A Night at the Theatre

[Belgrove]

The Donmar couldn’t have envisioned that a European war would be being fought when it decided to revive Henry V, not least through its decision to stage it in the present, complete with automatic weapons and helicopter effects. It has a prologue taken from Henry IV, where we see young Hal living it up in a nightclub before being informed of his father’s death, whereupon he goes all corporate (in a black suit) and remote from his previous hell-raiser friends. Kit Harrington is very good in the title role, delivering the big speeches in measured tones and at sensible pace (not the silly rat-a-tat-tat of Olivier) such that the grunts in the infantry can actually understand what he means. The production adopts a remarkably cynical take on how to fabricate an unjust war (remind you of anything?); Canterbury illustrates his tortuous justification for invading France with a power-point presentation of blood-lines. But Henry, whilst charismatic in battle, is awkward in more private moments; his ‘wooing’ of Katherine is strictly a political contractual deal to patch things up in the aftermath of the war. The production moves at pace, is exciting and inventive whilst not pulling things apart. It is faithful to Shakespeare who, as ever, has every aspect covered from multiple perspectives. This revival shows what a dirty rotten business war is, from start to finish, better than any I’ve seen. It is to be streamed in cinemas on 21 April.

[gurnemanz]

I watched the Olivier Awards on ITV last night. A lot of razzmatazz about current musicals on show. Great if they are pulling audiences back in after Covid but personally I was a rather dismayed that straight plays figured so little. I suspect the eponymous Lord O. might gave agreed.

[Serial_Apologist]

I watched the Olivier Awards on ITV last night. A lot of razzmatazz about current musicals on show. Great if they are pulling audiences back in after Covid but personally I was a rather dismayed that straight plays figured so little. I suspect the eponymous Lord O. might gave agreed.

All part and parcel of bringing back the tourism trade - the one area of the economy that did as well as predicted in February - I expect.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I watched the Olivier Awards on ITV last night. A lot of razzmatazz about current musicals on show. Great if they are pulling audiences back in after Covid but personally I was a rather dismayed that straight plays figured so little. I suspect the eponymous Lord O. might gave agreed.

I thought some of the musical excerpts esp. Frozen were pretty difficult to listen to …and I’m a big fan of the genre.

[Belgrove]

In a new play by David Hare, Straight Line Crazy features a bravura performance by Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses, the long serving urban planner of New York and it’s environs for over 40 years. It’s not a subject that seemingly lends itself to a dramatic treatment, but Moses is a force of nature who bulldozes his vision for transformation in the face of old-money and new-political opposition, finally being blocked by local activists who thwart Washington Square being turned into an Expressway interchange. It’s a play of ideas, reminiscent of Ibsen’s Master Builder, complete with Shavian arias, where Moses’ libertarian ideals are shown to have consequences for the weakest in society. Whether Moses is a force for good is ultimately left for us to decide. Fiennes seems to go from strength to strength, the character he plays recalls his portrayal of Jack Tanner in Man and Superman, he’s larger than life but we glimpse the tragedy of his private life under the carapace. The Bridge Theatre under Nicholas Hytner is currently producing some of the finest and most exciting theatre in London, whilst the National has never quite hit its stride since his departure (and the theatre’s setting next to Tower Bridge is spectacular). A stimulating evening.

[Belgrove]

Punchdrunk are back in London after an extended gap. Now housed permanently in a large and flexible space within the old Woolwich Arsenal, which is convenient for when the Elizabeth Line opens in a couple of weeks. The Drowned Man (based on Wozzeck) was their last show

http://www.for3.org/forums/showthread.php?7474-A-Night-at-the-Theatre/page3

This time they have adapted, very freely, Euripides’ Hecuba and Aeschylus’ Agamemnon to create The Burnt City, where we see Troy after its fall and events in Mycenae prior to and after the war, albeit set in (roughly) the 1930’s. Troy is a neon lit labyrinth through which one explores rooms and spaces with astonishing details (and smells) of an abandoned city, intermittently populated by characters who move throughout the space, and whom one can latch upon to follow their stories and encounters. By contrast, Mycenae is an austere, monolithic space. Four of us went, and each had very different experiences wandering around this huge place over three hours. A knowledge of the plays and of Greek mythology would be an advantage in order to recognise who is who and what part of the story is being portrayed in the vignettes, staged primarily through mime and dance. Don’t expect to sit and watch a narrative played out to you. You have to move around, discover and piece together a narrative for yourself, whilst wearing a plague/carnival mask. It’s stimulating fun constructing the bigger picture by comparing what others have seen after the event. The very definition of an immersive experience. A second visit is a must.

[Belgrove]

Sheridan’s The Rivals has a ‘One Man Two Guvnor’s’ makeover at the NT to emerge as ‘Jack Absolute Flies Again’, updating the farcical antics to an RAF billet during the Battle of Britain. It’s great fun, knowingly conniving with the audience over the conventions of restoration comedy through breaking the fourth wall. Caroline Quentin as Mrs Malaprop mangles the English language as only that character can, and her top B while simultaneously playing the ukulele and doing the splits is worth the price of admission alone (it’s that kind of show). James Fleet as Sir Anthony Absolute fulminates hilariously, but is touchingly transformed by the end. For all its inconsequential daftness, it’s given a serious production (with son et lumière dogfights filling the entire Olivier auditorium), and full commitment from all the cast, whose evident enjoyment spills over to the audience. Just the tonic to lift the spirits.

[Belgrove]

The Crucible is one of the greatest plays of the 20th Century and I’m always drawn to any revival - it invariably speaks to the times and, sadly, will always be current for as long as instruments available to a state (ostensibly to create a civilised society) are bent towards manipulation and repression. The NT’s new production presents a startling image before the play begins. A water curtain containing the stage, that sparkles like a stream of falling diamonds. The production starts, and ends, with Miller’s expository historical notes that preface and interleave the play’s text (presumably to provide context for the actors) being performed in modern prose by the children who later become bewitched. On the play’s commencement proper, it switches to the all too plausible seventeenth century pastiche-English that Miller created, making the play so distinctive. This is a rather jarring and unnecessary introduction to a compelling work that needs no such historical crutch for the audience’s benefit. Each scene is a carefully graded trajectory to hysteria, entrapment and ultimately, calamity. There is a droning and chanting by the children at critical points, which rather interferes with the delivery of the text, which is closely argued and developed, and deserves primary focus. And also a tendency to shouty delivery with dodgy modern American accents. A mark of a good production is how Danforth is portrayed (Paul Scofield and Peter Vaughn nailed it), and Matthew Marsh has joined that august duo; terrifying in his understated, non shouty, application of legal and theological ‘logic’ to lead John Proctor to his doom through procedure and process - McCarthyism personified. Brendan Cowell’s portrayal of Proctor does not touch the depths of tragedy that others have done, he’s a little too reserved throughout, but especially in his final encounter with Elizabeth, Eileen Walsh carrying the emotional weight. So it’s not entirely successful, but The Crucible is such a superbly crafted, indeed perfect play that this deserves to be seen. You won’t forget it in a hurry.

[ChandlersFord]

The Crucible is one of the greatest plays of the 20th Century and I’m always drawn to any revival - it invariably speaks to the times and, sadly, will always be current for as long as instruments available to a state (ostensibly to create a civilised society) are bent towards manipulation and repression. The NT’s new production presents a startling image before the play begins. A water curtain containing the stage, that sparkles like a stream of falling diamonds. The production starts, and ends, with Miller’s expository historical notes that preface and interleave the play’s text (presumably to provide context for the actors) being performed in modern prose by the children who later become bewitched. On the play’s commencement proper, it switches to the all too plausible seventeenth century pastiche-English that Miller created, making the play so distinctive. This is a rather jarring and unnecessary introduction to a compelling work that needs no such historical crutch for the audience’s benefit. Each scene is a carefully graded trajectory to hysteria, entrapment and ultimately, calamity. There is a droning and chanting by the children at critical points, which rather interferes with the delivery of the text, which is closely argued and developed, and deserves primary focus. And also a tendency to shouty delivery with dodgy modern American accents. A mark of a good production is how Danforth is portrayed (Paul Scofield and Peter Vaughn nailed it), and Matthew Marsh has joined that august duo; terrifying in his understated, non shouty, application of legal and theological ‘logic’ to lead John Proctor to his doom through procedure and process - McCarthyism personified. Brendan Cowell’s portrayal of Proctor does not touch the depths of tragedy that others have done, he’s a little too reserved throughout, but especially in his final encounter with Elizabeth, Eileen Walsh carrying the emotional weight. So it’s not entirely successful, but The Crucible is such a superbly crafted, indeed perfect play that this deserves to be seen. You won’t forget it in a hurry.

I don't agree that it's a perfect play. In fact, I find it somewhat over-praised and its message too obvious.

It's biggest failing is John Proctor, a man whom actors struggle, and fail, to make interesting or sympathetic.

[Belgrove]

The breathtaking vista on emerging from London’s Bridge Theatre is enough to upstage any play one may have seen, but Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman can hold its own through the quality of its three principals. Borkman, acerbically portrayed by Simon Russell Beale, is a disgraced banker guilty of embezzlement, and planning a comeback after a spell in gaol. He is a monstrous egomaniac who believes that normal rules and laws should not apply to such a visionary as he - remind you of anyone? His ghastly wife, Gunhild, played by the great Clare Higgins is equally delusional in believing she can regain her former social prestige and wealth through the agency of her son Erhart, while her estranged sister Ella, beautifully played by Lia Williams and the only sympathetic character, arrives in this bleak house to add a backstory, her own agenda, and even more grist to the dysfunctional mill. For all its grimness, it can be terribly funny to watch this trio projecting their various desires onto Erhart, whose principal aim is to escape into the arms of an older woman. Of course it ends in tragedy, recalling King Lear in the storm, but also in a kind of reconciliation and catharsis, which sadly we know will be all too brief. A wonderful showcase for wonderful actors in a wonderful theatre.

[Belgrove]

It was always going to be interesting to see a new production of Othello at the NT in the post George Floyd, BLM world. Before the play begins, we are shown projections of previous productions and performers (Olivier, Hopkins, Welles, …) who have black-faced for the role, while the stage is swept by a janitor, hinting that a new brush is to be applied by director Clint Dyer. In the end it is not that radical a rethink. The set is like a brutalist Greek amphitheatre and a chorus (referred to as ‘System’, and very much a creature to be manipulated by Iago) is an integral addition to the drama, rather labouring the point that the odds are stacked against Othello in a society that is willing to accept him for his military skills, but not as a man. Giles Terera stamps his physicality from the outset and his rather musical voice brings out the poetic side of Othello. The sexual chemistry between him and Rosy McEwan’s forceful Desdemona is electric. Othello’s vulnerability through his seizures suggests an infirmity of mind that makes his susceptibility to suggestion all the more plausible, and is brilliantly acted and portrayed through clever sound effects - there is an incessant ambient soundtrack that generates unease, but may irritate some. The emphasis on Othello’s mental weakness somewhat downplays the character’s innate violence, the murder scene does not shock like it can. Adrian Lester’s instability and violence as Othello in the previous NT production was truly terrifying. Emelia (Tanya Franks) is clearly an abused wife, bearing a bruise under her eye and a bandaged arm; the scene between her and Desdemona emphasises the connection and predicament of these military wives better than any I can recall. Iago is a great villain, and is a big role, rather more plausible than the cartoonish Richard III. Paul Hilton relishes every moment and one looks forward to his next soliloquy (he being lit with a subtle greenish pallor) to see how his net of deceits will deepen and where it will extend next. He looks rather like Oswald Mosley with his black shirt, moustache and brilliantined hair. The scene where he first plants the seeds of doubt in Othello’s mind, set in a gym, is superbly staged. A subtle touch, the marks on the punchbag mirror those whip scars on Othello’s back. So this is a fast moving, dynamic and propulsive production that emphasises the racism and misogyny in the text, and is well worth seeing. It will be relayed to cinemas in 23rd February next year. I couldn’t help wondering if this play is the origin of the term ‘hanky-panky’?

[Belgrove]

Most things I see aren’t worth recommending or writing about, being neither sufficiently good or bad, but the NT’s new reimagining of Pheadra is so bad that it warrants a warning for you not to waste your money. Writer/Director Simon Stone conflates the versions of Euripides, Seneca and Racine, then adds more, as if it needs it. The ‘text’ emerged in rehearsals. It is quotidian and banal, largely comprising the cast all talking over one another from within a rotating glass box (which has become something of a stage cliché). They are all mic’d, so it’s difficult to discern who’s saying what. The Hippolytus character is changed from victim to agent, causing havoc and changing, indeed warping, the entire dynamic and substance of the original scenarios. Rather than confront and challenge the social/sexual mores of the times, it panders to them - an opportunity lost given the radical take on the original.

Pheadra should be any event. It’s a great role, up there with Hedda Gabler, and I’ve seen some heavy hitters play the unsympathetic and demanding character - Glenda Jackson, Diana Rigg, Clare Higgins, Helen Mirren. But Janet McTeer can’t compete in that league, principally because there is no beauty or originality in the words she speaks. The text contains more profanities than in any play I can recall. Ultimately this barrage becomes repetitive and boring.

I saw a preview, so the lengthy periods in which the set was reconfigured and during which music was played or a translation projected of an Arabic voiceover (not as incongruous as it sounds), should be sharpened up. But the set did provide some striking images. Strangely, some in the audience gasped in surprise at multiple revelations so obviously sign-posted that when they were finally realised the theatrical shock had already been dissipated. They stood, whooped and cheered at the end, which is the norm nowadays irrespective of what was seen or heard.

[Belgrove]

The Motive and the Cue is a new play by Jack Thorne, directed by Sam Mendes, which is presently showing at the National Theatre, and it’s the best thing I’ve seen there since the theatre reopened after the pandemic.

Some may regard it as indulgent, insofar as it’s about actors and acting, but what writing and what acting! It’s based upon the rehearsals for Hamlet in 1964 which starred Richard Burton and was directed by John Gielgud. They did not hit it off. That tension forms the motor but not the substance of the play. That production presented Hamlet as a rehearsal room run through. And so we are in meta-land, watching a play about the rehearsal of play presented as a rehearsal… . Burton, just married to Liz Taylor (played with flirty glamour by splendidly named Tuppence Middleton), has to keep her amused while projecting his alpha-male persona to the cast, and to Gielgud. By contrast, Gielgud is donnish, ascetic, and urbane, but deeply insecure, trying to tame Burton’s vocal excesses and bad behaviour, and trying to extract a plausible performance from him. It gets very tense. Johnny Flynn gets the mannerisms of Burton and his voice without descending into parody. He starts giving the lines as a coarse actor, shouty and grandstanding. When he finally delivers, one can understand why this production was regarded as being one for the ages. But he’s portraying Burton’s portrayal. Flynn doing his own Hamlet would be something to witness. Mark Gatiss as Gielgud is mesmerising. Again it’s not mere mimicry, but it’s like Gielgud has been resurrected on the stage. It’s a very funny performance, but is full of humanity, and profound sadness. That these two eventually come to understand and respect each other is deeply moving. Mendes’ production is pitch perfect and colour coordinated, capturing the neutral functionality of the rehearsal room, the sexy crimson glamour of the Burton/Taylor hotel suite, and contrasting it with Gielgud’s lonely, chilly blue lodgings. And I have come away with an entirely fresh and deepened appreciation of Hamlet. Highly recommended.

[Historian]

Thank you for this review (and indeed all the others above). I keep meaning to go to the theatre more often but never seem to get round to it. 'The Motive and the Cue' sounds worth seeing.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Thank you for this review (and indeed all the others above). I keep meaning to go to the theatre more often but never seem to get round to it. 'The Motive and the Cue' sounds worth seeing.

It’s sold out with the odd return.