The invasion of the gnomes starts in Chelsea...
Friday, May 22, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Theatre: Madame De Sade
Maybe after watching Angels and Demons on Friday, I was in the mood for something with a little less action, fewer explosions and better dialogue; but I actually enjoyed watching the Saturday matinee performance of Madame De Sade. The play, which is nearing the end of its run, has had largely negative reviews in The Times and The Telegraph (and luke warm reviews in the Guardian and Evening Standard).
The review in the Telegraph prompted Dame Judi Dench to describe the Telegraph's critic as an absolute s---. Well to be fair to both, the quality of theatre criticism in London is dire, and this will probably not be the most memorable of Dench's performances on stage (as she mostly has to move between being outraged, cunning and just over it all). However all that being said, there is much to go for the play, particularly the quality of the acting, the fabulous costumes, wigs, lighting and set.
I had been forewarned that the action takes place off stage and the drama unfolds by the conversations and perspectives of the cast on stage, so I came prepared for a long afternoon. I had also gathered that that playwright Yukio Mishima's fascination with differing ideals of morality also annoyed the hell out of people. Perhaps in this day and age there is nothing so shocking about what the Marquis De Sade got up to. But if you bear that all in mind what you have is a simple story that is elevated to an engaging afternoon (or evening) of drama. Perhaps a month after the opening night and those ambivalent reviews the actors have managed to make the most of this unusual work too.
There were plenty of squirms in the audience when some of the acts of the Marquis De Sade were described in rather vivid and graphic detail. Scanning across the audience, I could see many men with their legs crossed and their hands in their crotches... Now that is the hallmark of a good play. If only they had copies of the Marquis De Sade's books on sale in the foyer to enable we patrons to take home some of the drama...
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Theatre Revisit: La Cage Aux Folles
Sometimes it is good not to be the first to see some things. In the case of the first preview of La Cage Aux Folles I saw in November 2007 it was hard to tell what would become of it. Particularly since many technical problems (like curtains not coming up and so forth), made it hard to watch. Well last year it transferred to the West End and became one of the big hits of 2008. Having finally caught it in a proper theatre it is easy to see its appeal. Some updated observations:
It is a family musical (of sorts) and the enjoyment of the show probably depends on how much you believe the performances by the two male leads. In this case, the run now has Roger Allam and Philip Quast in the lead roles and they can come up with the goods. Within moments from when they appeared on stage and started arguing you could believe that they were a couple who had been living together for over twenty years.
The group I was with were initially disappointed that Graham Norton had finished his run, but by the end of the show were glad they saw real actors and singers, even if there wasn't the novelty and curiosity factor of such stunt-casting.
The musical is still quite long, but the performances of this cast (particularly Allam), will make you overlook the fact that you don't get to intermission until around 9pm. The dancing is still scary but I was sitting back enough not to be intimidated by it (or by Quast's ad libs with the front row tables).
The music ranges from the sublime to the sub prime, and while it doesn't have a big dazzling bus and a deafening soundtrack like in Priscilla, it has a lot more heart. A show definitely worth another look. Good tickets are available at the usual outlets such as the Official London Theatre TKTS booth...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Hot news this week in London
The slow and overly detailed drip of news about MPs expenses continues... Well at least the headlines are sort of entertaining...
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Theatre Week... Oh the drama...
Last week was a week for Theatre. Four plays and one Musical. This is what happens when friends who are mad theatre-goers drop in to London and have been dying for some cultural pursuits... Well Adrian comes from Melbourne where all they have been playing down there of late I think is re-runs of Menopause the Musical and Phantom of the Opera, so his desperation for some culture was understandable...
First play up was Rookery Nook at the Menier Chocolate Factory. It was still in preview last Tuesday and I couldn't help but think that they had yet to get the pacing right. Part of the problem might have been sitting so close to the action. While it was harder to fall asleep, it also meant that the over the top acting and other shenanigans was right in your face. Sometimes a little distance helps. Still the flag seller, the dog and the biscuits strewn across the floor kept me intrigued with the show. Perhaps a trim of the play might have helped with the levels of enjoyment.
I left Adrian to watch Spring Awakening and Priscilla by himself on Wednesday. He wasn't as impressed with Spring Awakening as I was and did not see the point of the all that teen angst and levitating chairs. I hope however that seats on stage become more popular (provided that the stage audience doesn't have to do anything). Adrian did like Priscilla and commented that the bus had more lights than it did in Australia. Well, it was a much more expensive bus I gather. Still it is a bit sad when you have to say that an expensive bus and some lavish costumes are the main reasons for seeing a show...
Thursday night we caught A Little Night Music which I saw late last year at the Chocolate Factory. Alas it is still underlit so you can hardly see the actors at times. This seems a little odd given the golden hues used throughout the publicity materials... And the show is set in Sweden in the summer when the sun doesn't set. The set looks even less impressive at the Garrick with some sensible handles and brakes in clear view of the audience which evokes the charm of a high school musical on the cheap. Still the acting and singing is so good that you can almost forget these flaws. There was some charm to the performances that made the material still seem so fresh and witty and light. Adrian had to tell me to stop tapping my foot at various points as it was easy to get carried away.
Friday night we had the opportunity to enjoy Alan Bennett's Enjoy at the Gielgud Theatre. When this play was first staged in 1980 it was a flop, but for some reason it seems to have found its time now. It has been revised and trimmed since then, but perhaps a play that focusses on absurd government programmes and the odd fascination with preserving anything for heritage rings more true now than it did then. The performances are all excellent, particularly Alison Steadman and David Troughton in the leads. Reflecting on the show both Adrian and I enjoyed it.
On Saturday while it was a glorious sunny day, Adrian and I would have none of that. Instead we headed to the Leicester Square Theatre to see Stop Messing About. Billed as a Kenneth Williams Extravaganza (whatever that is), it was more of a cheap laughs bazaar. I had been warned that this show was torture as it was just an assembly of old sketches padded out to two radio shows with an interval thrown in for good measure. It did feel like torture at times (particularly since the theatre issued more than one ticket for the same seat so we had to sit further back), but there were some laughs to be had with it.
On reflection it felt much better after seeing Plague Over England. The play picks up on John Gielgud's arrest in a public toilet during the 1950s and uses it to highlight Britain's changing views on sexuality. You can only wonder if next we will be seeing a play about how dogging opened up Britain to appreciate the great outdoors. Despite the terrific acting and simulated gay things (that sitting so close as we were also looked rather smashing), it was a bit hard to see the point of it all. A dreamy sequence set in a latrine had me tittering (not twittering like in Gone With the Wind) as it was desperately grasping for meaning and significance. I had to pity the poor actors with the laughable dialogue they had to deliver at times. The creaky sets and spinning latrines also must be a new low for West End production design (after A Little Night Music too).
On Sunday Adrian wanted to see something on the West End but after all that I decided it really should be a day of rest. Well not counting photographing all the hot sweaty bodies at the London Marathon...
First play up was Rookery Nook at the Menier Chocolate Factory. It was still in preview last Tuesday and I couldn't help but think that they had yet to get the pacing right. Part of the problem might have been sitting so close to the action. While it was harder to fall asleep, it also meant that the over the top acting and other shenanigans was right in your face. Sometimes a little distance helps. Still the flag seller, the dog and the biscuits strewn across the floor kept me intrigued with the show. Perhaps a trim of the play might have helped with the levels of enjoyment.
I left Adrian to watch Spring Awakening and Priscilla by himself on Wednesday. He wasn't as impressed with Spring Awakening as I was and did not see the point of the all that teen angst and levitating chairs. I hope however that seats on stage become more popular (provided that the stage audience doesn't have to do anything). Adrian did like Priscilla and commented that the bus had more lights than it did in Australia. Well, it was a much more expensive bus I gather. Still it is a bit sad when you have to say that an expensive bus and some lavish costumes are the main reasons for seeing a show...
Thursday night we caught A Little Night Music which I saw late last year at the Chocolate Factory. Alas it is still underlit so you can hardly see the actors at times. This seems a little odd given the golden hues used throughout the publicity materials... And the show is set in Sweden in the summer when the sun doesn't set. The set looks even less impressive at the Garrick with some sensible handles and brakes in clear view of the audience which evokes the charm of a high school musical on the cheap. Still the acting and singing is so good that you can almost forget these flaws. There was some charm to the performances that made the material still seem so fresh and witty and light. Adrian had to tell me to stop tapping my foot at various points as it was easy to get carried away.
Friday night we had the opportunity to enjoy Alan Bennett's Enjoy at the Gielgud Theatre. When this play was first staged in 1980 it was a flop, but for some reason it seems to have found its time now. It has been revised and trimmed since then, but perhaps a play that focusses on absurd government programmes and the odd fascination with preserving anything for heritage rings more true now than it did then. The performances are all excellent, particularly Alison Steadman and David Troughton in the leads. Reflecting on the show both Adrian and I enjoyed it.
On Saturday while it was a glorious sunny day, Adrian and I would have none of that. Instead we headed to the Leicester Square Theatre to see Stop Messing About. Billed as a Kenneth Williams Extravaganza (whatever that is), it was more of a cheap laughs bazaar. I had been warned that this show was torture as it was just an assembly of old sketches padded out to two radio shows with an interval thrown in for good measure. It did feel like torture at times (particularly since the theatre issued more than one ticket for the same seat so we had to sit further back), but there were some laughs to be had with it.
On reflection it felt much better after seeing Plague Over England. The play picks up on John Gielgud's arrest in a public toilet during the 1950s and uses it to highlight Britain's changing views on sexuality. You can only wonder if next we will be seeing a play about how dogging opened up Britain to appreciate the great outdoors. Despite the terrific acting and simulated gay things (that sitting so close as we were also looked rather smashing), it was a bit hard to see the point of it all. A dreamy sequence set in a latrine had me tittering (not twittering like in Gone With the Wind) as it was desperately grasping for meaning and significance. I had to pity the poor actors with the laughable dialogue they had to deliver at times. The creaky sets and spinning latrines also must be a new low for West End production design (after A Little Night Music too).
On Sunday Adrian wanted to see something on the West End but after all that I decided it really should be a day of rest. Well not counting photographing all the hot sweaty bodies at the London Marathon...
Sunday, April 26, 2009
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