Scenes from Leicester Square 13:28 Saturday - Down comes Darth, up goes Batman for the premiere this week...
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Idle Friday Chatter #1 Scene: As Paul heads out to lunch he waits at the traffic lights at Brixton. A police siren suddenly goes off and the woman beside him lets out a shriek Mad woman on the street: Oh this place I can't stand it it's 'orrible, it's too noisy and I just can't take it anymore. I just can't take it anymore and I think I'm about to lose it. And that woman on the bench over there yeah she just said to me that I need a long hard screw and they are all just taking cocaine and this place is a mess and I just can't take it anymore and I think one more thing and I am just going to lose it I really am I am really just going to really lose it.... Her voice trails off as Paul crosses the street and walks away faster and faster... all the while trying to remember the minute details of monologue... Idle Friday Chatter #2 Scene: Friday afternoon in the office, F has just returned from the ladies... F: Ethel from accounts doesn't blend her blush. ...
Theatre: House of Bernada Alba
Caught on Monday the National Theatre The House of Bernarda Alba - my second Lorca play in a week (although this one didn't have any Mexican male movie stars)... Actually it was an all women play with the translation by David Hare. It reminded me of "The Women" without the gowns. I was half expecting the line "Chin up, both of em" amongst all the bitchy banter. It didn't come, but there were plenty of talk about class, positions and deadly obsessions.
During one of the intermissions one woman quipped to another, "Oh it's good that Garry didn't come, it's such a woman's show" which is a pity as there is a very exciting passionate and (possibly Spanish) story amongst the banter. Penelope Winton plays the title character who rules a household of women with an iron fist (and occasionally a strap or a whip). There is high drama and the set consisting of a Spanish villa was quite impressive (and impo...
Music: Bernstein Mass Tonight caught the Bernstein Mass at the Barbican. The LSO played, Marin Alsop conducted, Jubilant Sykes was the celebrant and somehow despite a few hundred performers on stage the roof managed to stay on... I had a suspicion that things were going to be interesting when the Barbican called yesterday wanting to exchange my seat as the percussion section would have blocked my view. It became evident that the swap was a good thing given the forces used on stage - particularly as the piece entered its second hour. Who would have thought either that the huge stage that makes the Barbican concert hall would have looked tiny and cramped, but with everyone and everything on stage it did. Still despite the dancers being omitted (which on reflection seems like a horrible omission) there was some nice staging for a concert version including the chorus ripping off their choral robes (they were wearing clothes underneath) and tearing up their music during the Agnus Dei. Ber...
Dance: Naked (of sorts)
Caught George Piper Dances / The Ballet Boyz preview of their new production Naked at Sadler's Wells last night. Dance, video projection, lighting and music combined to tell a story of love and revenge etc. While I could not follow the full story (short attention span), it certainly looked great, and the dancing was quite exciting and clever at times. Particularly the scene the boys have together in the second act - a stylised fight of sorts - seemed to have everyone on the edge of their seat. Not being a dance afficianado I don't know the significance of the choreographic choices made, but it is fascinating to watch people do things with their bodies that you assumed wasn't possible or legal in some countries...
The production was stopped 10-15 minutes into it as the sound system kept popping and cracking. I actually had thought that was part of the effect but apparently no. The show was delayed for 45 minutes while they sorted it all out ...
News: The reviews
The reviews for Guys and Dolls with Ewan McGregor have been largely positive, although those who saw the mythical National Theatre production in the eighties (and its revival in the nineties) have bagged the new production. Catching up with a few afficianados today while purchasing The Light in the Piazza cd, they suggested they took the musical fable part out of the show. This is a very Donmar Production thing to make a bright show darker and bleaker. While the set did look a bit like leftovers from their Grand Hotel production, and a bit of colour wouldn't have gone astray, I still thought it was great evening of entertainment (and Ewan)...