‘Trelawny of the Wells’ - Donmar Warehouse - Thursday 21st March 2013

(Rated 3.5/5 ) 

I am sure somewhere I read that this play was the writer’s love-letter to the theatre. That was one draw for me. An additional attraction was reading that the leading lady of The Wells, Rose Trelawny, is wooed by a young gentleman who ‘stage-doors’ (my term) her. Now having done that myself in times gone by – stage-dooring my favourite actors that is – and harbouring secret fantasies about the outcomes of those stage-doorings ;), I thought maybe this play would provide a wonderful satisfaction by proxy .
If I were writing a love-letter to the theatre though I reckon it would feel more passionate, but then of course it would feel more passionate to me as I’d be writing it! I am sure it felt very passionate to Arthur Wing Pinero as he wrote his close to autobiographical story. And of course it was set in a very different time and place in which the rules of society were so far removed from our own and now seem a little ludicrous. I don’t think I’m that good at stepping back into 19th Century! I’m much better at stepping back into Shakespeare’s time, but then again he was superb at stepping into any time and making his plays time-less – back, now and even forward. Also I’m not a farce-fan ;)
But getting over my 19th century farcical play issues, this was produced really well. Rose Trelawny (Amy Morgan) is leaving The Wells theatre to marry her successful stage-door suitor, well-to-do gentleman Arthur Gower (Joshua Silver). The players of the company are sad to see her go, but wish her well and give her a great and highly amusing send-off. Amongst them is ‘general-utility’ actor Tom Wrench (Daniel Kaluuya), who also writes plays with dialogue which, as lead-actress-come-theatre-manager Imogen Parrott (Susannah Fielding) comments, is more ‘real’ and less ‘speechy’ – radically different to the plays of the time. Miss Trelawny is obliged, (‘obleeeged’ as Sir William Gower (excellently played by Ron Cook, who also assumes a hilarious Mrs Mossop and pulls off an extraordinarily quick transformation from female to male; dress to suit, at one point), to be parted from her fiance, Mr Gower, during an appropriate – according to Sir William and his sister, Miss Trafalgar Gower (Maggie Steed) – courting period, but Arthur (accident that the writer gave the young stage-doorer his name?! ;)), sneeks out to carry on his courting! Sir William is horrified by the behaviour inspired in his son and the gypsy-ness of his prospective daughter-in-law. Rose in turn feels unable to continue – she doesn’t fit in – and returns to her friends and theatrical family at The Wells. However, is she able to fit back in?! It now seems she can no longer act – or at least can no longer over-act – and is a fish out of water wherever she is.
Meanwhile Imogen Parrot has successfully got funding – after some haggling and humour with Sir William of all people – for her new theatrical venture and the first play to be produced will be that of Tom Wrench. Can Rose Trelawny produce first class acting of the more real variety? And who will come to woo her at the end of the play?
This really is a lot of fun with a great deal more meaning within it than is immediately obvious, dealing with the class issues of the time as well as some eternally fascinating questions around the nature of life and acting and which is which. The ‘new’ acting is what we would now recognise as ‘The Method’. It was staged well and appropriately to the nature of the play, and very well performed by all. Nobody really stood out for me, though - simply because I haven’t already mentioned them - Aimmee-Ffion Edwards, whom I recognised from The Donmar’s production of The Recruiting Officer, was delightful again and Daniel Mays enormous fun as the over-acting thespian Ferdinand Gadd.
A highly entertaining couple of hours.

Trelawney of the Wells – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2013

‘The Physicists’ - Donmar Warehouse - Thursday 5th July 2012

(Rated 4/5 )

The Dear Donmar looked extra small walking into it last night. I have been in some of the bigger theatrical spaces, which London provides, more recently, and also I guess I have dramatically (no pun intended) lowered my expectations of Donmar productions, and indeed productions in general – both on stage and on the small screen, having experienced some disappointments. I say that, but I think it’s really important to acknowledge my feelings come from having been truly spoilt by some sensational productions in my fairly recent past. But this time, I am very pleased to say the smallness of the Donmar space was deceptive in several ways. Indeed it did reflect a confined space – a ‘lunatic asylum’ as it might have been termed at the time The Physicists (written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt in 1962, this version by Jack Thorne) was set. The ‘lunatics’ (I seem to have adopted that word though it was not used in the play!) apparently believed themselves to be Albert Einstein (Paul Bhattacharjee), Isaac Newton (Justin Salinger) and the third, Möbius, a channel for King Solomon (John Heffernan). The play opens with the murder – although psychiatrist and head of the institution, Dr Mathilde Von Zahnd (Sophie Thompson) tells us, we must not use that term; it’s rather an ‘unfortunate incident’ – of one of the nurses by Einstein, who is calming himself down with some violin playing. Detective Inspector Richard Voss (John Ramm) investigates and this whole first act turns straight into a farcical comedy, which does not seem to quite work. It brings up some interesting considerations on responsibility of the mentally ill, the nature of mental illness, is mildly amusing in parts, seems to be a little over-acted but with good portrayals of Newton et al., and has us wondering if this is a poor version of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest meets The Pink Panther, but here we have yet another deception.  After the interval, Act Two opens in much the same way as Act One, this time Möbius has murdered his nurse, whom he claimed to be in love with. I wondered if this was making some comment about the mentally challenged in relationships and maybe that they couldn’t handle love and closeness – by this time all 3 patients had murdered their respective nurses. But the actual message of the play was far more wide-reaching and frightening. If I had read reviews, or even the programme beforehand I would have had some idea as to what the play was actually about. At the time it may have helped me forgive what I thought to be a poor first act, but I am pleased I had no idea, as the plot twists are very clever, interesting and really have you thinking and discussing afterwards. It surprised me in an excellent way! But to give them away would be to spoil it so I will avoid details. This play had myself and my friend discussing concepts around brilliance versus madness, and are they maybe highly linked? The legacies of the well-known physicists and philosophers and how they and other lessons from humanity over the years have all fed into our collective unconscious (Jung) and been built on. What it may mean both personally but also to the wider world if someone hides their insights from science or art – in this context Da Vinci lost the credit for his marvellous discoveries on the heart and circulation to Harvey so that help to humanity was delayed – but could the consequences be far worse and for harm rather than good. Are discoveries always a good thing? Is science dangerous in the wrong hands? Are we humans developed enough spiritually to handle our knowledge?

Though, as I mentioned I thought there was some over-acting at points, this was a very good cast and the stage was made great use of. Sophie Thompson delivered in the slightly manic but marvellous way she can, John Ramm was an amusing detective, Miranda Raison did very well in two very different roles as wife and then nurse to Möbius. The physicists themselves hit their marks beautifully. For me, Paul Bhattacharjee did the best job at portraying his famous scientist alter-ego Eistein, but John Heffernan reslly shone as Johann Wilhelm Möbius, especially considering he was struggling with a very runny nose from cold or hayfever. Maybe I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to such things, but I really doubt I’d have been able to do the job he did under the circumstances!

Well done Donmar People and Josie Rourke. An excellent effort with its sights on brilliance.

The Physicists – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2012 

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‘The Recruiting Officer’ - Donmar Warehouse - Thursday 16th February 2012

(Rated 3/5)

True to form I unfortunately restricted myself even further before this performance by having a fall and breaking my thumb. This means typing is pretty difficult and so this review will not be one of my usual length-enhanced by exuberant-enthusiasm efforts. My mood going in was also not helped by the fact that an elderly friend of mine had also had a fall and had not been seen since - though seemed to have gone off in an ambulance with a brave smile on her face and cheerful attitude in spite of everything - so I had no real idea as to her welfare. 

That said, I do think if the play and performances had been outstanding I may well have been able to forget my worries, pains and discomfort and got lost in the comedy and drama.

This was a fun frolic. The performances were all good. I particularly enjoyed the musical interludes. The Donmar was as usual exhibiting yet another aspect of its chameleon-ness; such an extraordinary little space - this time lit by candle-like light and dressed for the time of the play in the early 1500s. 

The play is not really my cuppa tea - in my humble opinion that does matter - it's very hard to write an objective view as to whether something is inherently good or not. It's great of its time and the author, George Farquhar,  knew his subject-matter from direct experience, which does show in his witty portrayal and understanding of the issues around the difficulties and deceptions involved in recruiting young men to war and women to bed - but I found I didn't really care that much about anybody involved or whether the lover pairs got together. It did not transcend time in the same way a Shakespearean piece can; to me it felt dated.

That said Mark Gatiss woke me up with an audience-interaction that seemed to be aimed directly at me in the first row of the circle. I was unsure how to respond as his eyes seemed to meet mine with a look of great expectation on his face!

I think my enjoyment was also marred by a very reasonable fear of actors, wielding large props - often also playing said props when they were musical instruments - running down stairs, or wearing dresses that seemed to catch in their shoes, potentially also taking tumbles and breaking themselves. At one point the wonderful Rachael Stirling deliberately fell in a faint and my heart missed a beat. BUT nobody broke themselves and there were lots of happy smiles at the curtain call from performers and audience members alike. 

The Recruiting Officer - Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2012

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‘Richard II’ - The Donmar Warehouse - Tuesday 10th January 2012

(Rated 4/5 )

There is no doubt in my mind now that the Donmar Warehouse, not only provides the setting of the plays performed within it, but also a hugely important quality; a kind of transpersonal, ethereal character, who adds volumes to the quality of performances of the players and the emotional experiences of individual audience members. It feels appropriate to me to name this character Lady INTIMACY. She enhances the relationships between actors and audiences immensely and provides the deepest connection possible for the theatre. The actors are even more exposed than on the standard stage. The audience members are up close and personal, and at each performance there can only be 250 of them. The performers share in all their brilliance or collapse under their inadequacies. TRUTH on STAGE. I have now seen several productions at the Donmar: Othello with Chiwetel Ejiofor wrenching my heart to breaking point in the title role; King Lear with the ever-stunning Derek Jacobi; A Doll’s House with a wealth of excellent performers and the manically moving Polar Bears – all of which blew me away – and then just one, which will remain nameless, did not. The latter fell flat – was alright but not great – the truth revealed with no hiding behind a magnificent stage or by being far away from the viewing eyes.

The Donmar has completely spoiled me. All other theatres in comparison, and even if just a tiny bit, I find disappointing. And I guess this is why I am writing about it before I even review its production of Richard II! The theatre has only one negative from my point of view – its reputation now exceeds its capacity making tickets very hard to come by. That said, I have joined the returns queue on a number of occasions now and never failed to get in. And at least, if standing and being cold are problems for you, you are able to sit down with a wall against your back, (and something soft under your bum if you’ve brought such an item), and the wait is inside.

And so to Richard II – the play which contains one of the most famous speeches of all time:-

            “This sceptered isle… This England”

- delivered in this case by a Donmar regular, Michael Hadley, in such a refreshingly different way. The speech comes only four lines before the character’s (John of Gaunt) death and is usually delivered with great gusto. In Michael’s conveyance there was a vulnerability and struggle, which brought the power and the passion of the feelings across even more poignantly and heroically. My friend and I noticed several other familiar Donmar faces – I commented the Donmar reuses actors and she said it sounded like they I meant they are recycling them. This all adds to the warmth and intimacy – a family atmosphere. And the star, Eddie Redmayne, is also a Donmar recyclee. His Richard is very youthful, childlike; a boy at once amused by his status as King – playing King – and at the same time overwhelmed by the power and enormity of what being King means to him. He is a youngster trying to be a perfect God – constantly practising how that might be, and in his efforts and naivety failing badly at holding the Heart and the Head of what that role entails at its best. He is corrupted by it all and has to be deposed – and by whom but his own cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, played by Andrew Buchan. They performed like young lads play-fighting – Richard had come to the throne age 11 years; you’re at once endeared and horrified. Richard is healed in his downfall and loss – in a way he has to break-down to break-through – and in that process, and Eddie’s portrayal, I felt so much compassion for him. I was moved to tears and upset by the forced parting from his Queen, Pippa Bennett-Warner, and his murder. For me, although like the next Richard (III), this Richard was something of a conquering tyrant, I felt more empathy for him. In my opinion, he knew not what he did, was never old enough to become wise, and was like a hysterical child set on winning. Yet it shows how dangerous that is given the power and responsibility of his position. Shakespeare was hard on both these Richards though. History shows them to be much better than he made out. But then where’s the drama eh?!

Like The Comedy of Errors the text of this play is very poetic and lyrical. It is a delight to listen to, especially when voiced so beautifully by all concerned.

Director Michael Grandage – whose Donmar reign ends with this play - and my friend both stated this is a play close to their hearts. It is now for me too.

Richard II – Review by TheRestrictedReviewer © 2011 

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