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Showing posts from April, 2017

Gabriel – Moira Buffini (Theatr Clwyd Mold)

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As a student, my friends and I would role in from a nightclub at 3 am, make a stack of tea and toast and Marmite and watch the cult film Withnail and I .  It told the tale of two luckless (frankly unemployable) actors, played by Paul McGann and Richard E Grant, as they drifted about between a squalid flat, the dole office and the pub. Leaving London for Penrith in the Lake District, they find the north is full of terrifying locals and lots of rain! It really is a fantastic film. When I saw Paul McGann was taking to the stage in Mold, I had to have a ticket. I didn’t know anything about the play Gabriel; but I knew this was a fantastic opportunity to see Paul on stage; there is nothing better than seeing an actor performing live. Gabriel is the story of a widow, Jeanne Becquet, living in 1943 Nazi-occupied Guernsey. Jeanne will do anything to ensure that her young daughter remains safe on an island filled with fear during the middle of WWII. The Becquet family home has been requi

Arsenic and Old Lace - Stoke Rep

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I have been so blessed to watch some amazing theatrical productions in London during the past few months, but sometimes it's nice to sit back and enjoy some raw local(ish) theatre, where there are no famous names, just ordinary people who have acting as a passion and hobby. When I heard one of my colleagues was in a production of Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace, I thought I'd buy a copy and see what I thought. A couple of days later I was rolling about laughing at the ludicrous notion of two old ladies who were serial killers. It was so absurd, but not quite as absurd as a poor fellow thinking he was the president of the USA, Teddy Roosevelt! 1941, Brooklyn New York, Martha and Abby Brewster, two kind and sweet old ladies, hide a dark secret. They take on poor, orphan lodgers that they wish to save from the sorrows of the world, and then poison  them with a glass of homemade elderberry wine.  To ensure their souls are at piece, a service is held in line with

Othello - Sam Wanamaker Playhouse London

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I’m sure I’ve said this before, but I LOVE the Sam Wanamaker theatre. Love, love, LOVE it. The theatre is a wooden intimate box, filled by candle light. When all of the candles are ablaze, a soft but bright light fills the room, as each candle is extinguished, the room takes on a darker, sinister feel. Unless you experience it, it is hard to imagine just how bright and powerful a candle can be. Othello is the perfect play for this space; a tragic, darkly woven tale of manipulation and deception. It is set on the streets of Venice, and for anyone who has been lucky enough to wander those streets alone at night, you’ll know just how dark and scary those narrow streets can be to the overworked, imaginative mind. The play commences with Iago and Roderigo discussing Othello. They despise him. Not only has Iago been overlooked as Othello’s lieutenant, but the love of Roderigo’s life (Desdemona) has secretly married Othello. From these first minutes of the play, you know things are no

The Goat or Who is Sylvia? Theatre Royal Haymarket

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How are you supposed to react to someone who has been faithful to you for all of your married life, when they suddenly tell you that they are having an affair? And just how are you supposed to react when you find out that the affair is with a goat? When you read the premise of Edward Albee’s play, you can’t help but think how absurd. You probably think you are going to watch a farce or a comedy, the idea of bestiality consigned to the usual jokes about Sheep Shagger’s or the popular rugby song…“Bestiality’s Best Boys.” (Oh the joy of many a coach trip to a formal sport’s balls listening to that song hitting the airwaves. It’s a lengthy tune that lasts far longer and is more annoying than 1000 Green Bottles Sitting on a Wall.) But this is not a play to be taken so light heartedly. Whilst there are plenty of opportunities to laugh at Martin’s predicament, the underlying message of hurt and betrayal is never far away. In reality, it is a tragedy (quite literally – tragedy in anci

Love in Idleness - Menier Chocolate Factory

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After the intensity of last night’s Hamlet, I was in need of something a little more jovial for my Saturday afternoon visit to the theatre, and Rattigan did not disappoint. Love in Idleness is the third in Rattigan’s ‘war trilogy’, it follows on from Flarepath and While the Sun Shines. The original play that Rattigan wrote was actually called Less Than Kind, but it was never produced, instead Rattigan re-wrote it, turning it into a less political animal than that of its former self. In this production, Trevor Nunn has carefully woven both of the plays together; keeping the upbeat momentum if Love in Idleness, with the more political content of Less Than Kind. In this modern era of political conflict with Brexit and the unsurity of those around us, the work feels very of the moment, despite its 1940’s setting. Michael was a child evacuee, sent to Canada during the war. His mother receives the news that he is coming back to Britain. In her eyes her small boy is coming back, i

Hamlet - Almeida Theatre, London

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I can’t tell you how much I have wanted to watch Andrew Scott on stage. His performances as Moriarty in the BBC’s Sherlock left me dumbfounded. He played the character just the ride side of ‘geniustic’ madness, making it a character to be feared, not ridiculed, so I thought this would lend itself well to the character of Hamlet, a character that has often been ‘over performed’. This is Hamlet stripped back. The Almeida is a small and intimate space where we can be left alone with a man and his thoughts. From the start, Scott shows we are going to see a different side to Hamlet, a softer, more considered man, who as he wrestles with his thoughts and tries to put his demons to bed, becomes more and more disturbed. This modern day Hamlet, dressed in black, is emotionally charged. He’s a young man who hears of his father’s death, and within a short period bears witness to the marriage of his uncle and mother. Where is the grief? Where is the period of mourning? Did his mother not love

London Calling to a Theatrical Crowd

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This was the weekend I'd really been looking forward to. Four plays in three days. Two Shakespeare's, a Rattigan and a goat! I was excited to see both Andrew Scott and Damian Lewis on stage, and I was eager to see new venues too (The Almeida, The Menier Chocolate Factory, and The Theatre Royal Haymarket.) As soon as I stepped into London I could feel the magic beginning. I stepped onto the underground at Euston, and as soon as started walking to the centre of the platform I saw a face I recognised, Hugh Dennis, a man I met many, many years ago when he was part of The Mary Whitehouse Experience (TMWE). As I walked past him, giving him a nod and a grin I saw two people run up to him wanting a selfie, he kindly obliged then set foot in the same carriage as me. Standing and quietly watching him as the tube roared along, happy memories flooded back to when my friend and I were at different universities, and we'd get tickets to watch TMWE live on tour as an excuse for meeting u