Review – Major Barbara, National Theatre

“Alcohol is a very necessary article. It heals the sick… It assists the doctor – that is perhaps a less questionable way of putting it. It makes life bearable to millions of people who could not endure their existence if they were quite sober. It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.”

Who would have thought that of all the playwrights in all the world the Whingers would finally discover that their kindred spirit was George Bernard Shaw?

Having been taken completely taken by surprise at the excellence of Saint Joan in the same space last year, it seemed unlikely that lightning (or perhaps an earthquake) could possibly strike twice.

The West End Whingers’ Christmas Card List

Yes, of course the Whingers have a Christmas Card list: it contains the names of people expected to send us Christmas Cards and woe betide those who don’t.

We were thinking about publishing it, but it’s very, very long.

Anyway, we were delighted to receive this unexpected Christmas card apparently from Mark Shenton, Nicholas Hytner, Kevin Spacey and Michael Billington. Turn up the sound on your computer and click on the photo to see it in all its animated glory.

Unfortunately the Whingers are unable to send any Christmas Cards due to laziness, poverty, meanness and general absence of Christmas spirit.

But we wish all our readers a Merry Christmas nonetheless.

Guest review – Much Ado About Nothing, National Theatre

Due to our general aversion to Shakespeare, we delegated this one to Channel 4 News presenter Samira Ahmed. Thanks, Sam.

In which Nicholas Hytner is too modest about his achievements to date

From Hugo Rifkind’s People section in yesterday’s The Times:

When you’re responsible for your country’s flagship theatre, aren’t you supposed to convince the public to swing by occasionally? Not, apparently, when you are Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre on the South Bank in London. “I would seriously like to feel that somebody would deliver me a play that will really get up your noses,” he told an audience at the Soho Theatre last week.

Review – The Emperor Jones, National Theatre

Andrew would have loved this one.

The play that launched Eugene O’Neill’s career The Emperor Jones turned into a music and dance spectacle with a multi-cultural cast and all over without an interval in a mere 70 minutes.

Where could Andrew have been? Well, as regular readers will know, since seeing the abysmal Take Flight at the Menier Chocolate Factory Andrew’s been inspired to do a little of his own flying solo. Only last Thursday he inveigled himself to join a posse of fellow theatrical bloggers at The Bacchae without so much as a nod to poor Phil who was desperate to see Alan Cumming’s bottom for the nth time.

An exclusive interview with The Lord of the Rings’ director Matthew Warchus

Things really do happen after a Badedas bath. Andrew had had his ritual annual bath only that morning and sure enough a drama ensued.

Star and their Websites 2

Due to the phenomenal interest in the first Stars and their Websites, it’s back by popular demand.

The West End Whingers have been trawling the Internet purely for your edification:

Who’d have thought Liza Minnelli would have her own site? Well the Whingers would actually. Lots of merchandise in the Liza Store and “PLEASE know how much I love and appreciate YOU” (sic), especially if you keep spending.

Two dead white males respond to Mr Hytner

Quite what Mr Hytner (who didn’t come to our party) expected to achieve with his night of the long butterknives, we don’t know. But if he was expecting the dailies to summarily dump their dead white male reviewers and replace them with one-legged, black, working class lesbians from the north of England he is presumably somewhat disappointed.

Fight! Fight! Hytner takes on the critics

Hytner lays into the critics and De Jongh fights back. The knives are out.

Nicholas Hytner’s report card

Following the recent baying for the blood of Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre, the West End Whingers decided to get a more official verdict by raiding the records department of the National Theatre and pilfering a copy of his end-of-term report.

This is what they found: