From Morning to Midnight (National Theatre)

And now the National Theatre’s Christmas show for grown ups! I saw it a couple of weeks ago, another preview, with my friend Lisa for her birthday. I don’t think she’s a fan of German expressionism or maybe she was just two hungover from the day before… but I actually really enjoyed it.

Adam Godley’s performance was totally insane, all arms and leg and jerky angles, I booked it because I knew he was good but I did not realize just how good he was. Brilliant. I enjoyed the first half of the play more than the second, I think just because of the maniacal behavior, but also the beautiful snow! Ever seen a giant stage covered in billowing snowdrifts? Lovely! There were some great things to look at in the second half too but Adam Godley calmed down (a bit) and there was not nearly as much shrieking and clambering about.

Long tall actors should always clamber about like loons. It pleases me.

Emil and the Detectives (National Theatre)

I went to see the National Theatre’s Christmas show on the preview night a couple of weeks ago. It was good fun but I regretted not having any children with me. I don’t know, it wasn’t my cup of tea, and maybe it’s cruel to say so but I didn’t enjoy it because I just didn’t think the kids were good enough! Maybe they’ll get better (or are better already!) with practicing the show but the majority of them were just not very good at projecting their lines. I was not that far away from the stage and I had trouble understanding what they were saying. Also, and yeah, I guess this is cruel, I just thought all of them lacked charm. There were only two of the child actors who I thought were charming and that I’d want to be friends with if I was a kid.

Still though, the children in the audience loved it and I could see how special it would feel to go there as a family for your Christmas show.

Fleabag (Edinburgh Fringe)

Fleabag was the first play I went to see at the Fringe this year, my playwright friend Lisa bought the tickets after hearing it was good. She also bought us tickets for something SO awful that we had to walk out of it, it was totally dire, something from the Royal Court’s writing program about a post-apocolyptic hotel where everyone spoke in insipid cliches, Christ it was terrible. We were not the only walkouts but for some reason the thing still got good reviews. The lesson is you can’t trust reviews at Fringe time.

HOWEVER. Fleabag, a one woman monologue written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, was just a wonderful first play to see in Edinburgh this summer, made me think it was totally worth it giving up those tickets to see DanRads who would probably be rubbish anyway (turned out he was amazing, boo!). She was an excellent story-teller, the performance and delivery was so good when I remember it I remember the specific scenes, the café, the train journey, the characters, the outfits she was wearing, yet Waller-Bridge was sitting on a stool dressed in black for the whole performance. This is talent.

Goodnight Mr Tom, Touring, York Opera Grand

Lovely show! I always watch the tv film when it's on and it was just as good, Oliver Ford Davies was wonderful as Mr Tom, probably much more moving than John Thaw but I've alway preferred him anyway... Good and gruff to begin with and excellent dad to Will almost immediately!
The puppet dog was brilliant as was the girl who performed her, we never saw her face til she took her bow at the end.
We all sobbed of course. Brilliant.

The Woman in Black, Theatre Royal York

Celia and I watched the film a couple of days before I went to hospital last year, I with I hadn't seen the film because then I might have actually found the play disturbing and frightening, as it was I wasn't really affected at all which is a shame because I could see how good it was and how frightened I should have been!
Another thing that ruined the atmosphere was the ridiculous Wednesday night York audience. The kind of audience who rolled boxes of maltesers, crunched sweeties, coughed and screamed at all the wrong moments. Too much nervous laughter- FAR too much. It didn't create the right atmosphere at all everyone guffawing after every tense moment.
Anyway, the two actors were great and it was really well staged, even from the very back of the gods it was a good view and a good play to look at.

People (National Theatre)

By tomorrow I'll've seen five plays in six days, I really regret not seeing the Mousetrap on Tuesday now, it might have been a record or something. The Mousetrap will have to remain a mystery for me, it's been on for 60 years I'm sure it'll still be on the next time I've got a Tuesday afternoon to kill!
I went to London on Monday to see Alan Bennett's latest, it opened in November so I was ready for the actors to be bored with it, and maybe they were but they hid it well as everyone was really good.
I was expecting the play to be rubbish to tell you the truth, I didn't enjoy the Habit of Art and the NTlive trailer for this one made it look absolutely cringeworthy and appalling. I liked the History Boys of course but preferred the lighter BBC-friendly film because a lot of the wheelchairs and paedophillia had been cut and it was essentially a showcase of handsome young talent!
People wasn't quite that.
But it was good, the showcase of older talent did not disappoint, good comic turns from Linda Bassett and Nick le Prevost and of course Frances de laTour was the best, a great play for her. Alison was taken with the hairdos and next morning went to work with her hair done up like Dorothy Stacpoole.
I'm not sure how I feel about the National Trust any more, I've had a membership card delivered to my house two years in a row now, it's not mine, It's Mrs Francis Williams', but I feel like I should use it because she isn't.

Julius Caesar, Donmar

My first trip back to a real theatre was a trip to see a play I'd heard reviewed on Front Row before Christmas. I didn't know it was happening and I don't know if I'd be interested in it if I hadn't heard a clip of dialogue on the radio and thought 'is that Harriet Walter?' I'm a big fan of Harriet, she's got amazing stage presence. Not many women do it for me on stage but she totally does, as does Fiona Shaw and Nancy Carroll.
An all female cast of Julius Caesar? I haven't seen many gimmicky plays before but I'd seen Julius Caesar twice (and reviewed it twice I think!) It was terrible and boring both times. I thought perhaps if I saw someone I really like (and trust) as an actor doing it I might actually like it.
And I did! It was the first time I'd seen the language really well done, the actors were all good enough that they knew how to deliver Shakespeare! Harriet was great as Brutus and Cush Jumbo (who I once saw as a fab Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion and more recently saw doing a good comic turn at the National in She Stoops to Conquer) was an amazing Mark Anthony, totally fab.
The concept was still a bit iffy at times and I wasn't sure about the rock numbers- though at least they passed the battle scenes without the usual boredom when men do it!
Good actors make good Shakespeare.

The Magistrate, NTLive, January

Anna and I missed out on a lot of theatre recently because of my bedridden-ness, but when I knew I would be better-ish by January we booked cinema tickets to see John Lithgow's National Theatre Pinero farce. And boy were we glad we only saw it at the cinema. Yet again that was another NT Live show that I thought was tat (so far only She Stoops to Conquer and The Kitchen were ones I'd wished I'd seen for real).
I enjoyed Nancy Carroll's performance and John Lithgow of course but otherwise it was nothing special at all. The Pinero I saw in the summer (Dandy Dick touring) was a very similar pay but the pacing was much much better- it was much shorter, the sets were much better, the songs were better and the acting was the same. The only draw the Magistrate seemed to have was that this one had John Lithgow, an American movie star. When Anna and I tried to think which British actor could play the part (double-taking, eyebrow-raising caricature) we could only think of Nicholas le Prevost who had done Dandy Dick, but of course, he can't headline at the National! That would not bring in the crowds (sorry, Nick).
Anyway, glad I saw Nancy Carroll, she was my favourite. I love a good female comic turn, makes a nice change!

Shirley Valentine (1989)

The next time someone good does Shirley Valentine on stage I'd really like to see it. I enjoy the film and I think even though it looks SO eighties, the script and the performances are good enough to keep it timeless, at least it hasn't suddenly become dated. But I would love to see it as it was originally, a monologue. Pauline Collins as Shirley is by far, head and shoulders above everyone else, the best thing in it, and so she should be she won enough awards for doing the monologue on Broadway and the West End before they turned it into a film. It must have been fun for her getting to actually go on the fab holiday she'd spent three years talking about on a stage set like a crappy kitchen with chips and egg on the cooker.

Killer Joe (2012)

I saw the trailer for Killer Joe at the cinema a while back and thought it looked pretty good. I've never been a fan of Matthew McConnaughey but seeing him the other day in Eastbound and Down not playing 'naked model in advert' (the role I usually see him in) made me remember the Killer Joe ad.
It was based on a play and I think that's one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much, that it was about the words and not showing loads of set design or location, you knew it was Texas from the horrible trailer in which most of it took place. It was a film where the actors' performances and the script were the key things, it was a play. The script was pretty good, not great, but the performances were really excellent. I didn't even mind the extreme violence because it was still uncomfortably funny and Matthew McConnaughey was fucking scary as hell as well as being charming.

Edinburgh Fringe 2012 DAYTRIP

I wasn't sure if I would visit my pals at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, but I booked a daytrip for me and Rob, an early train and a late train back to York, four shows of different genres and enough time for a big dinner at the steak and mussles place! I actually booked the trip when I thought my friend Suzie was coming from America so they were all chosen with her in mind! Suzie is into sporty things and arty things, also she is a published children's author/illustrator, so she likes kids things too! So the four shows I picked were Peter and the Wolf performed by two Russian clowns with minamilist puppets! Leo, a one man dance sensation! The Man Who Planted Trees, a nice little eco-puppet story half in French and my friends' comedy sketch show A Brief History of Scotland, so she could meet them! If I'd have known I was picking for Rob I would have cut the first three!! It turned out he did like my friends' show the best, lot of laughs! I have reviewed it before but there were new sketches and tighter old sketches, it was great. DBS are an excellent young theatre company, I'm proud to have been involved in a few of their ventures!



So we arrived in Edinburgh in the rain (August, of course it's raining!) went straight to John Lewis and had a massive breakfast while looking out of their cafe windows at the rooftops, this was a highlight! It didn't rain all day, Peter and the Wolf was good fun, the first half anyway, when they played the record and acted it out, the second half had odd new-age lift-muzak playing while they fucked about like a couple of idiots, that way you left the show with awful music in your head instead of the recognisable tune you enjoyed in the first half! We then had a coffee and went to see Leo. Flip!! He was amazing! I can't even begin to describe how clever it was, maybe there's a youtube video I can post here. Again, it went on a bit too long but otherwise I really liked watching it. Then The Man Who Planted Trees, which I saw last year and booked because I thought Suzie would like it, it was just as good as last year. Love that dog puppet. After seeing my pals' show and Rob meeting them and having a drink we had an amazing big meal at mussles and steak, then we came home- man we were TIRED!

She Stoops to Conquer, National Theatre Live

This was definitely the best National Theatre Live I've seen- the only one worth seeing and the only one I'd want to have seen in real life.
It was fucking hilarious, the actors were deliciously over the top. Cush Jumbo is so adorable and I love Sophie Thompson and want to be her when I grow up.

Travelling Light, National Theatre Live

I liked the girl, I liked the use of film and projection but I'm glad I didn't see this one for real and it was just a cinema trip because it was schmaltzy and sentimental and comparing it to She Stoops to Conquer which was put on at the same theatre on the same stage just a month or two later, well it was just forgetable.

The Kitchen (National Theatre)

I feel like I haven't been to the theatre in so friggin' long!! I didn't even go tonight, this was another NT Live affair. After The Cherry Orchard I wasn't sure if the National know how to film their productions, but because this was an ensemble there weren't loads of irritating close-ups of "the star".
Because the Kitchen is so beautifully choreographed whoever was filming was obviously keen to show it. It looked really good, I wish I'd seen it live- uh, I mean, live without the ten minute delay, actually in the theatre. I bet it's even more spectacular!
Tom Brooke is a great firecracker, weird boney face and beautiful eyes, Jonathan Pryce-like in his manic desperation, I think after seeing him in the Caretaker I thought; "bet Jonathan played it exactly like that." He'll be big in the theatre now I reckon, it's an ensemble piece but he was the one you watched.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011 Part Three

And the last two. I saw Lip Theatre Company's amusing play In For a Pound and my god it was funny and mad. A good tight show it reminded me of the plays my friend Evil Dave wrote while we were in Lip six years ago... I was so glad I got to hang out with the cast at the end of Fringe party my friends hosted, they are a lovely talented bunch with great faces for comedy.
The Sweet Release was a cabaret at the Sweet venue, I think I got about ten acts crammed into that hour! Stand ups, belly dancers, music, magic and Dr Beard.

I loved the belly dancing, the first girl was good but watching my friend Lynne was hypnotic and very sexual, watching Lynne dance was like being on drugs! The stand-ups were great and the piano player who sang an improvised song that the audience chose the lyrics to was fun. Such a shame we only got three minutes of Laura Hayden, I like cock jokes told by women. I must say the comparing was vastly improved once transferred into the hands of that capable man of science, Dr Beard. Half way through he did his mad set, which went down extremely well with everyone despite it being quite an eclectic manic drug-fueled style of comedy, very physical, he uses mime, sings songs but it's mainly bellowing. He then compared the rest of the show which was great because everyone was glad to see him again.

I will soon post a picture of Dr Beard, or maybe of Dr Dad, his father (played this year by me).

The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Young Vic)

Anna recommended this one for my birthday, she made me read the Pillowman once, it was terrifying! But I’ve seen In Bruges and that had such an excellent script I was like, hell yeah, sign me up for Martin McDonagh.
This was a really good production of a very good, funny and tragic play. Four brilliant characters brought to life by four brilliant actors, all so well written!
Nice atmos at the Young Vic too, loved having to walk through the rain to get to our seats, good old Ireland! Depressing!
First half was brilliantly funny and I found myself identifying with Maureen far too much, second half was still so funny but it got dark- real dark! I didn’t like my self-awareness anymore!!
I really liked it, glad I got ill after it, not during!

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Theatre Royal Haymarket)

I finally got to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. I am so very pleased I did!
I know Hamlet like the back of my hand what with seeing so many versions lately, so I loved all the scenes where Ros and Guil had to do their lines and just deal with it all! I loved the scenes with the Players, excellent fun and I loved the scenes where it was just the two of them- though when they lasted longer than twenty minutes they got a bit tedious... Existentialism isn't that great. Probably would have got tedious quicker if they hadn’t been played by lovely lovely Posner and Scripps. God, they were just too cute! Jamie Parker and Sam Barnett, always my favourite History Boys, I love seeing you both on stage. They made it so very entertaining. Such sweeties.
I love fanfics.

A Woman Killed With Kindness (National Theatre)

After War Horse we went back to the National and saw this. I have to say I was extremely disappointed.
I get so annoyed when the National doesn't deliver. Peter Hall's Twelfth Night was so boring and uninventive. This modern-day (well, 1919) version of Heywood's 17th century play at least looked inventive. Two beautiful interiors filled the stage and the costumes and the way the characters moved around were very beautiful.
But it was slow and it was boring.
The actors did their best, well, sort of, there was a lot of crashing and bashing of the set over the dialogue at the beginning which was very irritating, you couldn't hear anything!
My main problem though was with the story. If you're going to set a play where a woman starves herself to death in a different period to when it was written, don't set it at a time where it just wouldn't have happened! I can see the parallel the director was trying to make with the ol' sufferagettes, but it seemed so unlikely that the characters around Anne would have let her do that to herself. It was ridiculous and it just ended, suddenly.

War Horse (New London Theatre)

My Norweigan pal came to stay last month, she is a big theatre junkie, but she prefers musicals. She told me to book us a show that she hadn't seen. I booked War Horse, because all though Linn didn't want anything too heavy, I thought she would enjoy it on an aesthetic level if nothing else.
I saw War Horse at the National a couple of years ago with my emotionally stunted sister, so I had to hold in the tears so as not to embarrass her and I nearly died in the process. This time I was with Linn and Alison and at the end we were all sobbing tears of grief and joy- the best kind of tears.
War Horse is Spectacular.
The puppetry is amazing. Less than ten seconds in you will believe the horses are real. You will worry for the actors safety when the horses freak out, you'll think "god, those horses could hurt someone!" they are that well designed and performed.
The music is beautiful and emotive, the stage craft is excellent and hasn't changed that much since the theatre switch, the story is TOO emotional. If you're an emotional cripple, like I am, go to War Horse once a year, it's so much better than a breakdown, just let it all out.
Alison started crying when Joey turned from a foal into a grown horse, that was only 15 minutes in!
I don't care if they're making a film, I'm not interested, nothing could compare to this experience, a real horse will never be as engaging or as charming and tragic as the puppet Joey. I effing love War Horse.

Anne Boleyn (Shakespeare's Globe)

A few weeks ago Alison and I saw Anne Boleyn at the Globe, I had wanted to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- and so had Alison! But Anna booked the tickets and then couldn't come.
Anyway, I enjoyed it, it was a million times better than The Other Boleyn Girl, Henry VII was hot and charming, Anne was a good lead and it was a good script, though James I and Villiers' dance and makeout number in the middle I recall was the real highlight.
It was fun and it was period so it fit at the Globe but as always, when I go to the Globe and I don't see a Shakespeare I kind of feel like what's the point?