The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, The Questors Theatre, 15 October 1999

A successful night at The Questors with the Duchess (Janie’s mum). I wrote,

very good,

in my log, which will be a comment on the play/production rather than The Duchess’s conduct.

Janie and I subsequently saw a superb production of this play at The Donmar.

I recall having some reservations about seeing an amateur production of this great play, but actually The Questors had actors and creatives of sufficient quality to carry this work well.

Janie’s diary suggests that we went to eat at a place named Rastificia afterwards, on Ealing Broadway, at 10:30. Sounds like Jamaican food from the name.

Just what Janie and I will have needed on a Friday evening after a long week’s work. No doubt the waiters made a fuss of The Duchess and no doubt she wanted to stay for one more cigarette at the end of the meal, so we’ll have got home very late indeed.

Also, no doubt, the deal was that The Duchess did the theatre tickets, Janie did the interval drinks and I did the meal. [Note to historians – The Duchess got several pairs of guest tickets free each year with her membership of The Questors – I’m pretty sure we didn’t go any more often than the using up of the freebies allowed].

Parsimony is the best policy– The Duchess of Castlebar

Summer by Edward Bond, Questor’s Playhouse, 29 January 1999

I logged that this play/production was:

One of the best things I have seen at The Questors.

Praise indeed.

Here is a link to The Questors archive page for this play/production.

We went with The Duchess, as was always the case at The Questors. She was a member and got a certain number of guest passes “thrown in” with her membership. She was determined to take advantage of those.

Janie’s diary informs me that she collected oxtail that earlier day and that we all went to Mama Amalfi for dinner after the show.

Biography by Max Frisch, Translated by Michael Bullock, The Questors Theatre, 20 May 1995

I was really excited at the opportunity to see this play, which had not been performed in England before. I’ve been a fan of Max Frisch’s writing ever since performing in Andorra when I was at Alleyn’s:

An unusual opportunity to see a premier at The Questor’s Theatre, with Janie & The Duchess (Janie’s mum).

I liked this production, rating it “good” in my log. I recall the play being quite tricky and probably a challenge too far for The Questor’s.

The conceit of the piece – a behavioural researcher is given the opportunity to return to any point in his life and change the decisions he made – is intriguing and “very Frisch”.

25 years on, I have ordered a copy of the book and shall no doubt enjoy reading it.

Returning to 1995, I am pretty sure that the arrangement will have been “the usual” – i.e. The Duchess supplied The Questor’s tickets, Janie bought the interval drinks and I will have paid for dinner at Wine and Moussaka. That arrangement was decreed to be “fair” by The Duchess; who were we humble little folk to disagree with that?

But what if I could return to 1995 and make such decisions over again…?