Tag: Terry John Bates

Outside On The Street by Wolfgang Borchert, Gate Theatre, 27 June 1998

By gosh was I pleased when I learnt that my local, The Gate Theatre in Notting Hill, was to put on this play. Some years earlier, I had bought a book of European plays in translation and had read this play, along with some narrative about it, with a mixture of fascination and wonderment. Part of my wonderment was thinking about how on earth the play might be performed, but I suspected at the time that I would never see the piece in production.

Unlike my “how on earth might this play be performed?” musings, it worked remarkably well in this imaginative production in the Gate’s small-scale, theatre-above-a-pub environment. The Gate has reliably been extremely good at doing this sort of thing over the years.

Superb…

…was my single word verdict, which summed it up for both me and Janie.

Our friend, Michael Billington, gave a similar verdict in The Guardian, lauding performers Sean Gallagher and Jenny Quayle, plus translator Thomas Fisher in particular:

Billington Guardian OutsideBillington Guardian Outside 18 Jun 1998, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Susannah Clapp gave it a glowing and quite lengthy review in the Observer, especially praising the director, Gordon Anderson and the designer, Jane Singleton:

Clapp Observer Outside 1 of 2Clapp Observer Outside 1 of 2 21 Jun 1998, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com Clapp Observer Outside 2 of 2Clapp Observer Outside 2 of 2 21 Jun 1998, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nick Curtis in the Standard, on the other hand, found it all far too bleak for his liking:

Curtis Standard OutsideCurtis Standard Outside 18 Jun 1998, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

While John Gross gave it a short but sweet review in The Sunday Telegraph:

Gross Sunday telegraph OutsideGross Sunday telegraph Outside 28 Jun 1998, Sun Sunday Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Talk Of the City by Stephen Poliakoff, Swan Theatre, 20 June 1998

Good, but not his best…

…was my log note for this one. “His” referring to Stephen Poliakoff, whose best I rate very highly.

Janie and I saw this one as part of an extraordinary whistle-stop long weekend which took in three plays at Stratford (this the second of the three), 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.

A Long Weekend In Stratford-Upon-Avon & Hay-On-Wye, Including Trips To The Walnut Tree & Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, 19 to 22 June 1998

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 did the rest of the trip, including The Old Black Lion in Hay.

As for Talk Of the City, Poliakoff directed this one himself, if I recall correctly, which I think might have been (and often is) a minor mistake – i.e. playwrights, even if superb directors, can usually do with an external eye as director on their own works.

Great cast, including David Westhead, John Normington, Sian Reeves and a young Dominic Rowan. Here’s a link to the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Charles Spencer thought the play a muddle:

Spencer Telegraph TalkSpencer Telegraph Talk 01 May 1998, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Nicholas de Jongh didn’t much like it either:

30 Apr 1998, Thu Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

The Gift Of The Gorgon by Peter Shaffer, The Pit, 12 December 1992

Janie and I saw a preview of this one and thought it was absoutely great. Janie has since formed an aversion to Dame Judy Dench…or perhaps Janie liked this one despite Judy.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Below is Michael Coveney’s review from The Observer:

Gift of the Gorgon CoveneyGift of the Gorgon Coveney Sun, Dec 20, 1992 – 42 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michel Billington’s glowing review:

Gift Of teh Gorgon BillingtonGift Of teh Gorgon Billington Fri, Dec 18, 1992 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor in The Independent was less keen – click here.

Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel, Lyttelton Theatre, 22 December 1990

Wow.

I have strong memories of this one. Just one word in my log:

Superb.

It was a convoluted process getting to see it, as I was really suffering with my back knack when this production opened in London (October 1990; it had spent the spring and summer at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin).

Anyway, Bobbie and I sorted out some good tickets for just before Christmas and my goodness this one was worth seeing.

Excellent cast, including Brid Brennan, Stephen Dillane and Alec McCowen. In truth I don’t know Director Patrick Mason for anything else but he can come visit again.

I remember early the next year recommending it to a Dutch software developer, Gerard Mey, who was working on a project with me in London and asked me to recommend a show. I wondered if it was too challenging for someone who does not boast English as a first language. Gerard told me how much he enjoyed it, while admitting that he found some of the language difficult, but said that his head had been full of so many interesting thoughts and ideas since seeing it. That’s a recommendation in my book!

I’ll leave it to the experts to explain in their words just how good this show was.

Michael Billington spoke very highly of it in The Guardian

Billington on LughnasaBillington on Lughnasa Wed, Oct 17, 1990 – 38 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Coveney gushed about it in The Observer when he saw it at the Abbey in the spring:

Coveney on LughnasaCoveney on Lughnasa Sun, May 6, 1990 – 57 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Don Giovanni, English National Opera, London Coliseum, 10 June 1989

I don’t have great memories of seeing this opera, but I think my memories of it are more closely linked to my general mood that weekend than to any intrinsic issue with the opera/production…

…other than to say that this experience probably helped to kick off the view, which has become a prevailing one, that opera ain’t me.

Bobbie was there for this one, as was Ashley Fletcher – yes, my memory definitely serves me correctly for this one, as the diary makes clear that Ashley was down for the weekend and stayed in the tower – i.e. the annex to my flat in Clanricarde Gardens – so named, by Ashley, as he felt that the place would be suitable for the detention of a mad and/or elderly relative. That annex now serves as my office – renamed the ivory tower – a more liberal purpose and name.

But I digress.

Not much about it on the net, given its antiquity, but here’s some stuff from the translator, Amanda Holden.

While here is a rather cute link to a fan’s piece:

I'm off to ENO's Don Giovanni tonight. Here's the programme for the version I saw there last. In 1989

Below is Tom Sutcliffe’s Guardian review:

Sutcliffe on GiovanniSutcliffe on Giovanni Fri, Mar 24, 1989 – 31 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

I’ll write more about other aspects of the weekend after I have had a chance to liaise with Ashley on’t matter. Bobbie and I had a rather entertaining conversation about in 28 February 2019…

Dinner At Spring Restaurant With Bobbie Scully, 28 February 2019

…a few days before I wrote up this piece, about Don Giovanni.

Postscript after seeing Ashley in April 2019: Ashley has no recollection of that weekend. So we must rely on Bobbie’s memory that I was tripping out on tiredness and rather freaked at the thought of going out to get some additional soap, as there was none for Ashley in the shower of the tower. If I really did say words to the effect:

I did not envisage this weekend as a soap buying weekend…

…that would have to be up there amongst my most autistic utterances ever. I have a dreadful feeling that Bobbie’e memory is going to be bang on regarding that point.