All posts by Edward Lukes

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“Hamlet” at the Young Vic

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There have been lots of Hamlets: it seems that the character is infinite in variety as well as faculty, and it’s easy to imagine the pressure to come up with something different. Director Ian Rickson’s angle at the Young Vic Theatre is to stage the play in a lunatic asylum, an insane idea that not only adds nothing to the play, but actually severely detracts from it.

Of all the different productions of Hamlet one can think of, one constant remains intact – the equivocation concerning Hamlet’s sanity that is so central to the text. Not only is this dramatic, it goes to the heart of Shakespeare’s search for Hamlet’s humanity. Rickson simply abandons this question: his Hamlet is an inmate. Clearly schizophrenic (he adopts the persona of his father), he is reduced from an everyman to a madman

Straitjacketing the text into the concept produces inconsistencies too numerous to mention, from the trivial (it’s an odd asylum that lets its inmates play with swords) to the essential – if Hamlet is merely delusional, why is a supernatural presence suggested anyway? If you can remain calm in the face of all this you might enjoy the production’s attempts to get around these problems, albeit problems of its own making. Jeremy Herbert’s design is impressive – it even includes a pre-show ‘tour’ where the audience walks backstage to acquaint itself with the institution. It’s big – but it isn’t clever. Indeed, by the end of the show it is quite literally dumb with Fortinbras reduced to hand signals to reveal Rickson’s final ‘twist’.

Some benefit from all this stupidity: Michael Gould is convincing as a more prominent than usual Polonius, and Vinette Robinson is moving as a Ophelia who seems at home in this madhouse. But the majority of characters suffer: the move from King to councillor is too much of a demotion for the role of Claudius, and James Clyde is wasted in the part, while Gertrude is reduced to a spaced-out victim – it isn’t clear if she is an inmate or not.

The greatest loss though is Michael Sheen in the title role. A talented actor, always magnetic on stage, it is clear from his powerful soliloquies what a great Hamlet he could have been. Trapped inside Ian Rickson’s concept, he is denied the chance. This is the real tragedy of the evening.

Until 21 January 2011

www.youngvic.org

Written 11 November 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Collaborators” at the National Theatre

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Having welcomed Danny Boyle earlier this year, the National Theatre now stages a new play written by his frequent collaborator John Hodge. A fantasia inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov’s play about Stalin, commissioned for the dictator’s 60th birthday, Collaborators is a romp around censorship and responsibility.

Working in the round for the first time in many years Nicholas Hytner directs with zeal. Designer Bob Crowley’s constructivist inspired set doubles as the Bulgakov home and a bunker under the Kremlin where the writer and tyrant meet. The theatre-loving Stalin can’t resist helping out. “Leave the slave labour to me,” he says, offering himself as amanuensis, then taking up the pen in person – on the condition that Bulgakov has a turn at running the country. It’s a glib allusion, but performed with such brilliance that its questionable taste is pushed to the back of your mind.

The wonderful Alex Jennings is Bulgakov, a “smack head groin doc turned smut scribe,” as Hodge brilliantly describes him. Jennings brings every nuance out of the role showing convincing relationships with Jacqueline Defferary, who plays his wife, and Mark Addy, who excels as the Secret Service man tasked with directing the play. Addy’s changing attitude to his artistic challenge, and the snippets of the play we get to see performed so skilfully by Perri Snowdon and Michael Jenn, are a real joy.

There aren’t many stage actors that can rival Jennings. But Simon Russell Beale is among them. His despot with a West Country burr is a hilarious and chilling creation – one who manipulates the audience as skilfully as his character plays with the writer.

Collaborators suffers slightly from the brevity that is also frequently its virtue: Hodge’s writing is immediate and clear but, as the drama increases, the play itself is not always dark or detailed enough to satisfy. Nonetheless, Collaborators is very funny indeed and, with its stellar cast, is an unmissable winter highlight.

Until 31 March 2012

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photo by Johan Persson

Written 8 November 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Backbeat” at the Duke of York’s Theatre

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Thinking of Backbeat as The Beatles musical is inevitable shorthand. But it is unfortunate and misleading. This is the story of the group at their formation, when the Fab Four numbered five and played cover versions in dingy Hamburg bars. The show contains only snatches of Lennon and McCartney and is unlikely the please those joining walking tours to Abbey Road. As long as you don’t go expecting to hear a string of Beatles hits, you’ll find plenty to engage you.

Backbeat isn’t really a musical at all. It’s a play with songs. And it’s the performance of the music – from faltering beginnings to growing confidence – rather than the music itself that forms part of the drama. It takes guts to show this on a West End stage and it adds enormously to the play, whose focus is Stuart Sutcliffe who, in his tragically short life, was co-opted into his friend John Lennon’s band and then left it to pursue his own path as a painter.

We aren’t just watching Sutcliffe or The Beatles grow artistically. At the heart of Backbeat is a love triangle between Sutcliffe and Lennon, to whom he acts as some kind of muse, and Sutcliffe’s new girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr. All three performances are remarkably credible. Andrew Knott provides the perfect portrait of the genius in waiting as Lennon. Nick Blood is moving as the troubled Sutcliffe, and his relationship with Astrid, played by Ruta Gedmintas who radiates 60s cool, has fantastic on stage chemistry.

What director David Leveaux and his cast deliver is an explosion of young creativity that is inspiring. Rough and ready, impassioned and precocious, these characters have a sense of destiny that (forget hindsight) is the privilege of youth – what’s important is the electric atmosphere that bounces off them. Backbeat is a bold experiment that deserves success. If its components fail to wholly satisfy, bear in mind that it is more than the sum of its parts. Its energy is infectious and it will have your reaching for your Beatles back catalogue to continue the story as soon as you get home.

Until 24 March 2012

Photo by Nobby Clark

Written 7 November 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Three Days In May” at the Trafalgar Studios

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You don’t have to be much of a history buff to know plenty about World War II. The conflict is part of our national consciousness – constantly referenced and a rhetorical mine for commentators. But the idea that, at the start of the war, none other that Winston Churchill, along with his Tory colleagues, countenanced capitulating to Hitler, will be news to most of us. No wonder playwright Ben Brown has leapt on this fascinating subject for his new play, Three Days In May.

Brown skilfully treads a fine line between drama and history lesson. Using Churchill’s secretary as a narrator may be unimaginative but James Alper’s appealing performance matches the clarity of Brown’s writing. With the scene set, a narrative of political manoeuvring and debate on reason and conscience can begin. Director Alan Strachan’s production is understandably static and tension can’t really mount (we know the outcome after all) but Three Days In May successfully conveys the drama of those dark times.

The focus is obviously on Churchill – the novel take is his battle with Cabinet colleagues Chamberlain (Robert Demeger in fine form), and Halifax, performed with magnificent hauteur by Jeremy Clyde. Halifax was the preferred choice to lead Britain in the war (did you know that?) but was an advocate of appeasement. Brown presents his arguments forcefully, setting up a great ‘what if’ scenario.

But it’s the role and performance of Churchill that should ensure ticket sales for Three Days In May. Warren Clarke has the perfect touch of imitation to invoke the man and Brown gives him plenty to work with. Churchill was a driven, controversial figure with more than a touch of instability, and Clarke’s performance calls to mind Ivor Roberts-Jones’ statue, just down the road in Parliament Square – isolated, somewhat menacing and magnificently independent.

Until March 3 2012

www.atgtickets.com

Photo by Keith Pattinson

Written 4 November 2011 for The London Magazine

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“13” at the National Theatre

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After the success of last year’s Earthquakes in London, Mike Bartlett’s return to the National Theatre with his new play, 13, has something of triumph about it. Promotion to the grand Olivier Theatre would be a dream for most playwrights, but Bartlett seems undaunted and bravely presents us with a fear-fuelled nightmare that’s ambitious, big and bold.

It’s one nightmare, to be specific, spookily shared by 13 different people. This clever device shows a disparate section of society, from a cleaning lady to the Prime Minister (Geraldine James on excellent form), all living in anxious times and searching for something to believe in.

It would be impossible to mistake Barlett’s version of the future as the very nearly now – social networking, riots on the streets, economic catastrophe and the threat of war – it’s all highly topical, with enough iPads on stage to make Steve Jobs smile down on us. As if this weren’t enough, Bartlett introduces religion as a fulcrum to his play. A central messianic character, John, performed with gnomic intensity by Trystan Gravelle, raises yet more questions and heightens the dramatic stakes.

Thea Sharrock’s direction and Tom Scutt’s design match Bartlett’s vision. With the Olivier’s revolve used to great effect, this is a precise production, technically impressive and rewardingly theatrical. The dreams the cast share, full of “monsters and explosions”, are complemented by spectacular lighting design from Mark Henderson.

After detailing a depressing catalogue of ills that beset our world in fantastically dynamic fashion, the pace changes to present a debate between the PM, the prophetic John and Danny Webb who plays an atheist academic with commanding presence.

It’s possible Bartlett has a young audience in mind for 13 – a crowd fresh for debate and highly engaged. If so, then I applaud him. But, despite Bartlett’s skill, the ideas behind 13 don’t match the novelty of their execution. It isn’t that the issues aren’t important or interesting, rather that they have been debated so many times before. What is impressive is that Bartlett presents them with a degree of impartiality seldom seen. And that is a very grown-up thing indeed.

Until 8 January 2012

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photo by Marc Brenner

Written 28 October 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Jumpy” at the Royal Court

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There’s a reason plays about generational conflict are perennial – they make great dramas. April De Angelis’ new play Jumpy is no exception. With a nod to the classics, and great observations on modern life, the focus here is on a mother and daughter relationship as funny as it is fraught.

Tilly is an odious teenager. Bel Powley plays her superbly, making the most out of her deliberately inarticulate character, full of shocking yet recognisable spite and ignorance. The Royal Court audience seems full of mothers nodding and sometimes glancing at the shame-faced teenagers they have dragged along. They deserve this sweet compensation. Surely, like Tilly’s mother Hilary, they are good parents – but still suffer. The “brand of exquisite torture” Tilly inflicts is funny, but the real joy is to laugh at the teenagers as much as the middle-aged.

De Angelis has written some strong male characters in Jumpy. There is a fine performance from Ewan Stewart as Hilary’s husband and Richard Lintern is deliciously credible as Roland, an oily divorcee whose clichéd mid-life crisis pails in comparison with the women in the piece. Hilary’s friend Francis (Doon Mackichan) takes up burlesque dancing, with “post-feminist irony” of course, in a scene that is one of the funniest you will see on stage this year.

But Francis, who characterises being 50 as a “crisis”, can’t match our “mental-pausal” heroine Hilary. It is a role Tamsin Greig excels in – and she holds the audience whether she’s wisecracking or weeping. A former protestor at Greenham Common (kind of), still keen on good deeds and personal projects, she reads Dickens and has Great Expectations for her daughter but is full of “wobbles”. Greig is marvellous at injecting pathos into her struggle. De Angelis’ text skates over issues and leaves plot points hanging, so the play’s most poignant moments, which really are moving, are down to Greig’s performance.

It isn’t fair to extol Greig exclusively. The supporting cast are too strong for that. Powley in particular is an actress it is safe to say we will see more of, and De Angelis is a great comic writer. This is a play not to be missed – and take a teenager if you can.

Until 19 November 2012

www.royalcourttheatre.com

Photo by Robert Workman

Written 26 October 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Death and the Maiden” at the Harold Pinter Theatre

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Ariel Dorfman’s play, Death and the Maiden, is a fantastic vehicle for a star actress. Making her West End debut in the role of Paulina, a former political prisoner still haunted by trauma years later, Thandie Newton instantly establishes a febrile fragility. When chance leads to her encountering the man who tortured and raped her, she unleashes a manic power to exact a stunning revenge.

Newton is an avenging fury, waving around a gun in a most unnerving manner, but she is always articulate – tragically aware of her “irreparable” condition and focusing intensely on the play’s questions about justice and tolerance. Any fears about Newton’s inexperience in the theatre are banished by Peter McKintosh’s design, forcing her to the front of the stage as a commanding presence. This is a bold performance bringing out the pathos as well as the grotesque anger of Paulina’s impossible situation.

Newton is aided by strong performances from her co-stars. Anthony Calf plays Dr Miranda, the man she accuses, captures and interrogates, in chilling style. Toying with the possibility of his innocence as he begs for his life, Calf shows us a real person – not just a monster. Paulina’s husband is “caught in the middle” of them both: in conflict because he loves his wife but doubts her sanity, because of his high ideals, and also because his recent appointment as a political crimes investigator means that his career is at stake. Tom Goodman-Hill gives an outstanding performance. Rational and passionate by turns, he is tremendous.

Dorfman’s text is constructed to transcend its vague setting in some South American state and focus on themes of retribution and resolution. Alongside this, Jeremy Herrin’s production enhances the play’s potential as a taut thriller, and his direction grips like a vice, making this one of the most exciting nights out in the West End as well as one of the most powerful.

Until 21 January 2012

www.atgtickets.com

Photo by Ellie Kurttz

Written 20 October 2011 for The London Magazine

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“A Round-Heeled Woman” at the Riverside Studios

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When retired school teacher Jane Juska placed a personal ad in the New York Review of Books she didn’t waste words: “Before I turn 67 – next March – I would like to have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you want to talk first, Trollope works for me.”

And so began Juska’s third-age escapades, brought to the stage by Jane Prowse in an adaptation of Juska’s bestselling memoir, that sparkles with wit and wisdom.

Sharon Gless stars as Juska, self-proclaimed ‘round-heeled woman’, a term for a lady of easy virtue it would be good to see in use more often. After many years of celibacy, embarking on a sex life is a fraught process, necessarily a little crude, but presented lightly with laugh-out-loud gags. Gless is an expert in comedy, endearing when she directly addresses the audience, and moving when she faces pitfalls.

Accompanying Gless, Jane Bertish and Beth Cordingly expertly double as her friends and, from the past, her mother and Miss Mackenzie, an Anthony Trollope heroine. When it comes to books, you can’t fault Juska’s taste, though mention of Trollope gives rise to some predictable misunderstandings.

A Round-Heeled Woman is about a search for far more than sex, though. Juska is as direct about her difficulties as a single parent and her emotional needs as she is about her libido. Her relationship with her son (Michael Thomson is wonderful) is deeply moving.

For all its bluntness, A Round-Heeled Woman has a saccharine, self-help feel that might set British teeth on edge. But Gless’s joyous performance takes this taste away and emphasises its life-affirming message in a rewarding manner.

Until 25 November 2011

www.riversidestudios.co.uk

Written 20 October 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Third Floor” at the Trafalgar Studios

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It’s a truism that Londoners are obsessed with property. The London Magazine itself is testament to that fixation. And our neighbours fascinate as well. Third Floor, a new play by Jason Hall about two young neighbours in a part-buy scheme, looks at the fears and quirks that result in the way we live now. It’s commendably topical and guaranteed to strike a chord with anyone living in the capital.

Hall is a talented writer and his script a fine one. Third Floor is funny, with strong observational humour about the social mores of communal living. And it is dramatic – as the new neighbours start to learn about, and subsequently fear, one another. The connection between the two is disappointing though: despite frequent references to Hitchcock, this short play lacks suspense.

And yet there are fine performances to enjoy. The two cast members are identified by where they live (aren’t we all?) and Craig Gazey plays ‘11’. He’s the kind of guy who reminds you that inhibitions can be useful. Revelling in the extravert nature of his character, Gazey gets plenty of laughs. Along the corridor Emily Head is ‘12’. One of the nicest characters I’ve seen on stage for quite a while, she might be prim and officious, but she is hugely endearing, and Head performs the well-written, well-rounded character, wonderfully.

The neighbours unite in acrimony over the resident of flat 10, whose crime is to leave bin bags in the communal corridor. Events escalate and there’s a twist, but it’s the humour that makes Third Floor worth watching; the politics of post-it notes left as complaints and the psychology of doormats! I am obliged to point out the benefits of a competent managing agent – who would surely have prevented the problems that number 12 runs into – although admittedly it wouldn’t have led to such a good play.

Until 5 November 2011

www.atgtickets.com

Photo by Matt Crockett

Written 14 October 2011 for The London Magazine

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“Mixed Marriage” at the Finborough Theatre

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Mixed Marriage at the Finborough Theatre is a centenary revival that makes sense. St John Ervine’s 1911 play about sectarian violence and industrial action in the north of Ireland strikes a chord in our troubled times, while a love story across the religious divide concerns the timeless conflict between the personal and the political.

Director Sam Yates observes the period of the play meticulously. More impressively, he opens up the drama wonderfully. Masterful pacing gives the audience time to draw parallels without forcing them. The “fighting and wrangling” for money, and the use of fear as a tool of division, are highlighted subtly and seamlessly.

A romance between a young Catholic girl and her Protestant neighbour is moving, but I suspect a sleight of hand here. Yates skilfully circumvents any melodrama in the text, making the dilemma the couple faces – the possibility that their union could literally cause a riot – heart-stoppingly tense. The final scene is as gripping as it is grim.

Yates’ cast responds superbly to his sure direction. Christopher Brandon and Nora-Jane Noone are fantastic as the young lovers. Joel Ormsby and Damien Hannaway play their siblings in fine style. The older members of the cast take the lead, though, with Daragh O’Malley and Fiona Victory as Mr and Mrs Rainey – a Protestant couple caught between her homely appeal to tolerance and his fiercely stubborn preference for political loyalties.

Mixed Marriage is at once remarkably concise – it’s a meaty 80 minutes with no interval – and admirably clear. Excellent direction and performances allow the ideals of St John Ervine to ring out – the inspiring notion that two people in love can be “bigger than the world” is cause for celebration.

Until 29 October 2011

www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Written 7 October 2011 for The London Magazine