Hamlet...

Last night Stuart and I went to see Benedict Cumberbatch star in Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre in London's glitzy but Brutalist Barbican Centre.

That it should come to this! Casting such a huge star and possible distraction in such a play! Though this be madness, yet there is method in't. It sold out a year ahead in minutes.

What a piece of work is (this particular) man? Well, Cumberbatch is electrifying. There was nothing rotten in this state of Denmark. This Hamlet is no ham. He commands and surprises, amazes and delights. He veers from genuinely laugh-out loud comedy to the depths of tragedy in the flick of wrist, the commanding stamp of the foot and the splendid arch of the eyebrow.

An early review by Kate Maltby in The Times called it "a waste" and worse. Well, the lady doth protest too much, methinks. She was trying to get a contrary knife in early. Most critics agree that this is a sublime, superb and sumptuous production - pitch-perfectly acted. And judging by the standing ovation at the end the audience concur.

But let me not imply that Benedict Cumberbatch was the only star of the night. Ciarán Hinds as Claudius and Gertrude played by Anastasia Hille were excellent. Sian Brooke's Ophelia actually brought me to tears as she sang over her father's grave. The cast was rounded out by strong support from Laertes played by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ghost and Gravedigger played by Karl Johnson, Polonius played by Jim Norton and Horatio played by Leo Bill.

Special mention should go to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern played by Matthew Steer and Rudi Dharmalingam just because I love those characters so much thanks to Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Back to Hamlet though and director Lyndsey Turner has done a truly magnificent job. Outstanding. The set design by Es Devlin is simply a wow. And even Katrina Lindsay's costume design and Jane Cox's lighting design demanded acclaim.

To be, or not to be? There is no question. A brilliant, brilliant show.

Einstein on the Beach...

Last Friday Paul and I went to see Philip Glass's gargantuan minimalist classic Einstein on the Beach at the Barbican Theatre. We loved it. Agreeing with most of the critics. However... well, let my letter to the Barbican do the talking.

From: Jonathan Green
Sent: 06 May 2012 11:50
To: feedback@barbican.org.uk
Subject: Production Staff Behaviour at Barbican Theatre

I am writing to complain about the behaviour of production staff during the Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach performance last Friday night 4th May 2012 at the Barbican Theatre. 

My friend and I sat in row S in seats 11 and 12 and directly behind us in row T were four men and one woman who talked loudly throughout the whole show.  Initially we believed that they were customers like us - it then became apparent they were actually production staff. We asked them to be quiet. They ignored us. This behaviour continued throughout the whole performance - all five hours of it.  Other patrons were also affects by this and moved away. Others asked them to be quiet - again these requests were ignored. 

There was no member of Barbican staff that we could find to complain to on the night. This was very frustrating. 

Here is a small snap shot of the ceaseless chatter that started from the beginning:-

"That's wrong. Too slow. Too slow. Where's the dry ice? Dry ice. DRY ICE! She's late. Where is she? No. NO! To the left. LEFT.  Lighting cue all wrong. That's it. Slowly, slowly. What we need to do is bring that one on quicker.  What's that? NO! NO!" etc etc etc etc 

I understand that technical issues do need to be addressed during performances but not at the expense of paying customers. 

My friend and I had waited 27 years to see such a landmark cultural show, we had been looking forward to the great music, ambitious staging and were happy to pay £100 for each ticket.  However this performance was ruined for us due to the production staff talking throughout the show. 

I am a Red Member , attend events at the Barbican frequently and have never had cause to complain about any aspect of the Barbican's usual excellent service. However on this occasion we both felt severely let down by the Barbican. 

I feel the need to draw this to your attention so other patrons don't experience similar incidents. 

Jonathan Green

Member: xxxxxxx

Booking ref: xxxxxxx

There's a sort of happy ending. The Barbican called me to apologise explaining that it was actually the director Robert Wilson behind us. They have offered me two free tickets for this Friday so I'm going again. To enjoy the opera in the way I imagine Mr Wilson intended. In peace.

I Drink the Air Before Me...

Last night Stu, Darren and I went to see Stephen Petronio's I Drink the Air Before Me at the Barbican Theatre.
The title comes from The Tempest where Ariel says, "I drink the air before me, and return. Or ere your pulse twice beat." And surely the piece was a meditation on storms - external and internal.
Captain Petronio, decked out like Captain Haddock, oversaw the show from up his makeshift mast. He initiated proceedings with “Salty Dog Blues.” (“If I can’t be your salty dog, I won’t be your man at all.”) What followed was at times fabulous, at times interesting and at times frankly rather boring. It wasn't that the performing was inconsistent or in anyway below par. It just lacked any strong narrative. There seemed to be little connecting the movements and although the theme of storms was fine there was just not much that it actually told us.