Theatre: Breakfast With Emma (Rosemary Branch) Tuesday, Apr 14 2009

There’s a line in Fay Weldon’s play in which Emma Bovary’s lover Rodolphe comments, “If only Emma hadn’t taken all so seriously.” That’s her problem- she invests far too deeply in things that other people don’t consider to be nearly as important, and as a result is inevitably disappointed. Emma Bovary is not one of literature’s most sympathetic characters- a selfish spendthrift obsessed with shopping and appearances, who neglects her daughter and endures a painful, self-afflicted death. In this re-imagining of the story that takes place over breakfast on the day that Emma kills herself (not a scene in the book), Fay Weldon shows how all these little things build up in a world where it really is possible to die from frustration and boredom. The wonderfully talented director Helen Tennison directed the best Measure for Measure I’ve ever seen a few years ago, also at the tiny Rosemary Branch theatre (in which Isabella walked away from the Duke at the end- epic win), and she really is a special talent.

Tennison’s ingenious use of space involves characters entering and exiting from the cupboards, the dresser, the fireplace, to evoke the claustrophobia of provincial life where there’s no privacy and everything is everyone else’s business. The Bovarys’ morning room really resembles a real home, with the array of breakfast foods (I really enjoy watching people eat on stage- is that weird?) and household clutter. Fliss Walton is  capricious, bitchy, charming and at times even sympathetic as Emma (especially when Charles throws her dancing shoes on the fire- her one tie to the glamorous life she longs for), and she’s well matched by James Burton in the thankless role of the stolid, self-satisfied Charles, the embodiment of the mediocrity and insipidity that Emma despises.

Fringe theatre doesn’t come much better than this.

(This review refers to a performance that took place on April 9th 2009)

Leave a Response »

 

Theatre: The Tempest (RSC) Sunday, Mar 1 2009

I’m currently in the middle of essay writing, so this review of the RSC/Baxter Theatre Company Tempest is going to be a bullet pointy affair:

• This is certainly one of the most colourful and mesmerising Shakespearean productions I’ve ever seen. Janice Honeyman has assembled an outstanding ensemble of actors and created a visually stunning production of one of my favourite Shakespeare plays and although I’m normally allergic to the terms ‘colonial’ and ‘post-colonial,’ everything worked and fell into place beautifully. It’s very accessible to newcomers and fascinating to those of us who know the play by heart (as you practically have to do at A-level).

• It’s also fast, running through the talky Act 1 scene 2 at quite a speed, but it’s impeccably spoken. After Othello in which I kept wishing that Othello would just get on with it and suffocate Desdemona and kill himself, it was refreshing.

•  The island is represented by a barren stage with a large tree (Illka Louw), indicating a harsh, inhositable environment. The masks, costumes and puppets (Janni Younge) are remarkable, bringing to life a whole new mythology. The giant Sycorax is particularly impressive and the masque was a stunning fusion of music, movement and colour.

• Antony Sher is a powerful, violent Prospero, in whom the powers of magic and colonialism are firmly connected. This isn’t a dreamy, wise old sage. He also manages to show just the right amount of fatherly tenderness towards Miranda (he’s quite scary when telling Ferdinand not to sleep with her before the wedding). It’s as if he gives up his violence with his magic, exiting the stage with his luggage and umbrella, leaving the staff behind.

• John Kani is an extraordinarily poignant Caliban (my favourite character in the play), full of repressed dignity.

• Atandtwa Kani is a tall, powerfully built Ariel, which might not have been my mental image of Prospero’s delicate little sprite, but he was terrific. It showed that Ariel’s fragility came from being suppressed by his colonizers, rather than his physicality.

•  I enjoyed Tinarie Van Wyk Loots’s lively Miranda, dressed in what looked like ragged animal skins. Charlie Keegan did his best with the limited role of Ferdinand (insipid even for a Shakespearean male ingenue). The log-cutting scene (the staging of which reminded me somewhat of the kind of thing Andrew Davies would do to liven up a dull character) lent Ferdinand a touch of passion.

• The Epilogue broke my heart a little, with Prospero (*Spoiler*) addressing the last two lines to Caliban (‘As you from crimes would pardoned be,/Let your indulgence set me free’), asking him for forgiveness. Simple, but incredibly powerful.

(This review refers to a performance that took place on  February 26th 2009)

Leave a Response »

 

Rebecca Caine: The Face I See (Marguerite) Friday, Feb 6 2009

My friend and role model Rebecca Caine performing the beautiful and haunting ballad The Face I See from Michel Legrand’s musical Marguerite on Friday Night Is Music Night. Check out the rest of the Becky videos that my friend Jen has posted. She has one of the most beautiful, seamless soprano voices I’ve ever heard, she’s equally comfortable with Puccini or Noel Coward and has the most amazing sense of humour.

I was very disappointed to find that that Marguerite was snubbed out of an Olivier nomination when it was head and shoulders the best of the new musicals this year. My feelings towards Zorro have been well documented and I’ve said before that if it wins, I’ll vomit into an envelope and send it to the committee, but its competition is Jersey Boys, which hasn’t even got an original score (and neither has Zorro and that also has a truly awful book). Jill Paice was also snubbed- while GWTW itself wasn’t a highlight, she was a terrific Scarlett. I hope the fact that Penelope Wilton and Margaret Tyzack have both received nominations doesn’t mean that the vote will be split and an inferior performance such as Deanna Dunagan gets it instead. I’d be happy for either to win, but I think Margaret Tyzack might have the edge- I just watched the film of The Chalk Garden and prefer her interpretation to even Dame Edith Evans herself. If one of the A:OC women had to get a nomination, Amy Morton was better. I want Oliver Ford Davies to be rewarded for stealing the show as Polonius. I’m still in awe at the way that he managed to achieve the near impossible in making him both funny and lovable. Oh, and where’s Kenneth Branagh? Is he being ‘punished’ for pulling out of the Donmar’s Hamlet? I’d be quite happy for Black Watch to win everything it’s nominated for as it really is a once in a lifetime piece of theatre. And since the Donmar is leading the way, where’s Michael Grandage’s best director nod? Oh, and for ‘Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre,’ Clive Rowe FTW!

Leave a Response »

 

Theatre: Othello (RSC) Thursday, Feb 5 2009

Everything seemed so perfect on paper- an RSC production of Shakespeare’s great tragedy Othello - what could possibly go wrong? There are just a few problems with this production. For one thing, it’s dragged out to 3 1/2 hours (and it feels like it), there’s some very patchy acting and a general lack of chemistry amongst the cast a whole. I don’t think this is going to go down as a seminal interpretation and it has too many flaws to be a solid production.

In the title role, I found Patrice Naimbana’s performance rather bizarre to say the least (and that’s being polite). He had a very strange, mannered way of delivering his lines that entirely failed to convince me. Having heard excellent reports of his performances in the Histories, this may well be an unfortunate case of miscasting, or maybe I just didn’t get what he was doing. Likewise, Michael Gould failed to convince as Iago, the only real menace from his performance coming from being made to resemble Hitler in his khaki uniform and hairstyle (it’s the side parting) than his acting. His frantic, making it up as he went along approach otherwise could otherwise have been quite interesting. Natalia Tena as Desdemona (who I remember seeing as the raucous, vulgar ‘winged goddess’ Fevvers in Kneehigh’s Nights at the Circus- quite a different role) was effective in showing Desdemona’s femininity and rebelliousness (the best of Shakespeare’s ‘ingenue’ roles?) and I liked Tamzin Griffith’s performance as Emilia, the woman who won’t stop talking.

The set is minimalist, the most striking aspect being the bridge that brings Othello and Desdemona together. The courtship was well played in the background while Iago and Roderigo’s conversations were going on. The 1940s/50s setting shows a society where casual racism was still permitted, with Roderigo (played uncannily like Manuel from Fawlty Towers) singing You Made Me Love You in crude blackface like an unhinged Al Joslon and holding a grotesquely sexualised life size doll of Desdemona giving birth to a golliwog (how very topical…). The arrival scene at Cyprus was effectively done, with Desdemona dressed in a very Jackie Kennedy-esque pink suit, being photographed and treated like a princess in this male dominated world- an idealisation that soon turns sour. The death scenes lacked emotional impact and the most unsettling thing was Iago’s manic laughter at the end. The music is a strange mixture of tribal chants that kept being repeated- I personally found it rather grating and it didn’t really help build up the atmosphere.

I know this was ‘only’ a preview and the cast may settle into their roles better as the tour progresses. However, for an RSC production of Othello, I had hoped for something a bit more impressive and couldn’t shake off that feeling of disappointment.

(ETA: the critics seem to disagree with me, particularly regarding Naimbana. Perhaps I should stick to my comfort zones of musical theatre and social comedy. But I don’t think those with dissenting views should be made to keep quiet- otherwise I never would have been able to say how I thought August: Osage County was such rubbish.)

Leave a Response »

 

Theatre: Piaf and Oedipus (Vaudeville and National) Wednesday, Dec 17 2008

It’s typical that when I had a very busy week of theatre ahead of me, I had to get ill for the first time all year. Since I would have preferred to have been home in bed rather than restraining my coughing in an auditorium, I’m just going to write a few brief notes on each.

Piaf is very much dominated by the tour de force performance of Elena Roger, which is no bad thing as I don’t think the play itself is the greatest and would flounder otherwise. She’s gutsy, touching, vulgar (“Why would they want a c*** dressed as a war widow when they can have Doris Day?”), and sings thrillingly, sounding uncannily like the real Piaf. However, the play itself is so episodic and the many tragedies and triumphs of Piaf’s life aren’t fully explored, but under the circumstances, I was glad it was short.

I preferred Oedipus, although the play has one huge flaw: all the fun stuff (sphinxes with riddles, abandoned babies, people dying of plague on the streets) takes place offstage and we only hear about it after it happens through various messengers.  Anyway, since I only really know the story from the Freudian perspective, it was interesting to discover that Oedipus doesn’t actually know what he’s doing in this, it’s all a big unhappy coincidence preordained by the gods. Ralph Fiennes is very intense in the title role and Clare Higgins is strong as Jocasta (did you know that she played Kitty in the 1980 Pride and Prejudice?). Jonathan Kent’s direction is sharp and throughly modern, and I liked the set with the burnished arch as the one evocation of a distant Pagan society.  I expect the play was groundbreaking in its day, it’s just slightly less so now (through no fault of its own, I blame Freud) when the entire thing has become such a cliche.

I think I might make a similar conclusion for both pieces- both are effectively done productions of plays that will probably never become all-time favourites. Roll on Carousel and A Little Night Music.

(These very brief reviews refer to performances that took place on December 16th and 17th 2008 )

Leave a Response »

 

Christmas theatre-going Thursday, Dec 4 2008

These past two months have been rather restrictive on the theatre-front, so December is indeed the month to catch up. I think this season has to be my favourite to go to theatre as London just has that extra ‘buzz’ at that time of year. There are worse things to indulge in than theatre, after all.

6 – Romeo and Juliet, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon (TBC)
12 – Mother Goose, Hackney Empire (Clive Rowe is quite possibly the funniest man in the country)
13 – Carousel, Savoy Theatre (TBC. Unlike the critics, I won’t be harping on about the sainted NT production, since I never saw it.)
16 – Piaf, Vaudeville Theatre (wasn’t expecting to see this, then got a £10 student ticket deal, yay!)
17 – Oedipus, National Theatre (the Family enjoyed this, hope I do too)
19 – A Little Night Music, Menier Chocolate Factory (*SQUEE*)
30 – August: Osage County, National Theatre (I know this is the most hyped-up American play of the millenium so far, but I’ve avoided reading any in-depth discussion of it. We shall see)

I also want to see the Donmar West End Twelfth Night, especially as it’s one of my (many) Shakespeare texts for next term. So much to see, not enough time…

Leave a Response »

 

Theatre round-up: July to September Friday, Oct 3 2008

July
2 – Rosmersholm, Almeida Theatre, London – by turns dreary and absurd and I found it impossible to care about the fates of any of the characters. Personally wouldn’t consider it to be one of Ibsen’s finest.
7 – Marguerite, Theatre Royal Haymarket, London – at last a lovely new musical in the West End! This is something truly to be treasured.
9 – Candide, London Coliseum, London – great performances from Alex Jennings and Beverley Klein, a production that tries to be too clever for its own good and makes the piece even more incoherent than it is already.
10 – The Rake’s Progress, Royal Opera House – not my favourite opera ever. Really rather dull indeed.
14 – Twelfth Night, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London – took me a while to warm up to, but ended up quite enjoying it. Janie Dee shone as Olivia and it’s always a pleasure to hear Clive Rowe’s singing voice.
18 – La Boheme, Royal Opera House, London – just wonderful. I now can’t imagine a Rodolfo without a cane and a limp.
21 – The Chalk Garden, Donmar Warehouse, London – a practically perfect production of a very special play.
25 – The Music Man, Festival Theatre, Chichester – musical comedy heaven! Scarlett Strallen’s vocals are truly stunning and I may have a new favourite young soprano.
30 – Swan Lake, Royal Opera House, London – beautiful dancing, costumes and scenery- everything one could want in a ballet!

August
2 – Pygmalion, Old Vic Theatre, London – fresh as paint after all these years! Bloody marvellous indeed, more like this, please.
6 – Zorro, Garrick Theatre, London – the worst thing I’ve seen in my entire life! Thank God for comps!
11 – Gigi, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre – it just doesn’t work very well on stage, which is a pity as pretty much everything else is done right.
15 – The Wizard Of Oz, Royal Festival Hall – has no magic and the dreadful Sian Brooke never should have been cast as Dorothy, especially as she can’t be bothered to even make an effort. It’s awful and wrong. Jude Kelly ought to be ashamed of herself.
18 – Afterlife, National Theatre, London – theatrical genius or pretentious tedium? I’ll go with the latter.
27 – The Revenger’s Tragedy, National Theatre, London – a raucous and lively production- I just wish I’d done a bit more research beforehand as I think I would have got more out of it. None of the cast really stood out to me, but as an ensemble they all worked quite well together.

September
3 – Liberty, Shakespeare’s Globe, London – not brilliant, but not as bad as many of the critics made out and it kept me reasonable engrossed.
4 – Brief Encounter, Haymarket Cinema, London – an utterly delightful piece that manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and innovative. Go and see it before it closes.
10 – Marguerite, Theatre Royal Haymarket, London – I still think it’s one of the best scores in years, such an absolute shame about the leading lady.
13 – Romeo and Juliet, Middle Temple Hall, London – the most beautiful venue in London, a rather sterile interpretation of the most overrated love story ever told.
19 – Ivanov, Wyndhams Theatre, London – a wonderful collaboration of talent and it’s hard to imagine seeing a finer production of this minor Chekhov.

Leave a Response »

 

Life after Afterlife and a meme Wednesday, Aug 20 2008

I’m not going to write a review of Afterlife since I couldn’t possibly face another post full of negativity. I think the man who taught my grandfather everything he knew (which may be a slight exaggeration as I don’t know how hands-on Max Reinhardt was at the seminary in the late 1930s) deserved something better, or at the very least more engaging. It’s the ultimate in theatricality, but I found it completely unmoving. I don’t know what that says about my taste.

So, let’s do a little meme instead…

List the last 10 things you saw at the theatre in order:
1. Afterlife (National Theatre)
2. The Wizard of Oz (Royal Festival Hall)
3. Gigi (Regent’s Park)
4. Zorro (Garrick Theatre)
5. Pygmalion (Old Vic Theatre)
6. The Music Man (Chichester Festival Theatre)
7. The Chalk Garden (Donmar Warehouse)
8. Twelfth Night (Regent’s Park)
9. Candide (London Coliseum)
10. Marguerite (Theatre Royal Haymarket)

Who was the best performer in number one?
Roger Allam. His performance is just about the only thing about this drivel that I can praise (he also looks a lot like the real Reinhardt), and there is something about his style of acting that I like. I’d just like to see him in a better play.

Why did you go to see number two?
Because I had a credit voucher that needed to be used urgently, besides I love The Wizard of Oz and thought it couldn’t be as bad as the critics were saying. It really was.

Can you remember a line/lyric from number three that you liked?
All of I Remember It Well. I also like the bit when Mamita stands up to Alicia.

What would you give number four out of ten?
A big fat ZERO.

Was there someone hot in number five?
I’m not attracted to girls, but Michelle Dockery certainly is absolutely beautiful.

What was number six about?
A conman who travels to a tiny town in Iowa, wins everyone over except the lovely librarian, but she surprises herself by falling in love with him.

Who was your favourite actor in number seven?
Don’t make me choose between an exceptional trio of female performances… I have to go with Margaret Tyzack, but that’s not to in anyway undermine the outstanding work of Penelope Wilton and Felicity Jones.

What was your favourite bit in number eight?
Probably any time Clive Rowe was singing, and the bit when they were hiding behind the movable topiary plants when Malvolio was reading the letter.

Would you see number nine again?
Definitely not that production. Since the entire thing is so convoluted and incoherent, I’m not sure that the show works well full stop despite the wonderful score. A really gorgeous concert production would be nice.

What was the worst thing about number ten?
The miscast Ruthie Henshall. Sorry. It’s such a pity.

Which was best?
‘Pygmalion’, with very special mentions to ‘The Music Man,’ ‘The Chalk Garden’ and ‘Marguerite.’

Which was worst?
ZORRO, but ‘Afterlife’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’ were also shockingly bad in their way.

Did any make you cry?
I have to admit I was a bit emotional at the end of ‘The Music Man’, perhaps because it hit a bit too close to home as I think I am Marian Paroo.

Did any make you laugh? ‘Pygmalion,’ ‘The Music Man,’ ‘The Chalk Garden,’ ‘Twelfth Night,’ ‘Candide’ (to an extent).

Which roles would you like to play in any of them?
In my dreams, Marian in ‘The Music Man,’ Eliza in ‘Pygmalion’ and Laurel in ‘The Chalk Garden.’ If I was older, Mrs St Maugham in ‘The Chalk Garden’ and if I was a man, Higgins in ‘Pygmalion.’

Which one did you have best seats for?
I really liked being right in the front row for ‘Pygmalion’ even though some people would consider that to be too close. My seats both times at Regent’s Park were excellent and the £12 seats at Chichester are excellent value for money.

Leave a Response »

 

Theatre: Pygmalion (Old Vic, London) Monday, Aug 4 2008

I’m finding it hard to put into words just how much I adored this. Perhaps it’s premature to name my absolute highlight of the year in August, but I’d be very surprised if anything managed to surpass it. British theatre at its very best and there’s no doubt that Peter Hall’s production is a masterpiece in itself. My history with “that avuncular old windbag” George Bernard Shaw is a bit patchy as You Never Can Tell was the most excruciating thing I’d ever seen ( EDIT: Until I saw Zorro- coincidentally also at the Garrick Theatre), but I was gripped by Saint Joan at the National last summer, despite feeling it was in need of an editor at points.  Although I still think Alan Jay Lerner’s libretto for My Fair Lady is pretty much flawless, having seen this I wish he could have pushed the feminist arguments a bit further, particularly in the final confrontation scene between Eliza and Higgins. My mother found this hard to get into it because she missed the songs, but I didn’t have that problem. I think both are masterpieces and can be enjoyed equally on their own terms.

The truly wonderful thing about Pygmalion is just how unbelievably funny it is. Every scene was infused with wit and energy and the characters are so much more than just Shavian mouthpieces due to the fact that they’re so engaging. I could listen to Alfred Doolittle discuss middle class morality for hours (well, maybe).

The entire cast is uniformly superb. Tim Pigott-Smith is wonderfully rude and infuriating yet oddly delightful as Higgins (I’ll always have a strange love for that character) and as Eliza, Michelle Dockery is a bloody wonder, displaying luminous stage presence and radiant star quality. This is a young lady who should have a very big future ahead of her- do I predict an Olivier? She’s wonderfully gawky as the flower girl (she doesn’t play the “I’m a good girl, I am” line for laughs, it’s very much to differentiate herself from the ‘bad ones’ who sell something other than flowers) and both regal and unflinchingly poignant as the lady. A particular highlight is ‘the bit in-between’ at Mrs Higgins’s tea party, in which her ‘Somebody pinched it’ speech brings the house down- not bad for a Saturday matinee! Una Stubbs is a brisk and ladylike Mrs Pearce, Barbara Jefford is splendid as Mrs Higgins and James Laurenson makes a gentlemanly Colonel Pickering and as Eliza’s ever-loving father, Tony Haygarth is a total delight.

Visually, it’s an absolute treat. The sets (by Simon Higlett) are classy and unfussy and the Edwardian costumes (Christopher Woods) are stunning. It’s perhaps my favourite period for fashion and the decision to dress Eliza all in white is inspired. The outfit she wears at the tea party is gorgeous and her Embassy reception gown is to die for.

Tim Pigott-Smith says, “I always thought Pygmalion was a good play. Now I think it’s a great one.” I quite agree, and this perfect production is the icing on the cake. I now want to get hold a copy of the text and savour every little nuance. Perfection in every sense of the word.

(This review refers to a performance that took place on August 2nd 2008 )

Leave a Response »

 

First Post Saturday, Apr 19 2008

I’m a second year English Literature student, currently in my very last weeks as a teenager and I decided to get this blog as way of attempting to sharpen my writing skills (particularly in reviewing theatre), plus the fact that I find it very depressing that I haven’t really written anything apart from essays in the longest time. What can you expect to find here? Thoughts on theatre, films and books, the odd rant and maybe a bit of fangirling…

Leave a Response »