Theatre!

This thread is for conversation about live theatre, including discussion of past and favorite plays and performances, reviews, and information about current and future performances of interest.

Added to the group wiki...

Darryl, thanks a lot for putting up this thread.

I've been twice to the theatre during the last six days. So here we go:

On saturday (2013-12-28) my husband and me have been in Schauspielhaus, Zürich. We've seen Franz Kafka's play The Trial. The production was gorgeous. It was a modern setting with a minimum but effective coulisse. Even though Kafka has written this story 100 years ago, the power, the substance and the importance are still very strong and up-to-date.

Some pictures from the performance:

On Tuesday (2013-12-31) we went to Schauspielhaus, Zürich again. This time our younger daughter joined us. She has read this play in class at her grammar school. We saw Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Physicists in very modern performance. The stage was a padded cell. The actors had to jump and to climb walls and they were performing like circus artists. It was absolutely astonishing.
During the last 35 years I've seen many productions of this play, this one is one of the best.

Some pictures from the performance

Saw a really good play last night, Tribes by Nina Raine. It features a high IQ family, with one boy who is deaf. The non-deaf parents, along with his sister and brother in their 20s (but living back at home), engage in fast-paced and very funny verbal battles and pyrotechnics. The family treats Billy, also in his 20s, as if he's not deaf, "on principle", as the never uncertain father, played by the always excellent Francis Guinan, explains. Billy, the deaf boy, handles it surprisingly well - at first. He can speak reasonably well, although he has to be reminded to enunciate the consonants, has exceptional lip reading skills, and he's bright enough to get along. But he's frustrated by all he's missing and all his busy family won't take the time to explain.



Then Billy runs into Sylvia at a party, and everything changes. Sylvia, played beautifully by Alana Arenas, has deaf parents, and for genetic reasons is losing her hearing. She lives in both worlds, generally able to understand what his verbose family is saying, and able to sign, something Billy has never been taught. They begin to open their hearts to each other.



She introduces him to the deaf community, and he is thrilled at finally finding himself among others like him. With her help, he gets a job at criminal court using his lip-reading skills to interpret conversations caught on surveillance tape. His independence increases, and he begins to see his family differently, wondering why they haven't done more to communicate with him. At the same time, his family is excited by his finding a girlfriend and becoming independent. However, he in fact has been the calm center for them, and his separation leaves them all in disarray, particularly his brother Danny, whose emotional problems often were alleviated by Billy.

Classical music plays a large role in the play. Danny uses it to help drown out the voices he hears; Billy has never "heard" music, and instead finds it distracting to his trying to understand the others. Sylvia loves music, but it is becoming nothing more than a "roar" for her. One of the most touching scenes has her playing a lovely piano piece with Billy's family gathered around her, after she has explained her growing inability to hear music.

I found it all fascinating. I don't know a lot about the deaf community, but I do remember the outcry when cochlear implants started allowing hearing for profoundly deaf people. Many members of the deaf community reportedly viewed accepting the implants as betrayal. Hard for a non-deaf person like me to understand, of course. The play deals with issues of communication, of "listening" on so many levels. At times Billy and Sylvia are the only ones making much sense, for all the others' highfalutin' verbosity. Sylvia mourns what she is losing, including, in her view, the ability to communicate irony. She is skeptical of the small deaf community's insularity at the same time Billy is for the first time learning sign language and becoming enamored of knowing other deaf people. Both of them struggle with the difference between being deaf since birth versus becoming deaf at a later age. Meanwhile, Billy's family has trouble "hearing" each other while at the same time they are all vigorously proclaiming their self-centered views. They have no clue about Billy's frustration, or his importance to them, until he begins to open up his life to the wider world.

Great play, well-performed as usual at Steppenwolf, after starting in London, playing in 2012 at the Barrow Street Theater in New York, and last year at the Guthrie in Minneapolis.

Thanks for getting this up and running, Darryl!

I remember when I was in London in the 1970's friends came to me very excited and said "We have tickets to the panto! You have to come".

And i said: "Pantomime? Guys in white makeup who don't talk? Pass".

Of course (As I found out) the Panto in London is a grand tradition of the Music Hall, where around Christmas Time, they put together a show, usually based on fairy tales or children's stories, and they mug and camp and bring out all the hoary old Vaudeville tropes, and everyone laughs and goes home happy. A man in drag the "Pantomime Dame" is always featured.

Well Judy and I saw a show like that last night: "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder", currently on Broadway.

The plot is basically "Kind Hearts and Coronets" the great Alec Guinness movie.

Penniless mope discovers he is eighth in line to be the next Earl of Highhurst, and decides to kill off the eight candidates that stand in the way and claim the title.

OK. I'm already on board with this.

To add to the fun they do it in a total over the top Music Hall “Panto” style. Cardboard sets, broad mugging, Gilbert and Sullivan parodies.

AND they cast the wonderful Tony award winning (but not well known) Jefferson Mays to play (as Alec Guinness did) ALL the murder victims, including the girls.

As they say, "Comic hilarity ensues".

Some clever but forgettable songs, a funny little romantic sub plot, and all mod cons; but the joy is in seeing these little character cameos each leading to a ghastly (and hysterical) murder.

And a door slamming farce scene in Act II that is worth the price of admission.

We howled.

Can a new musical without a big star or a known "property" succeed on Broadway? Time will tell.

(I hope so!)

Darryl - thanks for getting this up and started. Would this other live performances? I'm a long time season ticket holder to the Boston Ballet. Don't know where else I could find a home. I'll be checking in often, and likely posting more come summer -- spend a great deal of time at the Williamstown Theater Festival.

Loved the photos from the Schauspielhaus Zurich. Done well, these modernized production values can add so much to one's experience. Thanks.

Joe - thanks for the post. Sounds like a wonderful thought provoking production.

Marianne

One of my Christmas presents from my wife was an agreement to see Tristan and Yseult when it comes to the Guthrie Theater in February. I am very excited as this theater group, Kneehigh Theatre, did a performance of A Brief Encounter which was one of the best productions I have ever seen staged.

Looking forward to a staging of Othello later this year too.

We've seen a few of KneeHigh's productions when they have come to New York over the last few years.

We last saw their "The Wild Bride" at the wonderful St Ann's Warehouse space in Brooklyn.

Kneehigh is so hard to describe - music, dance, acting performance art.

They address the audience directly in almost a Story Theatre style.

But we have found their work moving and thrilling and always look out for when they are coming into town.

Favourite Play : Volpone by Ben Jonson

Favourite Musical : Blood Brothers by Willy Russell

Favourite Billy S: MacBeth or Henry V.

Favourite from the 20th C: Waiting for Godot or A Man for all Seasons

I'm glad this thread exists.

>7 magicians_nephew: I think I'm the only person in the world who didn't love A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder. I enjoyed the beginning, including the first murder, but once he killed the bee guy who was just really nice to him I found that I couldn't sympathize anymore. The scene with the two women and the doors was still amazing, though.

Meanwhile, NYU's discount theatre tickets for the semester just went on sale today, so my main theatre-going is planned out: Twelfth Night in February (at last!), Pippin and Avenue Q in March, and Cirque du Soleil Amaluna in April (not theatre, but close enough).

They have a ridiculous number of shows available, and I was definitely tempted to see more, but of course the budget isn't unlimited even with the discounts. And some shows were on days when I have conflicts. And I couldn't really justify seeing Les Mis again when I just saw it last month. But I'm expecting visits from some theatre-going family and friends over the semester, so there will be at least a couple more shows in there.

Zoe the Marc Rylance Twelfth Night? You're in for a good 'un.

We saw Avenue Q back in the Broadway Days (with the original very talented cast). We found it funny and very moving both at once. I'll be curious to know how the piece has stood up in its Off Broadway reincarnation.

Yup, the Rylance one! It's one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, and I've heard very good things about the production, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I'll be sure to report back about Avenue Q, though I haven't seen it before so I have no point of comparison.

I saw Mark Rylance when he came to the Guthrie Theater as part of Globe Theater production of Twelfth Night and Measure for Measure. I also go to hear him speak at a book event locally. He is fantastic.

Saw a really fun play last night, a wild and hilarious Merry Wives of Windsor, put on by Chicago Shakespeare Theater. This is the one where Queen Elizabeth supposedly asked Shakespeare to bring back the popular Falstaff from Henry IV in something with romance. The result is a madcap Shakespeare comedy, made even goofier and more fun thanks to the theater's founder, brilliant director Barbara Gaines. We saw a more traditional production there 10 years ago, but this time she transfers it to Britain just after WWII, with music of the time and all the bubbly post-war feelings of optimism.



This is broad comedy, with lots of references to sex, genitals, and body functions. Rotund Sir John Falstaff is wonderfully portrayed by Scott Jaeck, huge with his enjoyment of life and invincible belief in his persuasiveness (although he comes to some modest realization of his delusions at the end). Short on money, he sends the same romantic letter to two rich married women, cleverly played by Heidi Kettenring and Kelli Fox. They figure him out in a blink. My MBH compared them to Lucy and Ethel in I Love Lucy. They have a grand time together, leading Falstaff on while making one of their husbands insanely jealous. (The other husband has unshakable faith in his wife). Ross Lehman is a hoot as the jealous husband, and Kevin Gudahl does his usual excellent job as the trusting one. Falstaff repeatedly gets humiliated in farcical fashion, but never stops believing he will eventually triumph. There's a subplot about one set of parents' desire to marry their daughter to someone suitably wealthy and her preference for a more common boy, here portrayed as an enthusiastic American soldier.



A big part of the fun is how Gaines integrates the era's pop music into the play, with the cast breaking into song and dance at surprising and funny junctures throughout the play. "Hooray for Love" and "The Gentleman is a Dope" are a couple of the many songs she uses. The costumes and staging work well, and there are even three well-trained dogs (Cricket, Lego and Gunther) involved.



The cast seems to have a great time, and the audience sure did, too. This one has sold out through its run. Purists would no doubt shudder, but we think Shakespeare would've loved this update.

I am sure he would have. He could be quite a crowd pleaser.

There was a version called "Lone Star Love" that took the Merry Wives to post Civil War Texas.

You ear has to get used to the combination of iambic pentameter and a Texas drawl but it works.

A acting coach I had back in the day told me that the southern drawl especially the Georgia dialect is very much what The Kings English probably sounded like circa 1600.

Thanks to a fellow LT member passing on a ticket she could no longer use, I will be off at the end of this month to Stratford see the RSC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Bring up the Bodies. (By the time I tried to get hold of a ticket myself they were long sold out, so I'm very glad to have this opportunity after all). I'll try to remember to post here about it afterwards. I cannot imagine how they have managed successfully to adapt these novels - Wolf Hall has also been turned into a play - which are so much about Thomas Cromwell's interior voice. But the production has had some very good reviews, so I assume they have avoided making it just another Tudor costume drama.

The New York Times has a review of adaptations of Mantel's books being performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Here is the link : http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/theater/royal-shakespeare-company-adapts-2-hil...

I'll be in London March 14 -17. I'm thinking about seeing Billy Elliot on Friday or Saturday and Let It Be on Sunday. Any comments? Also, will I be able to get tickets at the TKTS booth or should I book in advance?

We had a rare treat the other day - seeing a new play by John Patrick Shanley called "Outside Mullingar".

Shanley was so good with the Italians in movies like "Moonstruck" you can forget he's really Irish. Man he's really Irish! and so is this play.

Modern day - the Chinese Olympics are just over with - and a lonely bachelor and his Dad live next to a single woman and her elderly Mom. As with all Irish families there is an old and long standing feud under way. A couple of wonderful old Irish character actors play the Dad and the Mother, and it's worth the price of admission just to hear them sit in the parlor and gab the old gab.

But soon they leave and our two younger folk (Did I mention they are played by Debra Messing and Brian F. O'Byrne?) take the stage. They're in love - from when they were six - though you'd be hard pressed to know it from the way they bicker and bite and hem and haw.

But in the end there is a resolution and these two wonderful rich complex characters touch each other, and as the Irish say, it's just Grand.

Rich subtle complex writing and just four perfect perfomances make this a keeper. Debra Messing deserves a medal for just showing up on the stage with these four old Irish pros and opening her mouth and letting a brougue come out of it. But she does main well.

I'm telling all my friends to go see it.

Jim and I saw the Encores production of 'Little Me' this weekend. It's no longer available, otherwise I'd tell everyone to go see it for the sheer silliness of it, and the great dancing. It was originally written for Sid Caesar, so you can imagine the hijinks (if you're old enough, that is!). And two great songs: 'Real, Live Girl' and 'I've Got Your Number'. Yum.

Those both sound great, Jim and Judy.

Just watched PBS Great Performances episode of Christopher Plummer in Barrymore. Wow! Did anyone else catch this -- or better yet see him live?

Cross-posting my Tristan and Yseult review here:

Tristan and Yseult is fantastic. If you have an opportunity to see it, don't miss it.

The play is the story most commonly known as Tristan and Isolde, made famous by Richard Wagner's opera. It is a love triangle between an Irish princess, a Cornish King and a prince from Brittany. That sad thing is that describing it makes it sound like nothing I would want to see and does no justice to the production of the Kneehigh Theater Company.

Kneehigh takes the bare bones of this story and casts the tale into a cabaret singing about the perils of love. It is hilarious, poignant, surprising but above all it is inventive. Again, I know that sounds terribly odd but I find it impossible to classify theater like this. In my defense, none of the other reviewers that I have read have managed to properly describe the play either. The best line I saw was out of the San Jose Mercury News where the reviewer said "You watch this thing for 10 minutes and feel you are seriously lacking in the innovation department." I think that is very true - the level of sheer theatricality and inventiveness in the staging is breath taking. Yet, the play never loses the story.

Fantastic theater. If you love theater you owe it to your self to see what Kneehigh Theater is doing.

Remember sneaking out of work to go see a matinee of "Barrymore". Had a not great seat in the back of the orchestra. It didn't matter.

Plummer came out and owned that stage. Staggared back and forth, told stories, sang songs, and charmed the pants off of everybody within range.

Not a great play but a GREAT afternoon of theatre!

JIm -- Thanks so much for sharing. I loved the PBS production (They've gotten so much better at filming live theatrical productions.) Was certain it would have been something special to see LIVE.

TonightI'm on tap to see the Boston Ballet. Does that count as theater?

Chewing Gum Dreams by Michaela Coel



(Seen at the National Theatre London, 20 March 2014)

He's got really big ambitions, wants to go Uni and that, he says there's cracks in the floor 'n I should aim higher before I find myself stuck in dem.

Cracks in the floor.

I tell him them cracks were made for me, they were made for my mum, and her mum and relaxin' into them is what we do best. I ain't smart enough to be someone I'm just smart enough to know I'm no one.

Tracey Gordon is a 14 year old black girl living in Hackney, a diverse working class neighborhood in North London. She is defiant, foul-mouthed and loud, the kind of teenager that most adults riding a bus or subway would shake their head at or would avoid or move away from.

She is a poor student, who is failing Maths and barely getting by in English. She had dreams of what she could become when she was younger, but she "murdered every one." Her best friend and classmate is Candace, an attractive mixed race girl who is 'love' with a older abusive man, and Tracey herself has eyes for Aaron, a white classmate with soulful blue eyes who also comes from a broken home yet dreams of being a writer.

Tracey is a typical wayward teenager, obsessed with music, boys, and sex, who is incapable of foreseeing the consequences of her actions or planning for the future. Just underneath the tough inner city persona lies a tender and vulnerable child who desires to be loved and respected, and has a deep sense of right and wrong and of loyalty to Candace and Aaron.



Chewing Gum Dreams, the winner of the 2012 Alfred Fagon Award, was written and performed by Michaela Coel, who grew up in Hackney. Her 45 minute one woman performance, in front of a packed crowd in The Shed, the temporary space for new plays in front of the National Theatre, was completely captivating, as the audience laughed and occasionally cringed at her ribald comments, tried to keep up with her as she ran madly around the stage, and shared her pain and grief at the conclusion. Unlike the last one person performance I saw on stage the minutes in this play flew by, and I was disappointed to see this splendid performance end as soon as it did. Bravo to Ms Coel for her acting skills and for writing an award winning play that was both entertaining and thought provoking, and to the start of a promising career on stage.

Darryl, that's a fantastic review. I'm glad you enjoyed the play.

25. Christopher Plummer? Oh, I love him.

>29 kidzdoc: fingers crossed this one gets picked up for NT Live! so we can see it

Wonderful new production of Cinderella by the Boston Ballet at the Opera House on Thursday. Jeffrey Cirio (Prince) is quickly becoming one of my favorite dancers. Misa Kuranga as Cinderella was breathtaking. Boyko Dossov and Yury Yanowsky were hilarious as the stepsisters. Lovely costume design, scenery and a great Orchestra under the capable direction of Jonathan McPhee.

Boston Globe review and more pictures here

definelly looking forward to having a look at the Boston Ballet when they come here in June Marianne

33. Aw, I'm jealous now. I saw Cinderella in London a few years ago and rather liked it. It's not my favourite ballet (bit too cartoonish) but very enjoyable. I wish I lived near an opera house.

Thought this documentary of sorts might be of interest to people here. It's hosted by Stephen Fry and Alan Davies (of QI) and has scientists discussing the effect listening to opera music has on people. Fry and Davies are also wired up with detectors so see how their heart rate, blood pressure and sweat levels change while enjoying Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra".

It's really interesting.

"The Science of Opera"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVN4dShaZWk

Chewing Gum Dreams sounds like a great production. Glad you liked it!

Thought I'd try to bring this reaction to Gypsy at Chicago Shakespeare Theater over to this thread. Gary Griffin is a gifted interpreter of Sondheim, and this was another terrific night at the theater. The cast was excellent.

Louise Pietre, playing Gyspy's mom Rose, was a powerhouse.



Lots of great moments, including the "Mr. Goldstone" number.

There are milestones, there are mill stones.
There's a cherry, there's a yellow, there's a blue.
But we don't want any old stone,
only Goldstone will do!
Moon stones, sun stones.
We all scream for one stone.
Mr. Goldstone we love you!
Goldstone!



The strippers in "You've Got to Have a Gimmick" were hilarious, too. The one with the trumpet was my favorite.

If you wanna bump it
Bump it with a trumpet
Get yourself a gimmick
And you too can be a star



My wife loved the one with the Eiffel Tower head dress whose costume lit up.

We thought Jessica Rush was excellent as Louise, transforming from an unappreciated pawn of Rose's to the take charge Gypsy Rose Lee:



We loved it!

The Weir by Conor McPherson

(Seen 22 March 2014 at Wyndham's Theatre, London)



This play is set in a bar in a rural village in present day Ireland, an area that is shielded from big city Dublin to the southeast but is a popular holiday spot for European tourists due to its natural beauty. Two of the bar's regular customers, Jack, a garage owner in his fifties, and his assistant and general handyman Jim, in his forties, along with the bar owner, Brendan, in his thirties, all unmarried men, are excited yet perturbed by the news that an attractive young woman from Dublin will move into a long unoccupied house in town, and that she will be coming to the bar to meet the locals. Valerie is accompanied by Finbar, a former resident who has moved away from the village but owns much of the property there, including the house he sold to her. Finbar, though married, is a bit of a dandy, and is viewed as an outsider and somewhat of a traitor by the other men, in part because he attracts women like bees to honey.

The four men all vie for Valerie's attention, and three of them each tell a story about the village to impress her. These tales are village legends, with an uncertain amount of truth and a surreal, ghostly and unsettling ending, including one set in the house that Valerie has just moved into. The men regret their tales and are concerned that they may have unnerved Valerie. However, she feels liberated by their accounts, and proceeds to tell them a "ghost" story from her past that puts theirs to shame.



The Weir was originally written in 1997, won the Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and Olivier awards for Best New Play, and established Conor McPherson as one of the great young playwrights. This revival, which is playing at Wyndham's Theatre until 19 April, stars Risteárd Cooper (Finbar), Dervla Kirwan (Valerie), Ardal O'Hanlon (Jim), Brian Cox (Jack) and Peter McDonald (Brendan). It was richly infused with humor, friendship, loss and despair, yet hope and a sense of community shone through the sorrow like the sun peeking through storm clouds. I thoroughly enjoyed this production, and would highly recommend it to anyone who can see it in London before it closes next month, or elsewhere.

>39 kidzdoc: Interesting that you liked 'The Weir'. There was a production in NYC a few years ago that Jim and I saw - alas, without the pleasure you seem to have derived.

I'm sorry that you and Jim didn't enjoy the NYC production of The Weir as much as Fliss and I enjoyed the revival in London on Saturday. I doubt that the two productions had the same actors, right?

Last night's production of King Lear at the National Theatre was superb, and nearly as good as Ghosts, which I saw at Trafalgar Studios on Friday night. It starred Simon Russell Beale as Lear, and was set in the mid-20th century.


(Lear is slapped by his daughter Regan)

Beale played a very convincing Lear, as he slowly descended into madness after he denounces and disinherits his daughter Cordelia (played by Olivia Vinall), the one who is truest to him, and is betrayed by Goneril (Kate Fleetwood) and Regan (Anna Maxwell Martin), the daughters to whom he has bequeathed his kingdom.


(Goneril and Regan, engaged in a scheme against their father)

Sam Troughton was superb as Edmund, the illegitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester who was the main antagonist of the play.


(Goneril lusts after Edmund)

Adrian Scarborough was a delightfully funny Fool, and Stanley Townsend was excellent as the Earl of Kent.


(the Fool commiserates with the chained Kent)


(the King is visited by Cordelia after his full descent into madness)

The production had just enough humor to keep it from being an entirely depressing tragedy, and it was a crisp performance by the actors, with rapid and very impressive stage changes, as the dialogue continued while the new setting was being created. I'll give this production 4-1/2 stars, and I'm glad that I was able to nab a last minute ticket for it after it appeared that I wasn't going to be able to see it.

Fortunately this production of King Lear will be broadcast in cinemas around the world by NT Live starting in May:

http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/44084-king-lear

Home by Nadia Fall

(seen on 27 March 2014 at the National Theatre, London)

This play, which originally appeared at the National Theatre last August, is set in Target East, a hostel for 210 homeless youth set in East London, which is in danger of closure due to cuts enacted by David Cameron's Conservative government. Ten residents and three staff members of Target East speak to a hidden interviewer about their lives prior to coming to the hostel, and their experiences living or working there, and they interact with each other during these interviews, sometimes forgetting that he is also observing them. The interviewer's role and purpose is not made clear to the audience; is he a local MP, a government official, a member of the media, or someone else?



The residents and staff reflect the diversity of the capital, with a mixture of recent immigrants seeing political asylum or those who have migrated from other European countries, second- and third-generation Britons from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, and White Britons, including one who feels increasingly marginalized by the increasing presence of other ethnic groups in East London. Target East is billed by staff as a refuge for these at-risk older teens and young adults, most of whom were kicked out of their homes and would likely be living on the streets otherwise. It is a temporary shelter, though, as the youth wait to receive flats in council housing, which can take years. Danger exists just outside (and sometimes inside) its doors, as female residents are at risk of molestation and one former resident was murdered on a nearby street.

The residents' stories are based largely on real accounts from homeless youth in London.



Despite their unfavorable circumstances nearly all of the youth express a sense of optimism and believe that they, or a loved one, will ultimately achieve their dreams: a Bangladeshi woman desires a better life for her 9 month old baby, free of familial prejudice and cultural expectations; a Jamaican man wants to go to university and become a teacher and football coach for young kids; an Eritrean girl wishes to practice Christianity despite her people's opposition; and a cockney youth wants to have a garden for himself and a home where his younger brother can live in peace, away from their alcoholic mother.



The performance was filled with humor despite its dark topic, and although it wasn't a musical it included half a dozen or more new and old songs, enhanced by the amazing talent of beatbox artist Grace Savage (seen below), whose character spoke only in beatbox phraseology (and generated the most laughs from the audience) and who provided the background beat for most of the music, which was a mixture of hip hop and touching songs, such as No Shoulder to Cry On.



Home was a superb and essential production, which highlighted the plight of homelessness in youth largely hidden from the public's attention, who are at increased risk of marginalization and danger due to government cutbacks in the UK, the US and elsewhere. Thanks to Nadia Fall for writing such an important work, and to the National Theatre for reviving this critically acclaimed and well received play.

We Are Proud To Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 by Jackie Sibblies Drury



(seen on 26 March 2014 at the Bush Theatre, Shepherd's Bush, London)


(I took this photo of the Bush Theatre as I exited the Shepherd's Bush Market tube station, which is located directly across the street from the theatre)

This metafictional play originally appeared at Soho Rep in NYC in 2012, and this production at the Bush Theatre, which features plays by young writers across the globe, marks its European premiere. In the opening scene, six actors portray actors in a theatre, as the speak to the audience about the play that they are going to perform. Its topic is the experience of the Herero people, who live in what is now Namibia, during the occupation of their homeland by Germany between 1884 and 1915, when it was known as Deutsch-Südwestafrika. The Herero people were originally appointed by the Germans as the favored tribe, due to their resourcefulness and friendliness. However, when the Herero rebelled against the ever repressive rule of the colonists, they, along with the Nama people, were slaughtered by the Germans in retaliation during the Herero and Namaqua genocide, which is considered to be the first act of genocide in the 20th century. From 1904 to 1907, roughly 65,000 Herero, roughly 80% of its population, along with 10,000 Namaque, half of its population, were shot to death, hung, or banished to the desert, where they died of starvation and dehydration.


(the cast in its entirety)

Because this genocidal act is unknown to most people, the ensemble decides that it should provide the audience with background information about the experience of the Herero under German rule. Actor 6 (Ayesha Antoine, seen in the foreground in the photo above), the artistic director of the ensemble, which consists of three white and three black young actors, provides the audience with this information, as her colleagues act in the background.


(Actor 5 (Kirsty Oswald) and Actor 1 (Joseph Arkley))

Later, the actors move to a practice space, where they work on the presentation and the play itself. Information about the genocide comes largely from letters and accounts by German colonialists, and the black actors, in particular, seek to tell the story from the vantage point of the Herero people. Conflicts arise between the actors, which are largely instigated by Actor 2, who rigidly and determinedly insists that his white colleagues cannot understand or sympathize with the Herero people (while simultaneously proclaiming that he can convincingly portray a German character, since he lived there), and that any black person can and should identify with the Herero, whether they lived in Africa or not. It seems as though the cast has set aside its differences and come to an agreement, until the final shattering scene that left the actors, and the audience in stunned silence.


(Actor 2 (Kingsley Ben-Adir) and Actor 4 (Isaac Ssebandeke))

We Are Proud to Present... was a very good and brave production about racial misunderstanding and its implications, which was quite funny and most entertaining, thanks to its excellent cast. Bravo to the Bush Theatre for hosting this play, which I would highly recommend to anyone who can see it.

The Husbands by Sharmila Chauhan

(seen at the Soho Theatre, London on 23 March 2014)

This play is set in the modern day community of Shaktipur in southern India, a rural matriarchal society based on ones in ancient times. Shaktipur was created 50 years ago to address the problems of female infanticide, which has resulted in a relative dearth of women relative to men, and female subjugation and abuse by their families and husbands. Women are allowed to take as many husbands as they choose, as long as they are not pregnant, and they serve as heads of households, although men are given an equal voice in their affairs. Women are encouraged to bear as many children as possible, preferably girls, although boy babies are welcomed equally. The city is closely guarded against wicked outsiders who would steal its women and take its bountiful crops. As a result, Shaktipur has become prosperous, due to its world renowned farming techniques, and, unlike most of the rest of the country, its citizens live side by side peacefully, free of sectarian strife and violence against women.


(left to right: Omar, Aya and Sem)

Aya is a women in her thirties, who has recently been chosen as the leader of Shaktipur. She has two husbands, Omar, who was entranced by Aya and moved from a nearby city, and Sem, a sensitive man in his twenties who Aya chose as her husband after her first husband, Sem's older brother, died at a young age. Aya has not born any children, despite an actual sex life with Sem and especially Omar.

As the play opens, Aya is preparing for her wedding to a man from Mumbai, who has promised her land and support in her goal of spreading the successes obtained and lessons learned in Shaktipur to that troubled city, and the rest of India. Sem, who was born in Shaktipur and embraces its beliefs, is happy for Aya and accepting of the new marriage; Omar is somewhat perturbed, however, as he desperately wants a child and believes that Aya has chosen another husband to provide her with the daughter that he was unable to.


(Aya being confronted by Jerome)

On the eve of the wedding an unannounced visitor shows up. Jerome is a British professor in his fifties, and a past lover of Aya's, who she originally met when she traveled to London to discuss her community's agricultural successes at a conference there. Although she is surprised by his appearance Aya welcomes him warmly, but Sem and Omar are annoyed and wary of this unwelcome and narrow minded Westerner, who seems to know Aya far too well and is openly critical of Shaktipur and its men.

As Jerome confronts Aya that evening, he uncovers a secret that threatens to unravel her wedding plans, and to fray the tight knit fabric of her household, and everything that Shaktipur believes in.

The Husbands was an engaging and thought provoking play, which featured strong acting by Syreeta Kumar (Aya), Mark Theodore (Omar), Rhik Samadder (Sem) and Phillip Edgerley (Jerome). The performance I saw had a different ending than the script did, and although I enjoyed the play as a whole, I wish that one or more of my female friends could have seen it with me, so that we could have discussed it, and Aya's motivations, afterward. Unfortunately the performance I saw was the final one of its run at the Soho Theatre, but hopefully it will be shown again in London or elsewhere in the near future.

>38 jnwelch: Regarding Mr. Goldstone, Sondheim has stated that when he doesn't know what to do in a song, he makes lists. (cf. "Gee Officer Krupke").

Mr. Goldstone is one of his most charming "list" songs

>47 jnwelch: Good info, Jim, thanks. He's a great listmaker.

1984 (script): novel by George Orwell, adapted for the stage by Robert Icke and Duncan MacMillan



(seen 28 March at the Almeida Theatre, London)

My rating (script and play):


Martin, Julia, Winston and Charrington, with O'Brien in the background, during the Two Minutes of Hate scene

This was the last of the eight plays I saw on my trip to London, and I was fortunate to get a last minute ticket before it closed at the Almeida Theatre in Islington on the day I left. (Fortunately it will open at the Playhouse Theatre near Trafalgar Square on 28 April). It was searing, creepy as hell, and definitely one of the best and most memorable plays I've ever seen.


Winston writes in his journal

The play was staged in a simple room that served multiple purposes, through which authority figures such as O'Brien (Tim Dutton) and others could peer in, as Winston composed his journal and Charrington (Stephen Fewell) appeared to assist him in providing him with a room free from observation, as he creates his doomed plan to turn against Big Brother with Julia (Hara Yannas).


O'Brien supervises the torture of Winston


Winston and Julia

Mark Arends was cast perfectly as Winston, a wild-eyed, gaunt and perpetually haunted figure whose passion, rage and fear burned a hole in my chest. Tim Dutton was also brilliant as O'Brien, with his 1950s style East German glasses and grey suit, as was Christopher Patrick Nolan as the sinister Martin (seen in the far left of the second image above), whose leering grin and piercing eyes as he repeatedly served victory gin to Martin and the others was delightfully disturbing. Hana Yannas was very good as Julia, although her performance was overshadowed by those of Arends, Dutton and Nolan.


Syme confronts Winston: "You don't really appreciate Newspeak, Winston. Do you? Not really."

1984 was performed in one act, lasting 1 hour and 40 minutes, which had me on the edge of my seat and fully engaged from the opening scene to the end. It was the most suffocating, menacing and powerful theatre experience I can remember, and I definitely want to see it again later this year, after I read the novel.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder in NYC was a hoot, great humor combined with beautiful singing. Jefferson Mays was unfreakin' believable, playing the whole D'ysquith family plus more, maybe 10 roles altogether, or close to it. With lots of quick changes. Here he is as the earl.



Lisa Hallyard as Sibella and Bryce Pinkham as Monty were terrific.



So was Lauren Worsham as Phoebe.



It was a farce, as Monty is a rejected heir in the D'ysquith family who decides to murder his way to the top and become earl. Very funny, great singing and lyrics. As my wife said, it was unbelievable when Lisa H. and Lauren W. sang together, and Bryce P. had a beautiful alto voice. The stage and costume changes all occurred in the blink of an eye - very fast pace with no mis-steps. The rest of the cast was excellent, too.

Lots of silliness and hijinks.



We had a blast.

Judy and I went out with some friends to see "Disgrace" the play that won the Pulitzer last year for drama, and is now embarking on a run on Broadway.

It’s a very curious story, very old and very new – about the new immigrant who comes to American and works hard and tries to Fit In. Our hero Amir is a lawyer who is working long hours to become the first Indian Partner of his Major Law Firm. He’s married to a sexy blond American woman (a wonderful Gretchen Mol) , lives in an amazing huge elegant New York apartment and has more or less rejected his past as a Muslim in Pakistan. (If he was a Black guy, he’d be Sidney Poitier.)

But an Iman is arrested for collecting funds for a mosque – the FBI said he was collecting funds to supply terrorists – and Amir is reluctantly drawn into giving the Iman and his legal team some advice. Which winds up in the New York Times. Which causes everybody who was sort of suspicious of him anyway to cast him out and the nightmare begins.

You could change the story to be about the first Black partner in a law firm or even the first Jewish partner in a law firm and a lot of it would be the same story.

Torn between trying to be American and trying not to dishonor your roots and your family and what you were taught as a child.

Coming to terms with the day to day racism and prejudice that Muslims in America seem to have to deal with.

The middle of the play is probably the weakest part where the Muslim guy hurls drunken insults at the Jewish guy and his Black wife. (The gag is the Black Woman makes partner before the Muslim guy does) while the white wife of the Muslim (who is an artist exploring Islamic themes in art) tries to make nice and present her (naïve?) impression of Islam and civilization. (“The Koran doesn’t really say you can beat your wife”. “Yes it does”)

Pulitzer Prize play? Not with my money. But we enjoyed it and enjoyed standing on the sidewalk discussing it afterwards.

Nice review, Jim. Sometimes the recap on the sidewalk afterwards is the best part of the play!

Always weird to have things reviewed in the New York Times months after an appearance in far off Minnesota but apparently Tristan and Yseult is playing in New York. I reviewed the play back in post 26.

Anyway, the Times review is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/25/theater/kneehigh-theaters-tristan-yseult.html

Go see it if you can.

We've got tickets for early December. Will post. We love the company

>53 magicians_nephew: I look forward to what you thought about it.

For the last show of the year we went to a tiny little cabaret space in midtown to see a little show about the life and work of Dory Previn.

Dory (Dorothy) Previn was a songwriter who was married to the composer Andre Previn back in the 60's and '70's. They wrote film scores for MGM including the score for "Valley of the Dolls". Then Mia Farrow pretty blatently seduced Previn and broke up the marriage. Dory was diagnosed as schizophrenic and institutionalized for some time.

When she got out she began writing songs for herself and about herself. About being betrayed. About being crazy. About having a father who was convinced she wasn't really his daughter. About nuns who tried to change her over from being left handed to being right handed.

She was the first of the singer-songwriters and Laura Nyro and Joni Mitchell owe her a huge debt. She was funny and self-deprecating and she told the truth in her songs.

And now a British woman named Kate Dimbleby has put together a show of Pevin's music and some of the story of her life. Just two woman and a piano and some slides. But if you know Dory it's great to be reminded of how amazing she was, and if you don't know Dory then it's a super introduction to a brave and talented artist.

If you don't know Dory there is a lot of her stuff up on YouTube and worth a look.

"Dory Previn: Beware of Young Girls".

I'm going to go and open a theatre thread in the 2015 group

I put up a thread in the 2015 75'ers group for theatre and stuff like that there

Arts in Performance Thread

see you all there!