Returning to London

Back in the States:
Well, I certainly saw more theatre than I had intended. On a five star scale: Short reviews. Didn't purchase programmes, so don't always know the names of the actors.

Wednesday, July 6:

Threepenny Opera - Matinee. 30 pounds for center stalls. Terrific view. Bonkers show. Reclaimed the show for me from the awful version I saw mumbledy years ago with Sting. Rory Kinnear is a very charismatic Macheath. Rosalie Craig as Polly Peachum is in fine form and voice. Haydn Gwynn is a delight as Mrs. Peachum. Nick Holder steals the stage as Mr. Peachum. Jamie Beddard, an actor with cerebral palsy, is quite good, but it gets a bit uncomfortable when his speech difficulties are made fun of in Act Two. The set starts out so simple and keeping within the beggar's opera conceit, but then, the revolve brings up a big major set change, which is awesome if not in keeping with the show. The use of paper panels whcih need to be ripped and torn and blasted through is entertaining. This will be shown on NT Live, so you can see for yourself. Four Stars.

Romeo and Juliet - Evening. Upper Circle 35 pounds. They were filming for the live transmission set for July 7, so based on discussion with Box Office, went upstairs rather than fight to view from around cameras. I had the understudy, Tom Hansen, on for Romeo. He was quite good. The play is set in 1960s Italy - so very cool black and white. The actors swear and rant in Italian. Lily James is a joyous Juliet - no more so than in the beginning of the balcony scene where she has a bottle of wine/champagne and is dizzy with love and alcohol. The most interesting choice was to have Derek Jacobi as Mercutio - a sort of older "uncle" to Romeo to provide advice. To me, he sometimes came across as more of a Polonius, but I thought it worked, even to his brash decision to duel Tybalt, a man 50 years his junior. While the first act had thrills and charms, Act Two descended into a series of speeches, and got rather maudlin. I had never seen the full Romeo and Juliet before, and, although I knew the story, I didn't know the script. It almost seemed like the actors themselves lost interest in the story. So, I don't know if could recommend going to the theatre - but you might want to catch it at the cinema. Four Stars for Act One, One Star for Act Two. 2 1/2 stars for the full production.

Thursday, July 7

In Oxford, "Labels" -by Joe Sellman-Leava, a hit at various Fringe festivals. The short play (about an hour - well it is Fringe) varies between life story and polemic - so it fits comfortably in the one person Fringe style I've seen before. Some nice audience interaction. This is mostly about "labels" that are attached to people - but primarily about tribal labels, as the author/performer is the son of immigrants but is treated as foreign. Four stars.

Friday, July 8

Titanic - "premium" seats which were excellent seats plus programme and a glass of proseco for only ten pounds more than regular seats. So, 39.50. I had listed to the score numerous times. I've watched bits on YouTube but never seen the whole show. This was a terrific production - and admirable about how the small cast makes the numerous costume changes. For the most part, the doubling was not distracting (and becomes a bit of a game in picking out the actors portraying third class passengers in the first class scenes - such as the Kates)The sinking of the ship is creatively done for the small stage at Charing Cross Theatre. Sung admirably - the opening bit with Ismay opening the show and suffering accusations about the sinking before we basically flash back worked very well. (And cast does admirably with the trains running overhead). Best performance was Claire Machin as Alice Beane. Niall Sheehy also was a standout as Barrett. Least effective - at least as singers - were Philip Rham as Captain Smith and Sion Lloyd as Andrews (the architect). Four and a Half Stars.

Saturday, July 9

Matinee: Beautiful

Asked the Box Office for a discount as there were no "day seats" and got fourth row dress circle for I think 40 pounds, which was better than I had been offered a few days earlier at a ticket booth. Only about half of the circle was occupied. Terrific seats (well, except for the very tall guy in front). This was not a show I had had a lot of interest in seeing, but spouse wanted to see it. She was right! This was a "beautiful" show. Well performed and staged and the hits just came on coming. A very small cast - other than the four leads - that does yeoman's work covering multiple roles. As I watched, I felt the "true" story was "cleaned up" a bit - and the middle of Act One got repetitive in the "hey, I wrote this and then let's watch it performed" sequences. But overall, a terrific show well deserving of its accolades. Four and Half Stars because I didn't like the actor playing Gerry Goffin much.

Evening - The Truth at Wyndhams.

I felt bad at first as the couple in front of me purchased two tickets for 75 pounds each for front row of dress circle, and then I got two "day seats" for 25 pounds each for center stalls a bit to the right. I'd read the recommendations over here, so we took the plunge. The play was very very funny. It felt like a 1970s French film farce - in the mode of Cousin, Cousine. But, the dialog was crisp and smart and layered. The performers were terrific and played off each other well. For a play about adultery - that doesn't really cover anything new - this felt new, if a bit familiar. Just very well done. I think the best of the trip so, I guess that means it gets Five Stars.

Sunday Evening - The Comedy About a Bank Robbery

Second row dress circle for 39.50. Too confusing to figure out all the restricted view seats in the stalls and with a crazy rake and spouse who is ...not tall... we went upstairs to make sure she would be able to see. From Mischief Theatre, a play that doesn't go wrong. Well, actually, it does. This felt like a bunch of bits - and many bits that just went on and on. I think this was the longest show I saw - certainly close to Romeo and Juliet in running time. And this "comedy" had almost as many dead bodies as Romeo and Juliet. There were some creative things - especially the wall scene - but they all went on too long like a Saturday Night Live skit. And, while bashing someone's face on a desk is funny when it is done two or three times, this show goes for it 9 or 10 times. Verbal jokes and physical violence are repeated too much to keep the humor up. It all got a bit tedious for me. It was still funny - it was still enjoyable - it just wasn't as satisfying as The Play That Goes Wrong. So, unfortunately, three stars.

Monday:

The Go Between. half hour before show, got two center stall seats for 25 pounds each. Stalls were about two thirds full. This is a very different musical. It is written, sung and staged like a memory poem. It had mixed reviews, but I thought we should take the chance to see Michael Crawford. He was quite good - a consumate actor even if his voice can't soar like it once did decades ago. He still can command a stage. I had not seen the 1970s movie nor the more recent television production, so knew little of the story. The music is not "musical" - there were few "songs" and even those "songs" that were set apart were more in keeping with the score, which is mostly ethereal. There are no soaring ballads - no money notes. A single pianist plays the whole show - and deserves accolades for that endurance. I didn't see a score on the piano and certainly there was no one turning pages - so maybe there was an electronic score for the pianist to read. The solo piano adds to the mood. The set is a ruined hall with grass and weeds - and so stands in not just for the setting of the play, but for the adult Leo's "mind" and "memory." The show kept my interest as there was a mystery from the beginning of the show with the cast of "ghosts" imploring Leo to "remember" - but to remember what? While the couple in front of us left at the interval (giving us a better second act view), I am glad we stayed. But, this is not a show for everyone. It just isn't a typical musical - not even a typical "sung-through" musical. It is not Les Miserables. I've read some comparisons to Passion, but I have to admit I've never listened to Passion. I don't know the name of the boy who played Young Leo for our performance but he was quite good. The young boy playing Marcus was not so good. But, Gemma Sutton gave a beautiful performance as Marian. I think we are glad we say the show, but don't need to see it again, and any recommendation has to be tempered with letting people know what kind of show they are in for. Three Stars for Michael Crawford and Gemma Sutton.

And, that's all we saw.