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“Julius Caesar” at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden

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For their fifth year of summer residence at St Paul’s Covent Garden, appropriately enough ‘The Actors’ Church’, Iris Theatre presents Julius Caesar. Shakespeare’s political thriller is given a contemporary touch, these Romans are riot police rather than Republicans, but the exciting thing is the collusion of two theatrical treats – outdoor theatre and a promenade performance – that make a winning combination.

Unlike some open-air venues, St Paul’s Church is surprisingly quiet, the acoustics are lovely, so it seems a shame that the acting is often too declamatory. But there are fine performances here: from Matthew Mellalieu, whose Tudor-inspired Caesar is a joy to watch (anyone looking for a Henry ?), Daniel Hanna’s streetwise Casca and Matt Wilman’s virile Mark Antony. Not forgetting Laura Wickham who has a busy night doubling up as two wives and also playing Cinna the Poet – acquitting herself admirably in all three parts.

This is a hard-working show all round. With only seven in the cast there are occasions when members of the audience take on non-speaking parts and all of us are cast as the Roman “rabble”. I am no fan of audience participation but can’t remember seeing it done this well before; director Daniel Winder shows intelligent restraint, creating complicity as we move around to characters’ homes or the steps of the senate.

Taking you through the church’s charming gardens proves ambitious and moving the audience around takes time, this short Shakespeare becomes a long evening, but it’s worth every minute. While the sound design from Filipe Gomes is effective, the actual music accompanying the show is its biggest problem, an inappropriate mismatch of styles, cinematic in inspiration and far too intrusive. It’s a rare bum note in this fine production. The intimacy created is remarkable – at times it’s difficult to work out how big the audience is – and the moments we enter the church itself, with scenes aided by Stephanie Bradbury’s movement direction and Benjamin Polya’s lighting, are coups de theatre you won’t forget in a hurry.

Until 26 July 2013

www.iristheatre.com

Photo by Phil Miler

Written 2 July 2013 for The London Magazine

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“Fences” at the Duchess Theatre

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A new production of August Wilson’s play Fences opened at the Duchess Theatre last night following a successful run in Bath that has already earned it strong reviews. A family drama, set in Pittsburgh in 1957, it focuses on the patriarch Troy Maxson, a fascinating creation, depicted by Lenny Henry in a performance that is not to be missed.

Now well established as a serious actor, Henry gives a thoughtful, hard-working performance that plumbs the depths of this unsympathetic character. Troy is almost a tyrant, sometimes despicable, but his determination to turn his life around after time in jail, and awareness of his responsibilities makes you grudgingly respect him. Henry brings out the man’s vulnerability, and deals superbly with Wilson’s wry humour – Troy is charismatic and imminently watchable.

Troy is also an ordinary, working class, man. His struggles and aspirations provide the insight into African-American experience Wilson dedicated his work to. A talented sportsman who feels racism prevented his career, Troy is a disciplinarian driven by disappointment. Relations with his sons (played admirably by Peter Bankolé and Ashley Zhangazha) are on a knife-edge. More complex still is that with his disabled brother, a veteran with religious delusions, an enigmatic part played with conviction by Ako Mitchel.

Wilson’s play feels strangely timeless. It was written in 1983 yet sits well alongside Miller, even O’Neill; all three American greats wrote works that are hefty, lengthy and never afraid of metaphors. Although director Paulette Randall could pick up the pace at times, the production is a quality affair with a serious tone that earns respect.

The heart of the play is strong enough to keep it very much alive, embodied by the role of Troy’s wife, Rose. In this part Tanya Moodie gives a tremendous performance, formidable yet bowed by Troy’s force, Rose’s plight and passion are truly moving. As her husband’s legacy is examined in the final act, it’s Rose you really want to hear from. Wilson leaves you wanting more – a sure sign of success.

Until 14 September 2013

www.nimaxtheatres.com

Photo by Nobby Clark

Written 27 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“PRIDE & Prejudice” at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

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It’s a brave soul who takes on the task of adapting Pride and Prejudice, one of English literature’s best-loved novels, for the stage. Jane Austen is so famous she might be on a bank note soon, and the fact that this book is a masterpiece has to be – dare we say –universally acknowledged. But Simon Reade’s interpretation of the love lives of the Bennet sisters will please diehard Austen fans, preserving swathes of conversation rather than dumbing them down, while still presenting a light romcom that makes for a hugely entertaining evening.

A few minor characters are casualties of the adaptation (who would have thought you would miss Mr Gardiner?) and the Bennets are denied trips to Brighton and London. The action is concertinaed to satisfying theatrical effect, with an emphasis on laughter. Director Deborah Bruce uses designer Max Jones’ set dynamically (there’s a great scene in the portrait gallery of a palatial home that uses the whole cast). Toward the climax, the revolving stage could be joined by a revolving door to the Bennets’ home – visitors arrive so thick and fast – but the speed of the show employs the sillier aspects of Regency Romance to comic effect.

Ed Birch as Mr Collins
Ed Birch as Mr Collins

The biggest loss, unavoidably, is Austen’s own voice. The task of delivering her irony falls on the cast and the performances reflect Austen’s wit superbly. Rebecca Lacey is wonderful as the foolish Mrs Bennet and Timothy Walker gives a weighty performance as her long-suffering husband. There are strong performances from minor characters, with Jane Asher frozen with imperiousness as Lady Catherine De Bourgh. The Bennet sisters are portrayed convincingly as a family group, and differentiated effectively. Amongst their suitors, Ed Birch almost steals the show, with his crane-like Mr Collins – full of “servility and self-importance” – getting plenty of laughs.

Just as the novel belongs to Elizabeth Bennet, the night is, fittingly, owned by the actress playing her – Jennifer Kirby. Making her professional debut in the show, Kirby takes on the mantle of plenty of people’s favourite heroine with an unaffected charm. My bet is that Kirby was a fan of Elizabeth long before she landed the part, and her performance makes you love this great heroine even more.

Until 20 July 2013

www.openairtheatre.com

Photo by Johan Persson

Written 26 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“The Cripple of Inishmaan” at the Noël Coward Theatre

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The latest star on stage in Michael Grandage’s season at the Noël Coward theatre is Daniel Radcliffe, taking the title role in The Cripple of Inishmaan. Martin McDonagh’s 1996 comedy, set around the arrival of a film crew making a documentary in 1930s Ireland, is a viciously funny piece that’s worth seeking out regardless of casting.

All eyes are on Radcliffe, of course, and the pressure on the critic to give a verdict pales in significance with that on him to perform. His accent isn’t as strong as those of other members of the cast, and he doesn’t have the same comic aplomb, but there’s nothing here to be ashamed of. Making the role even more physically demanding than it needs to be is testament to his determination, and his thoroughness impresses.

And in terms of Radcliffe’s career this is a clever move. The Cripple of Inishmaan is an ensemble piece. Radcliffe gets further credit from a controlled performance as part of the group; there’s never an attempt to upstage, and his intelligence about the dynamics on stage, shared by director Grandage, is clear.

Pat Shortt and June Watson
Pat Shortt and June Watson

There are several wonderful performances to enjoy. Pat Shortt shows himself the natural comedian as Johnnypateenmike, the village’s self-appointed news service: the scene with his ‘drunken mammy’ June Watson had me in tears of laughter. And Cripple Billy’s adopted aunts Ingrid Craigie and Gillian Hanna have a marvellous command of the stage that reveals their appreciation of McDonagh’s language.

It is the writer who is the real star here. McDonagh’s depiction of a rural community so dull that Billy’s only entertainment is to watch cows, and so insular that everyone regards this as a little risqué, is deliciously offensive. The jokes are worthy of any stand-up and the entertaining plot turns continually enforce serious, satisfying themes. McDonagh’s playfulness, with audience expectations and prejudices, make this revival a welcome one. And you get to see a star into the bargain.

Until 31 August 2013

www.michaelgrandagecompany.com

Photos by Johan Persson

Written 24 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“Our Share of Tomorrow” at Theatre 503

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A big success at the Edinburgh Fringe, Our Share of Tomorrow has arrived in London, to the Theatre 503 in Battersea. The piece, written and directed by Dan Sherer, comes from the Real Circumstances Company, and has a trio of characters mourning for loves lost.

Real Circumstance aim for ‘new ways of playmaking’; their rehearsal process develops the content of the play with the cast, includes improvisation and works towards a final text that has poetic ambitions. The process results in a particular kind of emotional realism from the characters we see on stage.

Cleo is grieving for her mother, journeying to meet a man who doesn’t know she is his child, and befriended by a father figure estranged from his own daughter. The dramatic potential is potent, the commitment from the cast so clear, the result is peculiarly intense. Tamsin Joanna Kennand gives a moving performance as a fragile youngster, and is joined by Jot Davies and David Tarkenter, who both possess a fantastic raw energy.

Some extra touches, such as undertones of sexual abuse, are a little overblown. And the structure of the piece, moving back and forth in time, adds less than it should to the character dynamics. But the work as a whole has a beautiful economy, exemplified by James Cotterill’s fantastic design, and an admirably swift pace that makes it compelling.

Until 6 July 2013

Theatre503.com

Photo by Michael Nabarro

Written 20 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“Hard Feelings” at the Finborough Theatre

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The Finborough Theatre is very much on trend with its latest production: Hard Feelings by Doug Lucie taps into current interest in the 1980s, the latest decade to receive a revival. First performed in 1982, set the year before, and not seen in London for nearly twenty-five years, dates are to the fore as we inevitably question recent history, drawing parallels and noting differences.

Following a group of friends after college, it’s a soundly constructed drama, if a touch lengthy, with plenty of comedy. Rusty and Annie have hopes to take the town, in music and modelling, and Jesse Fox and Margaret Clunie show great comic talents in these roles. Nick Blakeley is commendable as the “amendable” Baz, concerned to secure the roof over his head, and in thrall to Viv, whose parents own the house in the gentrified part of Brixton this privileged group are slumming it in.

Jane is the only member of the group immune to superficial obsessions and with some kind of career plan. Zora Bishop plays the role appropriately earnestly. With riots on the doorstep, and the idea of being an “extremist” carrying very different connotations to now, her boyfriend Tone, introduces some heavy-handed politics. This role is the play’s biggest problem and, despite a passionate performance, Callum Turner understandably struggles in the part. Tone’s attempts to “re-educate” this “nest of vipers” are arrogant and his analyses simplistic: in short he’s a frightful bore.

Designer Stephanie Williams has done a superb job with the 80s fashion on show, (notably in advance of the V&A’s Club to Catwalk exhibition) and director James Hillier has marshalled his young cast, for whom the early 1980s must feel medieval, admirably.

It’s the performance and the role of Viv that gets Hard Feelings a whole-hearted recommendation. Lucie has written a fascinating character with a satisfying depth that the talented Isabella Laughland really contributes to. Happy with her parents property investment, “sitting on their money watching it grow”, she starts out observing, “I’d rather watch it grow in Chelsea”. Fair enough. But Viv’s development, into something unhinged and formidably power crazed, is handled superbly – Laughland is magnetic, as she becomes a landlady not for turning.

Until 6 July 2013

www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Written 14 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“Dances of Death” at the Gate Theatre

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Watching the intricacies of close relationships has an extra charge in the wonderful intimacy of the Gate Theatre. Opening last night, Dances of Death, shows us a marriage long disintegrated into a conjugal competition that is sure to provoke any audience. Howard Brenton’s new version of Strindberg’s influential classic condenses two plays into one evening to create a riveting night of theatre.

At first it seems as if we’re in for a comedy, as Edgar and his wife of 30 years, Alice, bluntly admit their misery, and settle down to a squabbling card game that neither enjoys – they have other games to play of a more sinister kind. Forced to join them is Kurt (Christopher Ravenscroft), whose crime of being matchmaker to the pair is something they have never forgiven him for.

Michael Pennington and Linda Marlowe establish the main characters with skilful speed. Their continuing contest is convincing, despite obscure motivations and bizarre behaviour. Pennington is marvellous at the captain of a military camp on a remote island; an impressive fabulator, rolling his eyes in a drunken stupor, and a boorish bully with a mischievous edge. Best of all, his depiction of physical illness is superb. Marlowe has a harder task, with a more ambiguous character whose past as an actress gives the whole piece a theatrical air. The performance fits the role, but director Tom Littler shows a questionable bravery in allowing some hands-on-forehead histrionics.

Poor Kurt’s punishment continues into the second play. It’s here that the production is most successful. As Edgar and Alice’s child, performed with a knowing theatricality that makes her very much her mother’s daughter, Eleanor Wyld makes a believable temptress. The innocent “sheep” now is Kurt’s son (a moving performance from Edward Franklin) and as the constraints in their society start to reveal themselves more clearly through the young couple’s relationship, the play starts to matter to us more. Littler’s pacing is bold and James Perkins’ design utilises Strindberg’s paintings to great effect.

It’s still a struggle to really appreciate Edgar and Alice’s relationship – a final admission of affection seems dismissed. The most interesting relationship in Dances of Death is that between its authors – this new version sees two writers, both with very individual voices, somewhat at odds. Brenton’s muscular approach matches Strindberg’s radicalism in many ways and both are visionary artists (interestingly, like Strindberg, Brenton also paints), but Strindberg’s politics are not well served. The writers’ union, like the one on stage, seems uncomfortable, though never less than fascinating.

Until 6 July 2013

www.gatetheatre.co.uk

Photo by Catherine Ashmore

Written 7 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“The Woman in Black” at the Fortune Theatre

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In theatre, longevity really is a sign of quality; the market is so ferocious, the returns on investment slim, that long-running shows have to earn their place no matter how high their reputation. The Woman in Black, still running at the Fortune Theatre after 25 years, is a case in point. A fantastic show, sure to please, and such fun that it’s worth seeing more than once.

Susan’s Hill’s ghost story, adapted so skilfully by Stephen Mallatratt, concerns the trauma of a young lawyer (Arthur Kipps) visiting a deceased client’s house. It’s haunted, of course, and a tragedy unfolds. The clever twist is that, as an exercise in exorcism, the elderly Kipps sets out to re-enact the story with the help of an actor, and the action is transposed into the theatre itself.

So The Woman in Black becomes a work of theatre in a pure, simple form, utilising our imagination to engender the fun and the fear. It’s beautifully economical. We are scared by the simplest of things: a scream, a shadow and a slamming door. The only ‘effects’ that enhance Michael Holt’s set design are the excellent lighting and sound, from Kevin Sleep and Gareth Owen, with everything else deliberately downplayed. Instead, the production relies heavily on the duo performing. The current incumbents – the latest additions to a long and prestigious list – are Crawford Logan as Kipps and Tim Delp as The Actor. They give real value for money. Logan is marvellous as he takes on many roles, recreating characters he met as a young man. Delap is hugely appealing and manages to give the play surprising emotional punch. As part of the action, their skill as actors is showcased to the audience, discussed and laid bare, another technique to gain our complicity.

Behind the apparent simplicity there are plenty of clever devices. Drawing the audience in, the staging makes the experience totally different to reading a ghost story or seeing a horror movie. This kind of scary you can only get in a theatre. And of all London’s longer-running shows, this one is the safest bet; even those that don’t like musicals or puppets (shame on them) are going to love it, and Londoners should not stop recommending it to out-of-towners – and each other.

www.thewomaninblack.com

Photo by Tristram Kenton

Written 6 June 2013 for The London Magazine

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“Even stillness breathes softly against a brick wall” at the Soho Theatre

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Unlike its title, Brad Birch’s new play, Even stillness breathes softly against a brick wall, which opened at the Soho Theatre last night, is a short, terse work. In a spirit of brevity, suffice to say – this is strong writing with much to offer.

A couple, “Him” (Joe Dempsie) and “Her”, (Lara Rossi) live recognisably modern lives – all about technology (Simon Slater’s accompanying soundscape is effectively annoying) and takeaways. There’s nothing new here and, although Birch writes about it well, it goes on a little too long.

The scenario develops with the couple rejecting consumerism and in so doing effectively turning away from the whole contemporary world. It’s a radical fantasy: just saying no. A dream, or nightmare, sure to divide an audience and a bold place for a dramatist to position himself.

It will either disappoint or reassure to find that this breakaway ends up being depicted as a breakdown: the squeezed middle turned screaming and mad. The pressure the successful young couple are under doesn’t move us enough, and reports of war on the news that obsess ‘Him’ are an opaque parallel.

But the play reads very well indeed. Birch started his work by writing a poem, and it shows; the text is layered and the language ripe. Taken off the page with great respect by director Nadia Latif, it’s staged skilfully in a carefully constructed set by Lorna Ritchie that the couple make a right mess off – I pity their landlord.

This is one of those works that makes an effective showcase for acting talent: demanding, intense and requiring intelligent performers. Making an impressive stage debut, Joe Dempsie seems very much at home, a great presence, appealing and charismatic with a natural ability to bring out comic touches.

As his companion, Lara Rossi’s experience, including her excellent performance in Philip Ridley’s play Tender Napalm, stands her in good stead. Rossi suppresses her character’s energy remarkably and deals with the sexually explicit content with the erotic nuance required. Like Dempsie, she establishes a great connection with the audience.

It’s when presenting a couple in love that Even stillness breathes softly against a brick wall is at its most appealing. Birch, aided by the fine performances, writes an engrossing internal dialogue for each character, combined with their conversations and occasional comments to the audience. It’s an exacting evening, but one with plenty of rewards.

Until 14 June 2013

www.sohotheatre.com

Photo by Richard Davenport

Written 31 May 2013 for The London Magazine

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“Race” at Hampstead Theatre

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In Race, which opened last night at the Hampstead Theatre, playwright David Mamet uses the legal system as a prism through which to examine racism in America. Race centres on the case of a white man accused of raping a black woman. It’s a hard-hitting, foul-mouthed, hilarious affair with the most serious of themes.

This is a huge coup for Hampstead; artistic director Edward Hall is justifiably pleased to give the show its UK premiere. Any work by Mamet is an important event for contemporary theatre writing, and in the must-see category by virtue of his name alone.

And it’s also characteristic Mamet: brilliantly contentious, perversely confrontational, and deliberately provocative. The play is about the lies we tell each other and ourselves about race, set in a legal world whose dialectic consists solely of falsehoods.

The law often makes great theatre; here the legal team of Lawton and Brown, played expertly by Jasper Britton and Clarke Peters, are more than open to a connection with “pageantry”. Overblown certainly, you might pray they are a parody, but their bluntness – constantly mercenary and misanthropic – is a technique to tackle taboos and get howls of laughter.

The key to the play is a new addition to the law firm, Susan, an honours student whose agenda gives rise to the most testing moral questions. Nina Toussaint-White is superb in the role, revealing that in razor-sharp competitions with her elder colleagues her character isn’t at the same professional level. And Toussaint-White conveys a deep pain behind her character’s sleek façade, injecting much-needed humanity into the play.

Mamet’s cynicism is such it occasionally beggars belief. Plot points designed to make us question Susan’s character are clumsy. There’s also the issue for London audiences that, understandably, the focus is very specifically on American society. But these are caveats. Race is never less than thrilling and this production makes a trip to Hampstead essential.

Until 29 June 2013

www.hampsteadtheatre.com

Photo by Alaistair Muir

Written 30 May 2013 for The London Magazine