I wrote in my log:
Yes, we saw it before it opened. Yes, it was very good.
Press night was early the following week.
I was always partial to a bit of Poliakoff, so this will have felt like a bit of a birthday treat, opening at that time of year.
In fact, we had been due to go to the Proms on my actual birthday that year, but “Proms 7:30” is scribbled out in my diary for the preceding Wednesday. Not sure what went wrong there – probably we simply failed to get tickets (Claudio Abbado & The Berlin Phil doing Brahms – very popular).
But I digress.
Stellar cast for this one – as was the way back then with Poliakoff at the National or the RSC: Douglas Hodge and Frances de la Tour the biggest names; Graham Crowden & Hermione Norris also standout performers. Here is the Theatricalia entry for this production.
This is Lyn Gardner’s review from The Guardian:
Blinded Lyn Gardner Guardian 04 Sep 1996, Wed The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Here is Michael Coveney’s Observer review:
Blinded Coveney Observer 08 Sep 1996, Sun The Observer (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com
Paul Taylor in the Independent also liked it a lot:
Blinded Paul Taylor Indy 05 Sep 1996, Thu The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com