Home
Nov. 5th, 2009 @ 11:10 pm Theatre review: Annie Get Your Gun
tragicomedavatar
4 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags: , ,
The Young Vic's production of Annie Get Your Gun has had mixed reviews. Personally I wouldn't have gone to see it were it not for the leads - Jane Horrocks isn't to everyone's taste but I like her; and after getting his understudy in Marguerite I wanted another chance to catch Julian Ovenden on stage. These two, and in fact all the cast, save the evening as they seem to be having fun and it's infectious; to start with the tweeness of the dialogue and songs grated on me, but the performances gradually made me warm to the show. While Richard Jones' updating of the action to the 1940s doesn't make any sense (and a video segment where Annie gets given a medal by Hitler falls flat on its arse) for the most part the gimmick doesn't interfere too much. I've seen some criticism of Ultz's set, which is very wide but shallow, and it does occasionally look a bit crowded, which is weird in a space like the Young Vic which can have such a deep stage when it wants to. It also means there's almost no choreography, which is odd in a show like this. But Horrocks is her usual kooky self and Ovenden is a hot leading man in very tight jeans (he dresses to the right.) But if you want to see his only topless scene don't sit too near the stage - you need to be about 3-4 rows back. Er, and there we have it.

Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin, Herbert & Dorothy Fields is booking until the 2nd of January at the Young Vic.
Oct. 29th, 2009 @ 11:13 pm Theatre review: Speaking in Tongues
gallifravatar
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
I wasn't really sure if I'd like Speaking in Tongues; the publicity, reviews and even the programme notes may rave about it but at the same time make the play sound very convoluted and pretentious. Having now seen it I wouldn't say that's the case, but it's hard to describe without it coming across that way. Four actors (John Simm, Ian Hart, Lucy Cohu and Kerry Fox) play nine characters between them, and in the first act we have two couples, both cheating with each other's partners. Andrew Bovell's play and Toby Frow's production start with a bang, as a single hotel room serves as the location for both liaisons, the four actors all on stage at once, playing both scenes simultaneously and often overlapping dialogue. It starts things off with lots of energy and impressive performances; then we move on to see the consequences of these infidelities.

One of the first act's characters, Leon (Simm) is a policeman, and in the second half he investigates a woman's disappearance - Simm also plays the prime suspect. The various characters' lives interweave through a series of coincidences, and all the storylines deal in some way, as the title suggests, with problems in communication, principally but not exclusively between men and women. It's a show I went to see for the cast and they don't disappoint, while director Toby Frow keeps the action taut, and Ben Stones' set is a moody but versatile combination of black brick, white blinds and low-key video projections. The show's main problem is that it began life as two separate one-act plays, written a couple of years apart then re-written as a single play by Bovell; thematically it works, in terms of story it's also largely successful, but the end of the first act when the theme of the missing woman is introduced feels like a very abrupt gear shift which takes you out of the action quite a bit.

Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell is booking until the 12th of December at the Duke of York's Theatre.
Oct. 27th, 2009 @ 11:24 am Theatre review: John Lithgow: Stories by Heart
tragicomedavatar
4 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
I was a bit disappointed a few years ago when the RSC production of Twelfth Night with John Lithgow as Malvolio didn't transfer to London, so I made sure to book for the second and final performance of Stories by Heart which, despite him having studied at LAMDA, is Lithgow's London stage debut. A one-man show he originated in New York and which by the sounds of it he's been reworking for a few years, it's as much about why he loves storytelling itself as it is about the two short stories. He starts with why the first tale, PG Wodehouse's "Uncle Fred Flits By," has great personal importance to him, before telling the story itself while acting out all the parts. It is indeed a very funny little farce and he had the audience in fits of laughter. After the interval it's a darker tale, Ring Lardner's "Haircut," in which a barber tells his customer all about his late friend, without seeming to quite realise what an unpleasant character the dead man really was. Lithgow mimes the entire shave and haircut while telling the story - sitting right in front of me were Charles Dance and Penelope Wilton who after the show chatted enthusiastically about his mime skills so I guess the professional opinion agrees that he was very good. Although I didn't enjoy the second tale as much as the first the whole evening is very entertaining and Lithgow makes for a very warm, amiable host, and it's particularly impressive that what feels like it ought to be a small, intimate show doesn't end up lost in a space the size of the Lyttelton.

Stories by Heart by John Lithgow, PG Wodehouse and Ring Lardner ended last night at the National Theatre's Lyttelton.
Oct. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:33 pm Theatre review: Comedians
tragicomedavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Maybe I'm just not a Trevor Griffiths fan, because I wasn't crazy about A New World and his most famous play, Comedians, didn't do it for me either: In the 1970s, six wannabe comedians are taking a night class in comedy by a former minor celebrity of the circuit (Matthew Kelly.) It's the last night of the course, and they're going to a local club to perform their material in front of a talent scout (Keith Allen.) The two men have very different opinions about comedy and as the acts try to work out who they want to please we get an insight into the nastiness that can underlie some comedy. It's a rather brutal play and Sean Holmes' production is perfectly acted (the cast has a lot of familiar faces like Mark Benton, Reece Shearsmith and Kulvinder Ghir, while the central role of Gethin is played by David Dawson as variously camp, witty and even rather disturbing) but as it's no longer the seventies and you can't see racist comedy on prime time TV, the harshness of the play doesn't carry the political punch it once did, and for me at least all that was left was a rather uncomfortable evening.

Comedians by Trevor Griffiths is booking until the 14th of November at the Lyric Hammersmith.
Oct. 20th, 2009 @ 11:01 pm Theatre review: Orphans
JonasAvatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags: ,
Well no, Jonas Armstrong wasn't in this play, but I'm using this avatar because Orphans stars the other J. Armstrong from Robin Hood - Allan-a-Dale himself, Joe Armstrong. Not that he's second prize by any means - in the unlikely event I was given the opportunity I'd find it hard to choose between them, and if Joe had done a nudie scene in a film I'd probably have an avatar of that as well. I mean, there's still time for him to get his bits out in a film if he wants... no? Oh well. Anyway, I managed a front-row seat so I can say that although he wasn't having a good skin day, I still would.


OK, hormones out of the way this is actually a very dark play, although with moments of very strong comedy, which I always find helps me engage even more when tragic events unfold. Dennis Kelly's play starts with an arresting image - after easy listening music has been playing while the audience takes their seats, Helen (Claire-Louise Cordwell) and Danny (Jonathan McGuinness) are in their dining room having a romantic dinner, staring in horror at the door where Helen's brother Liam (Armstrong) has just appeared, covered in blood. The Orphans of the title are Helen and Liam who lost their parents when they were very young, were moved around various foster homes and this has defined their relationship, including the way they respond to what happens tonight. The blood is not Liam's own, it belongs to a kid from a local gang who was stabbed in the street, and whom he tried to help. Helen says they mustn't alert the police because Liam has a record and might get the blame. But as the night goes on we discover he's not as innocent as he made out, and it starts to look increasingly like he committed a racially-motivated attack.

What really sucks you into the play is how it's structured around the constantly changing story of what Liam did, as we discover more and more abhorrent details and find out just how much Helen can forgive her brother for. In the process, her relationship with her husband is put under pressure. Roxanna Silbert's production feels a lot shorter than its 1 hour and 45 minutes, Armstrong is happily more than a pretty face and gives a convincing performance in a role where the audience's attitude towards him has to change so many times, and Cordwell and McGuinness are also excellent (although the latter's open-mouthed reaction to many of the revelations was at times unintentionally funny.) I also loved designer Garance Marneur's oppressive-looking set, gaps between the cosy walls of the dining room showing prison bars looming behind them. As well as a strong opening Kelly also delivers one last punch to the gut in the closing moments which made a lot of people near me audibly gasp.

Orphans by Dennis Kelly is booking until the 24th of October at Soho Theatre (but is sold out.)
Oct. 19th, 2009 @ 10:47 pm Theatre review: Endgame
tragicomedavatar
3 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
This production of Endgame disappointed me weeks before I even went to see it - as I'd only booked because it was meant to be Richard Briers' final stage appearance, but he then pulled out of the production. I might not otherwise have booked (as I've mentioned before, I sometimes find Beckett's plays more interesting to read than to watch.) Still, I had my ticket so went along to Complicite's production, which in fairness is pretty good. Mark Rylance replaces Briers as Hamm, blind, disabled and reliant on his servant Clov (Simon McBurney, who also directs) who is almost blind and disabled himself. Hamm's parents (Miriam Margolyes and Tom Hickey) live in dustbins and are occasionally allowed to pop their heads out and be given a biscuit. I have to say the play includes some wonderfully lyrical lines which come across very well from the cast, and I particularly liked how Paul Anderson's lighting design stayed murky and shadowy throughout. The production gives a particularly strong sense of this being a post-apocalyptic world, and the black comedy is very well delivered, both in words and actions.

Endgame by Samuel Beckett is booking until the 5th of December at the Duchess Theatre.
Oct. 18th, 2009 @ 06:41 pm Theatre review: Talent
tragicomedavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Victoria Wood directs her 1978 play Talent at the Menier, about the backstage buildup to a talent show at Bunter's, a grotty Manchester club. The production's had some pretty scathing reviews, but for the most part I enjoyed it. Yes, the references may have dated but the whole thing now comes across as a period piece and a lot of the gags still work. Unfortunately there are a lot of awkward silences as the two leading roles were of course written for Wood herself and Julie Walters, and while Suzie Toase in the Wood role of Maureen has a very good handle on timing the lines, Leanne Rowe as Julie (the Walters part) has a lot of her gags fall completely flat. Happily things are lifted every time the supporting cast (which in itself is quite kitsch, as it includes Hi-De-Hi's Jeffrey Holland and Blue Peter's Mark Curry) come on and the comedy gets a bit broader. The show's frequently stolen though by Mark Hadfield as the hangdog magician's assistant Arthur, also doubling, in drag, as Mary, a character with a speech direct to the audience that reminded me a lot of Wood's "Connie can we check that?" classic. The show does betray the fact that Wood was inexperienced when she wrote it (the attempts at seriousness are jarring, and a lot feels unresolved by the end.) While the gags that work really work, it's very hit-and-miss (I'd say as much as 50/50) which at times makes it uncomfortable to watch. However I went along with my mum, my sister and [info]vanessaw, all of whom said they really enjoyed it. I thought maybe they were being polite but when I even suggested it was hit-and-miss Mum and Penny told me to stop being over-analytical so I guess they meant it. So that's three votes in the production's favour, against my one for "not convinced."

Talent by Victoria Wood is booking until the 14th of November at the Menier Chocolate Factory.
Oct. 15th, 2009 @ 11:03 pm Theatre review: The Power of Yes
tragicomedavatar
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
It's entirely by chance that I ended up seeing the two big shows dealing with the financial crisis in the same week. Where Lucy Prebble told the story of the previous best-known financial scandal and gently hinted at its relevance to current events, David Hare tries to tell the story of how capitalism nearly collapsed entirely in the last couple of years. Tries, but doesn't manage it - The Power of Yes comes with a couple of disclaimers: It's subtitled "A dramatist seeks to understand the financial crisis;" and the opening line is "This isn't a play, it's a story." In fact it's barely even that - Anthony Calf plays Hare himself, and what we see is a version of the interviews he conducted with financial figures, some well-known, some less so, a few anonymous. There's a huge cast, not a starry one but there's a lot of familiar faces there (people like Jeff Rawle, Jemima Rooper, Paul Freeman) who sadly don't get to do much apart from give brief lectures about what the banking system did wrong and how it imploded. At times it's fascinating, at others deathly dull, and while it does explain to the layman what went wrong, unfortunately the opening line is right - it isn't a play; sadly it compares particularly badly to Enron which managed to give all the facts while being engrossingly theatrical. It's almost awkward to watch at times because of the open admission that Hare hasn't really written a play - it's one of the country's most respected dramatists being commissioned by the National Theatre to write a play, not managing to, and having them stage his research notes instead.

The Power of Yes by David Hare is booking until the 10th of January at the National Theatre's Lyttelton.
Oct. 14th, 2009 @ 11:45 pm Theatre review: Into the Woods
tragicomedavatar
4 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags: ,
It's never exactly been a secret what [info]vanessaw's favourite musical is, so when I heard rumours the tiny Landor theatre was going to revive Into the Woods I kept my ear to the ground and got a couple of tickets as soon as they went on sale - just as well, because it quickly sold out. This was one of the Sondheim musicals I hadn't seen before, but I can see why Vanessa loves it. In the first act, several well-known fairytales (Jack and the Beanstalk, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Rapunzel) get mixed together when a baker and his wife have to steal an artifact from each story to give to the witch. They all get their happy endings but that only takes us to the interval, and when we come back they have to face the consequences of actions that didn't seem that important at the time.

There's always an extra bit of excitement in seeing a full-scale musical in a pub theatre, and Robert McWhir's production (the director also played the narrator tonight due to an actor being ill) has a full cast of 18 in the full space, plus a nicely-designed set (by Nina Morley) of enormous storybooks. I hugely enjoyed it and so did Vanessa, who has a recording of a full-scale Broadway production so this was a big change in scale for her. All the cast are excellent, and particularly good at staying in-character even when they're sidelined. There's no bad casting but Lori Hayley Fox as the witch and Sarah Head as the Baker's wife are great; cutie Jonathan Eio is very good as the gormless Jack (and spent much of the time on our side of the stage flashing his pecs at us so there's lovely) and Vanessa also liked Ryan Forde Iosco who makes a very tall Big Bad Wolf. Great fun all round, and very well sung.

Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine is booking until the 17th of October at the Landor Theatre (but is now sold out.)
Oct. 12th, 2009 @ 11:30 pm Theatre review: ENRON
tragicomedavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Yes, I managed to get a ticket to ENRON. Actually it wasn't that impressive of me, as I booked as soon as it went on sale, so long before it opened in Chichester and became one of the most talked-about plays of the year. There's not much I can add to the many reviews so far except to say I pretty much agree: Writer Lucy Prebble and director Rupert Goold have managed to create an elaborate, often surreal and very entertaining show out of a financial scandal. Samuel West, Tim Pigott-Smith and Tom Goodman-Hill play the men at the heart of the company that set up a matrioshka doll of shells to disguise the fact that they weren't making any profits. There seemed to be a lot of Americans in the audience, who by the sounds of it were very familar with the real-life events, and they commented that West was uncannily like the real Jeffrey Skilling. The central cast are surrounded by a chorus of traders who regularly do musical or dance numbers that represent ENRON's changing fortunes, including a lightsabre fight to represent the company's stranglehold on energy in California. Sometimes bonkers, ultimately feeling like a modern-day tragedy, this is a great example of how to make an apparently dry and boring subject matter come to life on stage.

ENRON by Lucy Prebble is booking until the 7th of November at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs; this run is sold out but it transfers to the Noel Coward Theatre in January.
Oct. 9th, 2009 @ 02:37 pm Warning bells may ring
dogavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags: ,
I forgot to link to this yesterday, my first lowculture article for a while, and the only one this week. It's the new production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (I'm going, but not for some time yet) which has just gone into previews: You're the Voice, try and understand it.
Oct. 8th, 2009 @ 11:21 pm Theatre review: Inherit the Wind
tragicomedavatar
1 comment
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Apparently this play is frequently revived in America, but the programme notes only find evidence of one other UK production. It suggests the enormous cast is a hindrance, but many shows have large casts and I don't think it would be impossible to do Inherit the Wind with a lot of doubling. In any case this is the Old Vic and a Trevor Nunn production, so we get a full cast of over 40. Based on the true story of a trial about the teaching of Darwin in schools, it was originally meant as an allegory for McCarthyism, but ironically with the Intelligent Design row still going on it's gone full circle, and this production can be taken pretty literally. It's also being mounted to mark 150 years since publication of On the Origin of Species.

David Troughton plays Matthew Harrison Brady, the prosecuting attorney, a charismatic Christian who believes in the literal truth of the Bible. Kevin Spacey is defence attorney Henry Drummond (based on Clarence Darrow,) who firmly believes the law banning the teaching of Darwin is unconstitutional so his client was right to break it. This being a courtroom drama there's a lot of excitement to be had in the second act, what with neither of these actors being afraid of a big performance, as they chew strips off each other. Until then we have Mark Dexter's ultra-cynical reporter to liven things up while the two main stars warm up to their roles. Nunn fills the stage with the townspeople often breaking into hymns, and the oppressively religious atmosphere makes it clear this won't be a fair fight. The play does suffer a bit from Multiple Ending Syndrome but not enough to diminish what's gone before. Subtle it's not, but it's entertaining and interesting.

Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee is booking until the 20th of December at the Old Vic.
Oct. 7th, 2009 @ 10:27 pm Theatre review: 2nd May 1997
tragicomedavatar
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
The title refers of course to the day New Labour took power in Britain, and Jack Thorne's play takes place in the early hours of that day. Three half-hour scenes show the personal consequences of that particular election night, for three pairs of people each representing a different generation and political party. George Perrin's production (designed by Hannah Clark) stages the scenes in traverse, in a plain set that stands for all three bedrooms - and in the second and third scenes the bed slowly travels from one side of the stage to the other of its own accord.

First it's probably just after midnight, and 71-year-old Tory MP Robert (Geoffrey Beevers) has been catching a couple of hours' sleep before he has to return for the announcement. He's been an MP all his life but he knows his is one of the seats that will fall to Labour. Despite his age and declining health he can't conceive of life away from politics, and he and his wife (Linda Broughton) reminisce and try to look to the future - and Robert has to finally confront how much Marie had to give up for the sake of his career.

The second and easily the funniest scene follows Ian (Hugh Skinner) who's been at a party for the Lib Dems and somehow come back with a very drunk Sarah (Phoebe Waller-Bridge.) He's nervy and doesn't say much, and it soon becomes apparent that Sarah thought he was someone else. There's a lot of raucous comedy as she continues to try and seduce him while he becomes increasingly uncomfortable, but their story winds up with a rather moving ending as it seems their chance encounter may prove a major turning point for at least one of them. Both actors are great and Skinner is utterly adorable (and spends much of the scene with his top off so yay.)

Finally it's Labour and two teenage politics students with hopes of becoming Labour politicians after University. They stayed up late to watch the poll results so Will (Jamie Samuel) has slept over in Jake's (James Barrett) bed. Jake's keen to learn the names of all the new Cabinet so he can impress in their politics class, but Will's more excited about having been so close to the friend he's clearly in love with. It's a beautifully touching sequence, very well acted as Will can't quite bring himself to vocalise his feelings, while Jake is clearly aware of them but can't quite turn his friend down either. And guess what, both actors have aFULL-FRONTAL MALE NUDITY ALERT!While politics is obviously the jumping-off point for these stories it remains mostly in the background and Thorne concentrates on the personal element. With Labour's time in office looking almost certain to end next year, there's an underlying sadness to the two boys' optimism for the future - and in that respect I found the choice of their age to be very appropriate, as in real life they'd be about 30 by now, hoping to make headway in their political careers but now being in a party that's rapidly losing its hold on power. Very well written, directed and acted by all concerned.

2nd May 1997 by Jack Thorne is booking until the 10th of October at the Bush Theatre, before going on a brief tour (Watford, Colchester & Manchester.)
Oct. 6th, 2009 @ 11:16 pm Theatre review: The Fastest Clock in the Universe
tragicomedavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Hampstead Theatre is celebrating its 50th anniversary by reviving plays that premiered there, and for its retrospective on the '90s the play chosen is Philip Ridley's The Fastest Clock in the Universe. In a crumbling flat above a derelict fur coat factory, Cougar Glass (Alec Newman) is preparing to celebrate his 19th birthday - he's been celebrating it for over a decade and if it even looks as if someone might mention his real age, Cougar goes into a violent fit. Finbar Lynch is excellent as Captain Tock, the older, bald-with-a-combover friend who tends to Cougar's every whim and seems to view him with a combination of obsession and loathing. The birthday parties always go the same way: Cougar has been grooming a pretty young boy for some weeks, and now plans to get him drunk and seduce him. But tonight is different, not only because the lengths he's gone to this time are particularly despicable, but also because when Foxtrot Darling (Neet Mohan) arrives, he unexpectedly brings along his pregnant girlfriend Sherbet Gravel (Jaime Winstone) and things take a nasty turn.

It's clearly not going to be for everyone (two women behind me were tutting at the interval) but this dark and often funny play has a lot to recommend it, notably in Ridley's use of language and imagery (reflected in Mark Thompson's set design filled with stuffed birds) which tracks Cougar's obsession with pretending that the process of ageing isn't happening, by juxtaposing a lot of dialogue filled with images of decay. There's also plenty of odd touches, most memorably in the way Cougar's fits of violence are cured - his elderly neighbour Cheetah Bee (Eileen Page) has to recite a ritual comparing her great age to his youth, which comes across like a sort of magic spell. And of course the character names, which are at the same time utterly bizarre, but used casually in the play come across as oddly plausible. Edward Dick's production also features great performances from all his cast (especially Winstone, which I wasn't quite expecting,) and while there's plenty of gore and shock value, the play actually ends with a surprisingly sweet-natured moral to the story as the title is finally explained.

I seem to go through waves of catching post-show discussions, and there was another one tonight with the cast, Ridley and Dick. Interesting this time around was the fact that Ridley actually started as an artist in the Damien Hirst mode, and his insights on how he appproaches writing from that perspective were something a bit different. On a shallow note, it was nice to be able to look at the ridiculously attractive Neet Mohan dressed in his own clothes, and not feel guilty about looking at him wearing school uniform (Foxtrot is meant to be 15, but what with some of the things he has to do on stage it's not surprising they cast an older actor.)

The Fastest Clock in the Universe by Philip Ridley is booking until the 17th of October at the Hampstead Theatre.
Oct. 4th, 2009 @ 06:10 pm Theatre review: Love's Labour's Lost
Shakespeareavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags: , ,
My final trip to Shakespeare's Globe for this year, and I've just realised this was the last remaining Shakespeare comedy I hadn't seen on stage. I've now only got 7 plays from the canon that I've not seen. Most of them are pretty unsurprising (I'm including the ultra-obscure Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen) but funnily enough I'm also yet to see Antony and Cleopatra, which I actually studied for A'Level English. (The remaining plays are the three Henry VIs and Titus Andronicus.)

But back to Love's Labour's Lost and this is a revival of Dominic Dromgoole's production from two years ago, closing the Globe's season before touring the States. It's a bit uneven, with some of the subplots not really working that well, but when it's funny it's very, very funny. Especially the central four couples led by Philip Cumbus (the cute beardy I saw play Edward II last year) as the King and Michelle Terry (who must have barely caught her breath since All's Well That Ends Well at the National) as the French Princess. The quartet of loved-up noblemen are especially funny as they try to hide their dalliances from each other (this is the play which starts with the four of them swearing an oath to avoid women for three years; they each instantly break it, unaware that the others have too.) It's also the play that has a very odd ending, the closest thing there is in Shakespeare comedies to a cliffhanger (the story of the lost companion play Love's Labour's Won was not made up for Doctor Who, it's been a popular theory for decades) but standing alone it makes for an interesting reversal of all that's gone before. It takes a little while to warm up but once it does this is an excellent production.

Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare is booking until the 10th of October at Shakespeare's Globe; then touring the USA until the 23rd of December.
Oct. 1st, 2009 @ 11:30 pm Theatre review: Prick Up Your Ears
tragicomedavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
At the start of this year I wondered if the productions of Loot and Entertaining Mr Sloane heralded a big Joe Orton revival for 2009. In fact the largest-scale Orton production this year isn't by the playwright, but about him. Or rather it's more about his partner, Kenneth Halliwell. The two had an unusual relationship, clearly starting out as very genuine affection, although Ken seemed uninterested in sex while Joe was out most nights picking up strangers. Things deteriorated once Orton became successful and the two continued for years to live in the same small room, while metaphorically they were now in different worlds, Kenneth growing ever more bitter.

Simon Bent's play is based on Orton's diaries and John Lahr's biography and wisely starts before the two went to prison for defacing library books, when you can clearly see why the two ended up together as they mess around, improvising comedy skits and being physically affectionate. After prison Orton changed his name from John to Joe, established his iconic look of white T-shirt, tight jeans and sneakers, and most importantly succeeded in becoming a playwright mostly on his own - never able to admit publicly that Ken sometimes helped with the plays. Like the book and film about their lives, this version is also called Prick Up Your Ears, a title they'd intended for a play that never got written (apparently the last word was meant to be an anagram) and titles are important because Halliwell came up with all of them; in the play Orton claims that's the only thing he's contributed (Bent seems to disagree - in one scene he shows Joe directly stealing one of Ken's lines for a script) and this lack of recognition is part of what leads to the bloody conclusion.

Of course the big name in this production is Matt Lucas, and appropriately enough he does have The Range. As with his comedy partner's turn on the stage last year, the fact that he's best-known for a sketch show has its drawbacks, in that whatever he does it's bound to recall some character or other from his TV shows, but as the character gets more mentally ill and disturbing he shows some strong dramatic ability. In fact considering how willing he's always been to use his distinctive physical appearance for comic effect, it's interesting that one of his most effective scenes features him stalking the stage in his underpants, the resemblance to a giant baby utterly creepy rather than funny. It's impressive that someone with such a friendly public persona can be so uncomfortable to watch by the end. He's ably supported by Chris New as Joe (his performance has exactly the attitude of arrogant superiority that seems to come across in all of Orton's photos,) while the claustrophobia of their flat (the overwhelming - sometimes a bit too overwhelming, yes the audience have got the hint by now - theme of the set, lighting and sound design is that having been released from a real prison Ken proceeded to turn their home into an even more oppressive cell) is occasionally broken with visits by their neighbour Mrs Corden (Gwen Taylor) who later in the play also serves to provide comic relief as the main characters have little to laugh about by then. Not always easy to watch but very tightly held together by director Daniel Kramer.

Prick Up Your Ears by Simon Bent is booking until the 6th of December at the Comedy Theatre.
Sep. 30th, 2009 @ 11:17 pm Theatre review: The York Realist
StephenHaganAvatar
3 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags: ,
The last production I saw by the company GNOP was a bit of a disaster, and you may recall that, to my surprise, I was informed by the playwright that its failings were all my fault and as an audience member I should enjoy it or shut up, or something. Still, I'm not one to stay away from the scene of the crime, and director Adam Spreadbury-Maher has done work I've liked before so no reason to condemn him on just one production. Besides, The York Realist stars Stephen Hagan, who is a big favourite Round These Parts so I was never that likely to steer clear. You may notice the Stephen Hagan avatar is not, this time, accompanied by a Scrolling!Nudity alert - well come on, he can't get his willy out every time or he'll get a reputation. He does strip down to his pants though.

Happily this isn't the only good thing about the play - Peter Gill's moody story of a tiny farming cottage in the middle of nowhere in North Yorkshire. Although there's a gay relationship at the centre of the story, it's less of a "gay" play and more of a family drama. In 1961 George (Hagan) lives in the cottage with his ailing mother (Stephanie Fayerman) while his sister (Fiona Gordon,) her husband (Sam Hazeldine) and their son (Jack Blumenau) live nearby, and a local woman (Sarah Waddell) is in love with him while clearly realising it's not reciprocated. George's only reason to get away has been weekly rehearsals in York for a production of the Mystery Cycle, but he's missed a lot due to his mother's health and the assistant director (Matthew Burton) comes to the cottage to try and get him back. This leads to the two of them starting a relationship, and ultimately once George's mother dies, they clash as John wants him to move down to London with him and pursue an acting career.

This is the basic storyline but largely Gill is telling a story about the minutiae of family life, including lots of long pauses as people make tea, wash up or fill hot water bottles. Its charm and well-written dialogue means this is a lot more absorbing than it sounds, and the whole cast are very good, and seem to my ears at least to have particularly accurate Yorkshire accents. And can Hagan please hurry up and become a superstar soon, I've been predicting it for long enough, I'm going to start looking like a liar.

Gill was the founder of Riverside Studios and this production there is to celebrate his 70th birthday, which in fact was today - a fact marked by him doing a Q&A session after the play. He was pretty interesting, clearly very knowledgeable about theatre history, and had some interesting tidbits about the play's conception - such as how one of the reasons for writing it was his sadness that in the '50s and early '60s talented actors who happened to have regional accents were pretty much unable to pursue it as a career because it wasn't the accepted norm at the time. An interesting evening all round.

The York Realist by Peter Gill is booking until the 11th of October at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith.
Sep. 29th, 2009 @ 10:59 pm Theatre review: Kurt & Sid
tragicomedavatar
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Every so often there's a show on that I feel I have to go see, not particularly because it sounds good, but more because the whole thing seems wrapped up in so many layers of "what the fuck?" that I just have to go along to make sure I didn't imagine it. Hence Kurt & Sid, in which, on the night of Kurt Cobain's suicide, he is visited by the ghost of Sid Vicious. As played by Danny Dyer. Like I say, levels upon levels of WTF.

Roy Smiles' play has the two iconic figures mostly trading insults and one-liners, and to be fair it's engaging for a lot of the time, and in Tim Stark's production what sounds like a ludicrous premise just about manages to work. Dyer may not be the most versatile of actors but he's on safe ground here with a part he seems to be hugely enjoying, adding a bit of camp swagger to his Sid. Kurt is played by Shaun Evans (he was in the second series of Teachers as the gay teacher who'd disappeared by the start of the next series AND NOBODY EVER MENTIONED HIM AGAIN) and who despite a lot of TV work hasn't worked professionally on stage before, not that it shows. He's excellent as the shuffling, jittery Cobain, looks the part what with the hair, the stubble and the cardigan, and the only shame is he doesn't get to do more as Cobain's mood doesn't really change from one of angry depression througout. And that's the biggest problem for me: Near the end we discover the reason Kurt has conjured Sid up may not be to talk him out of shooting himself, but for most of the play that's what he's trying to do, and of course we know he's going to fail. The fact that it never for a moment seems like Kurt will change his mind means the play doesn't take on the tragic tone it might have done.

Kurt & Sid by Roy Smiles is booking until the 3rd of October at Trafalgar Studio 2.
Sep. 28th, 2009 @ 10:12 pm Theatre (p)review: The Author
tragicomedavatar
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
Usual disclaimer: Another preview? I honestly can't remember booking to see so many shows before their press nights. So I won't say much, but Tim Crouch's play (in which the playwright also appears, playing a version of himself) is another of those Royal Court Upstairs productions where the staging is almost a star of the show in itself. The seating is set up for a traverse performance, with two banks of seating facing each other and a narrow area between them. In fact this isn't used - the four actors, Crouch, Adrian Howells (as an over-eager audience member) Vic Llewellyn and Esther Smith (as the two actors who starred in Crouch's imaginary previous play, a blood-soaked shocker about abuse) sit in amongst the audience and deliver their speeches from there. They rarely interact with each other, but frequently do so with the real audience members. The question here is how far you can go in the name of art - as they recall their experiences with the earlier play, we see that writing it, performing it and even watching it had some major consequences to all four. I enjoyed it, although I'm not sure all its themes gelled - I'll be interested in seeing if the reviews consider it to be an interesting postmodern experiment in theatre turning in on itself, or as self-indulgent.

The Author by Tim Crouch is booking until the 24th of October at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs.
Sep. 24th, 2009 @ 11:20 pm Theatre review: Breakfast at Tiffany's
tragicomedavatar
2 comments
Leave a comment
Permanent Link
Tags:
(Disclaimer - is this still in previews? I'm not even sure. It's been running for over a fortnight but I can't find any official reviews so maybe it's still not had its press night.)

Met up with [info]cjg1 tonight to see the stage version of Breakfast at Tiffany's starring Anna Friel. It was a fun evening, although that was more to do with seeing Christopher again after a long time, than it was with the play. This production was always on a hiding to nothing really, as although it went to great pains to point out it was based on the original novella and not the film (contrary to rumours Friel does not sing "Moon River") that original adaptation was too iconic for anyone to cast it out of their minds. There's nothing particularly wrong with Samuel Adamson's script, but Sean Mathias' production just lacks sparkle - and since the story's not exactly heavy on incident, that leaves the whole thing feeling lacklustre. The leads aren't actually bad as such, but they don't have much chemistry. Still, American actor Joseph Cross is a cutie and he has aFULL-FRONTAL MALE NUDITY ALERT!but since we were up in the gods I can't furnish you with any details. Be warned though, Anna Friel also gets her ladybumps and bottom out. But despite what some papers have said she doesn't flash her filthy susan (well maybe if you're in the front row and looking carefully you might snatch a glimpse, or indeed glimpse a snatch - PERVERTS!) Not awful, but nothing to write home about either.

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, adapted by Samuel Adamson is booking until the 9th of January at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.