Arena: the National Theatre

[aeolium]

I enjoyed the first part of Arena's 2-part series on the National Theatre as part of its 50th birthday celebrations. There was quite a lot of interesting archive footage - I would have liked more - and some fascinating recollections. I could have done with less of the camera following security guards round the insides of buildings but the programme was very evocative of an age that now in its ideals and philosophy seems as distant to us as the Edwardian age: the belief in the value of public institutions and of serious (as well as irreverent) art. This episode dealt with the early beginnings of the NT and the period with Olivier in charge. My view of Olivier is ambivalent: undoubtedly he was a powerful and compelling actor but perhaps he put his mark too strongly on productions and was almost too dominant a force (was Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead a sly rebuke to Olivier for leaving these characters out of his film of Hamlet?)

Some here will remember particular productions from this early period but it was a bit before my theatre-going time. I look forward to the next instalment.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

i was struck by the force and conviction of Jennie Lee who did much to better our society, as well as lay foundations for the National Theatre

... i think they threw away the mould for her kind of politician ....

[Belgrove]

Yes aeolium, it was a fascinating programme in spite of the wandering janitor and intrusive music. I was unaware of the difference in the (then) style between the National and RSC, the latter being perceived as 'academic' and from where Peter Hall emerged as Olivier's successor. Joan Plowright's recollections were especially interesting, but she did remind me of Sybil Fawlty...

From the clips it struck me that the then acting style has certainly dated, and that Maggie Smith has essentially been playing Miss Jean Brodie for her entire career. The period covered was before my theatre-going days, but older friends have vividly recalled some of those productions at the Old Vic. One mentioned an earlier production of Othello where Richard Burton and John Neville alternated playing Othello and Iago, to electrifying effect and with which Olivier did not compare favourably.

Looking forward to the next instalment which will feature some of the shows I have seen there. Will they mention Birtwistle's musical contributions? I first became aware of him on seeing Hall's Orestia.

[Stanley Stewart]

The first treat for me on Thursday's transmission was the return of the ARENA series, usually in two parts. Glad to see that Part II, (BBC 4, Thurs, 31st Oct, 21,00hrs) will have an extended running time of 90 mins, under the pertinent heading of 'War and Peace', as Part I (60 mins) was a bit breathless and a sense of repose is necessary to understand the overcrowded intimacies of the Old Vic and its prefabricated huts at the side, alongside the intense pressure of power politics, cheek-by-jowl. Rejuvenating for me as in 1963/64, I'd completed my galley years in weekly rep, 38 major roles in Shakespeare, Shaw, Congreve, Chekhov, Miller, Rattigan and even the obligatory Agatha Christie cardboard creations! A NT casting director saw my work at the time and three of us were invited to audition. I declined - I was getting tempting offers of weighty roles in provincial rep and feared being sucked into the big pool too early in my career - but my two colleagues succeeded and gradually became theatrical 'names' in the plays of Peter Nichols and David Hare.

A few years later, I was ready for the West End, although my preferred contact was the Royal Court Theatre and joined Lindsay Anderson's production of David Storey's 'The Contractor' as understudy when it transferred to the West End for a substantial run in 1969. A tale for another day. So, enough, already!

Consequently, I had ample time to catch up with theatregoing at matinees, usually with 'comps', and enjoyed a thriving social life, particularly at the NT, with an endless round of parties and got the gossip of intrigue and power politics on a daily basis. Construction work on the South Bank complex was already underway and crossing Waterloo Bridge (north/south) on the 53 or 88 bus was always an exciting prospect as the concerete block took shape.

Laurence Olivier or "Sir" as he was affectionately known was very much at the helm. A natural autocrat - and he knew how to register his command at a single glance. I believe his utterances that he didn't know who he was as an individual but his gut instinct for the empty space of the stage was tainted with genius. By no means a party man, he cared deeply for the junior members of his company and generously gave time to attend their social gatherings. The pay was barely minimal but he ensured that they also got an additional payment for each performance. However, recognition for a performance was often accompanied by a personal note of thanks but, thereafter, you had to earn your spurs in a different league. I have at least half a dozen Olivier biographies on my shelves but Terry Coleman's 2005 biography, Olivier, revealed his steely persona when he humiliated Michael Redgrave in his dressing room after a performance of "The Master Builder" - it really makes the blood freeze. I've just finished reading Michael Blakemore's "Stage Blood" (2013 - Faber & Faber) which outlines 'five tempestuous years in the life of the National Theatre'. Blakemore was an accredited Associate Director and a strong contender for accession on Olivier's retirement. He writes about walking a tightrope after the underhanded negotiations for Peter Hall's appointment and how his (Blakemore's) confidential paper to the Board, with implications of Hall's venality, finally made him a marked man. I wonder how this aspect will be covered in Part II, War and Peace. In fairness, it is also worth revisiting, Peter Hall's Diaries - The Story of a Dramatic Battle, Hamish Hamilton, 1983). Or Stephen Fay's "Power Play - The Life and Times of Peter Hall", (Hodder & Stoughton, 1995). You can scent the truth in the subtext of these publications but it is also vital to grasp the political manoeuvering of the era and Calum Da Jazbo was bang- on- target with his accolade for the devoted work of Jennie Lee, and I would also include the Open University. The backstage manipulations by Arnold Goodman and Lord Harewood who played powerful brokers at a time of a Labour Government, (1972-1979) kept the NT venture afloat; balance of payment deficits, industrial strife - I suspect that a Tory government and a hostile press would not have been so forthcoming.. We even had the hilarity of Mary Whitehouse and the Festival of Light to bring joy to the nation but I always had a sneaking regard for her feisty stance. Somehow, today, life seems etiolated in our current discontent.

The best writing in Blakemore's memoir is the rehearsal period for O'Neill's, "Long Days Journey Into Night" - MB directed, fully aware that LO was always suspicious of directors and their concepts! A quite riveting description of how Olivier was fastidious as to how he paced himself on his initial entrance as the actor, James Tyrone. He sought the 'smell' of an audience and trod the rehearsal room until confident that he could instinctively register his presence. - and how. Quite the best logging of a performance and its development since Charles Marowitz wrote a 13 page missive on Peter Brook's rehearsing "King Lear" (Paul Scofield) in the RSC 1962 production. Encore magazine, Jan/Feb 1963. The creative process put to the test in both instances.

[Stanley Stewart]

A fortuitous addendum. " Live from the NT - 50 Years on Stage" will also be shown on BBC 2, Sat, 2 Nov, 21.00 - 23.15hrs. A deferred screening rather than 'Live'? NT stalwarts will present extracts reprising classic performances from an illustrious repertoire and it will be good to see several of the current contenders tackle scenes from, say, Pinter's "No Man's Land" in a quite different vein from the magnificent performances of Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud almost 40 years ago. Indeed, last week, I was delighted to renew old acquaintance with the original production -a DVD transfer from an off-air video - which I saw at the Old Vic and again when it transferred to the South Bank in 1976. It still enthralls - yet makes me laugh or cringe. Messrs Michael Gambon and Derek Jacobi will probably energise and redefine Hirst (the tycoon played by RR) and Spooner - (JG established the appearance of the character from early acquaintance with W H Auden!). I'm confident that Gambon and Jacobi will deliver the goods in a different mode. Judi Dench will remind us of her voluptuous Cleopatra before she returns to reprise 'Send in the Clowns' from Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" - a vivid memory of the NT 1993 production. Helen Mirren recreates the scene where she murders her husband in O'Neill's, "Mourning Becomes Electra". Among the pairings of fine actors and playwrights are: Penelope Wilton/Alan Ayckbourn; Frances de la Tour/Alan Bennett; Simon Russell Beale, Rory Kinnear, Adrian Lester and Anna Maxwell Martin in Shakespearian extracts. 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat' from Richard Eyre's sassy production of "Guys and Dolls" will represent the best of the 11 o'clock Broadway show stoppers. Also a good opportunity to see the eight "History Boys" from almost a decade ago. Ye gods, is't so? Rich pickings all the way and even watching "No Man's Land" the other night gave my heart a pang.

[DracoM]

Terrific heads up, Stanley. Many thanks.

[aeolium]

Thanks for that alert, Stanley. I saw that Richardson/Gielgud production of No Man's Land IIRC at the South Bank, the only time I saw either of those actors live. And one of the first NT productions I saw, in the post-Olivier era, was of Finney playing Hamlet at the Old Vic (20p standing through an uncut production!) Hytner has been an excellent man in charge of the NT over the last decade, and his NT Live! initiative is bringing the NT to a global audience. I'll be interested to see the next Arena episode covering the Peter Hall years inter alia; I was sympathetic to his overriding concern for the text, though I know little about his management style.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

i was struck by the force and conviction of Jennie Lee who did much to better our society, as well as lay foundations for the National Theatre

... i think they threw away the mould for her kind of politician ....

[eighthobstruction]

Just watched Part One ....excellent ....like many I'm sure I wish I had seen ANY of these productions....What a figure/character Tynan was....well put together programme....

[Serial_Apologist]

Just watched Part One ....excellent ....like many I'm sure I wish I had seen ANY of these productions....What a figure/character Tynan was....well put together programme....

Lindsay Anderson was always my hero out of that lot.

[eighthobstruction]

Lindsay Anderson was always my hero out of that lot.

That'll be part two i think....

[amateur51]

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