Theatre News

I realized that I mentioned seeing a couple of shows a little while ago, and never gave a full report on them. I have since seen even more theatre, so I think it is time for a full run down. So here goes. Lets see I have seen (in order) Traveling Light, Matilda, The Lion in Winter, Noises Off, Mogadishu, One Man Two Guvnors. I feel like there may have been one more. I'll check my programs and get back to you on that. Right lets start from the top. Traveling Light. A new play, being performed at The National, about a young man discovering moving pictures in a village in a country somewhere vaguely Eastern European. Eventually he leaves and goes on to make his way as one of the first film directors in Hollywood. I went to see this with a friend of mine on a whim. With the Entry Pass program tickets are only 5 pounds for those 25 and under. A great deal, that I just realized that I am going to lose next week. (Oh man, now I need go see everything that is playing at the National this week). The idea was interesting, and once again the set was gorgeous, but I don't think the play itself worked that well. It was sort of a trite story line, and I am not sure they had decided exactly what they were trying to say. Also the story relied heavily on their leading man, who made the mistake of starting his performance in his highest gear. He had no way to grow or develop through the show. Also the cast as a whole couldn't quite decide where they were from- we heard a whole range of accents, including a truly atrocious American accent in the second half. Why is it that all Americans have to be from Brooklyn/Mars? I am sure this is what the Brit's must think of our English accents but still.... Right moving on. Next up was Matilda. Now this was truly wonderful! Based on the Roald Dahl novel, it was just lovely. Fun for the kids, but smart enough for the grownups, sweet without being saccharine. The kids were incredibly impressive. I have seen few adult ensembles with that level of focus. And they were totally adorable without being obnoxious (which is a feat for some child actors). The choreography was fun. The music was entertaining and enjoyable. The sets were gorgeous, based around fun bookshelves and scrabble tiles. It was just a delightful evening at the theatre. Sarah wants to see it at someone so hopefully we can snag cheap tickets so that I can see it again. After that Sarah and I got some nosebleed seats for the closing weekend of The Lion in Winter. And these were truly nosebleed seats, we were basically sitting on bleachers way way at the top of the theatre. I did fear for my life squeezing in and out of the rows! The show itself was fine. A perfectly respectable, while not earth shattering, production of the play. I do love that script so it was fun to see it live. However it is really hard to beat Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in those roles. All in all an enjoyable, if not inspiring night at the theatre. Right that is the backlog, now for this weekend. David came up to see my showcase (which I will get to eventually, I promise) so over the weekend we saw a few shows. He is such a physical performer so when it came out that he had never seen Noises Off that was the obvious choice. It was absolutely delightful. The show itself is an interesting phenomenon. The comedy is so specific, especially because it is so physically based, that productions necessarily have to be pretty similar. This didnt detract from the experience at all, but it was interesting to realize. There isn't a whole lot new that you can add to the show. That being said this production was absolutely wonderful. All of the physical bits were perfectly timed, and wonderfully executed. The second act of the show is perhaps one of my favorite pieces of theatre ever! So funny. I could have done without the little girl sitting next to us who kept leaning out between the ledge and the restraining rail of the balcony and obstructing the entire view, while making us fear for her safety. But other than that it was pretty much perfect. Then on Saturday, during our day trip out to Oxford, David and I stumbled across Mogadishu. We decided to buy tickets without knowing a whole lot about the show. It is brand new, and is just about to set out touring and will end up in London eventually. The show is about an altercation that took place at a sort of inner city school, a teacher breaking up a fight between students and getting thrown to the ground in the process. However one of the students involved accuses her of hurling racial insults at him in the process, and gets his friends to back up the story. The body of the play involves what happens after that, with the students, their parents and the school board, as people struggle to figure out who to believe while treading the fine line of political correctness. I thought the play, while not perfect, was really interesting. I think it raised some important and difficult questions. It certainly prompted some post theatre discussion! It was nice to see a play like that, I have missed that since leaving ACT. Most of the theatre I have seen here has been musical theatre, which often has a different aim. I miss those plays that push everyone's buttons! And last, but certainly not least, I went and saw One Man, Two Guvnors last night. Oh my goodness, it was so much fun. Starting with the band before the show (and throughout the play as well) the fun did not stop. The play was completely silly, tongue in cheek and self referential. Nothing was taken seriously. Everyone in the show was awesome. It was just a big party the whole way through. Some of the best moments throughout the evening were the unscripted bits (some of which it turns out are actually scripted, but I wont spoil those). At several points throughout the show the title character addressed the audience, in the first act it is all about how hungry he is. At one of these moments he asks if anyone has a sandwich and is about to launch into a tirade about food when someone in the audience actually offers him one. You could see the astonishment on his face. He played it off well but he was so amused at the situation. So funny! The whole evening was just wonderful. That's enough of that for the moment. I will post later about the last week, but at the moment I am swamped at work and I need to take advantage of my night in and get stuff done. Until next time!