Rev Stan's theatre blog

In Basildon - review round up

I saw In Basildon on Monday and gave it four stars. It lost a star for the staging which added nothing and for wanting a teeny bit of script pruning to balance the pace but otherwise was extremely enjoyable and very well done.

The professionals saw it on Wednesday and have given it four stars across the board. Interesting that Paul Taylor of the Indy sat in the same camp as me with regards to the staging while Michael Billington liked it. Just goes to show, doesn't it:

Michael Coveney, What's on Stage ****

The simmering family feuds in David Eldridge’s fine new play are threaded through a discussion of the lives they’ve all led in transit from the East End in the Second World War to “overspill” Essex in Romford and now the “plotlands” of Basildon and nearby villages of Laindon and Vange.

It’s not just because I am familiar with these demographic shifts that I enjoy the play so much; Eldridge is on to something that hasn’t been written about much, or at least so well, in our theatre.

Charles Spencer, The Telegraph ****

Cooke directs a gripping, admirably acted production. Linda Bassett and Ruth Sheen chillingly capture the corrosive resentment of the sisters, while Lee Ross (as Bassett’s son) and Debbie Chazen (as his wife) hilariously lay bare an unhappy marriage blighted by infertility and fecklessness.

Paul Taylor, The Independent ****

David Eldridge's In Basildon is a gloriously rich, humorous, agonising and politically provocative play, but it has been staged by the Royal Court's artistic director, Dominic Cooke, in a bafflingly peculiar, not to say, counterproductive way.

Henry Hitchens, Evening Standard ****

Rather than the familiar imagery of Towie or Birds Of A Feather, Eldridge serves up something closer to Chekhov - albeit with a meaty Essex twist. This a play about inheritance and domestic disharmony, at times deeply poignant yet replete with references to West Ham and Walthamstow's defunct dog track.

Michael Billington, The Guardian ****

And this richly observant play is given a near-perfect production by Dominic Cooke who, with designer Ian MacNeil, restructures the Court so that the audience, like the family, is divided in two.

 

In Basildon - great play, stupidly staged

The first thing to say about the Royal Court's latest offering on its main stage is 'why have they put the stage in the middle of the theatre?' They did something similar for Sucker Punch, a year or so ago, a play set in a boxing club and it worked really well. The ring was in the middle with the audience on two sides so it felt like you were at a boxing match.

A play set in someone's front room doesn't need to be staged in the same way. What it means is that for key speeches, such as the reading of a will, half the audience are watching the back of the character delivering said reading. 

It adds nothing to what is a really good play, a really good play that would also be even better with a bit of script pruning.

The story starts in the living room of the Basildon home of Len (Phil Cornwell) where friends and family have gathered around his deathbed. It brings together Len's best friend Ken (Peter Wight) and warring sisters Maureen (Ruth Sheen) and Doreen (Linda Bassett) as well as nephews, nieces and neighbours.

As Len passes bitter feuds escalate and with the approaching will reading it seems everyone wants something and motives aren't all they seem to be.

This is a play about 'fahm-ily' and looking out for each other, the central irony being that everyone is really looking out for themselves.  David Eldridge's crackling script deftly weaves the sadness of loss with belly laughs. The problems lie in the pacing. It takes a a little while to get into its stride but soon had the audience on tenterhooks with the interval curtain falling on a bombshell.

Theatre related stuff on TV and Radio Feb 21 - 27

Compiled by @polyg

Tuesday February 21

7:15pm on BBC Radio 4: Front Row interviews Charlotte Keatley about her new play Our Father and its production at the Watford Palace Theatre.

Wednesday February 22

7:15pm on BBC Radio 4: Olivia Colman is interviewed at Front Row about her new stage role in the Howard Davies' production of Hay Fever.

Thursday February 23

10pm on BBC Radio 3: Night Waves, Philip Dodd talks to Patrick Stewart about his role as William Shakespeare in Edward Bond's play Bingo. 

Saturday February 25

7:15pm on on BBC Radio 4: Saturday Review talks about the production of The Bomb at the Tricycle

8:20pm on BBC2: The Story of Musicals series start broadcasting at BBC2, after its first broadcast on BBC4

Sunday February 26

6am on Sky Arts 1: a repeat of an old South Bank Show focusing on Michael Gambon and Nic Hytner and their production of Henry IV at the National Theatre.

Special Mention

Not strictly theatre, at least not this week, but a new Sky Arts series celebrates Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward. On February 21, Simon Callow, Miriam Margolyes, Douglas Booth, Steve Evets and Thomas Brodie-Sangster bring their favourite Charles Dickens characters to life through a series of monologues.

http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/35256/simon-callow-and-celia-imrie-to-feature-in

On iPlayer

Saturday review at BBC Radio 4 talks about The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01c6kr5/Saturday_Review_18_02_2012/

 

Wigs and onesie's - it's The Way of the World

If for nothing else but the costumes and wigs, playing the character of Witwoud in The Way of the World, for Samuel Barnett, must be heaps of fun. As well as modern spins on frock coats, ruffled cuffs and a rather fetching striped onesie complete with night cap he also gets to wear a towering restoration-era wig (see trailer below).

Barnett's costumes are just some of a delightful array worn by the cast in what is a hybrid modern/traditional take on the William Congreve's play of bright young things on the make through the institution of marriage.

Don't ask me to give a summary of the plot because I'm not sure I could recount the intricacies (director Lyndsey Turner confesses to getting a lawyer friend to help unravel the family tree and deeds), needless to say there is a lot of plotting and duping but it all ends satisfactorily with the 'not quite goodies' outwitting the 'not quite baddies' and then there is a jolly good dance.

The journey to get to the dance is a fun and clever. Set against a white back drop the characters explode on stage in colours only matched by their sharp wit and charm.

The opening sequence is imaginatively set in a TV studio where Mirabell's (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) daily life is unveiled in the style of a pop video. The resulting video then makes an appearance in the second half as two characters sing along to it, karaoke style. It is a nice touch serving to illustrate the ridiculous nature and an element of disrespect  felt by all the central characters.

Indeed it is a play about how ridiculous those of privilege and wealth have become, so ridiculous in fact that they rely entirely on subterfuge and deceit to get by.

Not a single cast member puts a foot wrong be it gold winkle-picker or platformed stiletto. Special mention should go to Mr Barnett's flamboyant Witwoud, Leo Bill's scarily angry Fainall and the wonderful Deborah Findlay as the vain and gullible Lady Wishfort.

It's getting four stars from me and runs at the Sheffield Crucible until Feb 25 so catch it while you can.

RS/BW 6DS

There are a couple of direct connections the obvious one being Mr Barnett who was in Bright Star but Ben Lloyd-Hughes also lists The Hour among his credits

 

 

Boy in a Dress in Oval

La JohnJoseph has led what is best described as colourful life so far. Raised a Catholic in Liverpool by a mother who married five times, producing half brothers and sisters along the way, his pretty looks led to him being mistaken for a girl and a homophobic attack at school running to the public loos for refuge.

From a nearly given-up-for-care experience as a young child to prostitution in New York JohnJoseph takes us on the journey of his life so far with the help of Anna Lewenhaupt and Jordan Hunt on the piano. 

He tells his story through series of film clips, recollections, songs and what can best be described as symbolic re-enactments often utilising a large wardrobe at the back of the performance space.

There are some nice devices to illustrate points in the story such as the floor doubling as a huge chalk board as Lewenhaupt, in this instance playing a school friend, writes out the lines JohnJoseph's class were given: "All homophobic acts are deviant and wrong".

And, the graffiti in the public loo's appears under ultra-violet light giving something crude a magical feel, the magic that JohnJoseph felt about the place that was to become his bunking-school hangout.

JohnJoseph is at his best when he is telling his story rather than some of the theatrical moments which just feel forced and a little bit bizarre. For example, there is a rather odd scene at the end when Lewenkaupt dressed only in socks and white Y-fronts paints a paper-dressed, singing, JohnJoseph with blue paint.

Nonetheless there are some lovely poignant scenes such as when he recounts a rare mother-son bonding moment and it serves well as a vehicle to explore sexual orientation and socities attitude.

There are too many songs for my liking but I'm not one for songs in theatre, so don't judge it on that. It's a little long and I'd be tempted to cut it back to a one act rather than two hours and 15 with an interval. But, at its heart is an interesting story that is in the main told in an interesting and amusing way.

I'm going to give it 3 and a half stars.

Boy In A Dress runs at the charming Ovalhouse Theatre until March 3

Production photograph: Ami Nouvel

Is Shakespeare shaping up to be the most exciting theatre of 2012?

I know we are getting extra helpings of Shakespeare, what with it being the cultural Olympiad and all that but it feels like all the plays I'm particularly excited about seeing this year were written by the bard.

First there was the announcement that Jonjo O'Neill is to play a young Richard III at Stratford and I'm also looking forward to seeing what Jonathan Slinger does as Prospero in the RSC's The Tempest. 

Then there is The Globe which has tempted me to part with hard-earned cash at what is my least favourite theatre by putting the fabulous Mark Rylance on its stage playing Richard III and Olivia in Twelfth Night. And then not only adding Samual Barnett and Johnny Flynn to the cast list but now Stephen Fry is to play Malvolio. 

And before I get to see most of that I have what is bound to be a wonderful treat, Propeller's A Winter's Tale and Henry V at the Hampstead Theatre. Propeller's 2011 offerings of Richard III and Comedy of Errors both ended up in my top 5 plays of the year so there is much anticipation.

I'm always excited about everything I see at the theatre but I can't think of anything else outside these Shakespeare's that have quite the same level of elevated anticipation. If at least two don't make it into my top 10 for 2012 I'll be very surprised.

Here's a promo vid the RSC has made for a trio of plays it's calling the Shipwreck trilogy of which The Tempest forms a part

 

Floundering in The Shallow End

I can imagine that when Doug Lucie's play about the dangers of the big media corporations vying for world domination was first staged at the Royal Court in 1997  the ruthless business plans and lack of social conscious displayed was perhaps shocking. 

Today when we've seen newspapers scandalised by phone hacking and brown envelope journalism the topic barely raises an eyebrow. That isn't to say there aren't some interesting arguments in the play about the media supplying what the public demands, editorial integrity and journalist freedom, for example, they just aren't well served. 

There are two key problems. First the only thing that really raises eyebrows is the inexplicable use of sex in the first half. The play (which has a contrived wedding setting) follows a series of meetings between the editor of a UK Sunday newspaper and various members of staff, half of whom are being sacked because they aren't receptive to the new 'downmarket' direction the paper is heading in order to boost flagging sales.

In the first scene the impression for the main is of a man conducting negotiations with a lady of dubious profession. There is lots of sex talk and crude flirtation but it turns out that the man is the editor of the paper and the woman is a writer of semi-pornographic books whom he is trying to recruit onto the paper as a columnist. The only thing that stunned me was why it was written and performed like that.

The next scene involves two sports writers snorting cocaine while discussing the new direction of the newspaper and all the while, in the corner of the room, another journalist is f*cking an unidentified woman. It goes on and on and on. It is gratuitous, unnecessary, boring and adds nothing to the story or the debate.

Pics: The Recruiting Officer at Donmar Warehouse via @whatsonstage

Find these production pictures of The Recruiting Officer, which is the first horse out of the Josie Rourke Donmar stable tomorrow, almost too tantalising as I'm not seeing it until April. Never normally leave it late in a run to see something, due to my impatience and not wanting to read too much about it beforehand but unfortunately I didn't have the Donmar's friends programme on my side this time around ie they cocked up. 

Damn my impatience.

Theatre related stuff on TV and Radio Feb 13 - 20

Compiled by @polyg

A good selection this week, with two interviews with Josie Rourke

Monday February 13

1:45pm on Sky Arts 1: "Pinter's Progress: Philip Saville on Harold Pinter", Philip Saville, Michael Caine and Steven Berkoff talk about Harold Pinter

2:45pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra: Christopher Bigsby's biography of Arthur Miller, read by Henry Goodman. Episode 1 of 5

10:45pm on BBC Radio 3: The Essay, series in which film and theatre directors talk about the art of directing. First episode: Roger Michell

Tuesday February 14

2:45pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra: Second episode of Christopher Bigsby's biography of Arthur Miller, read by Henry Goodman.

7:15pm on BBC Radio 4: Front Row reports on how best to create heavy rain on stage

10:45pm on BBC Radio 3: The Essay, series in which film and theatre directors talk about the art of directing. Tonight: Emma Rice

Wednesday February 15

2:45pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra: Third episode of Christopher Bigsby's biography of Arthur Miller, read by Henry Goodman.

10:45 on BBC Radio 3: The Essay, series in which film and theatre directors talk about the art of directing. Tonight: Tony Award-winning director Bartlett Sher

Thursday February 16

2:45pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra: Fourth episode of Christopher Bigsby's biography of Arthur Miller, read by Henry Goodman. 

7:15pm on BBC Radio 4: Front Row interviews Josie Rourke about her new production The Recruiting Officer at the Donmar

10:45pm on BBC Radio 3: The Essay, series in which film and theatre directors talk about the art of directing. Tonight: Josie Rourke

Friday February 15

2:45pm on BBC Radio 4 Extra: Concluding episode of Christopher Bigsby's biography of Arthur Miller, read by Henry Goodman. 

Saturday February 18

6pm on BBC2: The Culture Show features the National Theatre of Scotland's new adaptation of The Wicker Man

 

What the critics made of Absent Friends and will it have longevity?

Feels like ages ago that I saw Absent Friends (been a busy time at work) but press night has come and gone so what did the critics make of it?

What's on Stage has done the labourious bit and compiled eight reviews. Now I enjoyed it despite a hiccup with the lines giving it a solid four stars and six of the reviewers agreed. One, Michael Billington, The Guardian, commented: 

“Jeremy Herrin is bang on the money with the revival of this much less familiar piece from 1974. There are times when you are caught between laughter and tears ... Any budding dramatist could learn a vast amount from the economy and skill with which Ayckbourn sets up the situation."

There weren't any five star reviews though with the remainder three stars, one of the slightly less impressed. Paul Taylor, Independent wrote:

Full of amusing gaffes that demonstrate our nervousness about death, the play is weakened by a back story that does not, to my mind, add up and by the stereotypical nature of the characters.

On aggregate it gets a worthy 3.75/5. It's on a limited run until April 14 and I hope it does well but I do wonder how much appeal it will have when it is up against the likes of One Man Two Guv'nors and The Lady Killers for more straight forward laughs.