Andrew is on sabbatical but Phil is soldiering on to help you decide between the Merlot and the Marlowe and generally putting London's West End theatre to rights
In which the National explores the nature of the BOGOF offer.
Though in this instance it is a case of Buy Olivia Get Olivia Free. The Olivias Colman and Williams to be precise.
They star as sisters Alice and Jenny. O1 Williams is a scientist working in Switzerland on the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, O2 Colman is the less academically-gifted, more emotional (or “stupid” as she’s often referred to) sis residing in Luton. Read the rest of this entry »
Harley Granville Barker‘s banned-in-its-day (1907, revised 1926) “controversial masterpiece” Waste took us rather by surprise when we visited it seven years ago at the Almeida. It took us a while, but we eventually warmed to it rather unexpectedly.
The brevity of the title is not reflected in the running time of the play which comes in at nearly 3 hours and is somewhat talky and unlike our previous viewing doesn’t have much of a set to look at. Read the rest of this entry »
Bored with your spouse or partner? Suffering from complacency in your relationship? Too many silent dinners where you’ve lost the art of conversation?
If you’re toying – however vaguely – with splitting up with your other half, then shuffle along to the St James Theatre for Scenes from a Marriage and dump them gently over a post-show drink.
They won’t be upset. In fact, after watching this play, they’ll probably thank you for it, realising they’ve avoided the years of misery that lie ahead and that a faithful pet and a TV dinner for one can be surprisingly comforting. Read the rest of this entry »
“The truth hurts”, according to Mr Neil LaBute‘s latest grim-fest, In a Forest, Dark and Deep, currently playing at the Vaudeville.
In which case untold agonies shall surely be the fate of Mr Matthew Fox and Miss Olivia Williams upon hearing that showbusiness’s gain has in no way been Pickfords’ loss.
For nigh on 90 minutes these two relatively well-known (and presumably trained) thespians are called upon to pack books (urgently yet) and frankly their stagecraft makes for a most pitiful sight. They could have read all the books in the time it takes them to fanny about putting them into boxes. Read the rest of this entry »
A West End Whinger 