Top Girls by Caryl Churchill

Isabella Bird - Anna Calder-Marshall
Janine - Natalie Cassidy
Louise - Jan Chappell
Marlene - Monica Dolan
Dulle Griet - Noma Dumezweni
Rosanne Kidd - Tricia Kelly
Shoana - Petra Letang
Nell - Natasha Little
Pope Joan - Anna Maxwell Martin
Kit - Azuka Oforka
Lady Nijo - Helene Patarot
Angie - Michelle Terry
Joyce - Nicola Walker
Patient Griselda - Jodie Whittaker
Winn - Susannah Wise

I forgot to put the link in my last 'Readings' post so here it is !

Once again an incredible afternoon. This was so popular that they opened up the circle and even the upper circle. Some tickets had been allocated twice and it was the kind of chaos that made it fun.

Act one had all the historical characters getting pissed with Marlene and acts two and three showed Marlene, her sister and her daughter who was played wonderfully by Michelle Terry.

Monica Dolan's performance was pitch perfect and she was not put off by the weakest member of the cast who shall remain nameless. In fact, there WAS only one weak member but she was very, very weak and it really pulled down an incredibly inventive piece of writing. Noma was so perfectly understated as the erm......two dimensional character at this table of huge personalities. It was hilarious. I loved Nicola Walker's country accent & spotted socks and the fact that she got a bit tangled up when she came on stage - JUST like Ruth. Jodie was angelic Anna Calder Marshall was intoxicating and Anna Maxwell Martin was that wonderful combo of sweet and tough.

I was not expecting much from Natalie Cassidy but she did a brilliant job and was as good a match for the rest of the cast........more than I can say for some of the soapers I saw earlier in the week.

Better keep an eye on the clock - I have to get back to the theatre for 9:30!

The Pretender Agenda by Christopher Manoe

Kate - Emily Aston
Mel - Lucy Benjamin
Gina - Sue Devaney
Robert - Scott Hinds
Piers - Ben Jones
James - Vincenzo Pellegrino
Stuart - Lee Ryan

Directed by the writer, Chrstopher Mano and designed by Tim McQuillen-Wright
seated someone in the middle of row E
The opportunity of a free ticket to this reminded me that I had often meant to check out this venue. For something tucked under the arches, I was surprised that this enormous barn/corridor of an auditorium lacked in atmosphere but we were only about 10 per cent full so it's unfair to judge. The bar was cosy and the staff were really lovely.

I don't think I'd like to meet Mr Manoe. I suspect he is rather pleased with himself and possibly with good reason, but not for his scripting talents. I get the feeling he is an entrepreneur who thought it might be easy to write something. Some of what he does came off but was dreadfully let down by weak cast members. It was a difficult thing to stage because dramatic scenes in kitchens and bedrooms were virtually performed in the wings while the more pedantry stuff was in the middle of the stage. Lee Ryan seemed to think he was on some kind of Jim'll Fix It star turn and his constant staring at the audience and other actors who were supposed to be in different rooms was downright unprofessional and very distracting.
Emily Aston seemed to think she was in a completely different play to everyone else with her pantomime gurning and I couldn't settle with Sue Devaney's performance though I am not sure why. The rest of the cast made a lovely effort to hold the thing together and it did make for an amusing evening.

Given the choice, I would rather have been at the Ivanov press night!

light shining in buckinghamshire by Caryl Churchill

The cast for this reading comprised of Naomi Bentley, Tom Brooke, Monica Dolan, Paul Rhys, Tom Riley, Zubin Varla.

It was directed by Mark Ravenhill and the musical arrangements were by Colin Sell.

Sigh - this was amazing. A fantastic bit of writing performed so brilliantly. Every afternoon should be like this. There were no weak points at all. I would have preferred it if Paul Rhys had not held his script up in a way that obscured his gentle face but other than that, everyone gave a stand out and beautifully original performance.

I started to marry actors with characters but I should know better with Caryl's work! They were changing around and keeping us on our toes. I have seen an excerpt of this piece but never in the whole. I loved it and would jump at the chance to see a full production. There is so much to plunder from this point in history but the talent is to bring it to the viewer in a fresh and original way. This was it. Loved seeing those lovely big blue eyes of Tom Brooke again, adored Naomi Bentley's rapture and giggles. Tom Riley was deliciously relaxed and made the job look so easy. Paul was intense and it was fun to see Zubin stretching his musical muscles again. They all sang together with wonderful harmonies which is another thing I like about Caryl's older work and Colin Sell put that together beautifully. Could this really have just been a reading? Roll on Friday!!

Noteables in the audience: Danny Lee Wynter, Eddie Redmayne, Mel Kenyon

Lipsynch by Robert Lepage

Frederike Bedard - Marie & others
Carlos Belda - Sebastian & others)
Rebecca Blankenship - Ada Webber and others
Lise Castonguary - Michelle & others
John Cobb - Jackson and others
Nuria Garcia - Lupe and others
Sarah Kemp - Sarah and others
Rick Miller - Jeremy and others
Hans Piesbergen - Thomas and others

Directed by Robert Lepage and designed by Jean Hazel seen in the last London performance of it's consecutive format at the Barbican. We had wonderful seats......for the most part.

Oliver Mace (Tim McInerny) was there - amongst others........oow - Oliver Dimsdale......Fiona Shaw........erm gawd brain powering down. I read that Richard Eyre & Simon Callow were there too but that may have been the day before.

I know the first reaction is to groan at the thought of a nine hour production (almost 2 hours of which are intervals) but I know I am not going to be able to find the words to describe what I have experienced today

Without going into production details, just experiential........just imagine you're favourite tv drama series........you've bought the boxed set and it's so amazing that you can't put it down and you have to watch every episode consecutively, just stopping for snacks and the loo........... THEN imagine that all the actors have agreed to perform the whole thing live for you. I can honestly say I didn't want ANY of the intervals. I just wanted it to go on and on. I couldn't wait for the next installment even though I know Mnsr Lepage's work well enough to know how all the loose ends would tie up.

I would say only 5 percent of the audience actually stayed in their seats at the end and they did four curtain calls to a screaming crowd.

I'm torn because I want to read other people's thoughts but I want to find the time to carefully write my own before that. I shall return

Kicking a Dead Horse by Sam Shepard

Hobart Struther - Stephen Rea
Young Woman - Joanne Crawford

Directed by Sam Shepard
Designed by Brian Vahey

in it's English premiere at the Almeida D 25
Actor in the audience escapes me - wonderful, Irish, plenty of white hair.

Like so many women of my age, Sam Shepard is an object of desire. He is rugged, intelligent and intoxicatingly private. What could be more tantalising?

That said, I can't make my mind up about this Beckett style piece. The performance was a real tour-de-force with Hobart's constant battle with his own demon. The restriction of the subject was well investigated. The horse was a fine a prop as one could reasonably hope. So why was I not totally engaged for the entire short duration? I was sitting off to the side as part of an attempted economy drive but the seat was still wonderful. Did I feel detached, I wonder? I kept thinking about how much more engaging the much longer production of Happy Days had been in the Lyttleton with Fiona Shaw. Perhaps it's as simple as that. Winnie was in a dire circumstance but happy with her lot. Hobart's plight is frankly less precarious but he is miserable and defeatist. You can easily love Winnie but you tend to lose lack sympathy with Hobart even though his mid-life dilemma is a very real concern. Perhaps that was Sam's intention. A companion piece to Happy Days. It certainly had a satisfy, albeit predictable resolution. Maybe I should read some reviews and perhaps find some of Sam's thoughts.

Lovely trip to the theatre on a Sunday afternoon though!

Factory Hamlet

Hamlet by Factory and Shakespeare

I WILL write my notes about this. In the meantime you can enjoy the pictures in the above post.

Hedda, adapted by Lucy Kirwood based on the Ibsen

Julia Tesman - Cath Whitefield
George Tesman - Tom Mison
Hedda Gabler - Cara Horgan
Thea Eldridge - Alice Patten
Toby Brack - Christopher Obi
Eli Longford - Adrian Bower

Directed by Carrie Cracknell
Designed by Holly Waddington

Seen at the sweet little Gate Theatre in Notting Hill with as diverse an audience as you could wish to find

If you come to this and banish all expectations of plot paralleling you'll come away from a fairly solid contemporary drama, with a few flaws but fairly well executed. If you have a vague notion of the original structure and salient plot points and interactions you'd have fun comparing. I wonder how Ibsen scholars would feel.

Lines were tripped and there were some minor inconsistencies with the plot but this sweet young cast and director made a very enjoyable evening and had the strength to stay behind and chat to us all afterwards. I might note that I have never seen such a high percentage of audience stay behind for a Q & A before and some of them had clearly not been aware that it was happening until the announcement. It was clear that this was an intense collaboration between Ms Kirkwood and Ms Cracknell so I can only presume the slight plot faults were the result of forgotten or ill-delivered lines.

One of these days I am going to see Mr Bower clean shaven, tidied hair and in a smart suit. I'll probably loathe him in it! He is so wonderfully comfortable with himself that it makes watching him very easy. I was also very impressed with the pitch of Christopher Obi's performance. I don't know why he stood out because I must say that everyone seemed to really understand the small space they were in and played it very well.

Hedda's evening dress was stunning in it's simplicity and I wouldn't normally even bother to comment. It had wonderful lines and looked stunning on Cara.

So far as this contemporary rendition is concerned, I thought it stayed just the right side of smug in it's parallels and apart from a couple of clunks, it worked well. For the sake of the comfort of these old bones, I would like to have seen it 15 minutes shorter and I had a strong sense of several others in the audience reaching breaking point at about the same time as me. I don't mind plays without intervals but 90 minutes is about my limit.

Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton

Timon - Simon Paisley Day
Poet/Caphis - Michael Matus
Printer/Creditors' Servants - Michael Jibson
Merchant/Servilius, Timon's Servant - Christopher Brandon
Jeweller/Flaminius, Timon's Servant - Peter Bankole
Messenger/Sepronius/Bandit - Sam Parks
Old Athenian/First Senator/Creditors' Servant - Robert Goodale
Lucilius, A Servant/Lucius/Bandit - Jonathan Bond
Apermantus - Bo Poraj
Flavius, Timon's Steward - Patrick Godfrey
Alcibiades - Gary Oliver
Alcibiades's Friend/Creditors' Servant/Bandit - Vinicius Salles
Lucullus/Bandit - Adam Burton
Ventioius/Bandit - Oliver Boot
Second Senator/Creditors' Servants - Richard Clews
Third Senator - Frank Scantori
Cupid - Fernanda Prata
Phrynia - Pippa Nixon
Timandra - Laura Rogers
Amazon - Bethan Walker
Amazo - Sian Williams

Directed by - Lucy Bailey
Designed by William Dudley



If I was going to see this anywhere, the best chance I had of getting any form of enjoyment would be by seeing it at The Globe and I was not disappointed. It should have been dull and hard going but largely due to the contributions from Bo Poraj, Simon Paisley Day and Patrick Godfrey it was tragic fun.

Attended the very interesting Talking Theatre Q&A with Bo and Patrick afterwards. More late?

Under The Blue Sky by David Eldridge

Nick - Chris O'Dowd
Helen - Lisa Dillon
Michelle - Catherine Tate
Graham - Dominic Rowan
Anne - Francesca Annis
Robert - Nigel Lindsay

Directed by Anna Mackmin
Designed by Lez Brotherston

We sat in the front of the circle which gave a brilliant view but punishing for comfort. Nicholas Grace made a last minute entrance to sit next to us which for some unaccountable reason made me feel even more self conscious about moving to ease the pain.

I had wanted to see a full production of this because I had really enjoyed the reading held at the Royal Court a couple of years ago. I was disappointed when the cast was announced for a couple of reasons but Mr O'Dowd is reason enough to turn up. However, my response to the suggestion that I went along was luke warm for quite a while. I had tried to avoid reviews as always but couldn't help absorbing a less than glowing vibe from out there in the theatreland ether.

All that said, I was joyfully surprised in the actual event. I had decided that I could not justify full price (when do I EVER do that ?) so I had resigned myself to get a TKTS special. What's On Stage have evenings that often amount to the same cost but often with a programme and Q&A thrown in. This was one of those and it made the evening much more satisfying.

First of all, this felt like a totally different play to the one I saw read a couple of years ago. So much so that I doubted my recall but both productions gave as much satisfaction. Three vignettes of relationships but all complete enough to give satisfaction........and I will say that they were perfectly cast.

The Q & A was very entertaining with Chris's effortless and uncontrollable humorous interjections moving things around to great effect and the best thing was that we were able to move downstairs to seats that had more respect for the 21st century human form. Jolly good fun all round.

Her Naked Skin by Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Celia Cain - Lesley Manville
William Cain - Adrian Rawlins
Eve Douglas - Jemima Rooper
Florence Boorman - Susan Engel
Mrs Schliefke - Pamela Merrick
Emma Wilding Davidson - Zoe Aldrich

House of Commons
Herbert Asquith - David Beames
Miss Brint - Harriet Quarrie
John Seely - Julian Ball
Augustine Birrell - Ken Bones
Edward Grey - Simon Markey
Keir Hardie - Robert Wilcox

Holloway Prison
Potter - Tony Turner
Mrs Briggs - Stephanie Jacob
Doctor Vale - Dermot Kerrigan
Doctor Parker - Nick Malinowski
Nurse - Erica Daly
Young Nurse - Stephanie Thomas
Wardress - Ruth Keeling
Guard - Edward Newborn
Guard - Joe Dunlop

Charlie Power - Gerard Monaco
Hunt - Julien Ball
Brown - Tony Turner
Doctor Klein - Ken Bones
Mrs Collins - Deborah Winckles
Lord Curzon - David Beames
Robert Cecil - Robert Wilcox
Mrs Major - Barbara Kirby
Felicity - Anna Lowe

Directed by Howard Davies
Designer - Rob Howell

Seen on a silly cheapie standby during it's premiere run at the Olivier with Anastasia Hille in the audience

Well, that's a nice bunch of actors in gainful employment for the rest of Summer and beyond!
Lovely, outwardly simple design that perfectly served the action so a big tick in that box. Performances were well measured and it's my own fault for grabbing a cheapie that I did not become fully involved in this tale of suffragette love. The centre section went wild at the curtain call. I had an instructive view of the Elysian Quartet who must be bored stupid with their sporadic insertion of one and two note tones. They sounded beautiful but so sparsely used.

Afterlife by Michael Frayn

Max Reinhardt - Roger Allam
Helene Thimig - Abigail Cruttenden
Gust Adler - Selina Griffiths
Rudolf 'Katie" Komer - Peter Forbes
Franz - Glyn Grain
THe Prince Archbishop of Salzburg - David Burke
Fredrich Mueller - David Schofield
Everyman - Nicholas Lumley
Ensemble - Devid Baron, Colin Haigh, Sarah Head, Elizabeth Marsh, Charlotte Melia, Hugh Osborne, Peter Prentice, Clair Winsper,
Rupert Young.

Directed by Michael Blakemore and designed by Peter Davidson

I saw Anthony Calf in the cafe but not sure if he was there to see a play or even which one.
Great stanby seat E 16


Hmmmm - this is not a new idea, it's just been updated but did we really need it to be? Much was lost in the 'rewrite' and I have a ghastly feeling that after however many weeks the cast have been performing it, they had finally realised that it is impossible to sustain a level of passion for such writing.


I was drawn to this by both Frayn and Allam. I left with quite a large amount of deflation and a sense of let-down. Whilst I was not actually aware of any specifics, I had the impression that the cast were introducing things to amuse themselves in order to get through the night in one piece. I hate to damn these people in all their hard work but it seemed as though little effort was being made here tonight.

Small point - I understand the device of the hair change for Reinhardt but that orange thing Roger sported for most of the show was distractingly annoying and I'm pretty sure that attached picture is from pre-citric rehearsals

Set design was wonderfully simple and had great mechanics.

...some trace of her - inspired by The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky adapted by Katie Mitchell and the company

Parfyon Semyonovich Rogozhin - Jamie Ballard
Anastassya Filippovna Barashkov - Hattie Morahan
Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin - Ben Whishaw
Aglaya Ivanovna Yepanchin - Helena Lymbery
General Ivan Fyodorovitch Yepanchin/Afanassy Ivanovich Totsky - Gawn Grainger
Gavril 'Ganya' Ardalyonovich Ivolgin - Bradley Taylor
Lizaveta Prokofyevna Yepanchin - Pandora Colin
Hippolite Terentyev - Sam Crane
E&OE


Director: Katie Mitchell
Designer: Vicki Mortimer
DoP: Leo Warner and Music by Paul Clark

Also including the poems of Emily Dickinson

I sat in D24 but it was too close (low)

You can see a taster of this piece at the NT website here.

I have to confess a bit of disappointment with this. I kept comparing it to my experience with Waves which was pitch perfect and seamlessly magical. I think I saw Waves much later in the run and I guess they had time to get it into a faultless production. 'trace' seems to still have a lot of technical rehearsing left to do. I am not convinced that so much of the video work was supposed to be so soft and the sound work was an absolute mess. The cast that wasn't being featured clunked around the stage in a distracting way which I don't remember in Waves where they seemed to glide around, props in hand as though they were choreographed. I wonder if Kate has had a frustrating time with these fabulous actors because they are not quite so adept at the tech side. I think I read that Ben Whishaw said it wasn't really like acting, it was more about working with props. Whilst this isn't actually true because Ben gave a very moving performance, it implies that the prop element was bothering him.
There is so much to watch in these productions and I don't know if sitting slap bang in the middle of the seating was such a good idea because my view was often obscured by the centre camera. I can't believe that the intention is to watch the screen all the way through because surely, it would be better to watch a well made film, if that was the case. I thought that Sam Crane voicing Ben's action was a beautifully believable combination. With the exception of a few scenes that worked incredibly well, I felt much of this was a mess and with all the anticipation I had, it makes me very sad. The more I think about it, I am convinced it was just a bad night. I know this has all the ingredients to be as amazing as Waves.

There is a '£10 for best seat' offer knocking around and I am tempted to see it again at the end of the run to check it's progress. I really believe this can be an incredible production but it has a lot to iron out. Perhaps I saw it on a bad night. I'm am not off to discover if anything went better on press night..............
edit: Just caught up on some reviews and it would seem I'm not the only person who thinks D is a tad too near and I also think that the info from the West End Whingers (one of the last paragraphs) about the final quarter not being ready in some of the previews substantiates my feelings about hoping it will go from strength to strength.

UPDATE: Second viewing in the middle of September was magical. All the right adjustments had been made and it was a pure, moving joy.

The Frontline by Ché Walker

Babydoll - Naana Agyei-Ampadu
Jayson - Ben Bishop
Donna - Sally Bretton
Casey - Kellie Bright
Ragdale - Paul Copley
Salim - Kurt Egyiawan
Mordechai Thurrock - Trystan Gravelle
Cockburn - Robert Gwilym
Kurt - Peter Hamilton Dyer
Roderique - Fraser James
Seamus - Paul Lloyd
Mahmoud - Kevork Malikyan
Violet - Jo Martin
Jodie - Jodie McNee
jimmy - Matthew Newtion
Elliot - Ashley Rolfe
Beth - Golda Rosheuvel
Marcus - Mo Sesay
Erkenwald - John Stah
Val - Lorraine Stanley
Miruts - Beru Tessema
Benny - Danny Lee Wynter
Street Fighters - Aaron Gordon, Clifford Lyonette, Matthew Pattimore, Chris Preddie, Luis Valentine, Nicholas Waters, Miles Yekinni

Directed by Matthew Dunster
Designed by Paul Wills

In the audience today we had Dominic Cooke & Alexi Kaye Campbell, Nick Hytner, Zawe Ashton. I also saw that wonderful actor who was in Burn Up......hmm....white hair, practically an institution but escapes my memory!

What's On Stage review roundup.

Great fun and the perfect setting for this kind of energy.

The only downside of this is that the beautiful, funny Sally Bretton is rubbish at doing anything other than posh. She sounded and moved like a female equivalent of Dick Van Dyke's Burt.

Black Watch by Gregory Burke

Macca - David Colvin
Kenzie - Paul James Corrigan
Stewarty - Ali Craig
Fraz - Emun Elliot
Officer - Jack Fortune
Granty - Jonathan Hot
Writer/Sergeant - Michal Nardone
Rossco - Henry Pettigrew
Cammy - Paul Rattray
Nasby - Nabil Stewart
(Understudy - William Barlow)

A National Theatre of Scotland production Directed by John Tiffany and designed by Laura Hopkins. Movement Direction by Steven Hoggett and Musical Direction by Davey Anderson. I wouldn't normally mention those last two but they are listed as Associate Directors and quite rightly so.

See in a completely reconstructed Barbican theatre (similar to Nick Omerod's staging) during it's short run at the Barbican.

In the audience we had Sir Ian McKellan and a swathy Mediterranean looking friend and A A Gill who, on reflection looks a bit like Jack Fortune.


I am going to spam a load of YouTube links because I can hardly put into words, the beauty of this piece. It is loud, brash, challenging and full of expletives but it feels as though you are listening to poetry whilst being gently pulled through a warm, moonlit stream to the sound of angelic sirens singing.

Some of the physical prop devices are straight out of an homage to Robert Lepage, I hope he got to see it somewhere because he'd love it. The music and movement element was so powerful and given that the piece was based on interviews with real soldiers, to take all the words out of the expression was brave but perfectly judged. I didn't bother to stay dry eyed. It would have been futile.

I was really looking forward to seeing Jack Fortune again. It's probably 20 odd years since I last saw him on stage. He's lost a lot of hair (well, for this production, he would have to) but I think the follicles are still intact and he still has powerful eyes and a softness to his chisled contours.








I'm just going to link this rather than embed in case anyone is offended by challenging language.



The Glasgow Herald prefer not to embed so click here.



we even have making of the set





and finally, a link to an old fave of mine, Jack Fortune

The Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-Smith

Margo - Eileen Atkins
Molly - Anna Maxwell Martin
Tess - Sophie Thompson
Bryan - Paul Chahidi
Frank - Con O'Neill
Theo - Sam Kelly

Directed by Roger Michell
Designed by Mark Thompson

Seen at the lovely cuddly Vaudeville Theatre (some of the nicest Box Office staff in the whole of the 'old school' West End) at a ridiculously cheap offer from Ticketmaster in D15.

In the audience Mr & Mrs Trevor Eve, Timothy West, Greta Scacchi (turns out she was hot-foot from RIchard & Judy's

I guess you'd call this a modern farce. Funny, a bit shrieky, very witty. Sophie Thompson managed to remain within a hair's breadth of being annoying with her downtrodden neurosis. In fact, it didn't seem neurotic because her delivery made all of Tess's issues seem utterly plausible and understandable. Eileen camped it up deliciously and had the joy of being the only cast member to dress up, rather than down. it's not something she gets to do very often as she is so good in the more down trodden roles. Anna was good and I have not seen her quite so forceful before.

Con was lovely (but I am biased) and I couldn't find a production photo but I had to include this - from rehearsal video.

Behind The Image compiled and edited by Michael Bhim, Alia Bano & Nina Raine

Please note - in most cases, the character names I have given are my own dubbing. Performers were just given as a random list and several spoke for more than one voice.

Part 1 - compiled and edited by Michael Bhim

Muslim 4 - Nathalie Armin
Policeman - Tom Brooke
Yusef - Ameet Chana
Gay Muslim 2 - Navin Chowdhry
Prim Police woman/Scottish wife of convertee - Ruth Everett
Gay Muslim 1 - Ronny Jhutti
Matthew Marsh - Muslim convertee
Lambeth/West Indian - Nathaniel Martello-White
Somalian born Muslim/UK born Muslim - Peter Polycarpou
Muslim 3 - Shane Zaza

Directed by Dominic Cooke as a thoroughly well rehearsed reading in the Jerwood Upstairs. Part of the 2008 Rough Cuts season

A bit scary because Ronny Jhutti and Navid Chowdhry were in the audience for 30 odd minutes before they got up and became part of the production.

Part 2 - compiled and edited by Alia Bano & Nina Raine

Forthright woman - Stephanie Street
Muslim - Shelley Conn
Young non Hijab wearing - Farzana Dua Elahe
Policewoman - Thusitha Jayasundera
Iraqi role player - Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Muslim convertee - Jodie Whittaker

Directed by Nina Raine after a 15 minute interval after which everyone returned to a very hot auditorium.

---

Playwrights Michael Bhim and Alia Bano interview a diverse cross section of Muslims at the mosque, university, at work and at home, and draw their responses together into revealing and essential tapestry of beliefs, atitudes and perspceives on life in the UK - it says in the programme.

Part one could have been so dull if it weren't for the wonderful performances. So many mezmerising people. Matthew Marsh has such a gorgeous voice and speaks with such gentle authority. Tom Brook has hypnotic eyes and an effortless charm. Shane Zaza held the audience every time he spoke. Peter Polycarpou had a wonderful pace and timing and gorgeous voice. Navin Chowdhry has beautiful eyes too !

Part two suffered from being on second, if you see what I mean. We were hot and full of so many ideas, I am not sure we were ready to see the female point of view but there were six amazing and balanced performances from beautiful women. I was particularly in awe of Thusitha Jayasundera.

I'm not sure if this format could be progressed much further. They had questionaires for the audience but once again, I felt as though I was in a 5 per cent minority of people who did not work in drama. How valid would such responses be? We were all literate liberals who didn't really learn anything new from the piece but enjoyed having our own feelings and impressions endorsed. I am not sure that was the intended purpose.

Chronic by DC Jackson (Rough Cuts Season)

Mr Gibson - Sean Campion
Lucy - Elaine Cassidy
Man/Doctor Roberts/Fart effect/Mr Gilbert - Tim Frances
Emily(Existential Dread) - Amanda Drew
Phil McKee - Michael Watson
James Cunningham - Bart Fargass(depression)

Rehearsed reading directed by Lyndsey Turner

more later

The Chalk Garden by Enid Bagnold

Miss Madrigal - Penelope Wilton
Maitland - Jamie Glover
Second Applicant - Steph Bramwell
Laurel - Felicity Jones
Third Applicant/Nurse - Linda Broughton
Mrs St Maugham - Margaret Tyzack
Olivia - Suzanne Burden
The Judge - Clifford Rose

Directed by Michael Grandage
Designed by Peter McKintosh

Seen during it's revival at the Donmar Warehouse in a chance returned seat D33

Celeb's in the audience (actually all spotted in the street outside) Francesca Annis (whose previous co-star, I saw last night), Lloyd Owen, Frances De La Tour and a journalist whose name evades my memory.The Donmar is a wonderful space for most wordy dramas and a comedy such as this that relies on visual precision and perfect timing feels as though it were written for the place.

I feel that I must have see the Mills duo film but this incredibly tight and intelligent piece of writing is even more enjoyable with the reactions of an audience who are completely engaged with every moment. That said, I can't think of a medium in which this glorious piece would not work. There must be a radio version out there somewhere. I would even imagine a tolerable version could be presented at the end of the school term.
In the hands of this wonderful director and cast, a joyously witty and intriguing script is elevated to delicious feast for the eyes, ears and brain. I felt like a child in a sweet shop, not quite knowing where to look for the next nugget of thrill.

2,000 Feet Away by Anthony Weigh

AG - Ian Hart
Boy - Joe Ashman/Oliver Coopersmith
Byron/Resident - Roger Sloman
Nan - Phyllis
Deputy - Joseph Feinnes
Woman/Manager - Kirsty Bushell
Waiter/18 yr old - Kevin Trainor
Girl - Miranda Princi/Charlotte Beaumont
Child - Charlie Coopersmith/Kalum Howard

Directed by Josie Rourke
Designed by Lucy Osborne

Seen in it's debut production at the tiny Bush Theatre

Celebrity in the audience: Adrian Scarborough
I'm not a big fan of Mr Feinnes but I cannot fault the job he made tonight. The american accents sounded fine to my ear and the young girl was remarkable.....but of the two listed in the programme, I am not sure which one she was (might be Miranda) but I suspect I will see her again.

The Bush auditorium stunk of diesel or some other noxious vapour for almost the entire production. About ten minutes from the end, it seemed to dissipate but I caught myself not breathing at various points. I say 'auditorium' but it's about the size of half a church hall with four or five rows of seats in a C shape. On one of the back audience corners was a framed copy of Grant Wood's famous painting(see above). We took some note if it and had fortunately committed it to memory before the (rather delayed) start of the play.

The picture was used as a running device that worked quite well to cement the various vignettes that formed the narrative of this piece. Ian Hart plays a sex offender and he is not allowed to be within 2000 feet of a place where children congregate. His character is called AG, presumably named after the painting which his parents annually dress up to compete for a look-alike prize which they won 11 or 12 years running.

So we see a slice of Middle America and whilst Mr Weigh has some good things to say, I found it wavered a little and preferred to view it as a series of vingettes, loosely connected. I'm not even sure it really lived up to the hype for me but I am very glad I saw it and it certainly made me think a lot.

The Pitmen Painters by Lee Hall

Oliver Kilbourn - Christopher Connel
Harry WilsonMichael Hodgson
Robert Lyon - Ian Kelly
Young Lad/Ben Nicholson - Brian Lonsdale
Susan Parks - Lisa McGrillis
George Brown - Deka Walmsley
Jimmy Floyd - David Whitaker
Helen Sutherland - Phillippa Wilson

Directed by Max Roberts
Designed by Gary McCann

Seen during it's premiere run at the Cottesloe. J31
Celebs in the audience: Alan Rickman, Phyllida Law, Melvyn Bragg, Robert Winston, Sinead Cussack (and an Irons Jr?), David Hare, Nicole Farhi and others whose names evade me.
This play sold out as the ink was drying on the press night reviews. Not a single big name in the production but a masterful piece of political comedy and based on a true story, to boot.
I saw it with a returned ticket in what appeared to be the house row on the night before it closed, but fear not as it returns to the Lyttelton in a few months. Suffice it to say I am glad to have seen it in the Cottesloe and it's not coincidence that the world and his luvvie wife rushed to see it there too.

I really enjoyed the variety of ways the works of art were presented. Some were projected and this meant the larger pieces could be split across the three screens. The canvases were on stage the whole time. Every scene change was choreographed so cleverly and each character was developed with easily identifiable personality. Fabulous piece with broad Northumberland accents.

They had run out of programmes but I'll get one from the next run. They printed bigger than normal cast sheets which gave a running time of 2hrs 15mins but unless I took 45 minutes to get to my car, they ran a good deal longer than that.

I should probably link to The Ashington Painters somewhere and a picture wouldn't go amiss.

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

Taximan/Bystander - Steven Alexander
Bystander - Mia Austen
Freddy Eynsford Hill - Matt Barber
Sarcastic Bystander - Peter Cadden
Eliza Doolittle - Michelle Dockery
Bystander - Mark Extance
Alfred Doolittle - Tony Haygarth
Mrs Higgins - Barbara Jefford
Colonel Pickering - James Laurenson
Parlourmaid - Corinna Marlowe
Mrs Eynsford Hill - Pamela Miles
Clara Eynsford Hill - Emma Noakes
Henry Higgins - Tim Pigott-Smith
Mrs Pearce - Una Stubbs

Directed by Sir Peter Hall
Designed by Simon Higlett

Celeb in the audience: Diana Rigg and that lovely young actor I often see...Tom Brooke.......both in my row - L7
I cannot find a photo that does justice to the unique quality that Michelle Dockery (whom I have dubbed 'Dockers' for sometime) brings to this performance. She made the character's journey with measured ease and glided around like something from planet gorgeous.
The Old Vic is a venue that eats up a production like this. The horseshoe of the circle gives the stalls room to breathe whilst drawing in the audience from all directions.

I did love Major Barbara but this really was the meatier, more wholly satisfying production. All the cast were perfectly balanced and the audience were so alert and responsive. After receiving uncontrollable laughter from Tony Haygarth's first scene, he got spontaneous applause every time he left the stage from subsequant scenes. Colonel Pickering was pitched and just the right level and I have no good reason to single him out because they were all fabulous.

Relocation by Anthony Neilson

Connie Johnson- Frances Grey
Katie Novak - Molly
Kerry Balfour/Connie Johnson - Nicola Walker
Liam/Umbrella Man - Stuart McQuarrie
John/Johan - Phil McKee
Marjorie Charles - Jan Pearson

Directed by Anthony Neilson
Designed by Mirium Buether

If Anish Kapoor were to turn his hand to set design, he may well have come up with this set in his early sketches. Darker than dark with an infinite black hole from whence the cast emerge and a front lit screen (who knew that rope lights could achieve so much?) for those slightly more brutal scene changes.

I really did think I had the hang of the plot and then a few curve-balls whizzed past my ear and I had to think again. Was it all a dream, a coma, a nightmare or a harsh mind tricking reality? Were we watching other dimensions fighting for authority or a ghost story unravelling itself? it would help if a playtext was available but there was none. They rather cheekily sold a leaflet for £1 which told you no more than you could find out in Wiki about the creative forces involved.

Lovely to hear Nicola singing again and she seemed to be carrying a bump not visible in Cloud Nine. Some very funny lines that were eerie enough to make you wonder if you should laugh. Yet another seating configuration to test my 'where's the window' game. Familiar faces in the audience but none I could name.
So much to think about and a very slick production. At last I know what a real dick-head looks like!

Royal Court Link

The Country by Martin Crimp

Corinne - Federay Holmes
Rebecca - Jennifer Kidd
Richard - David Shelley

Directed by Simon Godwin
Designed by Rhys Jarman

Seen in the wilds of Chiswick at the tiny Tabard Theatre (above the pub) on a wonderful summer evening and on a whim.
When we saw The City at The Royal Court we chose the night of the post show talk. The Country was referred to a couple of times and this really is a companion piece. The characters do not relate but in both cases they are dealing with their environment and the effect it has on relationships. The performances in this piece were amazing and every bit as good (and well directed) as you might see on one of the higher profile indie stages further east.

The Tabard is a lovely intimate space with all the intimacy of The Bush and with the added bonus of a nice summer pub and garden (not to mention a wicked kebab house almost next door).

Our couple have moved from the city for reasons too awful to be discussed. They are trying to make a life in the country and unlike The City, we don't actually meet the child but there IS a counterpart for the neighbour and there is also much talk about (and to, via the telephone) of the co-worker. This really is like a concave mirror to The City and serves to cement my already high esteem for Mr Crimp and his prodigious mop of hair. Is there some connection between me thinking of their vast grey hair first when I hear the names of both recent Seagull translators, Crimp and Hampton?

The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan

Mrs Elton - Jacqueline Tong
Philip Welch - Anthony Jardine
Ann Welch - Rebecca O'Mara
Hester Collyer - Greta Scacchi
Mr Miller - Tim McMullan
William Collyer- Simon Willians
Freddie Page - Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
Jackie Jackson - Jack Tarlton

Directed by Edward Hall
Designed by Francis O'Connor

Seen at comfortable close quarters in the Vaudeville Theatre during an evening show that seemed to have sucked in a lost matinee audience. AZ3Note to self: Don't get sniffy about seats near the front of this theatre. Very comfy with no neck strain and a generally very tactile experience. Furthermore, there is a wonderful secret parking place nearby.

If I said that my eyes blurred with tears on occasion it will be apparent that even this hard old nut can be cracked under the weight of a performance such as Ms Scacchi's. I should also mention that I shed tears of laughter almost every time Tim McMullan opened his mouth. No idea where he found that voice but it worked for me and the younger members of the audience.

The 'paying cast member' among whom I numbered gave a peculiar edge to the evening. The strangest mixture I have sat with in a long time and whilst many of them were overly distracting, I decided that the only way to enjoy this was to embrace their daft interjections (yes, one old boy kept shouting ' Oh, GOOD line!' whenever one popped up) despite the constant sniffing, coffee slurping and uncontrollable limbs of the woman next to me.

Recently read a piece saying that Rattigan is our Ibsen and seeing this so close on the heels of Rosmersholm, I can understand why. I could also argue that it was like Gaslight without the conscious introduction of insanity.

Wonderful performances by all and against the odds of this very silly audience.

Oxford Street by Levi David Addai

Boy Two - Reece Beaumont
Others - Will Beer & Demi Oyediran
Loraina Marceli - Preeya Kalidas
Boy One - Daniel Kaluuya
Aleksander Rydzewski - Kristian Kiehling
Stephanie Hannon - Amelia Lowdell
Kofi Graham - Nathaniel Martello-White
Emmanuel Lamptey - Cyril Nri
Darrell Obi-Anderson - Ashley Walters
Husnad Khaliq - Shane Zaza

Director Dawn Walton
Designer Soutra Gilmour
I think I saw Sacha Wares in the audience

I went to the first show after this production transferred to the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre following a successful run upstairs in Sloane Square. They moved into a deserted unit of W H Smith departed and I get the feeling they staged this in pretty much the same way as at the start of the run. The performance area was in a cross with the audience in the corners. The furthest points of the corners had a L-shape of a raised area and even included a couple of chairs with backs (rather than the stools) so I plumped for one of them. This turned out to be a huge mistake because I sat next to the small group of women who didn't realise that once the performance has begun, it is the actors turn to talk. The acoustics were not good when the cast had their backs to us in any case but these self-involved women were exacerbating the problem. It was also much too hot and when those women ran out of anything else to say, they complained about the heat.

The play was fun and whilst I am pleased to have seen it in such an interesting venue, I think it would have impacted better on me without the distraction of displacement. Very sweet to see Ashley Walters greet his kiddies after the show and heartening to see so many of the regular RC staff all mucking in to get the show up and running.

The Royal Court

Contractions by Mike Bartlett

The Manager - Julia Davis
Emma - Anna Madeley

Director Lyndsey Turner
Lighting Nicki Brown
Sound David McSeveny

A deliciously intense 90 minutes. They was staged in a rehearsal room in the bowls of the Royal Court to which we were herded in to five minutes before the production began. An apparently ridiculous exchange between a personnel manager and an employee doing with the firm's Code of Conduct directives what Dave Gorman did with horoscopes last year.

Such were the magnificent performances (and I only saw Julia Davis from behind for the duration) that the fantastic premise of the piece seemed utterly plausible. Julia Davis was so calmly persuasive and Anna Madeley achieved an incredible blend of intelligence and yet submission and I would imagine a lesser pairing would have this piece hang in threads.

Royal Court Website
The Times

Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

Agamemnon - Anthony Mark Barrow
Achilles / Priam - Paul Brennen
Cressida / Andromache - Lucy Briggs-Owen
Thersites / Calchas - Richard Cant
Hector - David Caves
Paris - Oliver Coleman
Pandarus - David Collings
Alexander / Helenus - Gabriel Fleary
Diomedes - Mark Holgate
Nestor - Damian Kearney
Ulysses - Ryan Kiggell
Aeneas - Tom McClane
Helen / Cassandra - Marianne Oldham
Patroclus - David Ononokpono
Ajax - Laurence Spellman
Troilus - Alex Waldmann

Director Declan Donnellan
Designer Nick Ormerod

You don't come to one of Declan & Nick's productions without a degree of nervous anticipation. It's not the first time I've seen him muck around with the space at the Barbican and this time it was a real improvement. We were told to enter the auditorium right at the bottom of the steps which would ordinarily lead us to the front row but in this case it lead us to a raised platform and eventually took us onto the enormous stage with the performance area right down the middle of two rakes of audience.
The design was very simple and worked with bold lighting. The presentation was a little messy in places and had a touch of the pantomime about it but some gloriously naughty risks were taken and they worked for me.
Sadly, I had a pompous fool behind me who declared that the only people who would come to see this play are those who studied it at university. Once again, I searched in vain for my pea-shooter but settled into the play without the benefit of her courtly interjections.

I shall watch out for the youngsters to turn up on the stage again. They were so comfortable with the text and made it such easy watching. A couple of mentions for Paul Brennan and Richard Cant. Not sure they were doing the right thing but there were certainly committed to it.



Cheek By Jowl's website

The Revenger's Tragedy by Thomas Middleton

Vindice - Rory Kinnear
Hippolito - Jamie Parker
Lussurioso - Elliot Cowan
Duke - Ken Bones
Spurio - Billy Carter
Duchess - Adjoa Andoh
Gratiana - Barbara Flynn
Ambitioso - Tom Andrews
Supervacuo - John Heffernan
Castiza - Katherine Manners
Younger Son - Tommy Luther
Antonio - Simon Nagra
Piero/Gentleman/Officer - Peter Hinton
Whore/Gloriana - Donatella Martina Cabras
Gentleman/Officer - Conor Doyle
Judge/Keeper/Spurio's Man - Derek Howard
Judge/Nobleman/Officer - Pieter Lawman
Nencio - Jane Leaney
Sordido - Robert McNeill
Lady in Waiting - Pamela Merrick
Lord/Guard - Rick Nodine
Lord/Officer/Spurio's Man - Richard Shanks
Nobleman/Guard - Ross Waiton
Lady Antonio - Lizzie Winkler

Directed and designed by Melly Still with a bit of design help from Ti Green

Seen on the press night (get me!) of this glorious new production at my beloved Olivier. D7 (raised something-to-the-side}
Celebrities in the audience were surprisingly few to my keen eye. I did see Henry Goodman and SO happy to see young Sam Roukin who is about to embark on a wonderful career (currently filming with Jane Campion and Ben Whishaw) having started as a 'spear carrier' in Henry IV at this very same auditorium.First of all, my due thanks to Poly because what she lacks in prodigious blogging she makes up for in true theatrical companionship and going out on a limb with advance booking. I even had the stupidity to hesitate in accepting her offer of a spare ticket! Thank you, Poly.

Thankfully, a late start (press nights are usually early but they had a delay with all the 'casuals' collecting their tickets very late) meant that my disasterously bad journey did not preclude me from the very loud opening scene. There we were, engaged in polite conversation when BAM, a noise even louder than the explosion for "Never So Good" and bring on the dance troupe.

With a very strong whiff of Hytner intervention, we were treated to a spectacular production with all the ridiculous ingredients that ask us to suspend belief and suppress natural squeamishness to effect a wonderful lark of unlikely jealousy and insidious revenge.

NO idea what Rory was doing with his accent but I did understand the two persona he was mean to show us. Gotta wonder what kind of mother is fooled by a son who has lank receding locks when he shaves his head to effect a disguise but that's the joy of Jacobean farce - oops, I mean tragedy.

I have never taken one of these side seats before but I can thoroughly recommend the front row of the side (row D) They are ridiculously good value and you feel as though you are virtually on the stage. I really think I had more eye-contact with the performers than if I had been dead centre. Perhaps they spotted the spinach on my teeth. The potential downside was that we missed some of the magic because we saw the full technicalities of the amazing set design. I can't even go into details because there was so much to look at and admire. I must mention the crystalline bar stools in the court scene and the wonderful corridors through the tricorned, revolving set.

Rory, Rory, Rory - you sweet thing. It's really hard to see him as the tough guy because I just want to put him in my pocket and save him for later. He did pull it off though, on some levels and his comic timing, whilst scarcely called upon, was delicious whenever it surfaced.

I have been longing to see Jamie Parker since The History Boys and his voice is intoxicating. A lovely balance to Rory.The play is as daft as a bag of spanners to a contemporary audience but it reassuringly follows the template of it's time and whilst my ritual of not looking at the programme before the first interval probably presented some testing moments, it's all pretty standard plotting. I sometimes get Middleton confused with Webster and this is prime example but if I wasn't familiar with the format, I think I might have been confused - more so than I actually was, I mean!

It was not until towards the end of the interval that Poly pointed out the page for the family tree! Now THAT is an inspired bit of programme content.

Go on - loose yourself. See some accessible Jacobean nonsense on a glorious stage.

Harper Regan by Simon Stephens

Harper Regan - Lesley Sharp
Elwood Barnes - Michael Mears
Tobias RIch - Troy Glasgow
Seth Regan - Nick Sidi
Sarah Regan - Jessica Raine
Justine Ross - Jessica Harris
Mickey Nestor - Jack Deam
James Fortune - Brian Capron
Alison Woolley - Susan Brown
Duncan Woolley - Eamon Boland
Mahesh Aslam - Nitin Kundra

Directed by Marianne Elliott
Designed by Hildegard Bechtler
Seen at the Cottesloe during it's world premiere run on a standby ticket in F31
Actress in the audience name escapes me for now.The choreography of this set is an example of my conviction that it was the chippies that let down Ms Bechtler's set at the Almeida. This was pure, simple, effective and poetic in itself.The production has a great deal to say and Harper takes an odd journey that I am still trying to piece together. All the performers were giving everything they had with wonderful little cameos as she wandered through her personal trauma.

Piranha Heights by Philip Ridley

Alan - Nicholas Tennant
Terry - Matthew Wait
Lilly - Jade Williams
Medic - John Macmillan
Garth - Luke Treadaway

Directed by Lisa Goldman
Designed by Jon Bausor

In it's premiere run at the Soho Theatre. I saw Alison Steadman in the bar but I don't think she watched the play

A remarkable piece, covering so many issues not the least of which was challenging drama. Michael Coveney had this to say and he sums it up wonderfully. So I may come back with thoughts later but I may not.

Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen (version by Mike Poulton)

Rebecca West - Helen McCrory
Mrs Helsketh - Veronica Quilligan
Doctor Croll - Malcolm Sinclair
Johannes Rosmer - Paul Hilton
Ulrik Brendel - Paul Moriarty
Peder Mortensgaard - Peter Sullivan

Directed by Anthony Page
Designed by Hildegard Bechtler

Seen during the premiere run of this version at the Almeida A9.
Celebs in the audience: Penelope Wilton & Gemma Jones.

Really fabulous version that romped along at a perfectly judged pace. Performaces were really good throughout though I think I detected a couple of deftly fielded stumbles from Paul. Peter has the shortest stage time of the evening but some of the most laughter inducing lines delivered with his usual dry wit. Both ladies glided from terse pragmatism through to heart wrenching sorrow.

There can never be enough of Paul Moriarty and Malcolm Sinclair's performance was reassuringly effortless.
I did have a couple of issues with the set though and I hope this was due to a bit of hasty work from the construction team rather than Hildegard's design.
As a silly aside, somebody in the front row had her phone in a noisy plastic bag and it went off within 5 minutes of 'curtain up'. She did not turn it off but proceeded to fumble and send a text, treating everyone behind her to a glowing torch effect from her screen and noisy interference to her nearest neighbours. She was completely oblivious to the diversion she was causing the audience AND the cast and proceeded to talk to her companion. I admire her total lack of ego but it was an horrible way to start the production. She eventually left the auditorium at a totally inappropriate and unconsidered moment a few minutes later and I had to assume she had some family crisis. Nonetheless, I did breathe a sigh of relief.

At least three more phones rang out during this performance. How hard can it be?

The Vortex by Noel Coward

Preston - Vivien Keene
Helen Saville - Phoebe Nicholls
Pauncefort Quentin - Barry Stanton
Clara Hibbert - Annette Badland
Florence Lancaster - Felicity Kendal
Tom Veryan - Daniel Pirrie
Nicky Lancaster - Dan Stevens
David Lancaster - Paul Ridley
Bunty Mainwaring - Cressida Trew
Bruce Fairlight - Timothy Speyer

Directed by Peter Hall
Designed by Alison Chitty

At the Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue H 4

I came to see young Dan but with certain reservations because I saw the wonderful production from 1989 with Rupert Everett and Maria Aitken. This production didn't really come close.

The set design was neither here nor there. It wasn't a luxurious set like Present Laughter at the National but then it was not so stunningly minimal. There was an awful gap behind the door which was too narrow to be a statement and just looked like a clumsy mistake.
I was not expecting Felicity Kendal to give a delicate performance and the role doesn't call for it but she was so irritating. She looked like she was wearing those support knickers though she was tiny. Dan did not convey a young man with a vice to me at all. He was lovely but not the way I wanted to see Nicky played. Phoebe Nicholls was probably the best judged performance except that I struggled to hear her sometimes. Annette Badland was suitably annoying and got a lot of the laughs.

Costumes were delicious.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Joan - Vanessa Redgrave

Directed by David Hare
Designed by Bob Crowley

seen during it's UK premiere run at the Lyttelton. F 20

Celeb in the audience :Sara Stewart who also ligged her way into the WOS Post Show Discussion - cheeky!
I am at something of a loss to know what to write. I don't know why I found it so easy to watch this woman indulgently explore her trauma in front of me but it was mesmerising. That we were then able to see the actress as herself afterwards only served to add to the magic.

Hello & Goodbye by Athol Fugard

Hester - Saskia Reeves
Rafe Spall - Johnny

Directed by Paul Robinson
Designed by Libby Watson

Seen by the skin of my teeth in the last week of the run B 21 of the tiny Trafalgar 2.
No celeb in the audience but I think we had the producer and her Mum & Dad. Bless

I've stood next to Rafe often enough to have a feel for his height and had no idea that Saskia was QUITE so tiny. She hardly reached is shoulder in her back-combed 60's hairdo. What I would have given to have seen her Beatrice with Matthew Macfadyen's Benedick towering over her all those years ago. She still looks stunning and so powerful.
Rafe was amazing. They both were. The accent wandered a little and in some ways, it might have been better to modify the script for England but there is an element that was peculiar to SA in the 60's so perhaps not.

This was a really juicy piece for them to get their teeth into. I felt there was probably one set piece too many and the 'don't wake up Dad' thing was wearing since it was obvious rather early on that there was no Dad to wake.

An interesting afternoon and worth it just to see the performances.

The City by Martin Crimp

Chris - Benedict Cumberbatch
Claire - Hattie Morahan
Jenny - Amanda Hale
Girl - Matilda Castrey

Directed by Katie Mitchell
Designed by Vicky Mortimer

In it's premier run at the Royal Court Downstairs in C8.
I didn't see anyone in I knew in the audience.

The WOS roundup gives a few mixed feelings and reservations. I have the impression that the production has moved on since the Press Night and I say that because of comments made during the post show talk.

I could quite easily see this again. I love ALL of the performances including the girl playing the 8 year old daughter. My companion noted that it was a different girl for the press night so one can only wonder if Ruby Douglas is even better than Matilda (who I saw).

This is a complicated play that twists around in a way simliar to Bliss but the lines and change in balance are slightly more clearly defined. I shall read the text and see if I can survive without seeing it again.

Young Matilda also made a delightful, crowd pleasing contribution to the post show talk......and Mr Crimp allowed us to believe he bared his soul....a tiny bit.

Tinderbox by Lucy Kirkwood

John/John Junior Junior/ Dixon - Nigel Betts
Perchik - Bryan Dick
Saul - Jamie Foreman
John Junior/ Dixon/ Detective Prawn - Sartaj Garewal
Vanessa - Sheridan Smith

directed by Josie Rourke
designed by Lucy Osborne
Unreserved seating in the newly benched Bush Theatre.
I really enjoyed the performances but the structure of the play seemed messy to me. There were lame verbal jokes that fell dead and the ones that worked were more visual and down to the good acting. It became repulsive and silly and didn't seem to know i it wanted to be a social statement or a farce. I am sure the two CAN work together but this needs a bit more fine tuning.

The new seats are high as reported elsewhere but I didn't mind that. I'd rather have room to extend my leg than have to sit sideways.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Butch Honeywell - Shane Attwooll
Henrietta Iscariot - Amanda Boxer
Uncle Pino/Pontius Pilates - Ron Cephas Jones
Sigmund Freud/Saint Thomas - Josh Cohen
Gloria/Mother Theresa - Dona Croll
Caiaphas the Elder - Gawn Grainger
Satan (Lou) - Douglas Henshall
Jesus of Nazareth - Edward Hogg
Judge/Saint Peter - Corey Johnson
Yusef El-Fayoumy - Mark Lockyer
Fabiana Aziza Cunningham - Susan Lynch
Baillif/Simon the Zealot - John Macmillan
Judas - Joseph Mawle
Mary Magdalene - Poppy Miller
Saint Monica/Loretta/Sister Glenna - Jessika Williams

Directed by Rupert Goold and designed by Anthony Ward.

Seen in the last week of it's UK premiere at The Almeida with a happy 'first' for me in the front of the circle (the ideal place for this play)



Celeb in the audience: Charles Dance and Sam West but NOT together! We also saw a dog collar behind us and I wondered if it's that guy who has the blog........


Amazing production ..........more later.............

Almeida

God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza translated by Christopher Hamilton

Alain Reille - Ralph Feinnes
Annette Reille - Tamsin Greig
Veronique Vallon - Janet McTeer
Michel Vallon - Ken Stott

Directed by Mathew Warchus
Designed by Mark Thompson

Seen during it's limited run at the Gielgud in the center of the Grand Circle C21

Every line a winner and a fabulous set design. The chairs were a bit incongruous but I could see why they were chosen. The translation was joyful and it was perfectly performed to a grateful and collaborative audience.

Branded by Simon Bent

Ben - Tam Williams
Bob - Ian Redford
Mr Lai - Daniel York
Charles - Corey Johnson
Bridget, Rox's Mother - Claire Gordon
Rox - Sally Amaka Okafor
SU-Lin, Tang's Mother - Uma Bussarapom Thongman
Tang - Seong Park
Melon - David Waddington
Desmond - Aaron Andrew Anderson
Ryan - Rakim Young
Clare- Katharine Bennett-Fox
Chinese Workers - Shu-Yu Chin, Oma Dapul, William Mychael Lee
Xang - Hugo Trebels
Henry - Tom Wood
Wang - Billy Sy
Flight Attendant - Ralph Bogard
Serena - Anniwaa Buachie
Jed - Alex Felton
Sarah - Cassandra Harwood
Leo - James Baldwin
Amy - Lisa Devlin
Candy - Harriet Chatfield
Loz - Robin Berry
Joyce/Solicitor - Anne Rabbit
Zhou - Helen Russell-Clark
Yardley - Paul Joseph
Hunter - Shaka Bunsie

Lead Dancer - Aline David
Dancer - Clinton Baugh
Jubal Carbon
Joseph Appiah-Danquah
Kemi Durosinmi
Stephanie Frances O'Brien
Katie Lowe
Emily Mondo
Seth Nicolsey
Stefan Puxon
Bobby Joel Stearns
Miguel Hernando Torres Umba

Musicians - Tom Wood & Francesco Corallini

Choir - Victoria Holtom, Vanessa Mansaray, Mariesa Clarek, Jacqueline Michelle, Elizabeth Ngero, Nicole McKenzie

Director - Matt Wilde
Associate Director & Choreographer - Aletta Collins
Set & Video Designer - Lorna Heavey
Original Music & Sound Design - Ben & Max Ringham

I saw the third of only five performances of this piece at the Old Vic. Seats were free so by the time I booked I had a rubbish one (D12 of the Dress Circle) but the dance stuff was probably better viewed from the circle so I'm cool about it.

You should probably read more about this here

Whilst I enjoyed elements of this, with special note for the raucous audience, I think this was far too clunky in it's efforts to be worthy and down with the kids. Simon has a solid body of well crafted work to his credit but this felt like something more akin to your favourite school drama teacher writing something for the end of term. Perhaps I am just old old to watch so many young people on stage but I certainly didn't get that feeling during the wonderful trilogy at the National last month. Perhaps that was due to the direction there of Paul Miller, who handled Simon Bent's translation of Elling so masterfully. This is not a dig at Matt Wilde because I have also enjoyed his work. I wonder if the whole thing just needs more time.

There were some fun set pieces but I feel this piece needs a lot more work to articulate the message more concisely. I'm not saying it was too long but it seemed to lunge along in fits and starts and felt messy.

Brief Encounter by Noel Coward and adapted by Emma Rice

Laura - Naomi Frederick
Myrtle - Tamzin Griffin
Beryl - Amanda Lawrence
Stanley - Stuart McLoughlin
Ensemble - Jess Murphy
Musician - Adam Pleeth
Ensemble - Adam Randall
Musician - Ian Ross
Alex - Tristan Sturrock
Fred/Albert - Andy Williams

Director and Adapter - Emma Rice
Designer - Neil Murray

Seen with the blue-rinse-crowd on a Wednesday afternoon in a lovely seat H 26 but I don't think there ARE any bad seats.

So much to commend this production but my viewing was marred by a cackling witch sitting in the row behind me. People on either side of me moved elsewhere in the interval. It was made worse by the laughter being at totally inappropriate moments which broke any mood of romance and some very clever set devices.

This is a magical production from the moment you approach the building. A wonderful old cinema in it's usual guise, it has been propped with old film cans and strewn with red roses everywhere to put you in the mood for nostalgia and romance as soon as you come into the foyer. The bar was littered with old style cups and saucers.

The stage is a huge open space gently draped with audience and comfy seats. With about 10 minutes to go before curtain up, the cast (all of whom seemed to be talented musicians, singers and dancers) serenaded the audience to their seats with the songs of Noel Coward.

A simple set worked very cleverly to facilitate each scene and the cast were superb in their roles. During the intervals, scones were distributed through the audience. Grab your twin-set and pearls and head for a one-stop entertainment shop.

Shoot, Get Treasure, Repeat Double Bill by Mark Ravenhill

Fear and Misery
Harry - Joseph Millson
Olivia - Joanna Riding
Soldier - Burn Gorman
Alex - Lewis Lemprereur-Palmer

War and Peace
Soldier - Burn Gorman
Alex - Lewis Lemprereur-Palmer

Directed by Dominic Cooke
Designed by Nicki Brown

Performed in the soft area and the green room area of the bar at the Royal Court theatre.

It's interesting to see something performed in a space with which I am so familiar for it's customary use as a bar.

Fear and Misery transformed the soft area into a simply stylish dining area which immediately introduced the audience to the uptight unease of the dining couple as they discussed the welfare of their marriage and child. Very slick banter back and forth as the paranoia mounts. The introduction of the Soldier was wonderfully creepy and I later discovered that revelation was a different experience depending upon whereabouts in the audience you were standing (or for the more agile, squatting & kneeling)

We stood next to Mark Ravenhill and Dominic moved in the shadows of the pillars behind.

War and Peace moved us like a promenade to what is often used as a Green Room. An ante-chamber left in it's original state when gleaned from the underground train part of the reclaimed space. The Soldier visits Alex in his bed and you would go a long way to find a more accomplished performance from a young boy under such intimate circumstances.

A very special evening.

Bliss (Felicite) by Olivier Choiniere & translated by Caryl Churchill

Oracle - Hayley Carmichael
Cosmetic Salesperson - Brid Brennan
Display Assistant - Justin Salinger
Manager - Neil Dudgeon

Directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins
Designed by Jeremy Herbert

This version performed upstairs at the Royal Court with no interval and no seat allocation.
I saw two films yesterday but now, two weeks later I cannot remember much about them to write my notes!

We were all given ASDA tabards with the name 'Oracle' and the title 'Cashier' on the badge. When the curtain came back we were looking at three actors strangely framed who had the same tabards but their badges read in reverse. We were looking into a huge mirror and behind them were the cubicles of a public toilet we presume to be in the staff area of an ASDA store. It all worked very well.

This was so clever that the main device crept up on me and snuck into the back door of my brain. Apparently about the intensity of fandom and the lines it can cross, then at some point which even after much deliberation, I cannot quite place in the time-line, it takes a more sinister, real-life turn. It's an odd but thought provoking piece and I think Caryl Churchill was an inspired choice for the translation.

Birth of a Nation by Mark Ravenhill

Writer - Megan Dodds
Painter - Monica Dolan
Performer - Toby Jones
Dancer - Pearce Quigley
Woman - Badira Timimi

Directed by Ramin Gray

Seen during the wonderful Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat season being staged at four different venues around London this week. It was free seating but I think we went for the middle of row B

I have already seen 6 of these at the Hampstead Theatre last year.

Sadly, this event was one concept too far for your average punter so there were last minute tickets pretty much being given away and the house was heavily papered. We saw Corin Redgrave, Neil Dudgeon, Justin Salinger, Mel Kenyon and Mark himself (does that count?). There were several other faces there whose names sadly escape me.

I do sometimes have my issues with Ramin but the way he handled this piece was really very good. He had the cast wander into the auditorium from the front of house and ask for the house lights to be turned on so they could applaud us for turning up which whilst being pertinent to the entire script, was also hilarious given the efforts they had gone to in order to fill the stalls.
Wonderful performances from all of them but it's such a good script. Lots of interrupting each other and ego battles. Lovely little thing where Toby Jones always dismissed what he did as 'art installation bollocks' and Pearce with his dance. I loved this and with a few important adjustments it would work on tv.

Random by Debbie Tucker Green

Mother, Father, Brother, Sister, Teacher
All parts played by Nadine Marshall

Directed by Sacha Wares
Assistant director was Gbolahan Obissan
There was no design

In it's premiere run at the Royal Court downstairs. A8

A marathon of a performance by Ms Marshall, moving so effortlessly from character to character that I got a bit confused at one (but only one) point. A sad tale made all the more poignant because it was told in this start, lonely way. Wonderful