Sandy Pritchard-Gordon

Sandy Pritchard-Gordon
Theatre Blog

Saturday 31 March 2012

The King's Speech at Wyndham's Theatre


You’ve seen the film, now go and see the original format of The Kings Speech on stage at Wyndham’s Theatre!  There are reasons why this version scores over the movie, the main one being that David Seidler has been able to reinstate many of the scenes thought unnecessary for his screenplay, thus making the political context much clearer.
One would think that Colin Firth’s portrayal of Bertie cannot be bettered but Charles Edwards wins by a nose.  Perhaps it’s because he is less well known than the famous Mr. Firth, so there are no preconceptions, but his touching and very often funny portrayal seems much more believable.  He also shows the Duke’s unpredictable temper and emotional isolation much more keenly.  Jonathan Hyde as Logue is also superb and we see much more of the man’s theatricality and passion for stagecraft.  The two men’s relationship is more detailed and I particularly enjoyed the scene where Lionel persuades Bertie to allow the future Queen Elizabeth to sit on her husband’s stomach to stimulate his breathing.  Emma Fielding as Elizabeth is very good and shows the future Queen’s tart nature and insistence of the correct protocol at all times.  Bertie’s state of mind is more understandable in this stage version, not only because of the bullying nature of his father, perfectly played by Joss Ackland but because his brother, David, is particularly horrible. Daniel Betts highlights the way the heir to the throne lands his younger sibling with speeches he cannot manage and continually mocks when addressing him as bbbbbBertie.  We are also made more aware of the threat David posed, not only with his addiction to Mrs. Simpson but also his fascination with and admiration for Hitler. 
If I have a criticism it is the odd static scene when the likes of Churchill, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Stanley Baldwin talk about affairs of state, but it is a minor grievance.  Likewise, I would prefer a less camp Archbishop, but when Bertie and Logue are on stage together all these little nit picks disappear.  The two actors have a chemistry that is by turns moving and totally believable.
Combine all these positives with the tight direction of Adrian Noble and the play is very well worth a visit.

The Duchess of Malfi at The Old Vic


I booked to see The Duchess of Malfi at The Old Vic because Eve Best is in the title role and the production is worth seeing for that alone.  She is wonderful, building her character from playful coquettishness with her steward, Antonio at the beginning of the play, to a quiet and intensely moving dignity when she faces death towards the end.  Not quite the end, however, as one of the pitfalls of this long and rather gruesome play, is that she is killed off before the fourth act.  Following her strangulation (I had no idea strangling someone could take so long) the play descends into what can only be described as an over the top bloodbath.  Compassion for the newly departed Duchess is swamped by stifled laughter as one by one the cast is murdered.
The fault lies not in the Old Vic’s production but the play itself.  John Webster’s plot is centred around the fact that The Duchess’s two brothers, Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria and his corrupt brother, the Cardinal, are determined their newly widowed sister should now remain chaste.  Their ‘mole’, Bosola, discovers she has fallen in love and married her steward, Antonio, bearing him three children, so the brothers have her and her two youngest offspring murdered.  More deaths follow until basically only her eldest son and Antonio’s faithful friend, Delio, survive.  A happy little tale not really helped by some of Webster’s language which, at times, is very difficult to understand.
Soutra Gilmour’s fantastic towering design of a dark and eerie palace  and James Farncombe’s perfect atmospheric flickering lighting cannot be faulted, whilst director, Jamie Lloyd’s masterful touch of masking the characters and giving them choreographed movements suggesting a dance of death, is a wonderful piece of theatre.  There is also much to admire in some of the other performances.  Harry Lloyd captures the menace, unpredictability and incestuous nature of the deranged brother, Ferdinand, to perfection, whilst Finbar Lynch’s portrayal of the older brother, the sexually corrupt Cardinal, is chilling.  I’m a sucker for a Scottish accent, so very much enjoyed Mark Bonnar’s Bosola, even though he does somewhat overdo the shouting.  Despite that, he conveys the man’s growing conscience, culminating in his revolt against his masters, very well indeed.
I really don’t think John Webster’s ‘best’ play can be produced any better than this offering at The Old Vic.

Sunday 11 March 2012

Hay Fever at The Noel Coward Theatre


I certainly wouldn’t want to be a house guest with the Bliss family, but watching their antics in Howard Davies’ marvellous new production at The Noel Coward Theatre is an absolute delight.  Bunny Christie has dispensed with the usual beautifully decorated twenties drawing room, opting instead for a chaotic space filled with Simon Bliss’s terrible nude canvases.  This new take on the bohemian Bliss’s home sets the scene perfectly;  we know immediately that this is no ordinary family about to embark on no ordinary weekend in the country.
Various house guests are due to descend upon this less than visitor friendly household, each one a surprise to the other members of the family.  The predatory, ‘resting’ actress Judith Bliss, played to sexy and comic perfection by Lindsay Duncan, has invited a young infatuated male fan.  Her daughter, Sorrel, in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s more than capable hands, is gauche and gruff in equal measure and is expectantly awaiting the arrival of a buttoned-up diplomat.  Jeremy Northam is extremely funny, expertly highlighting this poor man’s rising anxiety.  Meanwhile Mr. Bliss, the always watchable Kevin R. McNally, has decided to spend the weekend ‘observing’ a young cockney flapper.  Amy Morgan really manages to elicit our sympathy as she becomes the butt of this heartless family’s taunts and, whilst one of my favourite actresses, Olivia Colman, seems to be slightly uncomfortable in the role of the predatory Myra Arundel, Freddie Fox, as brattish Simon Bliss, is a joy to behold.  The sibling bickering between him and Phoebe is totally believable.
The rain we see streaming down the set’s windows mirrors the relentless discomfort these poor house guests have to endure.  They are there purely as walk-on parts in a Bliss family theatrical production. Judith’s need to turn her life into a romantic melodrama has filtered down to the rest of her brood, so that sincerity has flown totally out of, yes you’ve guessed it, the window.
This production highlights all Coward’s witty dialogue, making it appear new and even funnier than ever.  I particularly loved Lindsay Duncan’s “turn” with Jeremy Northam on the sofa.  Her “can you punt” and shocked cry of “Richard” has to be the benchmark for anyone attempting to portray La Bliss, because underneath the exaggeration lies an element of truth.  We totally believe in her and her family.
I sat two rows back and felt myself squirming with probably the same amount of discomfort as the characters on stage, because Howard Davies allowed a couple of pauses to go on almost too long, but not quite – pure genius.  But that to me sums up the whole production.  I urge you to give youself a treat and see Coward as he should be played.