|
|
|
|
|
||
|
Articles
|
||
|
Articles |
The London Stage in 2008 (3)Dateline: 28th December, 2008West End PlaysIncreasingly, straight plays in the West End are splitting into two categories. First, there are still a number of star vehicles designed to make money on the back of an American film actors or British TV stars. In addition, some of the more intrepid directors and producers led by Kevin Spacey at the Old Vic, Michael Grandage at the Donmar and Rupert Goold from Headlong produce high-quality theatre that relies on traditional values rather than relying exclusively on the appeal of superstars. To be fair, each one of these directors has also supported their work and bolstered audiences by casting some of those big names. Perhaps the most significant development in 2008 was the decision by Grandage to create a Donmar West End season at Wyndham's Theatre. The first thing that one has to do is ignore the fact that the Donmar itself (covered in section 4) is in the heart of the West End less than half a mile from its larger home from home. He chose an adventurous programme of plays both popular and almost unknown fronted by a series of star names. This season opened with a splendid revival of Chekhov's Ivanov starring Kenneth Branagh in the title role but with a whole series of fine actors in support. This was followed up by Sir Derek Jacobi's Malvolio in Twelfth Night, which proved to be a night of great hilarity, if not always tinged with quite the sadness that one might have expected. Oncve again, there was some impressive acting in a performance that showcased Victoria Hamilton as much as the theatrical knight The Old Vic really has the character of a West End theatre, although its location on the South Bank near the National belies the title. Two of the best productions of the year have played there. David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow featured a great comedy double act, Spacey and Jeff Goldblum, while the ensemble cast chosen to work in the round in Matthew Warchus' revival of The Norman Conquests by Alan Ayckbourn played their part in ensuring that the eleven hours including intervals were amongst the most enjoyable of the year. Rupert Goold is irrepressible and will surely soon be in line to take over one of our major theatre companies. He effortlessly combines revivals of classic texts with adventurous productions of modern plays and has the confidence to challenge audiences in ways that will, on occasion, inevitably bring opprobrium from some. In addition to The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, which is summarised in section 4 of this round-up, he made two ventures into the West End. First, the Chichester production of Six Characters in Search of an Author, in a new version that he penned with Ben Power transferred to the Gielgud. While it might not have pleased some aficionados of Pirandello, it dazzled as much by its self-indulgent vision of writing for the theatre as anything. Far more traditional was his revival of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land. In the two major roles, Sir Michael Gambon and David Bradley were outstanding, and they received excellent support from Nick Dunning, in addition to the big draw card, David Walliams. Playing it straight for once, Goold did a wonderful job, giving this play as much meaning as it is ever likely to have. In what turned out to be the final year of his illustrious life, Pinter had already made an earlier appearance when Jamie Lloyd's double bill, The Lover and The Collection featuring Gina McKee and Timothy West transferred from Sheffield. Elsewhere, the highlight was Neil Labute's Fat Pig, which launched the West End career of Ella Smith, in a comedy that had real depth and heart. It would be great to report that the experiment of having a fixed company at the Theatre Royal Haymarket was an immediate success. Regrettably, Jonathan Kent's play selection proved as faulty as the direction of The Country Wife, which is only memorable for the fantastic David Haig. He starred too opposite Dame Eileen Atkins in The Sea, which made good theatre but could not draw in satisfactory audiences. Whether they had never heard of Edward Bond, or had and did not dare to attend, is a question that might never be answered. Sir Peter Hall's new version of Noel Coward's The Vortex proved enjoyable but despite having Felicity Kendal in the lead, failed to squash memories of the relatively recent production of the same play at the Donmar with Francesca Annis and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Amongst the big names, Josh Hartnett proved that he is no more than a pretty face in Rain Man, where the sun shone on Britain's own Adam Godley. Catherine Tate also failed to show a major stage presence in a workmanlike revival of David Eldridge's Under the Blue Sky, where the aforementioned Miss Annis proved far superior. One day, someone will also explain how this work, first seen at the Royal Court eight years ago, received a nomination for Best New Play on Britain's premier theatre website (apart from BTG obviously). Early in 2008, Greta Scacchi and Simon Williams were solid enough in Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea but failed to make the play seemed anything but dated in Edward Hall's production at the Vaudeville. Rather better but in a very bland entertainment for children, Keith Allen had fun playing Long John Silver in Treasure Island, without ever banishing the childhood memory of Bernard Miles. The pick of the stars in vehicles though was The Importance of Being Ernest, with Penelope Keith, under the direction of Peter Gill, managing to play Lady Bracknell rather than herself to great effect.
Philip Fisher
|
|
|
|