'The Play's The Thing' II

The Lion in Winter, Director- Trevor Nunn, Theatre Royal Haymarket

I saw this shortly before Christmas and even though it’s over now, I thought I’d still add my thoughts on it to this review blog. The Lion in Winter (James Goldman) centres on Henry II’s relationship with his three (remaining) sons and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, focusing on a Christmas they spend together close to the end of his reign. I know quite a bit about the British monarchy and I’ve read a couple of books (fact and fiction) on the marriage of Henry and Eleanor so I enjoyed the subject of the play. What I did find quite hard to deal with was the large amount of historical inaccuracy. For instance, a small point, they had a Christmas tree on stage. Christmas trees weren’t introduced, in England at any rate, until the Victorian times, 800 years later. Other inaccuracies were much larger and harder not to focus on and though they are admitted to in the programme (ignored for the sake of ‘artistic license’) it didn’t make watching them any more enjoyable. There was a projection at the start of the play filling the audience in on the background which, I found, was written as if the play was for children, patronising and annoyingly phrased. As well as this, the writing seemed to try and make connections between a modern day family at Christmas and this famous monarchical family that didn’t need to be forced, the audience were perfecting capable of making these connections for themselves without constant hints and references. Despite all this, I did, overall, enjoy the play. The acting was brilliant (what else would one expect of Robert Lindsey and Joanna Lumley?) and there were many wonderfully funny moments. The bickering between the Royal brothers, Richard, Geoffrey and John, were not only witty but true to many accounts of their relationships. If staged again, I recommend going to see it for an evening of entertainment however don’t expect much stimulation and, if you’re a history buff, expect moments of irritation. Still, you will most likely have a good time. I’d give it four stars out of five for enjoyment and three stars out of five for being technically good.

Noises Off, Director- Lindsay Posner, The Old Vic

I first saw this the night the Queen Mother died. Though I was only 12 at the time, I remember vividly how much I enjoyed the production and how much the audience did too, especially considering the seriousness of the announcement that had preceded the production. So, I was very keen to see it again when I noticed it was on at The Old Vic and, having read the script last summer, I had big expectations. I wasn’t let down. This production is slick and the acting is brilliant. The actors manage the transition between playing actors and playing actors acting (often badly) very well and in such a manner that you are able to easily tell when they are acting as themselves and when they are acting as their characters without the fluidity of their performance being broken up. The suspension of your disbelief is never once broken until the bows. The farcical fights between the characters as they attempt to sabotage each other are hilarious but not overdone. One thing I would recommend is not ready the script close to seeing the production. I do think that slightly ruined my enjoyment as I sometimes remembered upcoming jokes however overall I was very much entertained. It is the kind of play I would love to be in while also fearing it as it looks much more exhausting work than most plays however I think that is probably where a lot of the enjoyment in acting in the production comes from. Having done a little bit of farce myself, I did find the precision very hard to work out but so rewarding to achieve and a lot of fun to do on stage once it was perfected. I would give this production five stars out of five for enjoyment and five out of five for whether or not it’s technically good.

The House of Bernarda Alba, Director- Bijan Sheibani, Almeida

This production of The House of Bernarda Alba moves the story from its original setting of Spain to modern day Iran and makes one wonder why it hadn’t been done so sooner. While the original setting of Spain is brilliant and there is no need to change it if you want to keep it set in the 30s, if you want to stage a more up-to-date production this production shows you why it doesn’t only make sense for it to be moved to the Middle East but why it would a waste not to. For a modern audience, the Middle East represents the patriarchal repression and stifling climate, social, political, geographical, that Lorca created in The House of Bernarda Alba. Therefore, moving the production there helps to further communicate to a modern audience the claustrophobia felt by the daughters and causes one to muse further on the struggle women in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries (as well as other countries worldwide) still face. The names are altered and small facts are changed however the text remains predominately untouched suggesting had Lorca lived in the early 21^st century he might have set the tale there himself. There are a couple of moments where one wonders if a reference hasn’t quite translated into the new culture however these are few and far between and perhaps only noticeable to me as I read the play last year, those I went with didn’t seem to notice them. In the first scene of the production, a funeral party of female mourners in black hijabs enter and towards the end of the scene answer the call to prayer. It is a beautiful moment; the black cloth stands out against the white and light blue set and the actions, considering later events, quite poignant. It is the only moment all the characters seem uniform bar Bernarda who prays from her chair, her seat of power. Considering how much I had weighing on my mind that night, I was impressed with how much this production kept my attention. There is no interval, the time flies by and were there a break it would ruin the buildup of tension. The theatre is small enough for you to feel almost as if you are on top of the characters and that really works for this production, adding to the sense of claustrophobia. The acting is brilliant and the direction excellent. One small detail was a little puzzling to me, Bernarda Alba has an accent, her daughters do not. It just seemed a little mismatched however, as I said, this is a small detail. This is a production well worth seeing. I would give it four and a half out of five stars for enjoyment and again four and a half out of five stars for being technically good.