I suspect hundreds of thousands of words of analysis have been written on what went so terribly wrong in the recent election, most of them by people better qualified than I to make sense of it all. But I guess we each have to come to terms with it in our own way, and my process inevitably involves writing about it …
In a word, wow!
I don’t normally go for big gigs, but felt this one had to be done. Took a deep breath before paying £200 for a ticket six rows from the stage, but it was worth every penny …
Matthew Broderick apparently played this part when it was on Broadway back in 2009 and seemingly loved it so much he came to London to play it here. And I can see why.
This is a lovely, deep portrait of an unassuming man in mid-life crisis. It’s such an utterly believable character, and played so beautifully, it feels incredibly intimate even in such a large theatre …
Light entertainment it is not! The play centres on whether or not what happened between two college students was rape. First the woman, then the college, and finally the man have to each reach their conclusions …
When I first got the email for this, it looked interesting but three hours seemed too long, so I hadn’t planned to book. But a friend, Miriam, talked me into it, and I’m so glad she did …
This is, as you’d expect, just a gloriously silly bit of fun. It’s been adapted for the stage, and given a few modern references here and there, but mostly left unchanged.
It actually starts rather slowly, and I thought could have used quite a bit of tightening in the first act. But hang in there – it really accelerates in pace …
Yes, I know. I have made very little progress in transferring the travel section of my website, and I’ve also been rubbish at keeping the theatre reviews up to date, so let’s begin filling in the blanks with Two Ladies …
The Trafalgar Studio 2 is an intimate theatre at any time. It seats 100, and is usually not full (though it was tonight). In one of the front-row bench seats, you have your feet on the non-raised stage. The sense of intimacy was heightened by Julie Hesmondhalgh greeting us with a mug of tea in her hand, and chatting with us before the performance like we’d come round to her place for tea …
Continue reading The Greatest Play in the History of the World
Ben Lovejoy 