A Night at the Theatre

[Belgrove]

Big one-day shows are always memorable, The Orestea, The Plantagenates, Nicholas Nickleby, not least for the effort of concentration one has to put into them. A sense of excitement in the audience builds as the day progresses towards its conclusion. And so it was for Angels in America at the National at the weekend. I wondered whether this sprawling piece, a huge examination of the state of the nation refracted through the emergence of AIDS among the gay community in 1980's America, had dated.

It certainly was not a museum piece, but came over as a metaphor for the consequences of abandonment amongst individuals, and entire communities. The Angel, while a fabulous and awesome creature, is ultimately an agent of conservatism and stasis who must select a prophet to generate change. Prior Walter, extraordinarily played by Andrew Garfield, is visited by the Angel in his medicated state. He is a modern day Jacob, who eventually wrestles with the Angel and ascends a neon ladder to heaven, only to find that God too has abandoned it. So eventually we are responsible for changing things and must make our own destiny rather than rely on others. The end of the play, when Prior gives the audience a secular benediction is hugely uplifting and optimistic for such weighty and sober subjects that the play has addressed over the previous seven hours.

So it really was an event to have witnessed. The performances among the eight strong cast (doubling/trebling up on the many roles) are all superb and the staging contains spectacles when the jaw literally drops. This play will always have a time when it needs to be seen - Trump's neo-conservative America being one of them. A great day at the theatre.

[Belgrove]

The film Network is a constant on my list of favourites, being adorned by superb performances and a magnificent script, so the prospect of it being done as a play at the National Theatre was one to relish. It has been cast shrewdly, with Brian Cranston assuming the role created by Peter Finch, of a newscaster whose appeal is fading and who has become disillusioned by the whole media business and the values it peddles. He threatens to kill himself on air, whereupon his flagging ratings jump through the roof and he becomes manipulated by the multi-national corporation that owns the TV Network. Goodness! It could almost be a satire on Rupert Murdoch's all pervasive global business empire, were it not written in 1975. Indeed it is astonishing how prescient and relevant Paddy Chayefsky's script is.

The production is a technical tour-de-force, using video inventively and with great precision. Indeed this exploits Cranston's talents as a TV and movie actor, who knows how to act to a camera. The character he plays, Howard Beale, is enormously attractive and sympathetic, and his on-air diatribes to energise the quiescent TV consuming multitudes are a high-point in the show. Another is Richard Cordery as the corporation boss who explains to Beale that he has meddled with 'the forces of nature' and patiently tutors him on the ways of the corporate universe, making the mentally fragile Beale his own instrument. It's not perfect, there's some coarse shouty acting and I failed to see the point of the on-stage restaurant. Also the use of radio mic's makes it difficult to locate where the action has moved to on the teeming set. But the National has a major hit on its hands. I suspect it's already sold-out through Cranston's involvement, but it will be worth catching if it's relayed to a cinema.

[Belgrove]

The last collaboration between Sam Mendes and Simon Russell Beale at the NT was not to my taste. But their latest, the Lehman Trilogy, is a tour-de-force of compelling story telling and acting by the three-man-cast. Russell Beale is joined by Adam Godley and Ben Miles, who between them play three generations of the Lehman dynasty, man, boy, wives, lovers, plus all the other teeming incidental characters that populate the 170 year history of the firm.

The Lehman's were Bavarian Jewish immigrants who became established as merchants and entrepreneurs through the Alabama cotton trade, both pre- and post Civil War. Astute diversification of the business through various small-scale and world wars, and numerous financial crashes turned the firm into one of the world's major purveyors of financial services until, well we all know what happened in the end. This terminal part of the tale is briefly and elegantly dispensed with, but the play makes it clear that it's cultural roots were laid by Bobby Lehman in the 1960's, who moved the firm away from investment in a myriad of tangibles (from railways, tobacco, coffee, Pan Am, King Kong and Gone with the Wind, to the first universal computing language) to buying and selling money in more and more abstruse intangible financial instruments. In the end it's all about how much does a man, a family, a global firm, actually need - the corrosiveness of greed.

The action takes place in a revolving glass box backed by a cyclorama on which is projected Henry's voyage from Europe, the cotton fields of Alabama, next set ablaze in the Civil War, and New York's developing skyline through the years - it's very effective and cinematic, which should not surprise given Mendes has made two Bond films. There is a strong impression that this is an ensemble play, except that there are only three actors in it.

The run has been extended into next year and there is a cinema relay scheduled for September. Not to be missed.

[gurnemanz]

Thanks for detailed comments on Lehman Trilogy. We went to Saturday matinee. Riveting performance. I love dramas that try something a bit different. Brilliantly carried off by the three actors.

[Belgrove]

Despite the brevity of its 100 minutes, Exit the King at the NT seems about an hour too long. Ionesco should be blamed for this rather than Patrick Marber who both adapted and directed the production. This is principally because the play cannot support its own weight, seeming to be the scenario for an absurdist Pythonesque sketch, with unfunny jokes, that is extended beyond its snapping point. The cast features two good performances from Rhys Ifans as the titular tyrant King, ruling over a disintegrating state whilst dying, and Indira Varma as his queen who finally coaxes him to give up the ghost in the play's closing scene, visually the most memorably striking of the play. But even these two cannot raise the production and its material beyond feeling that it is rather half-baked and amateur. One for enthusiasts only.

[Conchis]

Despite the brevity of its 100 minutes, Exit the King at the NT seems about an hour too long. Ionesco should be blamed for this rather than Patrick Marber who both adapted and directed the production. This is principally because the play cannot support its own weight, seeming to be the scenario for an absurdist Pythonesque sketch, with unfunny jokes, that is extended beyond its snapping point. The cast features two good performances from Rhys Ifans as the titular tyrant King, ruling over a disintegrating state whilst dying, and Indira Varma as his queen who finally coaxes him to give up the ghost in the play's closing scene, visually the most memorably striking of the play. But even these two cannot raise the production and its material beyond feeling that it is rather half-baked and amateur. One for enthusiasts only.

I attribute this piece of programming to the NT taking a bet on Ionesco's far-right politics coming back into fashion. Juding by the reviews, they were wrong.

[Belgrove]

I'd never seen Measure for Measure prior to that still showing at the intimate Donmar Warehouse, but now have seen it twice, in the same production. This is a consequence of the gender-blind casting trend in the theatre, that is here structured, and used to make a sharper point. Before the interval we see the (heavily edited) play, customarily cast and in period dress. It is beautifully performed. Isabella's appalling predicament is all the more acutely felt, when having managed to maintain her virtue in avoiding the predatory attentions of the corrupt Angelo, she then falls foul to those of the equally corrupt Duke - a victim of his cruel experiment to test morality within his realm. At this point, the production abruptly switches to the present, with the actors playing Isabella and Angelo switching. Thus we see the dubious morals and sexual politics played out again, but in an entirely different context - the predator this time is the cougarish Isabella in the Judge's role, Angelo the novice in a born-again-Christian sect. The play remains current and the production is very clever, the conceit never seems false and it updates seamlessly. A return to form for the Donmar after a period of so-so or misjudged productions. Worth catching if you can.

[gurnemanz]

Fairly recent convert to M for M via BBC version with Kate Nelligan. A complex fascinating drama. We saw it in a very interesting staging at Young Vic a couple of years ago with Romola Garai superb as Isabella. Looking forward to Donmar this Saturday.
Coming up: Antony and Cleo at NT, for which both Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo have just scooped Evening Standard awards.

[Belgrove]

I was fortunate enough to see two superb productions at the National before events closed the theatres. I write this as a recommendation in the hope that when the theatre reopens, they will reschedule these shows, for they deserve to be seen.

The Visit is an adaptation by Tony Kushner of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s take on Greek and German Classical theatre, with a pinch of the theatre of the absurd. But it manages to be at once more plausible, funnier and dangerous than anything by Beckett or Ionesco. The language is lush, the soliloquy’s like arias; it’s really beguiling just to listen let alone enjoy the spectacle. Claire Zachanassian, world’s wealthiest woman, returns to her hometown of Slurry in rustbucket upstate New York circa 1950. She brings glamour and the promise of rejuvenating largesse to the failed town, but at an appalling cost that unravels the society. Her entire life has become an artful construction to deliver revenge upon an individual, and by careful collusion, everyone else in the town. It’s a parable on money being the root of all evil. The production is spectacular and lavish and has at its heart a sensational performance by Lesley Manville as Claire, a mixture of Bette Davies, Joan Crawford and Cruella Deville. Despite her diminutive size, she dwarfs everyone else and manages to fill the vast Olivier theatre stage. Hugo Weaving is the primary target of her wrath, a small-town shopkeeper who’s life is upturned because of a youthful error. The production values are possibly in excess of what might be required, but you certainly get your money’s worth.

The Seven Streams of the River Ota is like nothing I’ve seen. A seven hour exploration of the consequences of the Hiroshima bombing through a network of connections that take us up to the mid 1990’s, when the play was first shown. The streams include Hiroshima, Osaka, Theresianstadt, a New York tenement block, a Montreal theatre and Amsterdam; and these miraculously join to form a deeply satisfying confluence. Such a wide ranging story is told using diverse theatrical forms, mime, farce, noh, kabuki, butō, opera, told and sung in Japanese, English, German and French, coupled with miraculous stage craft. The climax when the thread inspired by Madam Butterfly finally takes on its full significance is technically staggering, agonising to witness, yet searingly beautiful. The actor seemingly takes on the anguish and guilt of the entire world - audience was stunned. It’s an ensemble piece by the Montreal based Ex Machina company, with the multinational cast taking multiple roles, directed by Robert Lepage. This has to be revived.

[Oakapple]

Now that all theatres are currently closed, does that mean that The Mousetrap has finally ended its run? Or because this is enforced closure, does it not count?

[gurnemanz]

I was fortunate enough to see two superb productions at the National before events closed the theatres. I write this as a recommendation in the hope that when the theatre reopens, they will reschedule these shows, for they deserve to be seen.

The Visit is an adaptation by Tony Kushner of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s take on Greek and German Classical theatre, with a pinch of the theatre of the absurd. But it manages to be at once more plausible, funnier and dangerous than anything by Beckett or Ionesco. The language is lush, the soliloquy’s like arias; it’s really beguiling just to listen let alone enjoy the spectacle. Claire Zachanassian, world’s wealthiest woman, returns to her hometown of Slurry in rustbucket upstate New York circa 1950. She brings glamour and the promise of rejuvenating largesse to the failed town, but at an appalling cost that unravels the society. Her entire life has become an artful construction to deliver revenge upon an individual, and by careful collusion, everyone else in the town. It’s a parable on money being the root of all evil. The production is spectacular and lavish and has at its heart a sensational performance by Lesley Manville as Claire, a mixture of Bette Davies, Joan Crawford and Cruella Deville. Despite her diminutive size, she dwarfs everyone else and manages to fill the vast Olivier theatre stage. Hugo Weaving is the primary target of her wrath, a small-town shopkeeper who’s life is upturned because of a youthful error. The production values are possibly in excess of what might be required, but you certainly get your money’s worth.

The Seven Streams of the River Ota is like nothing I’ve seen. A seven hour exploration of the consequences of the Hiroshima bombing through a network of connections that take us up to the mid 1990’s, when the play was first shown. The streams include Hiroshima, Osaka, Theresianstadt, a New York tenement block, a Montreal theatre and Amsterdam; and these miraculously join to form a deeply satisfying confluence. Such a wide ranging story is told using diverse theatrical forms, mime, farce, noh, kabuki, butō, opera, told and sung in Japanese, English, German and French, coupled with miraculous stage craft. The climax when the thread inspired by Madam Butterfly finally takes on its full significance is technically staggering, agonising to witness, yet searingly beautiful. The actor seemingly takes on the anguish and guilt of the entire world - audience was stunned. It’s an ensemble piece by the Montreal based Ex Machina company, with the multinational cast taking multiple roles, directed by Robert Lepage. This has to be revived.

Thanks for report. I like Dürrenmatt. We had/have tickets for The Visit on 28 March and still haven't heard anything official from NT. I'm glad we have seen a lot of theatre in the last few years so plenty of memories. Who knows when any sort of normality may return? It looks like our last show will have been Albion at the Almeida. Due to come up on the BBC.

[Belgrove]

To Leeds Playhouse to see a joint production of the house company with Opera North of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. The theatre staff were welcoming and the Covid checks were thorough without being being intrusive and overbearing; seating in the auditorium was socially distanced. A lot of work has gone into thinking through what is required and the theatre deserves praise for carrying this off. One felt safe.

The prospect of seeing a live performance and hearing live music in over 15 months was rather exciting, and the show did not disappoint. I guess it is Sondheim’s most operetta-esque show, written in triple time and with a (socially distanced) orchestra at the back of the large stage. Its musical sensibility is perhaps best captured by Ravel’s Valse nobles et sentimentales, with rather exquisite scoring, being string and woodwind dominated; the orchestra sounded gorgeous.

The show is based on Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night and follows a collection of disastrously mismatched couples of all ages who end up, via various shenanigans throughout the Scandinavian White Nights of high summer, with approximately the right partners (at least for the moment). It is therefore an apt choice and, unusually for Sondheim, it has a happy ending. The demands made of the singers are greater than those in most musical theatre, hence the involvement of Opera North. The quintet who comment upon and propel the action were particularly fine, also serving as scene shifters. Stephanie Corley as Desiree Armfeldt, an actress of a certain age, was glamorous but acutely aware of the ticking clock (shades of the Marchellin here); hearing the shows most famous number, Send in the Clowns, in its proper context lands a psychological punch with great economy, and is beautifully sung. Dame Josephine Barstow plays Deseree’s imperious mother, who frowns on her daughter’s rather promiscuous lifestyle, not through its immorality but rather because it has failed to yield material gain. Her number Liaisons (a delicate arrangement for celesta, harp and oboe) is an exquisite rendition of the accumulation of wealth through conducting affairs with aristocrats of increasing rank (‘… when things got rather touchy, he deeded me a duchy…’.). The number ‘Every day a little death’, set to a beguilingly jaunty tune, is nevertheless a searing and desperate account of a wife trapped in a marriage with an unfaithful husband - quite devastating if one bothers to listen to the lyrics. The whole thing is a trifle, a confection, but thanks to Sondheim’s highly crafted lyrics, it contains much truth and wisdom about conducting affairs of the heart from multiple perspectives. It is, perhaps, musical theatre’s equivalent of Der Rosenkavalier. A sophisticated treat, and it was great to see live theatre again.

[Edgy 2]

Leopoldstadt

National Theatre live cinema broadcast in Didsbury yesterday, Holocaust Memorial Day.
I'm not really a theatre goer or expert so don't expect a review but this has knocked me for six.
Still feel quite numb 24 hours later, talk about intense.

[Belgrove]

National Theatre live cinema broadcast in Didsbury yesterday, Holocaust Memorial Day.

I agree. It is believed to be Stoppard’s last play (given his age), and the character Leo is a moving portrayal of his own discovery, quite late in life, of the fate of his Jewish family. The Kristalnacht act is terrifying. It’s a compassionate and moving piece of theatre.

[gurnemanz]

At Bristol Old Vic yesterday to see Dr Semmelweis, originally booked nearly two years ago. A great theatrical experience with a virtuoso central performance from Mark Rylance. It was an imaginative staging with dream sequence, flashback, some ballet and a string quartet in costume on stage subtly accompanying much of the action.

As with Peggy for You at Hampstead a couple of weeks ago at curtain call the cast also applauded the audience for turning up.