Walter Kent - Max Bennett
Amy O'Connell - Nancy Carroll
Russell Blackborough - Richard Cordery
Justin O'Connell - Patrick Drury
Lord Charles Cantilupe - Peter Eyre
Henry Trebell - Will Keen
Countess Mortimer/Bertha - Helen Lindsay
Frances Trebell - Phoebe Nicholls
Cyril Horsham - Hugh Ross
Lucy Davenport - Jeany Spark
Butler/Vivan Saumarez - Giles Taylor
George Farrant - Michael Thomas
Lady Julia Farrant - Jessica Turner.
Directed by Samuel West
Designed by Peter McKintosh
At the Almeida in row D but next to someone who didn't know how to work their headphones so hissing and whistling throughout.
I think I saw Marie Helvin in the bar but I could have been wrong.
It's easier to talk about the low points of this. The youngsters were very weak in the opening scene but they settled down (esp Ms Spark) as we moved on. I have to say it seemed to me that Phoebe Nicholls took a while to find her place, bellowing as though she was trying to find the back of the Olivier Circle.
Will Keen was as wonderful as ever and made it look so easy.l
...and Peter Eyre's voice is from another world and he had a wonderful role that he could really work with.
Richard is an old Uni friend of a dear chum of mine and I was rather sad to see he didn't mention The Boys Next Door in his cv because I loved that piece all those years ago.Glorious set and they managed to put a tiny revolve in there to give two setting each to either side of the interval.......unlike Rosmersholm, it all worked beautifully by making something looks so simple and yet sumptuous.
Fabulous piece of writing but sadly prompted the pleased-with-themselves in the audience to laugh a little too loudly when a line clunked with contemporary resonance. It raced along despite it's three hour running time. Sam's made yet another wonderful job.
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