Author Archives: sheilajtheatre

A Mad World My Masters – September 2013

Experience: 8/10

By Thomas Middleton, edited by Sean Foley and Phil Porter

Directed by Sean Foley

Venue: Swan Theatre

Date: Monday 16th September 2013

I was very glad we could fit this production in one more time before the run ends. There was no surprise value of course, and we both felt that tonight’s audience took a while to warm up, but it was still a great deal of fun. We had the added pleasure of seeing an understudy tonight as well – Jonny Weldon took the part of Oboe, and did a good job in the role.

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Fences – September 2013

Experience: 7/10

By August Wilson

Directed by Paulette Randall

Company: Theatre Royal Bath Productions

Venue: Duchess Theatre

Date: Saturday 14th September 2013

Steve can remember the 1990 production of this play in the West End starring Yaphet Kotto. In fact, Yaphet Kotto is all he can remember from that production; his performance was so strong that all the other actors have faded into oblivion, which is pretty amazing given that the likes of Adrian Lester were also in the cast. This current production didn’t rise to that standard although it was enjoyable and quite moving, especially at the end. There was one understudy today, with Jay Marsh playing Lyons, but apart from his clothes looking very baggy – is he smaller than Peter Bankolé or was this a deliberate design choice? – I wasn’t aware of anything missing with his part. The crisp-munchers in the front row may have had more of an impact on the performance though; Lenny Henry even came forward after taking his bows to mouth at the offenders not to eat crisps at the theatre again!

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The Same Deep Water As Me – September 2013

Experience: 8/10

By Nick Payne

Directed by John Crowley

Venue: Donmar Theatre

Date: Thursday 12th September 2013

I’m not sure how well the sponsored front row initiative is succeeding at the Donmar. The idea of having front row seats released two weeks before a show seems like a great way to get new people into the theatre at an affordable price, but looking at the occupants of the front row today, I’m not sure it’s having the desired effect. The average age was around 55 to 60, and they mostly looked like regular theatregoers to me. Of course, the matinee audience may have a different profile to evening performances, and no doubt there will be some statistics published eventually puffing what a great success the scheme has been, but for those of us who’ve supported the theatre for many years, it’s still a bit galling to find the best seats not available for advance booking and yet possibly not going to those for whom the scheme was intended. Ah well.

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Candide – September 2013

Experience: 3/10

By Mark Ravenhill

Directed by Lyndsey Turner

Venue: Swan Theatre

Date: Friday 6th September 2013

Well that’s one and three-quarter hours of my life I’ll never get back again. As I was on the aisle for this one (left side) I did think of nipping out after the first scene (and then after the second, then during the third, the fourth and even the fifth) but I always have that nagging worry that the evening will suddenly take off and I’ll have missed the good bits. I needn’t have worried tonight; apart from some so-so laughs there was nothing to miss, and an hour or so in the bar waiting for Steve would have been much more entertaining.

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The Private Ear/The Public Eye – September 2013

Experience: The Private Ear 7/10

The Public Eye 8/10

By Peter Shaffer

Directed by Alistair Whatley

The Original Theatre Company

Venue: Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Date: Monday 2nd September 2013

This was a double bill of two one-act plays, which were joined together by a neat little scene change at the start of the second half. We’d seen The Private Ear partnered with Black Comedy in the 1980s, so this was a new combination for us. As it turned out, I’d seen the film Follow Me! on TV many years ago, so the story of The Public Eye was familiar too, but stage is a different beast to film.

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Macbeth – August 2013

Experience: 7/10

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Eve Best

Venue: Shakespeare’s Globe

Date: Wednesday 28th August 2013

Not bad for a first time director, though again the limited view reduced our enjoyment. We sat in a Gentlemen’s box on the right side of the stage, and from our position there were no entrances in sight at all. The stage had been extended forward with a semi-circle which had steps down to left and right. There were similar steps on each side of the stage near the front, while the pillars had sizeable steps set into their bases which allowed for climbing. At the back of the stage were some walls which looked like they were made of wooden planks; they jutted out into the stage and had jagged tops as well, which reminded us of a crown as well as a wooden palisade. At the base of the walls were small piles of mud or soil (detachable, as we saw later) and the walls themselves had muddy stains tapering off about half way up. The planks had been painted white, and were aged and weathered. The trunks of the pillars were wrapped in covers stained to echo this effect.

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The Resistible Rise Of Arturo Ui – August 2013

Experience: 8/10

Written by Bertolt Brecht, translated by George Tabori and revised by Alistair Beaton

Directed by Jonathan Church

Venue: Minerva Theatre

Date: Thursday 22nd August 2013

Having seen this last year, we were keen to see how it had changed in revival. With most of the original cast back in harness, rehearsals were presumably more straightforward, but there were a few new actors to add in to the mix who could add a fresh take – what would we see tonight?

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A Chorus Line – August 2013

Experience: 8/10

Conceived and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett

Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante

Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics by Edward Kleban

Originally co-choreographed by Bob Avian

Directed by Bob Avian

Venue: London Palladium

Date: Wednesday 21st August 2013

This isn’t my favourite musical, but Steve likes it a lot so I was happy to join him on a visit to the West End to catch this production. I’m still not smitten; I recognise the originality of the style and content, and the music is better than average with some good humour and several very moving scenes, but I found it hard to fully engage with most of the characters, especially when some of them had very little time in the spotlight. Steve enjoyed it more than I did, and as it was his choice I’ve put his rating on the experience; I would have gone for 7/10.

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Hamlet – August 2013

Experience: 9/10

By William Shakespeare

Directed by David Farr

Venue: RST

Date: Thursday 15th August 2013

The Prince is now in the building! After our earlier visits in March and May had left us wondering if Jonathan Slinger would ever get his performance together, I’m delighted to report that his Hamlet is now alive and kicking until the final seconds of this splendid production. With the rest of the cast putting their all into the show, this is one of the strongest versions of Hamlet we’ve seen. Tonight we sat by the right hand walkway, with a good view across the stage diagonal. Some extra aspects were clearer from this angle, and although there were one or two minor changes to the staging, on the whole the production was as I noted it up before. The strength of the central performance was the main difference, and it changed the standard tremendously.

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Titus Andronicus – August 2013

Experience: 8/10

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Michael Fentiman

Venue: Swan Theatre

Date: Tuesday 13th August 2013

Our final time of seeing this production this year, and I was a bit worried we were doing one too many. Would it still be as enjoyable as before? We were at the front on the left side, so my seat wasn’t the most comfortable because I had to twist to my left to see most of the action. I’d also forgotten my hearing aids altogether and had to get a headset for the second half so our expectations were low, but we needn’t have worried. This performance was as good as before, with more detail visible from our side angle and even more improvement in the performances.

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