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smallhobbitI had been wanting to see Billie Piper on stage for a while now, and when the National Theatre announced Great Britain and there was a matinee on the afternoon I was planning on going up to London it seemed too good an opportunity to miss, especially as I have advance membership, which meant I could buy a £15 ticket. The play is based on the recent telephone tapping scandal and tickets were released as soon as the court case finished.
It was a very funny look at the role of tabloid newspapers and how far the editors and reporters are prepared to go to get a scoop and increase their circulation. As with all good satire, it was helpful to be aware of the original stories, together with cultural allusions – for example, periodically there would be newspaper headlines displayed from other newspapers, of which one resembling The Guardian changed on every occasion, so that at one point it became The Gardener. My own favourite was when an elderly gentleman announced that he had come all the way from Tewkesbury and Paige Britain (Billie Piper) asks “and how old were you when you left Tewkesbury?”
One unplanned moment of laughter came when in a restaurant the waiter brought Wendy Klinkard (Kiruna Stamell) a drink and somehow the glass slipped, flew out of his hand and fell to the ground, pouring the liquid over the actress. The four actors on stage tried hard not to laugh, passed napkins along so she could dry herself a bit (it was a restaurant scene), and continued, until in the script the actress said “splash” and promptly started giggling again.
Billie Piper, as the news editor, was excellent, totally unscrupulous in getting what she wanted and my only complaint was that it was never entirely clear what she herself got from her actions, but this was a fault of the script, not the actress. She was well matched by Robert Glenister as the editor, Wilson Tikkel.
The play is transferring to the West End and if any of my flist are looking for something to see I can recommend it.
I received an email from the NT telling me that Kate Adie would be speaking at the theatre on the Thursday evening, so I decided to get a ticket. Tickets were only £4, so I reckoned that if I was out during the day and didn’t get back in time then I hadn’t lost much. As it was I had plenty of time and it was well worth going to hear her speak. She was promoting her new book, which is about the effect the First World War had on the home front, so she was talking about the ways women’s lives changed whilst the men were away at war. Her emphasis was that, although at the end of the war most of the women had to give up the jobs they had taken on, they had proved once and for all that they were capable of doing such jobs.
After which I saw A Small Family Business. Unlike many I had liked Nigel Lindsay when he had played Bolingbroke in the RSC Richard II and had wanted to see him again. I’d ummed and erred about going, but when I decided to have a couple of days in London and once again had the opportunity of buying a £15 ticket I decided to go ahead and see it.
I’m not a great fan of Alan Ayckbourn and although I enjoyed the first half of the play – and found Nigel Lindsay very entertaining – by the interval I was wondering how good an idea it was. But the action increased in the second half, Jack McCracken found himself getting more and more involved, despite his initial intentions and the ending didn’t tie everything up nicely, despite apparently everything being smoothed over.
I was also impressed by Gerard Monaco who played all five of the Rivetti brothers, giving each one the required different characteristics. The comedy worked well and it was an enjoyable evening, but I’m still not that keen on Alan Ayckbourn.
It was a very funny look at the role of tabloid newspapers and how far the editors and reporters are prepared to go to get a scoop and increase their circulation. As with all good satire, it was helpful to be aware of the original stories, together with cultural allusions – for example, periodically there would be newspaper headlines displayed from other newspapers, of which one resembling The Guardian changed on every occasion, so that at one point it became The Gardener. My own favourite was when an elderly gentleman announced that he had come all the way from Tewkesbury and Paige Britain (Billie Piper) asks “and how old were you when you left Tewkesbury?”
One unplanned moment of laughter came when in a restaurant the waiter brought Wendy Klinkard (Kiruna Stamell) a drink and somehow the glass slipped, flew out of his hand and fell to the ground, pouring the liquid over the actress. The four actors on stage tried hard not to laugh, passed napkins along so she could dry herself a bit (it was a restaurant scene), and continued, until in the script the actress said “splash” and promptly started giggling again.
Billie Piper, as the news editor, was excellent, totally unscrupulous in getting what she wanted and my only complaint was that it was never entirely clear what she herself got from her actions, but this was a fault of the script, not the actress. She was well matched by Robert Glenister as the editor, Wilson Tikkel.
The play is transferring to the West End and if any of my flist are looking for something to see I can recommend it.
I received an email from the NT telling me that Kate Adie would be speaking at the theatre on the Thursday evening, so I decided to get a ticket. Tickets were only £4, so I reckoned that if I was out during the day and didn’t get back in time then I hadn’t lost much. As it was I had plenty of time and it was well worth going to hear her speak. She was promoting her new book, which is about the effect the First World War had on the home front, so she was talking about the ways women’s lives changed whilst the men were away at war. Her emphasis was that, although at the end of the war most of the women had to give up the jobs they had taken on, they had proved once and for all that they were capable of doing such jobs.
After which I saw A Small Family Business. Unlike many I had liked Nigel Lindsay when he had played Bolingbroke in the RSC Richard II and had wanted to see him again. I’d ummed and erred about going, but when I decided to have a couple of days in London and once again had the opportunity of buying a £15 ticket I decided to go ahead and see it.
I’m not a great fan of Alan Ayckbourn and although I enjoyed the first half of the play – and found Nigel Lindsay very entertaining – by the interval I was wondering how good an idea it was. But the action increased in the second half, Jack McCracken found himself getting more and more involved, despite his initial intentions and the ending didn’t tie everything up nicely, despite apparently everything being smoothed over.
I was also impressed by Gerard Monaco who played all five of the Rivetti brothers, giving each one the required different characteristics. The comedy worked well and it was an enjoyable evening, but I’m still not that keen on Alan Ayckbourn.
