Humble Boy( Orange Tree Theatre)

[jason71]

I've just booked to see the above play. Is anybody planning on seeing it? Who has seen the play before?

[Tibidabo]

I've been in it! All I will say is that, several years later, I still apologise to anyone who happened to be in the front row of the audience....

I think I might book this.

[oxfordsimon]

I've directed it...

The cast was looking good until I got to the very generic Belinda Lang. Really don't see her as a Flora.

[profquatermass]

Well, I haven't been in or or directed it but I do remember the original production with SRB and Denis Quilley. Really good play - I wonder how much the publicity will make of its source material (don't really want to spoil it for people who don't know the play)

[oxfordsimon]

From their blurb:

My husband is dead and my only son, who has grown fat and strange, has just run away from his own Father’s funeral. I’ll be fine. Fine. At least those bastard bees are gone.

Felix Humble is drawn back to his family home after the death of his father, a biology teacher and amateur beekeeper. There in the garden he finds his waspish mother Flora, her downtrodden friend Mercy and suspiciously ever-present local businessman George Pye, whose daughter Rosie was once involved with Felix. A luncheon is arranged…

Felix is an astrophysicist who discovers that solving the riddle of his emotional life is considerably more challenging than the quest for a unified string theory.

Charlotte Jones’ witty family comedy won the Critics’ Circle Best New Play Award following its premiere at the National Theatre in 2001.

www.orangetreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/humble-boy

[samuelwhiskers]

The set for it is stunning, is all I know so far!

[showgirl]

Having seen the original production in 2001 and not retained a strong impression either way (ie unlike with some plays/productions when I think "never again" or "yes, after a few years"), I wasn't planning to see this. But then FOMO seized me so I have booked for a weekday matinee, as it's looking quite long.

I'm surprised by oxfordsimon's comment about Belinda Lang as whilst I too think of her as simply a standard, familiar name who crops up quite a lot and who seems fairly all-purpose for female roles of a certain age - which I suppose is indeed another way of saying "generic" - I hadn't seen that as a bad thing. However, as I recall nothing of the original and therefore have no views about any particular part, I shall wait to see what Paul Miller does with his revival. No doubt he will wish to apply one of his trademark quirks so I hope it's not too irritating.

[Tibidabo]

I agree that Belinda Lang is a bit bland for Flora, but I've got an open mind. In my opinion, Mercy is the best female part anyway and I'm looking forward to seeing what Selina Cadell does with her and that speech (and what comes after...) 

As far as my own personal memories go, as long as whoever's playing George can remember at least some of his own words in the right order then it's win-win as far as I'm concerned. We had a brilliant Felix who should have taken the plunge and gone to drama school but never did. 

[lonlad]

Belinda Lang does few favours to whatever she is in (am still shuddering at the memory of her in both THE SECRET RAPTURE and HAY FEVER) -- and she was sacrily bad in OKLAHOMA! last summer at the Proms. Shame.

[oxfordsimon]

To my mind, you need a Patricia Hodge type for Flora - someone with real flair and presence

[lonlad]

yes, Hodge would be super. better, in fact, than Dame D was originally since her supposed grandeur is so phony and offputting

[princeton]

Of the three Floras I saw in the original production Maria Aitken was by far my favourite - seemed to have the best bits of Diana Rigg and Felicity Kendall - and much more authentic then either. Very much in the Patricia Hodge mode.

In fairness to Belinda Lang - nothing at all was good about that revival of The Secret Rapture and there was only one good thing about the Theatre Royal Haymarket Hay Fever - neither production had any directorial vision. Lang actually played Judith Bliss a couple of years later at the Royal Exchange and was rather good. She may be someone who needs a very strong director - though she seems to have taken to direct herself of late!

Speaking of directors - interesting to note the comment about Paul Miller and 'his trademark quirks'. I've always found him to be quite straightforward as a director - eschewing trickery. What have I missed?

[showgirl]

Just seen my first online review of this production: 4 stars. Don't know if they've actually had press night yet but I'm going anyway.

[Jan]

Mar 3, 2018 1:06:29 GMT princeton said:

Of the three Floras I saw in the original production Maria Aitken was by far my favourite - seemed to have the best bits of Diana Rigg and Felicity Kendall - and much more authentic then either. Very much in the Patricia Hodge mode.

In fairness to Belinda Lang - nothing at all was good about that revival of The Secret Rapture and there was only one good thing about the Theatre Royal Haymarket Hay Fever - neither production had any directorial vision. Lang actually played Judith Bliss a couple of years later at the Royal Exchange and was rather good. She may be someone who needs a very strong director - though she seems to have taken to direct herself of late!

Speaking of directors - interesting to note the comment about Paul Miller and 'his trademark quirks'. I've always found him to be quite straightforward as a director - eschewing trickery. What have I missed?

Paul Miller - you missed him unaccountably including a drag act in Sheppey to the bafflement of the audience.

[crabtree]

I've always loved this play, especially for that dinner party scene.

[profquatermass]

Who else remembers the saga of Dennis Quilley's prostetic member? www.theguardian.com/politics/2002/jun/28/1

[showgirl]

I can't remember anything about it apart from a vague recollection of the set, so will in effect be coming fresh to this revival and have now seen one review saying it's better than the original, star-laden production. (How do people remember things from so long ago?!)

[showgirl]

Having now seen the Orange Tree version, I wonder if the reason I could recall almost nothing of the original NT production was that this is simply not worth the recollection and leaves no lasting impression?

I couldn't fault anything about the Orange Tree production but boy, was this tedious! Admittedly I was still recovering from a bug but I longed to yell at the stage "Oh get on with it!". Two and a half hours of largely unsympathetic characters floundering in the morass of their lives did not make edifying or entertaining viewing and though the almost unredeemingly unpleasant Flora Humble softened slightly in her final scene, it was too little, too late. Plus Christopher Ravenscroft seems to have cornered the market in creepy characters and oddly, I've never seen him anywhere else, let alone doing anything else.

[stevemar]

This was quite enjoyable in a “nice to pass a few hours” sort of way. The acting was very good and it made decent use of the playing space. I don’t recall Belinda Lang’s character Flora being quite so dislikeable, but there was some redemption at the end. Jonathan Broadbent was very good. Having seen the play back in 2001, I think I enjoyed it more then. The writing is still sharp, but a bit too “clever clever” with the bee references throughout in speeches, and astrophysics rather thrown in for no real effect other than to demonstrate how out of touch with the “real” world Felix is. The lunch party scene is still strong, and Selina Cadell does well (but is no where near as funny as Marcia Warren in the original). The Hamlet references though do work well I think. A decent production. On a side note, this very much appeals to the “typical” Richmond audience - not a single ethnic minority in the audience (other than myself). I am not necessarily saying this as a criticism, just an observation as usually the Orange Tree has more mixed audiences.

Showgirl - I think I found Christopher Ravencroft’s character the gentlest, most subtle and laid back of the bunch. Not creepy at all to me.. just out of interest what was creepy about him? 

[pledge]

Mar 24, 2018 4:59:57 GMT showgirl said:

Having now seen the Orange Tree version, I wonder if the reason I could recall almost nothing of the original NT production was that this is simply not worth the recollection and leaves no lasting impression?

I couldn't fault anything about the Orange Tree production but boy, was this tedious! Admittedly I was still recovering from a bug but I longed to yell at the stage "Oh get on with it!". Two and a half hours of largely unsympathetic characters floundering in the morass of their lives did not make edifying or entertaining viewing and though the almost unredeemingly unpleasant Flora Humble softened slightly in her final scene, it was too little, too late. Plus Christopher Ravenscroft seems to have cornered the market in creepy characters and oddly, I've never seen him anywhere else, let alone doing anything else.

Agreed. Saw the original and wondered what all the fuss was about, and this time round still left wondering the same? Admittedly Simon Russel Beale was able to suggest layers of complexity in the role of Felix that the writing doesn't actually support, and that the current production doesn't match, but the dialogue is fairly unremarkable ("Oh just piss off!" is one of the sparkling one-liners) and the idea that a few throw-away references to some cliches of astrophysics somehow lend it profundity seems terribly simplistic. On the plus side lots of "oohs" for the set ("Lovely garden...") and the audience seemed to have a good time. Better suited to Guildford or Chichester though, I'd have thought...

[Polly1]

Have they left in the (not unkind) joke about Stephen Hawking?

[Phantom of London]

I had no intention of seeing this, this afternoon only booked for no other reason as seeing David Haig’s Pressure this evening in the same town. Had a pleasant surprise when I arrived as the script is by Charlotte Jones who did The Woman in White, rather messily, but still intriguing to see why and any clues here that Andrew Lloyd Webber chose this playwright. No really!!

A play about Bee Keeping and Astro Physics doesn’t sound inspirational, but something that could veer dangerously more towards the pretentious Tom Stoppard rather than Alan Ayckbourn, however luckily it does veer more to the latter and is laugh out hilarious because of a joyful but smart script written by Charlotte Jones. I didn’t mind Belinda Lang one bit, nor the rest of the cast because they were being overshadowed by Jonathan Broadbent, saw him in My Night with Reg and The Norman Conquests at Chichester and also Wizard of Oz at Sheffield, think we better forget about that one. Really though for Jonathan it all boils down to, is there a better actor in the country at the moment who can mix both comedy and subtlety together?

4 Stars

[showgirl]

Glad you liked it, Phantom of London, though quite surprised you were able to get a seat at what sounds like fairly short notice, as it has sold well.

However - and I hope you won't be disappointed - I think Pressure is by far the more satisfying and memorable play, so your evening may end on an even higher note - or score.

[Phantom of London]

Thank you.

In fairness I think your circumstances maybe a bit different, as you point out you saw the original that sounds a poor production as Michael Billington points out in his concise review, plays are never as good second time round, not sure though this is one I would rush back in a hurry.

[nash16]

Mar 24, 2018 18:00:32 GMT Phantom of London said:

I had no intention of seeing this, this afternoon only booked for no other reason as seeing David Haig’s Pressure this evening in the same town. Had a pleasant surprise when I arrived as the script is by Charlotte Jones who did The Woman in White, rather messily, but still intriguing to see why and any clues here that Andrew Lloyd Webber chose this playwright. No really!!

A play about Bee Keeping and Astro Physics doesn’t sound inspirational, but something that could veer dangerously more towards the pretentious Tom Stoppard rather than Alan Ayckbourn, however luckily it does veer more to the latter and is laugh out hilarious because of a joyful but smart script written by Charlotte Jones. I didn’t mind Belinda Lang one bit, nor the rest of the cast because they were being overshadowed by Jonathan Broadbent, saw him in My Night with Reg and The Norman Conquests at Chichester and also Wizard of Oz at Sheffield, think we better forget about that one. Really though for Jonathan it all boils down to, is there a better actor in the country at the moment who can mix both comedy and subtlety together?

4 Stars

Not sure about Jonathan Broadbent in this tbh. Loved him in REG, but in this he seemed to be doing his best Simon Russelll Beale impression, maybe understandably, rather than giving his own take on the character. Plus he was slightly one-note throughout. Understood that the character is mourning, but still...Wanted more light and shade from him.