Theatre Review: Much Ado About Nothing

Seen on 26 December 2006 at the Novello Theatre in London

Performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company

• Director: MARIANNE ELLIOTT
  
• TAMSIN GREIG - Beatrice
• JOSEPH MILLSON - Benedick
• MORVEN CHRISTIE - Hero
• ADAM RAYNER - Claudio
• PATRICK ROBINSON - Don Pedro
• ...

I was never sure about this play. The fast paced beginning, the engaging and interesting characters, the witty dialogue between Benedick and Beatrice - and then the disappointing, lame ending. Almost as if Shakespeare suddenly realised that he had only a few days left before the opening night and still needed to wrap everything up. And make sure to re-use the expensive tomb prop he bought for Romeo and Juliet. I had seen the play a couple of times before - and never found any reason to change this assessment

This time was different...

To be continued

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Theater Review: Spamalot

Seen on 28 November 2006 at the Palace theater in London

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is how old now? 31 years! I didn't even understand English when it was first released.
Yet nearly all the gags in the musical are straight out of the film, some of the music is too, and everything still is as fresh as it was.
They added a femal lead - the Lady of the Lake or some such watery tart - and it's quite interesting to see whatever happens to her part.
The music and dances have been modernised - but don't worry, you still get to hear "We're the Knights of the Round Table" and "Brave Sir Robbin".

The visual delights include the fight with the Black Knight (let's call it a draw), a wee white bunny and girls in underwear.

Really good fun

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Theater Review: Eugene O'Neill - A Moon for the Misbegotten

Seen on 28 October 2006 at the Old Vic theater in London Drama by Eugene O'Neill. Set in rural Connecticut in 1923.

Quoted from the Old Vic Website: Josie (Best), a towering woman with a quick tongue and a ruined reputation lives in a dilapidated Connecticut farmhouse with her conniving father, Phil Hogan (Meaney). Together they're a formidable force as they scrape together a livelihood. But Josie's softer side is exposed through her love of Jim Tyrone (Spacey), Hogan's landlord and drinking buddy - a third-rate actor whose dreams of stardom were washed away by alcohol.

Cast Eve Best Billy Carter Colm Meaney Eugene O'Hare Kevin Spacey

Director Howard Davies

Absolutely brilliant acting, intense, engaging. A flawless production.

But why does anyone want to put this on stage? The central conflict - self-loathing caused by alcoholism, cheap sex and oedipal family affairs followed by redemption through re-birth - seems incredibly dated. I found myself looking at it as if it was a historical exhibit: That's how Irish immigrants lived in the US in the nineteen-twenties.

The only excuse: You have an ensemble of world class actors that you want to show off - evidently the case here.

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You can find more information at the Olc Vic theater web-site