Last 10 things seen at the theatre: #084

31st October to 28th November.


List the last 10 things you saw at the theatre in order:
1. Macbeth (Young Vic)
2. Harlequinade/All On Her Own (Garrick)

3. Gypsy (Savoy)

4. The Winter's Tale (Garrick)
5. I Want My Hat Back (National; AFKAS)
6. Lord of the Flies (Wycombe Swan)

7. The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse)
8. The Moderato Soprano (Hampstead)

9. RoosevElvis (Royal Court)

10. Teddy Ferrara (Donmar Warehouse)

Who was the best performer in number one (Macbeth)?
Well, you know, John Heffernan. He just is.

Why did you go to see number two (Harlequinade/All On Her Own)?
I thought the whole KenBran season sounded jolly enough so booked £15 tickets for everything.

Can you remember a line/lyric from number three (Gypsy) that you liked?
"You wanna know what I did it for?! Because I was born too soon and started too late, that's why!"

What would you give number four (The Winter's Tale) out of ten?
Hmmm. 7? I love this play and have quite strong opinions about how certain parts should be done and it did well with these, but there was something missing, and not just the volume from some of the younger members of the cast (54 counts as young in this case).

Was there someone hot in number five (I Want My Hat Back)?
Not outstandingly so.

What was number six (Lord of the Flies) about?
Society writ small - how giving a privileged boy with delusions of self-importance the power he craves can only ever backfire, as he surrounds himself with people who think like he does or who won't disagree with him while it serves their own ends; how they stand for ritual over empathy and pursue goals that benefit them immediately rather than benefiting the community in the long-term; how they persecute the different and disadvantaged, removing their support systems, stealing what little benefit they already have, ultimately killing them; how if the ordinary person doesn't make a strong enough stand then they are allowing this to happen and will never possess any real power; how at the end of it all our children will come to accept this as normal, even though going along with this crowd and eschewing compassion is eventually going to leave them the most broken of all.

Who was your favourite actor in number seven (The Odyssey: Missing Presumed Dead)?
Hmmm... Sule Rimi, probably.

What was your favourite bit in number eight (The Moderate Soprano)?
I liked the last scene (well, the last one with dialogue). It filled me with a quiet despair that I wasn't really getting from the rest of the show. Then the conducting scene began, and I was filled with a different sort of quiet despair.

Would you see number nine (RoosevElvis) again?
Sure! Of the two plays about homosexuality featuring characters called Teddy that I saw on this day, this one was BY FAR the more entertaining.

What was the worst thing about number ten (Teddy Ferrara)?
It was just... boring? I've seen a real spate of plays lately that are about quite important issues but get so caught up in the issues that they forget to tell a story that's even a little bit interesting. It is extremely possible to write an issues play that also entertains, and I wish we'd stop praising plays for being about issues without rightly marking them down when they're not very good.

Which was best?
Well, OBVIOUSLY I Want My Hat Back!

Which was worst?
Teddy Ferrara was dull enough to count.

Did any make you cry?
Nah.

Did any make you laugh?
Harlequinade was funny. I Want My Hat Back was HILARIOUS. RoosevElvis had its moments.

Which roles would you like to play in any of them?
Paulina and Hermione would be good. Anything in I Want My Hat Back would be THE BEST.

Which one did you have best seats for?
I somehow managed to book second row of the stalls for Gypsy. Which was nice, if slightly terrifying.