Tag: Zoë Wanamaker

Stevie by Hugh Whitemore, Hampstead Theatre, 6 March 2015

We rather liked this one. Not as much as the critics, who mostly lapped it up, but we did enjoy the play.

It’s about the poet Stevie Smith and of course Zoë Wannamaker is a superb actress; indeed all three of the cast were.

It’s a bit twee; both the setting (but then Stevie Smith did live a twee suburban life in Palmers Green) and also the play, which is a little old-fashioned in style. It reminded me of the sort of play that did well in the Hampstead Theatre’s portacabin glory days, back in the eighties and nineties.

Excellent Hampstead on-line resource saves me most of the trouble – click here – reviews too but of course only those effusive ones.

I think we were still going to Harry Morgan pre-theatre back then; the Friday evening Hampstead theatre gig worked that way most times.

The Rose Tattoo by Tennessee Williams, Olivier Theatre, 9 April 2007

A rare visit to the theatre on a Monday – this was Easter Monday.

Janie and I both love a bit of Tennessee Williams and we had only seen an amateur production of the Rose Tattoo before – at the Questors some 10 years earlier.

This was a top notch production at the National – no holds barred.

Zoe Wannamaker was exceptional.

Critics seemed to think the production and performances masked a less than brilliant play – I think I probably agree with that analysis – click here for a link to reviews.

Below is the trailer from the 1955 movie – very different style:

Battle Royal by Nick Stafford, Lyttelton Theatre, 11 December 1999

Our verdict on this one:

Had its moments.

That is not a rave review.

This production was awash with star names; Zoe Wanamaker, Simon Russell Beale, Gemma Jones, Suzanne Burden, Brendan Coyle, Matthew Macfadyen…

…directed by Howard Davies.

Here is the Theatricalia link for this play/production.

The production and talent on show was all very high quality – I don’t think the play did it for us.

It didn’t seem to please all the critics either. Nick Curtis in the Standard gave it the dreaded blob:

Battle Curtis StandardBattle Curtis Standard 10 Dec 1999, Fri Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Paul Taylor, in the Independent, also panned it.

Battle Taylor IndependentBattle Taylor Independent 10 Dec 1999, Fri The Independent (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

On the other hand, Charles Spencer in the Telegraph rather liked it:

Battle Spencer TelegraphBattle Spencer Telegraph 10 Dec 1999, Fri The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

But our charitable friend, Michael Billington, awarded it a rare mediocre two stars:

Battle Billington GuardianBattle Billington Guardian 11 Dec 1999, Sat The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com

Othello by William Shakespeare, RSC at the Young Vic, 4 November 1989

My log says that this was a transfer from The Other Place in Stratford and that I (possibly we – Bobbie was with me) was/were not 100% sure about it.

What was there not to be sure about? Splendid cast: Willard White as Othello, Ian McKellen as Iago, Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona, Zoe Wannamaker as Emilia…Trevor Nunn directing.

Well, actually, I think I have a bit of a problem with this play. Janie and I saw a National Theatre production about eight years later and I just couldn’t get on with that either.

https://ianlouisharris.com/2022/08/02/othello-by-william-shakespeare-cottesloe-theatre-2-august-1997

I also have a feeling that the 1989 RSC production felt a little over-theatrical to me. There is a certain Trevor Nunn style. Little did I know then that Janie and I would meet Trevor and Imogen – strangely around about the time we saw the 1997 RNT Othello.

Here is the Theatricalia entry for this one.

Here are Ian McKellen’s thoughts on the matter.

Bobbie might be full of memories of this one and chime in…let’s see!

Michael Ratcliffe in The Observer wrote this:

Ratcliffe On OthelloRatcliffe On Othello Sun, Aug 27, 1989 – 36 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Michael Billington in the Guardian wrote this:

Billington on OthelloBillington on Othello Sat, Aug 26, 1989 – 20 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Mrs Klein by Nicholas Wright, Cottesloe Theatre, Followed By Dinner at RSJ, 19 November 1988

The diary is quite clear about this one:

I rated the play/production very good indeed at the time. I am pretty sure that Bobbie rated this highly too.

Here is a link to the Theatricalia entry for this production. Some cast: Gillian Barge, Francesca Annis and Zoe Wanamaker. Peter Gill directed.

There is a page about this production on Zoe Wanamaker’s website – here.

Below is Michael Billington’s Guardian review:

Billington on Mrs KleinBillington on Mrs Klein Fri, Aug 12, 1988 – 26 · The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

Below is Michael ratcliffe’s Observer review:

Ratcliffe on Mrs KleinRatcliffe on Mrs Klein Sun, Aug 14, 1988 – 37 · The Observer (London, Greater London, England) · Newspapers.com

More than 20 years later, Janie and I went to see the revival of this play at the Almeida – which I also rated highly:

Mrs Klein by Nicholas Wright, Almeida Theatre, 24 October 2009

Bobbie and I went to RSJ’s after seeing the 1988 production. RSJ was one of our favourite places back then. I recall Janie liking that place too. It is still there in 2018 but apparently with a different formula.

That was a top notch evening back in November 1988.