Di and Viv and Rose...

Last night Stuart and I went to see Di and Viv and Rose at The Vaudeville Theatre.

The play tells the story of three eighteen year old friends - Di (Tamzin Outhwaite), Viv (Samantha Spiro) and Rose (Jenna Russell).

The women meet at university and Amelia Bullmore’s popular play follows the next 30 or so years of their lives, loves, ups and downs as friends. It's funny, moving and fantastically acted.

This brilliantly directed production deserves many accolades - not least to its actual director Anna Mackmin.

Go see.

The Ruling Class...

Last night Stuart and I went to see the hunky James McAvoy starring in Peter Barnes' satirical play The Ruling Class at the Trafalgar Studios in London's glitzy West End.

The (black) humour of the play hinges on one of two things; (1) whether you find the idea of a paranoid schizophrenic psychopath British nobleman inheriting a peerage funny, or (2) whether you find a talented actor playing a paranoid schizophrenic psychopath British nobleman inheriting a peerage funny. We are in 'laugh at' vs 'laugh with' territory again.

For me the answer to (1) was "not really."
The answer to (2) was (as the actor in question is James McAvoy) "largely, yes."

So here it was - a rather broad, rather blunt attack on those who rule us (clue: they all talk in posh accents, went to Eton, own country estates, and hate the poor.)

When the play worked it was fine - the action was zany and madcap with Mr McAvoy sparkling as mad Jack. He got to show us his unicycling skills, his ripped bod, his demon smile and his underwear.

When it didn't work (especially in the 2nd half) it rather reminded me of a 'trendy vicar' routine I used to do when I was a member of the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society (CULES) back in 1982 - cringingly old hat.

3 stars (mainly for Mr McAvoy's spirited performance and evil grin)

Theatre Themes...

When you're as much of a pair of West End Wendies as Stuart and I are you start to see trends in theatrical productions. Over the past few years we've watched trends come and go. So I thought I'd note a few recent ones down.

• A couple of years ago it was all nuns and Nazis (Sister Act, Cabaret, The Sound of Music, The Producers)
• The year before last it was male nudity (Hair, My Night With Reg, Bent, Judas Kiss, Privates on Parade)
• We also had immersive theatre (Secret Cinema, Punch Drunk's A Drowned Man, Fire Hazard's  zombie runs) 
• Last year it was straight-through shows without intervals (Macbeth, most things at the National these days, Henry IV at Donmar, two recent plays at Almeida, The Scottsboro Boys, Ghosts Stories, A Chorus Line)
• And even most recently it's been faux-helicopters (Kate Bush, Miss Saigon, Made In Dagenham, Here Lies Love).

I wonder what the next theatrical fad in 2015 will be?

Here Lies Love...

What's that you say? A musical about Imelda Marcos? A DISCO musical about Imelda Marcos? A disco musical about Imelda Marcos written by David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim at The National Theatre's new Dorfman Theatre? Set in a Studio 54 style night club? With flashing lights, a giant disco-ball, non-stop dancing, podia that twirl and slide and glide across the auditorium and banging tunes that stick in your head like earworms? We were so there.

Who cares if there is no reference to her shoes? Who cares if politics takes a bit of a back seat? The audience were clapping, singing, and dancing along. Well, we simply loved it. 

Sadly it's sold out for the rest of it's three month run so let's hope for a West End transfer.

Skylight...

Last night Stuart and I went to see my mate Stephen Daldry revival of David Hare's fantastic play Skylight at the Wyndham's Theatre in London's glitzy West End.

Starring Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan in her West End debut the play tells the story of two ex-lovers, an underheated flat and a spaghetti bolognese.

The chemistry between the leads is spot on, the acting superb and the juxtaposition between the private pain and public rage of the characters hits you right in the heart.

Everything about this production is perfectly judged and perfectly placed, even down to the way the passage of time is denoted through the lights going on and off in the windows of Bob Crowley's magnificent tower-block set.

If you want to see an excellent play and excellent acting you'd be hard pushed to find anything better on the London stage at the moment.

The Color Purple...

Last week Darren organised a trip for Rachel, Chris, Hudd, David, Mark, Tim, Stu and I to go and see The Color Purple musical at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London's not so glitzy London Bridge Quarter (LBQ).

It was an outstanding show with great songs - magnificently sung by a superb cast. Head and shoulders above these faultless singers was Cynthia Erivo who played protagonist and narrator Celie. She sang her heart out and us into hers.

Celie is a poor, uneducated black woman with a sad personal history who not only survives a stepfather who rapes her (something we don't see) and steals her babies (something we do) but also survives an abusive husband (the focus of the piece.) As an adult, Celie befriends and finds intimacy with a blues singer, Shug Avery, who gradually helps Celie find her voice - quite literally. By the end of the musical, Celie is a happy, independent, and self-confident woman. And boy are we in for a rough ride. Well, it perhaps should have been a little rougher in my opinion. Not that I wish ill of her as a character. It's just that the book pulls no punches with its depiction of abuse, betrayal and revenge. We got zipped through the main plot points touching rather too lightly upon each rather than getting gripped by the dramatic turns of events. This meant that the musical came across as a little too family-friendly for my liking perhaps demonstrated best by the happy ending which was a tad too sweet for my taste. There is a room here for an edgier adaptation I think.

That said, there is much here to marvel at. The vivid depiction of generations of black men still treating their womenfolk with the same odious strictures as slavery sends a powerful and salient message. It seems only the menfolk have truly broken from their yolk of oppression. This message translates from the book beautifully.

The run has ended now at the Menier Chocolate Factory but since it was largely sold out here's hoping it gets a much deserved West End transfer.

Privates On Parade...

Last night Stu and I went to see Privates on Parade – the Peter Nichols play with songs – at the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s glitzy West End.

The show had been getting 4 and 5 stars reviews and deservedly so. We loved it. It was funny, camp, thought-provoking and suitably evocative as it conjured up post-war Malaysian tensions and the real-life Combines Services Entertainment perfectly.

It also poked the right amount of fun at jingoistic colonialism to make its point without being overtly preachy.

Oh and there was lots of male nudity - which seems to be everywhere on the West End stage at the moment!

The Mousetrap...

Last Friday Stu treated me to a night out at the theatre. We went to see The Mousetrap - now in it's 60th year - in London's glitzy West End.

It's a dated whodunnit but not without it's charm.

I got it straight off. Stu thought it was the usherette.

The Sunshine Boys...

Last night Stu and I went to see The Sunshine Boys playing at the Savoy Theatre in London's glitzy West End.

The revival of the Neil Simon comedy starred Danny DeVito (in his West End debut) and Richard Griffiths as the hapless vaudeville duo "Lewis and Clark".

The story is set after the pair have split up having worked together on stage for 43 years, grown to hate each other and not spoken for their final year together.  It is now 11 years later and they are being asked to revive one of the old routines one last time for a television special. Neither really wants to do it and they bicker and argue before they eventually reluctantly agree do it. They then have a war-like rehearsal before they finally get to perform.

It's a funny show - very well written with some brilliantly created smaller roles such as the two diametrically opposite looking nurses. The show however hangs on the performances of it's two leads. And in this it is mild disappointing.  DeVito is nothing less than superb. He is funny, engaging and convincing. Griffiths is sadly less so. His New York accent is all over the place, his timing not one of a seasoned comic actor and he comes across as being all too pensive for the quick wit he is meant to be portraying. Basically I think he's been miscast.

Still, it's a good show and despite us feeling a little drained from recent bad news we both laughed - a lot - especially in the final act.