All posts by Edward Lukes

2011

“A Round-Heeled Woman” at the Riverside Studios

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

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

2011

“Third Floor” at the Trafalgar Studios

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

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

2011

“Mixed Marriage” at the Finborough Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

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

2011

“Cool Hand Luke” at the Aldwych Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

Marc Warren is a brave man. In the new stage adaptation of Cool Hand Luke, he takes on the title role immortalised by Paul Newman in the 1967 film. Like his character, a rebel with applause, it is satisfying to see a move some would call foolhardy pay off. With the help of a deft production that plays with the character’s iconic status and focuses on the original book by Don Pearce rather than the movie, Warren’s performance is commendable.

Imprisoned for petty vandalism after leaving the army, Luke Johnson’s play-it-cool attitude doesn’t help him on the chain gang. His repeated escapes inspire his fellow prisoners, but not the religious guards who conflate belief in God with the ability to conform. Director Andrew Loudon marshals his cast well, but the camaraderie amongst the prisoners is sugary – these felons are fine fellows, overwhelming the nasty prison guards with a good will that diminishes any tension.

Emma Reeves’ clever adaptation gives us plenty to think about, though. What interests her is Luke’s status as an iconoclast, a diehard atheist committed to the truth – about the fantasies of the inmates or his take on theodicy – and the irony of his elevated status amongst the prisoners who gather to hear his ‘gospel’. Reeves and Warren preserve an enigma behind the character marvellously. Even better, the script and Loudon’s direction make Cool Hand Luke a genuinely theatrical work: using a chorus to comment and set the mood through song may be an old trick, but by God it works and Sandra Marvin’s performance leading the gospel songs is luminous.

The West End may seem somewhat saturated with film tie-ins at the moment but that isn’t this production’s fault. Plays examining religion are very much in vogue and Cool Hand Luke is an interesting addition to this field. If there is any justice, it will get the audience it deserves.

Until 19 November 2011

Photo by Alaistair Muir

Written 6 October 2011 for The London Magazine

2011

“The Veil” at the National Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

As the nights draw in, what could be more apt than a ghost story? Conor McPherson’s new play, The Veil, aims to chill and thrill over the winter months at the National Theatre.

Set in early 19^th-century Ireland, the local gentry, living in not so genteel poverty, and their staff are haunted by both the past and current events in their politically divided nation. Lady Lambroke looks to her daughter’s marriage as a way to escape debts and the country. Her brother, a clergyman defrocked for his interest in spiritualism, is to escort the girl to England for marriage, but his interest in his niece has more to do with her ‘gift’ for the supernatural.

Fenella Woolgar and Emily Taaffe make a convincing mother and daughter who, despite their snobbishness, gain our sympathy and admiration. Jim Norton plays the Reverend Berkeley (named for his interest in Idealism) in an appropriately intelligent style that’s passionate enough to convince us he believes his ideas, but leaves room for us to laugh as well.

The staff, including the redoubtable Mrs Goulding (the excellent Bríd Brennan), are a source of further drama. They come together on appropriate windy, candle-lit nights, as the ghost stories and séances get under way. McPherson directs these scenes wonderfully. Unfortunately, there isn’t much sense of time or place in The Veil and Rae Smith’s impressively designed set and costumes start to seem rather pointless – it all looks great but it isn’t put to enough use.

If McPherson wanted to achieve more than an entertaining evening of ghost stories it seems he has fallen short. Extra themes are hinted at yet never materialise. But The Veil is satisfying supernatural and is sure to appeal to his fans. The storytelling is as good as ever, his characters as likeable and well realised, and the language wonderfully lyrical.

Until 11 December 2011

www.nationaltheatre.org

Photo by Helen Warner

Written 5 October 2011 for The London Magazine

2011

“Ghost The Musical” at the Piccadilly Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

Many would rather die than see Ghost. A West-End musical that’s blatantly yet another attempt to cash in on the popularity of a movie that wasn’t very good in the first place, it sounds strictly for out-of-towners. Yet Ghost has some serious talent both behind the scenes and on stage. While its trite tagline asks us to ‘believe in love’, should we believe that this Ghost is worth seeing?

The plot is a given. A young woman becomes haunted by the ghost of her fiancé after his murder, aided by a medium who discovers, to her surprise, that her gifts are genuine. The first coup is the casting of Sharon D Clarke, who has fine comic skills and the kind of voice that makes you suspect she’s too good for the songs she’s singing. Which is certainly the case with the star of the show, Caissie Levy, who plays the lead role of Molly. A performer from America with the kind of belting voice and acting skills Broadway produces so well, Levy is a real star.

The important thing about Ghost is that it contains original music. There are occasions – such as the trio finale of the first act – that are very good indeed and, if some numbers fail, I think Dave Stewart should be given a break, as writing for this must have been a thankless task. With the ‘theme’ from the Everly Brothers already in so many heads, anything else penned is bound to seem incidental. Yet Stewart has produced a score that is interesting and deals with that tune intelligently.

Talented director Matthew Warchus adds credibility to the project and his speedy handling of the story is commendable. But the show seems hampered by flashy projections and the ensemble underused. It is tempting to imagine Ghost as some kind of chamber piece and possible to see that a stripped-back production could have been something very different indeed. The illusions added to the show by Paul Kieve are spectacular and the projections mark a new high technically, but both achievements move the production uncomfortably close to its cinematic heritage and make it strangely untheatrical.

That Ghost is so technically accomplished will not seem a fault to many. But the role of the leading man is a flaw that should have been corrected. As the programme reminds us, the departed fiancé, Sam Wheat, joins a long line of supernatural characters in plays. Unfortunately, Sam has the distinction of being the most boring ghost in theatre history. Richard Fleeshman deals valiantly with this fact, seemingly under the impression that if he sings loudly enough we will forget his character’s insipid sentimentality. He is mistaken. It is difficult to believe Sam is the grand passion of the rather wonderful Molly – love may be blind but here it is in danger of ending up deaf as well.

It is difficult to care about this ghost, so should you bother to see him? Yes. After all, any belief takes a leap of faith and the power behind the central performances, along with the competence of those who have put the show together, should be more than enough to convert all but the most cynical.

Photo by Sean Ebsworth Barnes

Written 30 September 2011 for The London Magazine

2011

“Grief” at the National Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

The way Mike Leigh makes a play is unlike anyone else. His new work, Grief at the National Theatre, was devised in collaboration with his cast and crew, in secret and from scratch. The result is something very special indeed.

The story of a 1950s war widow and the life she shares with her brother and only child is grim. The period detail of repressed emotion is familiar ground but Leigh presents it devoid of cliché – we see the price paid for such control and it isn’t pretty.

The long period of gestation that made the play results in an investment from the cast that produces magnificent performances. Lesley Manville has created one of the finest roles of her career: continually on brink of tears, the way she holds back is astonishing. Joined by Ruby Bentall, in a remarkable performance as her troubled daughter, as well as a host of other Leigh regulars – this is one of the finest ensemble you will see onstage in London at the moment.

Ironically, the quality of the acting makes Grief very hard to watch. For a play obsessed with death there are some very funny lines, but there is a sting in the tale: each laugh brings us closer to the characters, makes them seem unbearably real. The sense of foreboding Leigh manipulates in the audience becomes cruelly oppressive.

Be warned. The dark denouement that ends Grief is shocking and deeply disturbing. Manville’s final break down is harrowing: occurring offstage the effect is akin to Timanthes depiction of Agamemnon, covering his face to hide his pain, and all the more harrowing for being unseen. The plays rejection of any resolution makes it one of the most powerful nights at the theatre you can imagine.

Until 28 January 2012

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Photo by John Haynes

Written 27 September 2011

2011

“One for the Road” and “Victoria Station” at The Print Room

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

One for the Road and Victoria Station are two short works by Notting Hill local Harold Pinter, and what would have been his neighbourhood theatre, the Print Room, provides a rare chance to see these disturbing, powerful mini-masterpieces together for the first time since their premiere in 1984.

Victoria Station is a Kafkaesque dialogue between a taxi driver and his controller – darkly comic with a sinister twist and only ten minutes long. One for the Road is a violent, sadistic interrogation drama (with a nod to Orwell and its date of composition) that lasts a truly harrowing half-hour.

Keith Dunphy is superb as the taxi controller in the first work – Pinter’s humour is slippery and needs intelligence to pull it off. Kevin Doyle takes centre stage in the second piece, playing the brutal questioner with a spine-chilling wish to be “scrupulous”. Jeff James’s direction retains the intensity of the writing and Alex Lowde’s design, looking like an installation from an art gallery, enhances the bizarre atmosphere.

Both pieces are at once obtuse and complex. It is remarkable that such short works can generate so much speculation and carry such emotion. The evening is one that Pinter fans simply shouldn’t miss.

Until 1 October 2011

www.the-print-room.org

Then transferring to the Young Vic 6 – 15 October 2011

www.youngvic.org

Written 21 September 2011 for The London Magazine

2011

“My City” at the Almeida Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

Stephen Poliakoff’s first play in 12 years, My City at the Almeida Theatre, is a story about stories. Told by a teacher, in flashbacks to school assemblies and to former pupils she meets in the present, the play is a modest, appealing affair.

Also making a welcome return to the London stage is Tracy Ullman who plays the teacher, Miss Lambert. Ullman is convincing as an inspirational mentor, captivating with her true stories of walking the city streets at night. The reason behind her nocturnal rambles interests less than it should, though, and the explanation for her phengophobia – the focus of the play’s finale – lacks power. Nonetheless, Miss Lambert is a wonderful creation and Ullman superb.

Joining Ullman to perform these narratives are two highly theatrical pedagogues, Mr Minkin (David Troughton) and Ms Summers (Sorcha Cusack). The three make a provoking trio, casting a magical hold over their ‘old children’, performed by Tom Riley and Siân Brooke. The youngsters are a rapt audience for everything from time-travelling history lessons to macabre tales from the present (both inspired by former North London student Edgar Allan Poe), and the impact the teachers have on their lives is moving yet unsentimental. Many of us are lucky enough to have known life-changing teachers and My City celebrates this intelligently.

When My City touches on topical themes it falls somewhat flat and while all Londoners can appreciate the pleasures and perils of walking the city, the play seems surprisingly lacking in a sense of place. But when the focus is on the art of storytelling – as it often is – Poliakoff and his cast excel. With Lez Brotherston’s subtle set and Poliakoff’s own direction, My City is back to basics theatre that should appeal to all.

Until 5 November 2011

www.almeida.co.uk

Photo by Hugo Glendinning

Written 20 September 2011 for The London Magazine

2011

“The 39 Steps” at the Criterion Theatre

6 November 2014 Edward Lukes Leave a comment

The British love a little light self-deprecation. And jolly good we are at it, too. With an adaptation masterminded by Patrick Barlow (of National Theatre of Brent fame) of John Buchan’s 1914 boy’s-own spy thriller, The 39 Steps is full of clichés ripe for poking fun at and has earned plenty of awards for doing just that: the stiff upper lips, sexism and jingoism of the past have been making audiences at The Criterion theatre rock with laughter for the last five years.

The stage show is as much a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film as it is to the original story. Scenes are re-enacted, including the famous escape on the Forth Bridge, and, if that sounds impossible, other movies and a cameo from the great director are thrown in as well. But this is pure theatre – laughing at its limitations while showing the power of the medium. The inventiveness of a hardworking cast of four, minimal props and faux improv are something to celebrate.

Actress Maria Aitken directs and makes The 39 Steps a joy for its absurdly versatile cast – the actors even get to draw upon all that drama school training pretending to be trees and rocks. Rufus Wright is the dashing Richard Hannay, who goes from worrying about his pencil moustache to running away from a dastardly spy ring. Laura Rogers plays all the women admirably, especially Annabella Schmidt, the spy that Hannay takes home and offers kippers to. The other 135 roles are performed by just two men: Dermot Canavan (having great fun in drag) and, on the performance I saw, the understudy James Hurn who put on such a jolly good show that my only quibble is that he didn’t get the extra bow he deserved.

The 39 Steps isn’t for everyone. Steer clear if you hate slapstick and be prepared for some awful puns. But here’s a tip – the show is great for visitors, even those that might have English as a second language. The humour’s broad appeal means Johnny Foreigner will be able to laugh along as you show you’re a true Brit by laughing at yourself. In fact, seeing this show is practically a patriotic duty – so come on chaps!

www.love39steps.com

Written 13 September 2011 for The London Magazine