Theatre

London theatre update

Focussing on theatre and couldn’t be arsed to put in a photo.

Most of this below post still applies but a few new shiny things have caught my beady eye.

Some ideas for the culturally inclined in London

At the Barbican booking opening for a Japanese version of Macbeth which is apparently a “once in a lifetime” experience. So they have hooked me in easily. And all the Shakespeare Roman plays are coming from Stratford to the Barbican with booking very soon.

Talking of Roman plays the new Bridge Theatre with the marvellous Nicholas Hytner at the tiller will announce its inaugural season on 19th April but has already teased with a Julius Caesar with Ben Wishaw as Brutus. Busy Ben will also be in Against at the Almeida. What with the National Theatre productions of The Madness of King George III, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Alchemist, England People Very Nice, One Man Two Guvnors, Timon of Athens and Othello through the years Mr Hytner has been the brains behind some of the very best theatre I have ever seen.

The West End transfer of the Almeida Hamlet with Andrew Scott is booking already I think – I got a bit confused. Mandatory viewing if you haven’t already seen it. Hamlet at the Almeida review *****

And the Park Theatre new season has been announced and looks full of goodies to me. I don’t know how they do it but the ideas, writers and cast they attract it tip top. Rabbits, Loot, What Shadows and The Retreat all catch my eye for varying reasons. Take a gander at the website.

Park Theatre What’s On

Right best of what’s on now that I have seen is (in no particular order)

The Glass Menagerie at the Duke of York’s Theatre – make sure you are in a Tennessee Williams mindset though (whatever that is) but the production and performances are top notch. mind you the staging requires a close up view I think.
The Kid Stays in the Picture at the Royal Court – loved it – The Kid Stays in the Picture at the Royal Court Theatre review *****
Ugly Lies the Bone at the National Theatre – have to review this but worth a visit – it is a bit skeletal and needs a bit of meat to flesh it out (sorry this is getting overly carnivorous) but solid performances, sone good ideas and a cracking Es Devlin set.

Yet to see Twelfth Night and Consent at the NT but critics like ’em, same for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Goat and Don Juan in Soho in the West End but sounds like you could easily go a whim to any of these.

Cheers

The Kid Stays in the Picture at the Royal Court Theatre review *****

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The Kid Stays in the Picture

Royal Court Theatre, 30th March 2017

So another of life’s minor annoyances caused by devoting too much time to work and not enough time to expanding the cultural horizons. I confess I have not read Robert Evans’s eponymous autobiography on which this play is based and therefore knew nothing about him. This clearly now looks like a massive oversight and will be put right tout suite. It is a fascinating story and it is pretty much immediately clear from the off why the genius Simon McBurney and Complicite have worked so hard to bring this story to the stage (with help from some big names in cinema).

Now all you theatre lovers will know full well how much of an asset Mr McBurney OBE is to the human race. For us lesser mortals you have likely seen him in a few films (Allied, Mission Impossible, The Theory of Everything, The Last King of Scotland which I recently watched), and a bit on the telly (Vicar of Dibley and Rev for example). Now I assume these were to pay the bills and fund the adventures with Complicite which he co-founded. Most recently he created Beware of Pity in conjunction with Schaubuhne Berlin at the Barbican (no review from me as it went in the blink of an eye but an astonishing five star tour de force) and The Encounter which I also saw at the Barbican last year and which was again a staggeringly clever piece of theatre.

Now this piece uses all the tricks for which he is famous. Video on stage, recorded video, close ups of other media, music and sound collages, lighting effects including brilliant use of silhouetting, actors telling the story through microphones rather than drama per se, multiple parts. It is an astonishing technical feat to have pieced all this together – even a dummy like me can see that. Given however that this is in essence therefore just telling the first person story, in a very cinematic way, of what is on the page in the autobiography, I can see why some of the professional reviewers got a bit sniffy about whether this is proper theatre. Me I couldn’t give two hoots about the genre bending when the story is this captivating and when it is delivered at this pace. At the risk of sounding like a patronising old git (actually no risk at all for when the cap fits) I would highly recommend this to those who are not natural theatre goers but who do love their cinema.

This is not simply because of the content (Robert Evans was largely responsible for the rise of Paramount Studios in the 1960s and !970s and the driving force behind the likes of Rosemary’s Baby, Love Story, The Godfather and Chinatown) but also the style. There is a debt of gratitude to the likes of Citizen Kane and films from the early days of cinema, as well as to noir with the “voiceovers”, but Complicite also manage to capture this era of great “New Wave” cinema making when big characters made big films with big issues at their heart (not the silly CGI fantasies too often spat out by modern Hollywood). There is no real development of the characters so I think I now know what Robert Evans and other caught up in his story got up to (a rise and fall morality tale), though not really why, but frankly it didn’t matter to me. I just got mesmerised by the story.

So there you have it. Please go and take a look. It isn’t the typical Royal Court fare where the writer is everything (and that is why it is a precious institution) but it is still a rollickingly good evening and they even let you out for a comfort break halfway through.

P.S. This did bring to my mind two other recommendations. Firstly if you have never read Suspects by the film journalist David Thomson, please do. He takes renowned characters from cinema’s past and weaves imagined back-stories for them. Marvellous holiday reading. And secondly if you are a youngster and have never sat down and watched the Godfather trilogy please put this right. I accept that by Part 3 Al Pacino is having to make herculean efforts to prop up a creaky plot but Parts 1 and 2 are about as good as film gets. Ask your Dad if you don’t believe me. If he doesn’t agree get a new Dad.

Roman Tragedies at the Barbican review *****

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Roman Tragedies

Barbican Theatre, 19th March 2017

Right that fella in the pic above is Hans Kesting. And for my money he is the best stage actor in the world (though to be fair the fact that I have only seen a small sub-set of the total universe of stage actors may lead you to suspect some exaggeration here). Yet I don’t understand a word he says (well maybe one or two). And I have only seen him twice. But I stick by this.

His Richard III in Toneelgroep Amsterdam’s Kings of War last year was mesmerising. His powerful frame crammed into a tiny suit with a birthmark on his face (all that was required to conjure up disability and difference), and using a mirror to expose his soul (did I really just write that) and lay bare his self-hate, he nailed it in my book.

And if anything in this production his Mark Antony was even more powerful. His funeral oration in response to Brutus’s justification was riveting as he prowled around the stage sometimes leaving the microphone and tearing at his tie – frankly I would have done whatever he asked if he were a leader of men in the real world even as I knew he was lying through his teeth. And he wasn’t alone. Eelco Smits as Brutus constantly probing his own conscience, Bart Siegers breaking down outside the auditorium as Enobarbus, Chris Nietvelt’s skin crawlingly needy Cleopatra, Gijs Scholten van Aschat as Coriolanus throwing the ultimate power tantrum. There were many others. The whole ensemble is just extraordinary having worked together under wunderkind director van Hove for many years. The last hour or so of A and C was perfect theatre – they must all know exactly what they are doing but it just felt so utterly and aggressively spontaneous.

The thing is by translating Shakespeare into Dutch and then back into English through the subtitles you can follow all the action whilst still retaining most of the poetry. By hacking all the war scenes out and focussing solely on the rulers and not on the ruled that they generally disdain, the real motives behind the exercise of political power are exposed. Ego, prejudice, love. ignorance, jealously are all laid bare with cool heads and analysis in short supply. By setting the action in a conference centre cum news room (so everything is “on”and visible), and in modern dress, the timeless nature of the exercise of power is exposed. And by allowing the audience to shift around at will, all this can be seen through multiple viewpoints (which you choose) and with us, the observers, becoming the observed/the ruled. The parallels with the populism in the world today effortlessly emerge (as no doubt they did in Shakespeare’s day – the experts can tell you more).

And it is anything but a marathon. Watching episode after episode of the Wire or Breaking Bad or that Game of Thrones cartoon is a bloody marathon yet millions of people do it. This is a breeze by comparison and you can even eat you sarnies and sit on a sofa.

Anyway hopefully you get the picture and can see why the punters and luvvies rave about this.

Of course it isn’t much good telling you this now that this is over but Toneelgroep Amsterdam stays at the Barbican for Obsession with Jude Law as the lead Gino in an adaption of the Visconti film and then the ensemble will bring their take on a couple of Bergman films. And they will I am sure be back again next year and they have the collaborations with Simon Stone and Katie Mitchell on their home turf. Maybe not the same as these genius Shakespeare mash-ups but whatever comes will be mandatory viewing anyway. Just look on their website at what they haven’t brought to London yet from the back catalogue and salivate.

Korn maar op!

The Miser at Richmond Theatre review ***

The Miser

Richmond Theatre, 22nd February 2017

Just catching up with this from a few weeks ago prior to the current West End run at the Garrick Theatre.

Now comedy is a tricky business to get right. Moliere’s tale with satirical and farcical forebears by way of Plautus and Italy has all the stock scenes you might wish for. The cast is definitely up for it with a performance of great energy from Griff Rhys Jones, a sardonic turn as multiple characters from Lee Mack on his “proper” theatrical debut and sterling support from the likes of Matthew Horne, Kathy Wix and Andi Osho (for me the best performance here) all off the telly.

And the whole thing is brought together by the go-to director to deliver sure fire comedy theatre in Sean Foley. LD and I really enjoyed The Painkiller which he directed as part of Branagh’s last London season though I think the playwright Francis Veber combined with perfect roles for the comedy talents of Branagh himself and Rob Brydon (anyone remember Future Conditional) made Foley’s job easier. Otherwise though whilst the whole family enjoyed The Ladykillers and SO and I tolerated Mad World My Masters, nether set our pulses racing.

So how was this Miser. Well enough gags and visual humour stuck to raise a few laughs but it all felt a bit laboured and obvious to be honest. Not unenjoyable but not memorable. I think the play has the capacity to offer a satirical insight in today’s world with Harpagon’s worship of money but this was more Mrs Browns Boys than Father Ted if you get my drift. The obvious can be subtle just not here. But like I say comedy on the stage is really tough. Oh for another Old Vic Noises Off.

Hamlet at the Almeida review *****

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Hamlet

Almeida Theatre, 11th March 2017

“…. but I’ve forgotten what Hamlet is about.

It’s about a young man called Hamlet. And a girl called Ophelia who goes mad. And a ghost. And a Queen called Gertrude who gets poisoned. And a king called Claudius who gets stabbed. And a young man called Laertes who gets killed in a duel, and an old man called Polonius who gets killed by mistake.

I remember now. Not a Bright Piece …. “

From Henrietta Sees It Through by Joyce Dennys

The SO’s unparalleled reading of first half C20 memoirs turned up the above. A perfect spoiler/summary which tickled me. Hamlet may be the greatest play that big Will ever created but for me it still has some plot development that needs a deft directorial touch as well as, obviously, a believable psychological portrait from the Prince himself. That means a logic to the pile up of corpses, a Hamlet who loves Mummy and Daddy, reasons why Gertrude might love Claudius who therefore cannot just be just a weakling or a tw*t from the off, a Polonius who isn’t a total buffoon, an Ophelia who isn’t off with the fairies, a properly p*ssed off Laertes, good reasons why Hamlet might still have mates whilst his behaviour gets ever more erratic and preferably sotto voce reference to Norway and England.

For me this Hamlet ticked all the boxes and much. much more. I can’t pretend I have seen loads of great actors do their thing here nor can I remember vast swathes of the text. You can read the proper reviews to get all of that. But I can tell you that this is, in my view, about as good as Shakespeare gets.

Casting Andrew Scott as Hamlet if I am honest, probably didn’t require a massive leap of imagination. He looks the part (still sufficiently youthful) and surely was a shoe-in to play an unhinged mind based on previous work (oh alright based on his Moriarty on the telly as that is all I really know).

But OMG as the kids might say. Does he deliver. The conversational delivery meant I could savour almost every line and hear plenty that had not previously registered. There was an inevitability to his behaviour as events unfolded reinforced by the continuous animation in his face and hands . The petulance and narcissism that I want from a Hamlet was abundant. Let’s be honest he can be an annoying little s**t.

The relationships were perfectly pitched. The archness in the scenes with the actors, with Polonius, with Horatio and with the gravedigger were spot on. And the emotional tension created in the scenes with Gertrude, Ophelia and with Claudius (a gun and a dream, maybe – brilliant). And the soliloquies were perfectly delivered (and there are some cracking notes in the programmes about the psychology around voices in the head).

Hard for me to imagine better performances as well from a tactile Juliet Stevenson (Gertrude) especially as realisation turns into self-sacrifice, Jessica Brown Findlay (Ophelia), just edge of seat stuff with the herbs (a phrase your are unlikely to hear again!), Luke Thompson (Laertes), lump in throat in the final scenes with Hamlet, and Peter Wright (Polonius) a proper loving Dad and a vital right hand man. And for me Angus Wright’s (Claudius) more declamatory delivery fitted the nature of a chap who I think is rarely plagued with self doubt unlike his step-son.

The real genius though is director Robert Icke who is at the top of his game here. That’s not to stay he is infallible. Myself and BD (who was a massive Simpsons fan when she was a littlun) didn’t get on with Mr Burns where the concept drowned the characters for me, and whilst The Red Barn at the NT looked amazing I think the story was perhaps ultimately too thin, even as it passed through the hands of David Hare and the eyes of Mr Icke, to support the promise. 1984 though was brilliant, his Mary Stuart was absorbing and, for me, his Uncle Vanya was revelatory (I have not always got on with this), but even this was surpassed by Mr Icke’s Oresteia which was magnificent with the expanded prologue setting up the moral pickles and making the intervention of the gods gripping instead of a bit bonkers.

In this Hamlet the use of video is inspired not hackneyed, in the Ghost scene, in the play close-ups and in the conclusion, all reinforcing the the themes of surveillance and tine passing. The idea of Claudius’ confession as a dream is intriguing as is Ophelia’s breakdown from a wheelchair. There is mordant comedy in the Polonius/Hamlet scene. All in all lots of bang up to date ideas but which all serve a purpose.

Love it, love it, love it. And the good news. It is transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre apparently. So no excuses now. Get a ticket.

Some ideas for the culturally inclined in London

So here is a brief list of what is on in London or coming up … and is of interest to me and maybe to you

This is just an update of the following post … with a few new ideas that have cropped up recently

Some forthcoming theatre ideas

Current best picks – what’s on and booking

Obsession – Barbican – booking and opening shortly – should be a cracker based on Toneelgroep Amsterdam’s track record
INK – Almeida – booking now
Against – Almeida – booking from May
Othello – Wilton’s Music Hall – booking now
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf – Harold Pinter Theatre – on now – reviews say it is unmissable but fancy West End prices have to be stomached

National Theatre

These I have already mentioned …

Follies – Summer 2017
Network – Nov 2017
Mosquitoes – July 2017
Macbeth – not until Spring 2018
Amadeus is coming back in 2018

These are the newly announced

Beginning – Oct 2017 – new romantic comedy by David Eldridge – “the morning after a party two couples…blah blah … changes their lives etc” – I don’t know his work but it is directed by Polly Findlay who is terrific director – the words romantic and comedy should normally give cause for concern but the NT has backed this writer before so I think worth a punt though don’t think it will fly off the shelf

The Great Wave – Spring 2018 – set in Japan and Korea – that’s all there is on the website but co-production with Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn (which is tip top and currently being refurbished) and directed by Indhu Rubasingham who is the director of the Tricycle

On now or booking … I thave alked about these before

Twelfth Night – I haven’t seen it yet shortly but reviews are great
Angels in America – sold out – decide if you want to see it in the cinema but I would understand if you don’t …
Consent
Salome
Common

Barbican Theatres

Just saw Roman Tragedies by Toneelgrope Amsterdam – it was utterly brilliant – so when this bunch come back next year and put on a classic you should go – no excuses

Barbican will announce new season shortly which willI guess will include RSC transfers from Stratford of Titus Andronicus and the three Roman plays, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, that is the three plays that make up Roman Tragedies above – happy days ….

As a reminder this is the forthcoming list which I discussed in the previous post

The Winters Tale – Cheek by Jowl production
Obsession – this is the Toneelgrope Amsterdam production I am most interested in with that lovely Jude Law
The Tempest –the RSC transfer

Young Vic

Nothing new to report so I still am most interested in the following

Life of Galileo – Brecht classic
Wings – Juliet Stevenson is the lead
The Suppliant Women – transfer of classic Greek tragedy

Royal Court Theatre

Again no recent additions so more details in previous post

The Ferryman – sold out but the West End transfer is still available
The Kid Stays in the Picture – has opened but no reviews I can see yet yet
Anatomy of a Suicide
Road
Killology
Bodies
Victory Condition

Almeida Theatre

So a re-cap first about Against as I think this will be a rapid seller and it will pay to get in early I reckon

The new play by Christopher Shinn (Other People, Dying City, Now or Later, Teddy Ferrara) who is a massive luvvies favourite has been announced – it is called Against and will be directed by Ian Rickson and will have the lovely Ben Wishaw in the lead – if you have never seen Wishaw on stage then with all due respect you are a numpty – he is brilliant though I have a crush on him I admit – anyway here’s the blurb from the website

Silicon Valley. The future. A rocket launches.

Luke is an aerospace billionaire who can talk to anyone. But God is talking to him. He sets out to change the world. Only violence stands in his way.

Now to me that sound bloody fantastic so I will stab a guess this will sell fast – booking opens in May for performances in second half August and through Sep – so let me know I interested and I will get some dates planned – I am a member so happy to book for you

The Hamlet with Andrew Scott (Moriarty in Sherlock) is just brilliant – certainly the best Hamlet I have seen and up there with the best Shakespeare – but I can’t see a cinema performance yet

I still highly recommend INK by James Graham who wrote This House, which is about Parliamentary politics in the 1970s and is a brilliant play – this new play is about Murdoch setting up The Sun and should be a very funny satire – directed by Rupert Goold

Donmar Warehouse

Limehouse and the The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui both sold out – reviews for Limehouse are so-so

I will keep my eyes peeled for the new season when announced – they have a new ticketing system but this is usually a bun fight

Old Vic Theatre

Woyzeck, Girl from the North Country and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead – (where reviews are strong) all booking

Hampstead Theatre

Filthy Business (reviews are very good as might have been expected), Occupational Hazards, and Gloria – these are the main stage productions I have already covered – there are a couple in the downstairs stage but they don’t grab me

Fringe Theatres

A couple of new things at Southwark Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith and Wilton’s Music Hall which I have highlighted

Orange Tree Theatre – The Lottery of Love and An Octeroon

Southwark Playhouse – The Cardinal and now The Island which is a modern classic by SA playwright Athol Fugard about two inmates on Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned – you can do worse than a bench on a school night at Southwark Playhouse which is consistently good

Park Theatre, Finsbury Park –Madame Rubinstein, Twitstorm, A Clockwork Orange as before

Gate Theatre, Notting Hill – Grounded – I loved it but nearly over and not compulsory

Grounded at the Gate Theatre review ****

Finborough Theatre, Earls Court –You’re Human Like the Rest of Them and Incident at Vichy – both revivals of neglected or early works which is the theatre’s forte (as it is for the Orange Tree)

Arcola Theatre in Dalston – there is a Cherry Orchard by Chekhov coming up I am going to – initial reviews are mixed but the boy Chekhov normally rises above directors and performers to deliver a worthwhile couple of hours – the new season is open – Marlowe’s Tamburlaine by a British East Asian women’s company, a version of Camus’ The Plague and a Richard III with Greg Hicks, a veteran Shakespearean

“Outer” and Other Theatres

Rose Theatre Kingston – My Brilliant Friend Parts 1 and 2 – reviews in the sensible papers are good and I agree but not sure I would insist you schlep out this far if you are not a local

My Brilliant Friend at the Rose Theatre Kingston review ****

Lyric Hammersmith – can be relied upon for properly controversial revivals (and excellent stuff for kids) – City of Glass (based on the Paul Auster novels) looks interesting – the reviews from Manchester where it is currently playing suggest the staging is interesting even if the story is a bit slippery – adapted by Duncan MacMillan who has been involved one way or another in most of the innovative theatre in London over the last few years – maybe one for your correspondent alone – also coming up is Terror a German courtroom drama about a pilot’s decision to shoot down a hijacked plane where the audience gets to decide the outcome – and a new Seagull (adapted by a favourite playwright of mine Simon Stephens who adapted Curious Incident …) where Chekhov basically sets out all the themes/characters he would bang on about in later plays – yes there is a gun, lots of voddie, pompous schoolteacher, unrecognized writing genius, ageing but still sexy matriarch, shrewish wife, some serfs watching on – all in all I think these three plays all look interesting and the Lyric is very good value

Wilton’s Music Hall – A new shout here – the Othello coming up at Wilton’s Music Hall – for those who have never been the venue is a real treat – super shabby in a Victorian ghost story sort of way it is often used for period TV pieces – anyway this Othello comes from Bristol Tobacco Factory and has cracking reviews – again cheap as chips here if a bit uncomfortable

West End Theatres

Nothing new vs last time so just a recap

Philanthropist at the Trafalgar Studios

Apollo Theatre – Travesties – an awful lot to take in but well worth it if you put the effort in

Travesties at the Apollo Theatre review ****

Wyndhams Theatre – Don Juan in Soho

Harold Pinter Theatre – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf – the reviews suggest this is a must see

Theatre Royal Haymarket – The Goat or Who is Sylvia

Duke of Yorks – The Glass Menagerie – seen it and loved it but it is very Tennessee Williams

Art Galleries and Museums

Don’t miss

Cezanne Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery – from Oct 2017
America After the Fall – Royal Academy – reviews outstanding
Revolution: Russia Art 1917-1932 – I thoroughly enjoyed this and a great foil for the American one above

Same as for theatre above – just a checklist really

Tate Britain

David Hockney – to 29^th May
Impressionists in London (from Nov 2017),
Rachel Whiteread (from Sep 2017)
Queer British Art

Tate Modern

Robert Rauschenberg until 2^nd April – have seen it and now know why the smart people bang on about him – he just seemed like an all round top optimistic bloke which came through in the art
The Radical Eye photography until 7^th May
Wolfgang Tillmans – I saw this and liked it – a prolific photographer with all sorts of thought-provoking ideas – but not an essential unless you are in the Tate
Coming up Alberto Giacometti, Modigliani and Red Star Over Russia

Victoria and Albert Museum

From May there is the Pink Floyd exhibition

National Gallery

Reflections: Van Eyck and the Pre-Raphaelites from Oct
Monochrome: Paintings in Black and White – from Oct

National Portrait Gallery

Cezanne Portraits from Oct 2017 – compulsory
Howard Hodgkin – about to open – UK’s greatest colourist and made more poignant by his very recent death

Royal Academy of Arts

Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 to 17^th April – this was a real eye opener into Soviet Art for me and the relationship between State and artists and there was plenty of new stuff to get my teeth into – highly recommended

Russian Art at the Royal Academy review ****

America After the Fall – I recommend seeing both of these back to back ….

Other galleries

Other exhibitions that catch my eye

John Latham at the Serpentine Gallery – so the daddy of British conceptual art – I went and it just bolstered my fascination but would not be offended if you though it was complete b*******s
Whitechapel Gallery – Eduardo Paolozzi to 14th May
Dulwich Picture Gallery – Vanessa Bell to 4th June
The Japanese House at the Barbican from 23^rd Mar
At the British Museum is the American Dream exhibition of prints
Robots exhibition at the Science Museum

Opera

I only deal with a bit of C20 opera (notably Britten), some contemporary opera, some Mozart and some Baroque … so basically most of the canon is off limits for me which is of precious little use to you I realise. Sorry.

Royal Opera House

The Exterminating Angel – Thomas Ades – this will be a fabulous score I am sure – based on the surrealist Bunuel film – this is seriously pretentious but I have very high hopes

Mitridate, re di Ponto – this was written by Mozart aged 15 – a classical theme so closer to Baroque structure than the mature operas – a revival which had top reviews previously -booking opens 28^th Mar for us mortals

Elsewhere Hackney Empire puts on a lot of Baroque opera by English Touring Opera – I have seen some Monteverdi there which was jolly – I like the sound of the Julius Caesar by Handel in two parts in Oct – for those who like the noise Handel makes this should be a treat though Baroque opera often involves dodgy sets and “park and bark” singers who don’t do much acting so beware

Film

Loved Elle – I could watch Isabelle Huppert read the telephone directory (do they still exist) but this was perfect for her brand of hauteur and facial tics but be warned it is provocation after provocation to us liberal types like most of director Verhoeven’s stuff so read reviews carefully

On the to see list now is Lady Macbeth and that Personal Shopper as well as Get Out

The End

My Brilliant Friend at the Rose Theatre Kingston review ****

My Brilliant Friend Parts 1 and 2

Rose Theatre Kingston, 27th February and 17th March 2017

I had not read the quartet of Elena Ferrante novels coming in to this (though I mean to put this right now). However, as this is a Guardian readers’ and various novelists’ favourite and with the SO having partially read them and given them a qualified thumbs up (she sets the bar pretty high), and with it being the Rose so on the doorstep, we were destined to go. And so we did.

First decision was to split the two parts. For choice I normally wouldn’t do that preferring to take the pain of setting through multi part theatre on the chin, (or more exactly bum), by doing it all in a day where possible. This was a reminder of why that remains the preferred strategy. What you get out of a theatre performance depends in part on what you put in, so different days means different moods and therefore different levels of enjoyment. With these plays, festooned with multiple characters, (and doubling/trebling of parts), an awful lot of sharp, staccato scenes to get through in the 5 or so hours, (to do justice to the novels I gather), and multiple themes to explore, (where I think the adaption was clearly a winner), one sitting would definitely have worked better for me.

A particular attraction was the director Melly Still. I really, really liked her Cymbeline for the RSC. A tricky play but she was unafraid to chuck ideas in, (gender changes for characters, topical issues of national identity, nature vs nurture and so on), which definitely made sense to me in a play where it is very easy to get lost. So a plus there. I had not seen Catherine McCormack (Lila) or, to my eternal shame, Niamh Cusack (Elena/Lenu) on stage before, but felt they were both perfectly cast. In Part 1 Catherine McCormack was outstanding capturing the strength and unpredictability of Lila, (don’t shout at me I am just using a word to describe a whole gamut of traits), with her movement as well as her speech. In Part 2 Niamh Cusack took centre stage, (and left. right up and down – there was a lot of movement in the production), as her character developed with a determination and a different, egotistical strength.

So I think two cracking complementary performances, a lot of smart stagecraft, the use of set, sound and lighting in a way that the Rose rarely sees, an obviously brilliant story/stories, and breathtaking pace and energy. In fact the pace and energy may just be a little too breathtaking. I gather there is a lot to pack in and this is what the adaption does. This is then multiplied by the character, place and time shifts. So it is all a bit of a whirlwind. No other way to do it and meet the needs of the faithful I suspect but even so there were times when I wanted a bit of air in proceedings (when this did happen, largely in the Lila/Lenu exchanges, I got more meaning I think).

As I said I haven’t read the books which I am guessing is an advantage in seeing this, so no risk of what is in the head clashing with what is on the stage. But overall whilst I thoroughly enjoyed what I was seeing and hearing, and how I was seeing and hearing it, there may just have been a bit too much to take in (compounded I think by my gender – there is a lot of experience for a privileged, white male to take in here given that all the men are – rightly – portrayed as utter c**ks).

I see some reviews of this that are whinging about scenes lost or themes in the novels which don’t come out on stage. Whilst I suspect that the pace of the production did mean some “thinning out” I would, with all due respect, say to these punters that there is a book, and now there is a play (and I believe there will be a TV adaptation). It’s theatre. it’s different, that is the whole point. Let the book take care of interior monologue, invocation of time and place and the clash of ideas. Let the play focus on the character and the drama in a shared experience. Don’t go if you are just going to moan about what isn’t there. Judge what is there. Right rant over. Sorry.

Oh and finally I would come down on the side of those who think there is only really one character here – that make most sense to me. It’s a memory play which to me explores the power of words to shape the past and the experience of women in a grimly patriarchal society (amongst loads of other things). So I only really saw one character through multiple possible experiences.

P.S. I just saw a “review” in Mail Online – yet another reason why I detest everything about that shabby organisation.

Grounded at the Gate Theatre review ****

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Grounded

Gate Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, 15th March 2017

Given that Grounded is now into its third run at the Gate and that is has had critical acclaim heaped upon it the last thing it needs is this chump adding to the sound and fury. But it seems I am something of a completist when it comes to recording my cultural journey so so no let off for you I am afraid.

And it is good. I mean really good. There was a bit of me that was a bit dubious going in to this. Potentially obvious target with an an obvious outcome (I swear no irony intended in this). But it is some much more than it appears on the surface. To check this I whizzed through the script. Do that and compare to what you have just seen and I think what the writer George Brant has created and, in particular, what Lucy Ellinson, conjures up alone on stage is just really, really good theatre. Makes you care and makes you think without overtly moralising (well maybe right at the end).

The Pilot at the outset is exactly what you might expect of an F-16 fighter pilot. Then love, husband and child take over and the Pilot ends up flying a drone from a base in the Nevada desert. That is when the dilemmas and the twists (of a sort) kick in. The pace of the monologue is rapid but full of imagery (sky, desert, Vegas, family life, being boxed in amongst many others) and Lucy Ellinson completely inhabits the character. In some ways the journey the pilot takes and where she ends up is, in retrospect, predictable but the insight into being a woman in this world, into balancing home and this sort of work (including its drudgery and social interaction as well as its obvious purpose), into the psychological stress of killing from afar, into the morality of this sort of war, are all revealed in a smart way.

Now it is possible that this worked for me because I am a liberal type who knows f**k all about what it is to be the person who is tasked with killing but Brant certainly got me thinking about all of that.

Anyway see for yourself whilst it is still on. Or make a mental reminder should in pop up elsewhere in future.

Oh and a reminder that the best way to see theatre is not in some poxy, neo-classical Edwardian fol-de-rol but above a pub on a bench (though I confess the Gate’s benches are back-breaking – just as well most everything I have seen there has captivated).

Travesties at the Apollo Theatre review ****

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Travesties

Apollo Theatre, 13th March 2017

Right then. I clearly have to up my game. The more theatre I see the better I am at appreciating, understanding and enjoying. This is particularly the case with the great playwrights. With Will Shakespeare given a half decent director and cast I can now follow the plot, hear almost all the language and grasp, albeit in a rudimentary fashion, the dilemmas and tribulations that are presented to the characters. Until the last couple of years I freely admit it was enough just to keep up with what was going on and I was often bored. All my fault.

Elsewhere I have had some revelatory Greek experiences (not sure that came out exactly as intended), Ibsen and especially Chekhov are falling into place and the Americans, O’Neill, Williams, Miller and Albee, are all firmly on the go to list.

As for the great Britons well I am finally seeing that there is more to Pinter that menace and now I understand why Caryl Churchill is perfect in terms of form and content. And of course for we live right now in a golden age for new British theatre which only a numpty would ignore.

However, Stoppard until now has been a mystery. I have not knowingly seen any Stoppard plays in the dim and distant past though as we know (and delightfully Travesties reminds us) memory is an active construct of the present so I could be wrong. Likely though Travesties was my first ever. Obviously bonkers good reviews from the Menier Chocolate Factory run and the fella Hollander drew me in as well as the ubiquitous Patrick Marber directing (in order I would say the draw here being Marber’s previous directing assignments followed by the Partridge connection rather than his plays which I confess I need to see).

In short Tom Hollander plays Henry Carr some minor British consul type who apparently got into a dispute with James Joyce over payment connected with a performance of The Importance of Being Earnest in Zurich in 1917 where Carr played Algernon. Carr is looking back so a kind of imperfect and comedic “memory play’ is brought to bear. From this Stoppard elides Carr’s interactions with Joyce as well as Lenin and Tristan Tzara (one of the founders of Dada) as well Carr’s butler Bennett, Lenin’s wife (I think) and Cecily and Gwendolen characters. Carr and Bennett I gather are characters in Ulysses (of which I am still massively intimidated so have never read or am likely to read I confess).

So how did I fare? Well I thought I had put some hours in having delved into the history of modernism in C20 culture and with a bit of past, and more recent, boning up on Marxism. But I failed to follow vast chunks of Stoppard’s dazzling brain and wit. I can get the plot crossover into the Importance of Being Earnest (thanks mostly to the 2002 film with Everett, Firth, Witherspoon, Dench etc and the Gerald Barry opera which is a must see should it be revived again). But so much of the direct references to the life and works of Lenin, Joyce and Tzara passed me by. (Mind you I can recommend the Soviet Art exhibition at the Royal Academy for an insight into the rise of Lenin and how he shaped art and literature post the Revolution).

Still all the erudition on show does remind you just how important this time was to the formation of ideas in politics, art and literature and how those ideas have (or in many cases have not) filtered through into later decades. I guess some of the debates on the relationship between art and society, capitalism vs socialism and literary form which are aired in the play were more lively in the late 1960s and early 1970s (Travesties was written in 1974) but I still think there was much to feast on here. I just need to work out what.

But no matter it still made me chuckle where I did get it (Tzara whizzing through the inaugural night at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, Lenin setting out the correct march through socialism to communism, the p*ss takes on street guides to Dublin) and the zip of the whole thing just carries you along. There were multiple shifts in the form and structure of the play which I thoroughly enjoyed such as a scene entirely in limericks, replays as Carr sees events in different ways, lots of punning, music hall parodies, doors opening/closing in a quasi farcical way as well as verbal sparring generally between Carr and the three main characters as well as moving monologues from Carr on the waste of the First World War.

So if you limber up beforehand with a bit of Wiki action, look at the interview in the programme between Marber and Stoppard (obviously I left this until after – doh) and take it easy on all the brain food on offer here then an enjoyable night is on the cards. Tom Hollander’s ability to capture the bemusement and snarkeyness of the British toff anchors the whole thing and the tone of the other characters was ideal. Freddie Fox as Tzara/Jack/Earnest puts a shift in physically, Forbes Masson as Lenin has a bit less to play with but captures it very well and Peter McDonald as Joyce gets to be Stoppard’s favourite methinks (both in terms of his art and as Lady Bracknell). I especially loved Amy Morgan and Clare Foster in the “no I’m engaged to him” parody bit.

Having said that it is, even with a decent pitch in the stalls, a ridiculously uncomfortable theatre for a big unit like me so beware.

But note to self. Put more effort in for the next Stoppard play.

Some forthcoming theatre ideas

So here are some ideas of stuff that is on now that I have enjoyed and some stuff that is coming up that I think will be tip-top for various reasons. Sorry it is a bit random as I have only just got going on this so we are sort of mid season as it were. Hopefully though it may save you ploughing through all the websites and other stuff.

Top picks (more detail below)

Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Royal Haymarket – not long left (like literally a couple of days) so a last minute treat
My Brilliant Friend – based on the Elena Ferrante novels – we have seen Part 1 which was brilliant in my view (though my lady chums were less bowled over) – at the Rose Kingston
Grounded at the Gate Theatre – now booking through March
Ink at the Almeida Theatre – now booking for July/Aug but getting full so get your skates on
The Suppliant Women at the Young Vic – now booking for late November
Obsession at the Barbican Theatre – now booking for mid April/May – still some availability
Against at the Almeida – dates just announced with booking opening in May – see below for details but I think this will be an absolute scorcher
Macbeth at the National Theatre next year – keep your eye on the website

Overall there are a lot of classic US plays coming up generally, plenty of funked up Shakespeare and lots of state of the nation plays as us well off luvvy lefties always like to wring our hands when the world doesn’t do what we want …

Anyway I have tried to give a flavor of what to expect ordered by venue.

National Theatre

Coming up though not yet booking or performance dates.

Follies – Summer 2017 – Sondheim musical with Imelda Staunton – she was barnstorming in Gypsy and is wowing the critics in the Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf which I am seeing soon. Now I have some problems with musical theatre which will no doubt be revealed in time but this will be a blinder I think – though I don’t know Follies. Anyway if you like musicals it is a must – West End transfer written all over it.

Network – Nov 2017 – based on the classic 70s film comedy about a failing TV network – will be directed by Ivo van Hove (genius normally) and with that Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad in the lead – check out the film but really what’s not to like here.

Mosquitoes – July 2017 – new play by Lucy Kirkwood who wrote the magnificent Chimerica and with Olivia Colman in the cast – two sisters and the search for the Higgs boson – so sounds like another of the big science vs human relationships plays which are currently de rigeur.

Macbeth – not until Spring 2018 but this will be mandatory attendance in my view with Rory Kinnear and Anne Marie Duff as the naughty couple and directed by Rufus Norris. I am literally shaking with excitement already at this.

Amadeus is coming back in 2018 – for me a 4/5 (the Mozart was a bit “off” for me) but if you know/like the film then well worth it.

Coming up … these are already booking.

Twelfth Night – Shakespeare twins, cross dressing, mistaken identities, comic mayhem – you know the gig – Tamsin Greig as Malvolia just to shake it up even more – plenty of availability in April/early May – reviews are very good.

Angels in America – sold out – the big event of the year at NT – cracking cast lead by Andrew Garfield and Denise Gough – the defining American play of the 1980s BUT 7 hours (over 2 parts) of very wordy, philosophical stuff means I will take one for the team when I go – it will be shown live in the cinema on 20^th and 27^th July – if you put the effort in a big reward but you will likely have something better to do with your life

Consent – availability in May – play by Nina Raine who is very good – a legal case with ramifications for both lawyers – hard to tell if this will be a winner or not but worth a pop I think – enough availability but getting tighter.

Salome – this is written by Yoel Farber South Africa’s leading director/playwright – based on the eponymous biblical story – transfer from US with decent reviews – I saw her production of Les Blancs last year which was terrific – expect it to look great, be wordy, have contemporary parallels – only 90 minutes.

Common – written by DC Moore about whom I know nothing – sounds like a bit of a romp – set around Industrial Revolution and time of land enclosure – with Anne Marie Duff as lead who I would watch doing the ironing for 3 hours she is so good – I think this will be a cracker but may not be for everyone.

Barbican Theatres

No doubt many will be disappointed that Roman Tragedies is sold out – 6.5 hours of the 3 Roman Shakespeare plays mashed up in Dutch with audience participation – but after seeing Kings Of War by the same bunch last year I cannot wait. So any returns should be snapped up.

Looking forward at the Barbican we have the following all with plenty of tickets available when I last looked.

The Winters Tale – Cheek by Jowl production which spices up the classic Shakespeare tale of jealousy and partial redemption and gets it down to a manageable length – early reviews from tour are unsurprisingly good.

Obsession – I have banged on about this to my mates for some time but I have high hopes for this – based on the Visconti film which is the same plot as the Postman Always Rings Twice (drifter’s impact on ill matched couple) – with Jude Law as Gino and directed by Ivo van Hove with some of his Toneelgroep Amsterdam ensemble in the cast (who are brilliant) – but thankfully in English not Dutch this time – there are a handful of tickets left.

The Tempest – this is the RSC transfer with Simon Russell Beale (probably the greatest living stage actor – discuss) as Prospero and with all the techno 3D stuff – very good reviews if not outstanding – it’s the Tempest so you can’t go wrong.

After the Rehearsal/The Persona – last of Toneelgroep/Van Hove in this season – two plays based on Bergman films about lives of actors – muted reviews from US showings – if I am honest this is probably going to be hard work so I won’t be heartbroken if you don’t listen to me on this one.

FYI for those interested loads of dance stuff at the Barbican and if anyone ever fancies seeing actors of the future act in the Guildhall School the final year productions for just a tenner at Milton Court are always worth a look.

Young Vic

Always worth taking a punt with anything at the Young Vic – though I normally steer a little clear of some of the more challenging material.

Recently announced is the A Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – a Young Vic production but showing in Apollo Theatre which makes it a bit pricier (Stalls £65) – the big draw is that Sienna Miller as Maggie who I gather gets in the papers and a chap called Jack O’Connell as Brick (he is apparently in Skins of which I know nothing) – for me thought the key is Benedict Andrews directing – he was behind the Young Vic’s A Streetcar Named Desire from a couple of years ago with Gillian Anderson as Blanche and was storming – so I think worth investigating.

Coming up for me the most interesting are …

Life of Galileo – the life of the scientist as he argues with the nasty Catholic Church – tough to tell if this will work – Young Vic historically does Brecht well but it might also be bloody annoying – has Brendan Cowell in the lead who played opposite Billie Piper in the Yerma from last year (which is/was extraordinary).

Wings – Juliet Stevenson plays a woman recovering from a stroke – she can do this sort of role in her sleep so should be good – I saw her in Happy Days (the Beckett play where she is buried up to the neck) and she made that work (Beckett normally makes me want to bang my head against the wall).

The Suppliant Women – this is the one at the Young Vic I am really looking forward to – if you haven’t done any Greek plays (Aeschylus in this case) zuzzed up for today’s world then start here – got great reviews in Edinburgh last year – and like all the Greek plays reminds you that all the issues were the same 2500 years ago – in this case the issues around asylum seekers.

The revival of last year’s Yerma is sold out but will be in cinemas in August. If you haven’t seen it then you must – no excuses even if you don’t get on with the cinema screenings.

Royal Court Theatre

So tickets now on sale for the final part of this years RC season in addition to the earlier stuff below. The RC never gives much away on the website as to the content of the productions but here goes. Bodies by Vivienne Franzmann looks like it is about surrogacy, B is by Guillermo Calderon is another new work from a leading Chilean playwright which looks like it examines the limits of insurrection and finally Victory Condition another new play where I simply can’t work about the theme from the teaser !!

The Ferryman – the new play by Jez Butterworth who wrote Jerusalem which is a modern classic from a few years back which had that nice Mark Rylance in the lead role – this is sold out at the Royal Court but there is already a West End transfer to the Gielgud Theatre – directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty and the last Bond films) who has done musicals but not stage plays – with the great Paddy Considine in the cast and set in rural Ireland in the 1980s Troubles (I suspect there will be lots of politics here) – so all up there is a lot of hype but likely to deliver.

Of the other plays in the current season I would point to …

The Kid Stays in the Picture – I don’t know if this is going to work – a tale of the rise and fall of a Hollywood producer called Robert Evans – I am going because it is being directed by Simon McBurney the man behind Complicite who is a genius.

Anatomy of a Suicide – I have a feeling the clue is in the title so no comedy here – but Katie Mitchell is directing – who excels in any dark stuff.

Road – a revival of a classic “in yer face” 1980s play by Jim Cartwright set Up North – lots of menace and violence

Killology – new play about on line gaming and moral consequences it seems.

Almeida Theatre

So the new play by Christopher Shinn (Other People, Dying City, Now or Later, Teddy Ferrara) who is a massive luvvies favourite has been announced – it is called Against and will be directed by Ian Rickson and will have the lovely Ben Wishaw in the lead – if you have never seen Wishaw on stage then with all due respect you are a numpty – he is brilliant though I have a bit of a crush on him I admit – anyway here’s the blurb from the website.

Silicon Valley. The future. A rocket launches.

Luke is an aerospace billionaire who can talk to anyone. But God is talking to him. He sets out to change the world. Only violence stands in his way.

Now to me that sound bloody fantastic so I will stab a guess this will sell fast – booking opens in May for performances in second half August and through September.

The Hamlet with Andrew Scott (Moriarty in Sherlock) is sold out though if you can be bothered returns do pop up but that is all a bit random – I assume it will have a cinema screening anyway and I’ll take a punt that there will be a transfer if the cast can do it. I thought it was brilliant – the best Hamlet I have ever seen will everyone else matching him. The best Shakespeare I have seen bar the Othello at the National a few years back. Mind you I am no expert but I cannot imagine a production or performance of greater clarity. Still not much use me saying that now.

I do highly recommend INK by James Graham who wrote This House, which is about Parliamentary politics in the 1970s and is a brilliant play – this new play is about Murdoch setting up The Sun and should be a very funny satire – directed by Rupert Goold. No cast yet but it is the Almeida so bound to be cracking. Tickets left later in the run so just get in there.

The other interesting play in the new season is a revival of The Treatment by Martin Crimp – set in 90s New York this is a bit of a miserable goriest i gather so maybe not for everyone.

Donmar Warehouse

So it looks like both Limehouse a new play about the foundation of the Social Democrat party (for those or us fascinated by UK politics) and the The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (another Brecht play out the rise of a demagogue – sound familiar?) with Lenny Henry are sold out – I might expect Arturo Ai to have a cinema screening if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Old Vic Theatre

Woyzeck – classic German expressionist play about a poor unfortunate which is being updated to Cold War Berlin – John Boyega in the lead directed by Jack Thorne – should be very good though not everything that is on at the Old Vic under Matthew Warchus has been perfect in my view but always worth going.

Girl from the North Country – new play from Conor McPherson (if you have never seen his play The Weir then you must) with Bob Dylan songs (oops) and set in Great Depression mid West – I am liking the sound of this.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead – revival of the classic early Tom Stoppard with that Daniel Radcliffe – now there are times when Stoppard is so clever it just wizzes over my head so I will have to see about this – but it it’s a classic modern comedy – reviews are generally very good.

Hampstead Theatre

Hampstead is a bit hit and miss like the Old Vic though less expensive when you make a mistake as I have done.

I think Filthy Business looks the most interesting – Jewish family comedy with Sara Kestelman as the matriarch – she was very good in the Kushner play Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide …. (see Angels of America above) last year at Hampstead.

The other two are Occupational Hazards, the memoir of a UK diplomat in newly liberated Iraq, and Gloria, comedy set in a US publishing house – not sure about either though I will go.

Fringe Theatres

I have found since I wound down from work that pitching up to a fringe theatre especially the little ones above pubs is one of life’s greatest pleasures – and if anyone wants to compound this pleasure by skiving off work for an afternoon then get on with it – take a look at the websites for details – and generally all this for £20 or less

Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond – my “local” and probably all up my favourite theatre – though I often end up at matinees with a bunch of pensioners who may not always be envisaged target audience – anyway I recommend the The Lottery of Love (classic French comedy of manners by Marivaux which is to be set in Austen England – think couples, misunderstandings and heaving cleavage) and An Octeroon (look at the website as this is hard to describe!)

Southwark Playhouse – The Cardinal – Southwark Playhouse now a firm favourite of mine – this is a revival of a Restoration tragedy about guess what a C16 Spanish Cardinal – I am going 16^th May – there is also an early Sam Shepherd revival Lie of the Mind which I am mulling over whether to see and The Island which I understand is a fine play set in apartheid South Africa.

Park Theatre, Finsbury Park – I like the sound of Madame Rubinstein (Miriam Margoyles plays the founder of Estee Lauder) and Twitstorm (tweets go wrong) and thinking about A Clockwork Orange for those who know the Burgess book/Kubrick film (though it sounds a bit full on).

Gate Theatre, Notting Hill – Grounded (a drone pilot and mother) was very well reviewed from last year so they are putting it back on – The Gate puts on brilliant stuff – though it is a tad uncomfortable for a big fella like me but then everything there is so good that it hasn’t mattered.

Finborough Theatre, Earls Court – Tiny but brilliant venue – I am looking at You’re Human Like the Rest of Them and will go to Incident at Vichy – both revivals of neglected or early works which is the theatre’s forte (as it is for the Orange Tree)

Arcola Theatre in Dalston – there is a Cherry Orchard – initial reviews are mixed but the boy Chekhov normally rises above directors and performers to deliver a worthwhile couple of hours – the new season has some goodies (at least as far as I am concerned) – in particular an adaption of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine by a British East Asian women’s company, a version of Camus’ The Plague and a Richard III with Greg Hicks, a veteran Shakespearean – the Arcola £50 for 5 tickets passport deal is an absolute steal (at least for those who can contemplate getting to hipster Dalston five times in a year).

Elsewhere I keep my eye on Theatre 503 in Battersea (Escape the Scaffold looks interesting), the Tricycle in Kilburn (which is being refurbished but is wonderful), Print Room Coronet (a Babette’s Feast for those of you who know the brilliant Danish film based on the book by Karen Blixen) and some others.

“Outer” and Other Theatres

In terms of “outer” and other London venues I watch the following

Rose Theatre Kingston – I have seen/am seeing the My Brilliant Friend Parts 1 and 2 based on the Elena Ferrante novels, a Guardian readers’ favourite though wI have not read them – the Rose can be hit or miss but it is on the doorstep so I go to most things not aimed at pensioners – I have seen Part 1 and I absolutely loved it but some lady friends were less sure. More to follow on this.

Richmond Theatre – it does put on pre West End try-outs and touring productions as well as some awful crap – but it pays to wait – I have seen The Miser (the Moliere play with Griff Rhys Jones and that Lee Mack) which will go to West End – a 3/5 for me – like most of the director Sean Foley’s recent plays I have seen, he mines enough humour from the material but it is not overwhelmingly funny – aims high but falls a little short.

I am still thinking about Gabriel (a wartime melodrama by Moira Buffini who wrote Handbagged which is a goodish play), the Crucible (though don’t know the production details) and most importantly Abigail’s Party – I assume everyone knows the genius of Mike Leigh’s 70s classic but if you don’t YouTube can enlighten you.

Greenwich Theatre – I am espying but have not yet booked a production of Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Hysteria by Terry Johnson (his play Dead Funny is currently West End and is very clever and funny).

Lyric Hammersmith – can be relied upon for properly controversial revivals (and excellent stuff for kids) but not much coming up right now – other than City of Glass (based on the Paul Auster novels) which has had goodish reviews before coming here. The new season has a Ibsen Seagull and a play called Terror which I am looking into. More to follow.

Globe Theatre – I avoid the Globe because it is just too bloody uncomfortable others may be made of sterner stuff – take a look at the new Spring/Summer season on the website – the Boudica tempts me a bit.

Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park – on a balmy summer’s evening it doesn’t get much better than this – I fancy The Tale of Two Cities (a new version) in July – they are also doing an Oliver Twist for littluns and reviving their Jesus Christ Superstar (I draw the line here but others may be interested).

For those who have never experienced Wilton’s Music Hall there is a well reviewed Othello coming up transferring from Bristol. I think this sounds good and mercifully succinct.

West End Theatres

I have an aversion to most West End theatres as they are too expensive and the seats are generally terrible – and all the tourist tat stuff needs to be avoided – but I will keep tabs as the one good thing is that you get loads of advance warning pre booking opens – also I am perfecting the art of holding back until the discounters come in – so watch out for late booking ideas.

Just announced is a revival of the Philanthropist a comedy by Christopher Hampton he of Les Liaisons Dangereueses fame – I don’t know it but it has a cast aimed to pull in the youngsters so I will give it a whirl – mind you at the Trafalgar Studios which is both uncomfortable and expensive in my view …

On that front I highly recommend the RSC production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on right now – ends mid Mar so only a couple of nights left – it is lovely, v funny, lines cut to the bone so only a couple of hours ex interval – sets and costumes are a treat – set post WW1 in a country house which works – the Benedick and the Beatrice are perfectly cast – if you have ever thought Shakespeare comedies aren’t actually funny this will prove you wrong.

Looking forward I am booked to see the following, which should all be good (and some are revivals/transfers so good reviews already)

Apollo Theatre – Travesties – this is the transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory of the early Stoppard play directed by Patrick Marber and with that Tom Hollander – like all Stoppard it is a bit smartarse and a lot went over my head but I enjoyed it even so.

Wyndhams Theatre – Don Juan in Soho – revival directed by the ubiquitous Patrick Marber with David Tennant as the dirty Don who puts it about with the ladies – Moliere updated – strong reviews first time round.

Harold Pinter Theatre – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf – Martha, George, Nick and Honey get p*ssed up and shouty – you know the film no doubt – with the mighty Imelda Staunton as Martha – and James Macdonald a particular favourite of mine is directing. So the reviews suggest this is outstanding so I think there is no excuse here. I am looking forward immensely.

Theatre Royal Haymarket – The Goat or Who is Sylvia – another Edward Albee play (see WAOVW above) about a bloke who falls for a goat (well actually a bit more than that you will be pleased to hear) – with that Damien Lewis and best of all Sophie Okonedo (if you have not seen her playing Margaret in Hollow Crown 2 then you must – right now – in fact buy the DVDs of this and HC 1 – tell the rest of the family to f**k off – and sit and watch it right the way through – now that is a mini-series – stuff your Game of Thrones – and give or take it actually all happened – well maybe there is a whiff or propaganda from big Will S).

Duke of Yorks – The Glass Menagerie – usual Tennessee Williams fare (Southern matriarch, family a mess, new arrival) directed by Scotland’s finest John Tiffany. I loved it despite sitting a bit too far away.

Right that’s your lot.