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What or how you say it?
Pygmalion is a classic. So what can I write? I went to the theatre knowing what I would see. And it was all well executed – the later version with the scene at the ball written in. Some scenes felt a bit overplayed, almost farcical; others maybe a little underplayed – leaving me asking –…
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Does it take a madman to care about women?
This performance is all movement and music. My affair with the Pinter almost ended after going to see the Seagull, poorly acted out in a pinewood box with a couple of plastic chairs for props. But this re-ignited my love. The actors used the entire stage, including the audience boxes to either side; the balcony…
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A comic strip about history
I remember reading Midnight’s Children; I was very young and hell-bent on reading a book by the great Rushdie. So I did – but to the very end I felt that, whilst I might be understanding all the words, I am most certainly missing the plot. I was educated in Poland – India’s partition or…
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Where did the Patriots lose their why?
The scenography is superb (although at the Noel Coward theatre Miriam Buether’s crimson, cruciform set is probably best enjoyed from the circle where you can actually see its form, which you do not really get in the stalls), the acting really quite enthralling, but the play itself – mediocre to say the least. Watching it,…
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Why we don’t need a female Katurian
The blurb on the Duke of York theatre’s website calls this a dark comedy. So maybe I should not be surprised that members of the audience are laughing out loud. But I cannot seem to join in. The play opens up to a scene that immediately brings 1984 to mind – two police officers abusing…
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Why can we not learn?
Before I go on, I have to start by saying this was a brilliant experience. The monologue is superb and Maureen Lipman is, well, mesmerising. If you still can, buy a ticket right now. So now I can go on to say – this play made me so angry. Why? Because it is the most…
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There is no method in ‘t
This is a play giving an insider glimpse into John Gielgud’s struggles to direct what became known as Richard Burton’s Hamlet. Despite the infamously fraught and alcohol-drenched process, the 1964 production was a massive financial success (the artistic success was less undisputed) and ran for 137 performances. You can enjoy a film record of the…
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Retrograde – Poitier’s dilemma
I can’t believe that a year ago I had not even heard about the Kiln and now it is becoming a favourite of mine. The plays it shows may be less known, definitely less advertised and maybe a little less polished, but they are thrilling, engaging and memorable. And to top it off, the scenography…
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The ultimate divorce
Tell me girlfriend, if you recognise yourself in this story. You leave your country and family behind for love, for him. You sacrifice, maybe not quite your brother, chopped up and thrown into the sea, but your career for sure – so that he can focus on his. Then soon after it takes off, he…
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Simon Stone’s Phaedra – comedy gone wrong
When I watched the opening scene of Simon Stone’s Phaedra at the National, for a brief moment I thought that maybe this would be something new, something different, something fresh. I was laughing loudly at the brilliantly written, quick, sharp dialogue filled with jokes and quips. Not five minutes had gone past and I started…
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