

The previous week we saw Yasmina Reza’s “Conversations…”, which Michael Billington described as Chekhovian…

Well if you thought that Reza’s work was Chekhovian, Michael, just wait until you see The Cherry Orchard.

Another Saturday night at the theatre which didn’t raise a comment in my log at the time. Perhaps we were overdoing at bit at that time.

Amazing cast: Maxine Peake, Roger Allam, Michael Bryant, Vanessa Redgrave, Eve Best, Corin Redgrave (yes, that was two Redgraves for the price of one), and many other fine acting folk, directed by Trevor Nunn.

Nicholas de Jongh liked it but didn’t gush:

Cherry de Jongh Standard Cherry de Jongh Standard 22 Sept 2000 Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Michael Billington also rates it good without rating it great:

Cherry Billington Guardian Cherry Billington Guardian 23 Sept 2000 The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Perhaps my null log entry was about right for this one.

Taking Sides by Ronald Harwood, Criterion Theatre, 7 October 1995

This was a West End transfer from the Chichester Festival, which had been so well received that even we set aside our West-End show scepticism to see it in Theatreland.

We weren’t disappointed. This was a very good production of a very good play. It is basically about the denazification investigation of the German conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler.

Michael Pennington & Daniel Massey played the lead roles, investigating officer major Arnold & Furtwängler respectively. Harold Pinter added yet more gravitas by directing it.

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

Michael Billlington really liked it when he saw it in Chichester that spring:

Billington taking SidesBillington taking Sides Tue, May 23, 1995 – 2 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney also liked it while comparing it with Absolute Hell:

Coveney on Taking SidesCoveney on Taking Sides Sun, May 28, 1995 – 75 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com