Louise's Theatre Reviews: October 2009

Saturday, 24 October 2009

Inherit the Wind **** TNT

Friday 23 October 2009 16:32 GMT

Though much of Lawrence and Lee’s 1955 drama is decidedly old-fashioned, the dramatic fireworks in the climactic courtroom scenes more than compensate.

Based on the real-life 1920s ‘Scopes Monkey Trial’ in which a Tennessee teacher was prosecuted for breaking the law by teaching from Darwin’s evolutionary text, Trevor Nunn’s production crams the stage with disapproving townsfolk as David Troughton’s blustering, blinkered, bible-bashing prosecutor Brady faces up to agnostic defence lawyer Drummond (a thinly disguised Clarence Darrow).

But it’s Kevin Spacey’s determined Drummond – upholding the right to think for oneself – who steals the show in this pertinent battle between creationism and scientific theory.

Old Vic Theatre, The Cut, SE1 8NB Tube: Waterloo. Until Dec 20. £10-£48.50

Comedians **** TNT

Friday 23 October 2009 16:20 GMT

Despite its title, Trevor Griffiths’ political drama isn’t very funny – and that’s intentional. Written in 1975, it follows six would-be comics as they warm up for a make or break performance in front of a visiting talent scout.

We see them first – a milkman, an Irish labourer, the Jewish owner of a third-rate nightclub and a docker among others – in the Manchester classroom where former vaudevillian Eddie Waters has been holding evening classes for the last three months, trying to inculcate not only a sense of what will and what won’t work, but also the possibility of comedy as a force for change.

But it turns out that the talent-spotter (Keith Allen, Lily’s dad) is of the old school for whom political correctness definitely isn’t on the agenda. He’s all for giving the masses exactly what they want and, before returning to the classroom for the final verdict and analysis, we witness, turn by turn, just how far this disparate, desperate group are prepared to descend to crude sexist and racist cracks in order to get a job.

Played out in real time, this is an angry – if dated – piece of writing, and Sean Holmes (the Lyric’s new artistic director) has assembled a fine cast for his revival. Matthew Kelly’s unsmiling Eddie (the laughter knocked out of him by what he saw when individuals were reduced to stereotypes), Mark Benton and Reece Shearsmith’s antagonistic brothers (unwittingly sabotaging their chances when their double act falls apart) are particularly impressive, and David Dawson is unforgettable as mercurial van-driver Gethin. With his shaved head and troubled personality, he shocks everyone with an angry, mime-based routine of class hatred which challenges what comedy is all about.

Lyric Hammersmith, King ST, W6 0QL Tube: Hammersmith (0871 221 1726). Until Nov 14. £10-£25 (special offers for under 26-year-olds)

Endgame *** TNT

Friday 23 October 2009 17:03 GMT

This isn’t the production it was originally intended to be. There are just four people in the cast of Samuel Beckett’s bleak 1957 comedy, one of whom makes a single brief appearance, whilst another has what can only be described as a supporting role. But it’s the two main characters who’ve been recast in Complicite’s energetic revival, with a rather too young Mark Rylance seated centre stage as the aged Hamm and director Simon McBurney stepping into the shoes of his crippled servant Clov.

This musing on the end of life and the deterioration of the body could be a grim affair, but the proceedings are spliced with moments of black humour, which make watching the inevitable fate of the protagonists more than palatable.

Entombed in a dingy, brick, tower-like structure, with a pair of grimy, ladder-high windows letting in the merest hint of light and the tantalising reminder of what was once a better life beyond the walls, Hamm waits for death. Stuck in a state of interdependence there’s only one way out for Hamm – though Clov still nurtures a tiny, rebellious glimmer of hope for a different existence in the wasted world outside. Cruelly ensconced in dustbins, his parents Nagg (a dog-biscuit munching Tom Hickey) and Nell (the excellent Miriam Margolyes making maximum impact as she suggestively recalls her long-faded youth) also wait for the end.

McBurney’s resentful Clov has a stiff-legged walk to emphasise his inability to sit down, whilst Rylance’s tetchy, histrionic Hamm (a bully permanently confined to his wheelchair and mole-blind behind his dark glasses) gives a masterclass in acting from the waist up. His performance doesn’t make the prospect of getting older any more appealing, but in its flamboyant variety it lightens the mood in this existential account of the human condition.

Duchess, Catherine Street, WC2B 5LA (0844 412 4659; nimaxtheatres.com) Until December 5. £20-£46

Monday, 19 October 2009

Breakfast at Tiffany's *** TNT

Monday 19 October 2009 16:11 GMT

Anna Friel on stage is less the wide-eyed innocent than Audrey Hepburn on screen in Samuel Adamson’s new version which partially acknowledges the louche, more dangerous New York social scene depicted in Truman Capote’s 1958 novella.

But an airy set and clunky staging do little to conjure the risqué lifestyle of Holly Golightly, reinvented goodtime girl from Texas who survives by fleecing older men.

Friel is cute, sometimes vulnerable and casually naked as the witty man-magnet, Joseph Cross is unremarkable as the aspiring young writer who falls under her spell and, with a few exceptions, the other characters are strictly one-dimensional.

But if you haven’t read the original, Sean Mathias’s production provides a serviceable if uninspired account of the plot – and a supporting role for an exceptionally laidback ginger tabby.

Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, SW1Y 4HT (0845 481 1870) to 9th January (£15-£49.50)

My Real War 1914-? *** TNT

Monday 19 October 2009 16:15 GMT

This is a short show, so despite the question mark in the title there’s the uncomfortable feeling right from the start that this solo performance, adapted from the letters of Havilland Le Mesurier can only end one sad way.

Upper class, privileged and eager to abandon his scholarship to Oxford and enlist, Lem (as he prefers to be called) initially has the naïve enthusiasm of an excited puppy, but as he completes his training and is shipped out overseas, eagerness turns to boredom, boredom to a longing for the creature comforts and safety of home, and longing to fear and the realisation that fighting a war takes a terrible toll.

Tricia Thorns (who also directs) has adapted his correspondence to create a touching portrait of a promising young man swept up in the tragedy of a whole generation. Writing from the trenches, he allows his growing doubts and anger to surface in his letters to his father. But, to his mother, the tone is more reassuring as he tries to shield her from the reality of mud, rats, injury and death, telling her instead how much he welcomed the cake and hamper from Fortnum & Mason.

The production is way too busy, with an action to fit every change in mood, but Philip Desmeules - bright-eyed, floppy haired and with a military tache – poignantly brings Lem back from the dead in this factual account of what it was like to serve in World War I.

Trafalgar Studios (2), Whitehall, SW1A 2DY TUBE: Charing Cross (0870 060 6632; ambassadortickets.com/myrealwar) Until Oct 31. £15-£22.50

Many Roads to Paradise *** TNT

Monday 19 October 2009 16:24 GMT

The need for love and affection is paramount in the unlikely linked pairings of Stewart Permutt’s enjoyable, bittersweet comedy which is being given a well-deserved and partially recast second airing at this intimate venue after its short run last year at the equally tiny Finborough.

Having come straight from the hospital where I’d been visiting an extremely elderly relative, I groaned inwardly when blind, 80-something Stella appeared in a wheelchair. But Permutt’s dialogue soon had me laughing. He’s captured not only the wayward thought patterns which often characterise the very, very old, but also the tender feelings which can, sometimes, develop between people from completely different backgrounds. So Muslim Somali carer Sadia in her hijab provides the warmth that Jewish Stella’s critical attitude has long ago knocked out of her relationship with her frumpy 50-plus daughter Helen.

Helen, in turn, has found someone else to criticise her over the years – her long-term lover Avril, a forcibly retired radio producer with an over-fondness for the bottle and an unstoppable waspish tongue. The only thing that seems to be right in Helen’s life is her job at the local travel agent – except that the firm is about to go out of business and her shy, gay boss Martin (who’s about her age) has just taken up, sort of, with the much younger and rather unpleasant man who picked him off the internet because of his hairy chest.

The coincidences are a bit too neat, the characters somewhat underdeveloped, but this short new play is touching as well as funny, and Amanda Boxer’s delivery of Avril’s killer putdowns shouldn’t be missed.

Jermyn Street Theatre, SW1Y 6ST Tube: Piccadilly Circus (020 7287 2875). Until Nov 14. £14-£18

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

An Inspector Calls *** TNT
Tuesday 13 October 2009 13:07 GMT

This is the show that, in 1992, catapulted director Stephen Daldry into the public eye and the world of Hollywood and Billy Elliot. His striking revival of JB Priestley’s 1945 drama took a tired repertory staple and completely reinvented it. A string of transfers and awards followed, and now here’s another chance to catch his multi-timescale interpretation with a new cast but the same expressionistic design.

Rather than contain the action in a single room of the home of wealthy Edwardian industrialist Arthur Birling , designer Ian MacNeil lifts their scaled-down house high above a World War II setting in which children scrabble through rubble to peak at the riches the Birlings are enjoying in 1912. But, one by one, father, mother, son Eric, daughter Sheila and her smug fiancé Gerald are summoned by the enigmatic Inspector Goole who announces the suicide of a working class girl who was once employed by Birling and subsequently turns out to have been linked to – and ill-treated by – every single one of them.

As Nicholas Woodeson’s no-nonsense Goole prods away at their consciences to unearth truth after truth, the implications of their actions become all too clear – yet even when their involvement is exposed, not all of them are prepared to admit their share of the blame.

Some of the acting tends to the over-emphatic, but Robin Whiting impresses as alcoholic young Eric, Marianne Oldham’s Sheila makes the journey from selfish complacency to some sort of social awareness, and Daldry’s production remains a powerful indictment of the moneyed class’s ability to sweep guilt and unpleasantness conveniently under the carpet.

Novello, Aldwych WC2B 4LD (0844 482 5170; aninspectorcalls.com) Tube: Covent Garden/ Charing Cross. Until Nov 14. £12.50-£47.50

Speaking in Tongues *** TNT

Tuesday 13 October 2009 12:59 GMT

Though the basic plot’s the same, this production of the stage original on which Australian playwright Andrew Bovell based his tantalising film Lantana proves a more claustrophobic – though not always more intense – affair. With synchronised and overlapping dialogue, and a cast of four playing nine characters, it calls for considerable concentration as the interwoven stories of betrayal, misunderstanding and emotional emptiness unfold.

John Simm is both policeman and suspect, Lucy Cohu a superficially confident wife and an insecure therapist, Kerry Fox her commitment-phobe client and a nervous adulteress, and Ian Hart conveys the inner torment of a trio of contrasting individuals.

The deceptively simple design adds a cinematic touch and the pieces of this ambiguous jigsaw gradually fall into place thanks to an intricate – if credibility-stretching – set of coincidences.

Duke of York’s, St Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4BG (0844 871 7623) until 12th December (£10.00 - £48.50)

The Tobacco Merchant's Lawyer *** TNT
Tuesday 13 October 2009 13:06 GMT

At just under an hour long, Iain Heggie’s gentle satire of life in Glasgow in the 18th century and the present day has a pleasing circular structure which neatly wraps up all the ends and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

With the dulcet chamber music of James Oswald (1710-1769) to set the tone, widowed lawyer Enoch Dalmellington sits at his desk trying to reconcile his accounts in impoverished times. His daughter Euphemia is a constant but unseen presence – she’s plain, she’s a rotten housekeeper and she keeps on turning away suitors who might, possibly, rescue them both from their current financial plight.

Heggie interweaves the fate of her latest wooer (made to walk the plank as punishment for his fervent antislavery views), her father’s speculative dealings with an unscrupulous tobacco merchant (riding high on profits from transatlantic trade) and the predictions of a local fortune teller (who can see what life will be like in 2009) to create an amusing monologue of resignation and adaptability. And though not yet quite word perfect, Callum Cuthbertson’s sometimes wistful Dalmellington, invests it all with an unhurried acceptance modified by parental concern as he tries to be both mother and father to his worrisome offspring.

Finborough

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

Talent ** TNT

Wednesday 07 October 2009 10:40 GMT

No matter how talented the writer, some early works deserve to be revisited whilst others should really be left sleeping. With a host of awards and a long and varied career, Victoria Wood has since become something of a national treasure but unfortunately her revised revival of her very first play, written in 1978, falls squarely into the latter category. Stuck somewhere between an extended skit, a cabaret performance and a one-acter with songs, it doesn’t really know what it’s trying to be or where it’s trying to go.

As an aspiring young hopeful herself, her knowledge of the sleazy world of small scale Northern talent competitions and variety clubs was first hand. And maybe when she performed alongside the now equally popular Julie Walters their unique chemistry added something special to the TV version which followed its Sheffield premiere.

New songs have been added and there are pleasant performances from Leanne Rowe as ambitious wannabe singer Julie and, especially, Suzie Toase’s chubby, dowdy Maureen, yet this backstage show never really takes off.

The always excellent Mark Hadfield is good value as both a fussy manageress and a third rate magician whilst Mark Curry is intentionally revolting as a randy compere. But some nifty one-liners can’t overcome the lack of content or the overall reliance on 70’s nostalgia and even though it’s not much over 90 minutes long, it still feels disappointingly overstretched.

Menier Chocolate Factory , 53 Southwark Street, SE1 1RU ( 020 7907 7060) Until 14th November ( £25 & Meal Deals available £34)

Sunday, 4 October 2009

Breakfast at Tiffany's *** TNT

Saturday 03 October 2009 11:27 GMT

But an airy set and clunky staging do little to conjure the risqué lifestyle of Holly Golightly, reinvented goodtime girl from Texas who survives by fleecing older men.

But if you haven’t read the original, Sean Mathias’s production provides a serviceable if uninspired account of the plot – and a supporting role for an exceptionally laidback ginger tabby.

Theatre Royal Haymarket, Haymarket, SW1Y 4HT (0845 481 1870) to 9th January (£15-£49.50)

The Fastest Clock in the Universe *** TNT

Saturday 03 October 2009 11:48 GMT

The second half of the Hampstead’s 50th anniversary season gets off to a striking start with Edward Dicks’ classy revival of Philip Ridley’s unsettling black comedy. With its East End setting, power games and mismatched homosexual couple, there are definite shades of Pinter and Orton in this cruel, confident early work which caused quite a stir when it premiered here back in 1992.

Fear of the inevitable passage of time underpins the text as Alec Newman’s taut Cougar prepares to celebrate his 19th birthday - yet again. Despite his ostentatiously tanned, perfectly ripped body it’s clear from his dyed dark hair that there are quite a few more years on this man’s clock.

He’s actually pushing 30, but no way is he prepared to admit to - or even let anyone else mention - his true age.

His older partner Captain Tock (Finbar Lynch, excellent) is only allowed to touch him wearing pink rubber Marigolds, and even then all he’s permitted is a barely tolerated hug as they wait for the sole party guest – a 15 year old schoolboy called Foxtrot Darling whom Cougar has been carefully grooming for the event.

Mini-skirted, ballsy and with bunched blonde hair, Jaime Winstone‘s uninvited Sherbet Gravel brings a breath of fresh air into their mausoleum of a flat with its morbid collection of stuffed birds. She knows Cougar’s game – and just how to needle him.

It’s a striking debut in a nasty, violent but also very entertaining play which set out to shock in the 90's and still succeeds in doing so today.

Hampstead, Eton Avenue, NW3 3EU (020 7722 9301) until 17th October (£15-£25) Under 26 - £10

Mother Courage and Her Children **** - uneditied version

A sound-bomb machine, rock music and eye-catching pyrotechnics contrast vividly with the quieter, equally devastating scenes of Deborah Warner’s riveting 21^st century production of Brecht’s 1939 anti-war epic, skilfully merging his sparsely evoked 17^th century setting with modern technology. Punctuated by Duke Special’s haunting songs and veteran novelist Gore Vidal’s voiceover, this salutary account of a resourceful, money-motivated mother’s doomed attempts to protect her children grips throughout as – with her fortunes fluctuating along with her allegiance - she haggles her way across a violent, war-torn Europe. And from a triumphant entrance riding high on her merchandise-laden cart to her final, wearily resigned exit pulling the now almost empty vehicle behind her, Fiona Shaw’s indomitable profiteer commands the stage for the three hours plus of Tony Kushner’s punchy, modern translation.

Olivier at the National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 9PX (020 7452 3000) Waterloo tube www.nationaltheatre.org.uk In rep until 8^th December (£10 - £30 -part of the Travelex £10 season)

Mother Courage and Her Children **** TNT

Saturday 03 October 2009 13:27 GMT

A sound-bomb machine, rock music and eye-catching pyrotechnics contrast vividly with the quieter yet equally tragic scenes of Deborah Warner’s riveting production of Brecht’s 1939 anti-war epic – skilfully merging his sparsely evoked 17th-century setting with modern technology.

This salutary account of a resourceful, money-motivated mother’s doomed attempts to protect her children grips throughout.

The National Theatre, South Bank, SE1 9PX . Until Dec 8. £10-£30

Louise's Theatre Reviews

Saturday, 24 October 2009

Monday, 19 October 2009

Tuesday, 13 October 2009

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