8th February to 2nd March.
List the last 10 things you saw at the theatre in order:
1. Travelling Light (National; Lyttelton)
2. Swallows and Amazons (Wycombe Swan)
3. Crazy for You (Novello)
4. Live from the Criterion: Artists Descending a Staircase (Criterion)
5. She Stoops to Conquer (National; Olivier)
6. Patience (Union)
7. Port Authority (Southwark Playhouse)
8. Stories Before Bedtime: Twisted Love (Criterion)
9. Master Class (Vaudeville)
10. The Madness of George III (Apollo)
Who was the best performer in number one (Travelling Light)?
Meerkat voice aside, I'm going to be obvious and go for Anthony Sher. When he wasn't saying "peoples" a lot and making me giggle childishly because of the meerkat voice, he was excellent at bringing a full life to his character and making you see everything his character saw.
Why did you go to see number two (Swallows and Amazons)?
I like to support new musicals. If we go to see them, they'll keep producing them! It was also a delicious treat to have a superb piece of theatre visiting a venue that has rather too much music and comedy for my personal snobbery.
Can you remember a line/lyric from number three (Crazy for You) that you liked?
I don't know about "liked", but I do remember being repeatedly struck by the absurdity of Deadrock, Nevada, being simultaneously an hour's walk and ten miles away from the nearest train station. Can you imagine being able to walk ten miles through the Nevada desert in only an hour?! You'd be a flipping Olympian! A heat-proof conqueror! An invincible GOD!
What would you give number four (Live from the Criterion: Artists Descending a Staircase) out of ten?
9! I love these brilliant one-off events they've started doing at the Criterion, the assembled cast were absolutely top-quality, and it was ace seeing how it looks to film a radio drama. I only wish I could go to more of these.
Was there someone hot in number five (She Stoops to Conquer)?
There most certainly was! There was none other than the supremely lovely John Heffernan in number five!
What was number six (Patience) about?
Duty. ("They're ALL about duty." - Ainsley Hayes and Leo McGarry, The West Wing)
Who was your favourite actor in number seven (Port Authority)?
Ooh. Andrew Nolan, I think. Engaging and entertaining in deliciously equal measure.
What was your favourite bit in number eight (Stories Before Bedtime: Twisted Love)?
It is a longheld ambition of mine to have a slumber party with Tom Hiddleston as a guest. My primary motives for this ambition are a) wanting to play with his hair, and b) wanting him to read me a bedtime story. Thanks to the Criterion Theatre's brilliant initiative, I have now achieved the latter part of this ambition, in the form of Tennessee Williams's short story The Kingdom of Earth. The experience lived SO MUCH up to expectations that I'm now completely willing to forego the hair-playing part of the evening. (Also the tiny hipsters would eat me alive if I tried it.)
Would you see number nine (Master Class) again?
No. I enjoyed it a great deal, far more than I thought I would, and I am ever so taken with the idea of having my own personal pianist to flirt wordlessly with ladies, provide musical accompaniment whenever appropriate, and bring fruit at random intervals, but I don't need to see it again.
What was the worst thing about number ten (The Madness of George III)?
They really need to mark EVERY SINGLE SEAT in the Apollo balcony as restricted view. It is RESTRICTED VIEW MADNESS up there.
Which was best?
Swallows and Amazons! It was wonderful!
Which was worst?
None of them, really. They were all very good.
Did any make you cry?
I think it was actually just Swallows and Amazons. Good harmonies do that to me.
Did any make you laugh?
Oh boy yes. Assume most of 'em, it's not too inaccurate.
Which roles would you like to play in any of them?
I would very much like to have been involved in Swallows and Amazons in some capacity.
Which one did you have best seats for?
She Stoops to Conquer, and Travelling Light. I'm VERY FORTUNATE with regards to the National this year.
There was an elderly couple talking about meerkats in the NT yesterday afternoon- I can only assume they too had just seen TL.
ReplyDelete