Stars Who Stalked the Stage in 2009

The year 2009 has been a great year for the theatre not just in terms of good productions but also because we saw an influx of big name stars gracing the stage. I have to admit that although I have become more of a theatre stalker now I still get excited to see big name actors and actresses go back to their theatre roots. If I must confess, it was Ian McKellen’s star turn in Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) repertoire productions of King Lear and The Seagull that dragged me back into the theatre, not looking back since. With this list however, I will not attempt to cite the best performances I have seen these actors perform, it’s enough that they made my theatre experience in 2009 “such fun”.

Richard Dreyfuss, Elizabeth McGovern and David Suchet in Complicit, Old Vic Theatre

This production was saddled with problems to begin with, it’s opening date was pushed back, and Mr. Dreyfuss not able to remember his lines that he had to use a special headset so his lines can be fed to him. It was not an outstanding performance coming from him but altogether it was still a treat to see him on stage opposite the much better Suchet. McGovern didnt do much either but I hardly recognize her from her films looking a bit thinner but still beautiful.

Go here for a full review of this production.

Rowan Atkinson in Oliver!, Drury Lane

Confession. I have not seen Oliver! anywhere else before so after being prodded by friends who are huge fans of not just Oliver! but big musicals (I prefer plays in case you havent guessed) I decided to join them in this outing. I was more thrilled to see how Jodie Prenger will do, if you’ve got short term memory, she won the BBC’s search of Nancy in that I’ll Do Anything program with Andrew Lloyd Webber himself as a main judge. As for Rowan Atkinson playing Fagin, well, not having any other claim of reference I thought he did quite well. The kids absolutely loved every minute that he was on stage. Atkinson has since left the production in July 2009.

James McAvoy in Three Days of Rain, Apollo Theatre

How can I pass this one up? It’s James McAvoy! He’s Scottish (okay Glaswegian if we are being accurate) and almost everything that he starred in I loved, but I have to say that his dual performance as Walker and his dad Ned was quite not up there. McAvoy had presence alright but it wasnt that overwhelming. I would like to see him again, hopefully with a much better character, Hamlet perhaps?

Ciaran Hinds in Burnt by the Sun, National Theatre

I have seen Ciaran Hinds in most of his tv and film work but never on stage so it was such a surprise that he too will make a welcome return to the theatre. He played a decorated hero of the Russian revolution so in a way the character wasnt a bit of a stretch but the highlight of this evening was actually meeting him. Starstruck indeed!

Ken Stott and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in A View from the Bridge, Duke of York’s

I thought that this was hands down the best performance from an actor I have seen this year. I totally fell in love with Ken Stott’s portrayal of Eddie and felt guilty that I have ignored his recent stage performances. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio provided really good support and Hayley Atwell played Catherine so well as opposed to her treatment of Major Barbara the previous year. On Broadway this year, it’s interesting that it’s Liev Schrieber playing Eddie opposite Scarlett Johansson.

Ethan Hawke in The Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard, Old Vic

Sam Mendes and Kevin Spacey made this possible through their annual Bridge Project which if I am not mistaken is now on their 2nd year where a company of both English and American actors will perform two productions in repertoire and bring it across the Atlantic with the final stop usually in the UK. Last year it was Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard. I am excited to see both because of Simon Russell Beale, who may not be a big named Hollywood or film star which was of his own choosing but he is considered one of the greatest stage actor of his generation. The interesting thing surrounding this production apart from the inclusion of Sinead Cusack and Rebecca Hall is the casting of Ethan Hawke. I have a soft spot for Ethan having grown up watching most of his films. I was very thrilled to find out that he has forayed into theatre and was part of this company. Although I had a bit of a problem with him as Trofimov in The Cherry Orchard, but as Autolycus in Tale, by golly, he was sensational! The slow but equally powerful pace of the first half of Tale was balanced by a burning second half with great music played by Hawke himself.

Go here to read my full reviews of The Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard. Did I also mention that SRB finally got a photo with me too?

Gillian Anderson, Toby Stephens and Christopher Eccleston in A Doll’s House, Donmar Warehouse

I am on an ongoing quest to watch as much Henrik Ibsen plays and so when it was made known that a revival will be staged at the Donmar with Gillian Anderson playing the lead role who is not a stranger to the West End having done What The Night is For and The Sweetest Swing, it will be interesting to see her take on Nora, considered to be one of the most interesting of Ibsen’s female characters.

Gillian Anderson was just stunning and gave a very fine performance as the devoted wife then changed woman. Her Nora is beautiful yet vulnerable. Toby Stephens as husband Thomas Vaughan played his self righteous role of a politician with much bravado, kudos as well to Anton Lesser as the faithful Dr. Rank, and I thought that the sub-plot rekindled romance between Kelman and Christine -excellently played here by Christopher Eccleston and Tara Fitzgerald was superbly played. I still would have liked to see a faithful adaptation of the play although this new version was quite engaging. Overall an inspired and wonderful production with high octane performances from all members of the cast.

Helen Mirren in Phedre, National Theatre

After scoring Best Actress accolades left right and centre for her fine performance of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, the whole world was watching when it was announced that Dame Helen will grace the proscenium arch of the National Theatre by playing the role of Racine’s Phedre. As if conveniently to capitalise on Miss Mirren’s current popularity and stature, the NT Live feature was also introduced wherein a live performance of the play will be watched across over 60 cinemas in cities across the globe which whilst highly ambitious in its inception stage is really a clever way of reaching audiences everywhere particularly those who can not travel to London and witness the performances live. So how did Dame Mirren do onstage as a mourning wife slash highly infatuated with her stepson the next? Although it was a thrill to see her onstage, I have to say that she didnt win me as the passion stricken woman. I was hoping to see more from her, laid bare, her heart and soul stripped. It was still an experience that hopefully will not be the last. A superb supporting cast included Dominic Cooper.

Jude Law in Hamlet, Donmar West End

Having missed David Tennant’s sterling performance of Hamlet because of surgery on his slipped disc during X’mas 2008, I must say I was quite excited to see Jude Law’s take on Hamlet last summer. Tickets sold out quite fast and toward its run, there were queues starting so early in the morning for patrons hoping to get day tickets, the frenzy of it all indeed, quite reminiscent of when Tennant did Hamlet. This was my second time to see this tragic play of the Danish prince, having seen a quite capable Edward Bennett tackle the role who was Tennant’s understudy in 2008. So how was Jude Law? Was he more than just a pretty face? Did he pull it off? Well, I thought he was amazing! I almost expected him to fail but no, he was just very good through and through. I was clinging to his every word and believed in him. I even thought I was merely watching a really good actor, who just happened to look and was named after him. Another reason why I wanted to see this production was because of Penelope Wilton who played Gertrude. The success of this production was just so that it made its way to Broadway in September and just closed in December with a record breaking run.

Rachel Weisz in A Streetcar Named Desire, Donmar Warehouse

Another theatre buzz last year was the news that Rachel Weisz will play the lead role of Blanche Dubois, Tennessee Williams’ femme fatale in A Streetcar Named Desire. Thoughts such as, isn’t she a bit too young as Blanche? She will be out of her depth with this one. Didn’t she do all those Mummy films? Yes, but wasn’t she also good, surprising us all in John Le Carre’s thriller The Constant Gardener, winning her the Academy for Supporting Actress? And sitting in the front row, watching her every move, changing her clothes in front of you, convincing you she is all pure, you will be attracted to Miss Weisz like a moth to a flame. It was another theatre coup for Miss Weisz eventually won this year’s Evening Standard Best Actress for her spirited portrayal of Blanche.

Kevin Spacey in Inherit the Wind, Old Vic

Mr Spacey, who incidentally is the Old Vic Theatre’s artistic director makes a welcome return to the stage with David Troughton in Inherit the Wind, which is a Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s 1955 play based on the 1926 Scopes Monkey Trial in which Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes was put on trial for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution in contravention of a state law insisting that only religious explanations for the origin of mankind be taught. Matthew Harrison Brady (David Troughton) and Henry Drummond (Spacey) battle it out for the prosecution and defence respectively. I have seen Spacey on stage before in A Moon for the Misbegotten with an equally brilliant Eve Best and Speed the Plow opposite Jeff Goldblum, and Spacey have always given consistenly excellent performances including this one. It was announced that in the 3rd year of the Bridge Project he will also co-star in one of its productions.

I have yet to see Keira Knightley and Damian Lewis in Moliere’s The Misanthrope at the Comedy Theatre, and quite looking forward to finally see Dame Judi Dench in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Rose Theatre and Rosamund Pike in Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler at the Richmond. If you havent tried the theatre before, it might help at first to watch an actor whose previous work you are already familiar with, it might make you keep coming back to see more and as the theatre always needs a fresh new audience, who knows that could be you? And don’t be a stranger and say hello!

This article was first published in my pal’s Filmstalker site as part of the annual Stalkers Top Ten.

Theatre trotting in October

Would you believe it but I actually saw ALL six productions that I booked in September? Not to mention the Michael Ball concert I saw at the Royal Albert Hall. I suppose I liked the good mix of shows and also because it didn’t leave me too exhausted to miss any of them. I even saw one of the productions twice! (Clue, it’s a musical!) I can’t believe time has flown and we’re nearly towards the end of the year!

October also looks promising- a couple of plays, a musical, even two operas! It will also be a little bit special as a friend who is visiting from Seattle will join me in two of my theatre outings. So without much ado, this is what I will feast my senses on next month:

1 – All’s Well that Ends Well, Olivier, National Theatre

I already saw this way back in May and absolutely enjoyed it. The Evening Standard had a 2 for 1 deal for just £10 and it’s also the same evening that they are doing the NT Live Performance so I couldn’t resist! I’m also dragging my pal Sue along with me. But we have to be there on time though as audience have to be seated by 18:45.

3 – Othello, Trafalgar Studios

I organised a Shakespeare outing at the Globe in August to see Romeo and Juliet, in my humble opinion the play was just about right, it was far better than Troilus and Cressida though. I was tasked to organise another outing this time to see Lenny Henry’s take on Othello which has already done a UK tour and current stop is London.

5 – Annie Get Your Gun, Young Vic

Not a West End Whingers outing of this Irving Berlin musical starring Jane Horrocks.

8- Turandot, London Coliseum

The first time I saw Turandot, which was in 2006, I was mesmerized. I was also in love and I thought it cannot get any better than this. I have seen a few more opera since but so far, nothing has beaten this Puccini favourite where the music soars, it feels as if you were being flung into the heavens. I’ve loved most productions the ENO has produced and I am sure I will love this version too.

12- ENRON, Royal Court Theatre

Okay, I adore Samuel West since Persuasion and this will be the first time I will see him perform on stage. I went to see Harley Granville Barker’s Waste at the Almeida last year which he directed and the man was a genius! It was one of the best plays I saw last year. I do like to see more of his work as much as possible and with all the accolades ENRON is getting, it’s now West End bound at the Noel Coward Theatre after this run, I am already assured of a fabulous evening.

20- Rigoletto, London Coliseum

It’s my very first Guiseppe Verdi of a much loved classic. My friend Carmi who will be in town is going to join me. I think this will be a first for her, so better make a good impression!

25- Inherit the Wind, Old Vic

I LOVE Kevin Spacey. That’s the only reason you need to see any production and after glowing reviews from fellow theatre trotters the West End Whingers and JohnnyFox, I am so psyched to see this play. Equally thrilled is my friend Carmi who is also a huge Spacey fan. Did you know he is also on Twitter? Follow @KevinSpacey.

Right, your turn!

Theatre Review: The Cherry Orchard

Plot: Madame Ranevskaya (Sinead Cusack), who has spent five years in Paris to escape grief over her young son’s death, returns to her home in Russia ridden with debt. She is obliged to decide how to dispose of her family’s estate, with its beautiful and famous cherry orchard. Their former serf, now coarse but wealthy merchant Ermolai Lopakhin (Simon Russell Beale) suggests that Mme Ranevskaya develop the land on which the orchard sits. Eventually Lopakhin purchases the estate and proceeds with his plans for a housing development. As the unhappy Ranevskayas leave the estate, the sound of saws can be heard in the orchard.

I have been waiting so long for tonight. It’s been 7 months that I have been SRB-deprived and it shows- I am just so uninspired, bored out of my wits! Sure I still go to the theatre but I often come out unmotivated save for a couple I have seen in recent weeks, but the barometer to which I measure this seeming lack of interest is the evidence of my non-blogging for the last 2 months. Now all that will change, the buck stops here because he’s back, yes, my SRB’s come home! For starters, we’re breathing the same air tonight!

I am still riding high on the seemingly honorable mention of being touted as SRB’s devoted blogger by the Times, but as I had to see this play with fellow theatre trotters, I didn’t really want to be an embarrassment, so my normal behaviour when watching an SRB play should have to wait. Did I mention I have already plotted an attack plan having spotted the Old Vic stage door in the interval?

Seriously now, my thoughts. So after a stint in Broadway and a tour that included Singapore, Spain, Germany and New Zealand, The Bridge Project, a collaboration that came into fruition thanks to the theatre genius of Sam Mendes and Kevin Spacey has come back home. I was really looking forward to see this for I havent seen any other Cherry Orchard production and I absolutely adore Anton Chekhov’s work having enjoyed RSC’s The Seagull in 2007 and the Donmar WestEnd’s Ivanov last year. The first scene showed Lopakhin waiting, sitting on this really small chair and the minute he started speaking with that unmistakable plummy voice, he had me, hook, line and sinker. Simon Russell Beale owns this play, just like the cherry orchard he eventually possessed, the play truly belonged to him. Every nuance in Lopakhin’s character, his vulnerability, his unrequited love for Ranevskaya, the playfulness with Varya, the guilt, the joy is delivered brilliantly, you just can not wait to see him come back on that stage.

This is not to say that the other performances were not good, as it was a delight seeing Sinead Cusack play a frivolous character and then eventually hit hard with the reality of her situation. And Rebecca Hall! By golly but I was jealous of her all evening! I couldnt take my eyes off SRB as he gave her all those knowing looks that it reminded me of that song from Yentl. Hall held her own pretty well as Varya, and the proposal that never happened is one to be remembered. I am a card holding member of the unrequited love fan club united so I know exactly how that feels and the agony of it all captured in essence here.

The Whingers may have observed that SRB is not himself this evening probably having sensed my presence but I digress! Besides, my restraining order expired yesterday. So bring on The Winter’s Tale Friday night!

And I couldn’t say this enough, nice to have you back home. x

The Cherry Orchard: 3.5/5
Playing at the Old Vic until 15 August

Addendum 1
Twitter exchange between yours truly and Kevin Spacey the same evening:

FeignedMischief: I just came back from a preview of The Cherry Orchard and enjoyed it! You have another hit in your hands! Winters Tale Friday!
KevinSpacey: Excellent. Glad you enjoyed it. We are very excited to have such a remarkable company of actors on our stage.
FeignedMischief: Confession. I booked both shows 3 times bec of Simon Russell Beale, hope you 2 can collaborate in the future.

Addendum 2
Fellow theatre trotter, PaulinLondon who saw the play with us Tuesday evening and was also my seatmate was way too kind to dedicate a portion of his own review of the play to mention my fascination with SRB. I was so worried all evening as to how my restrained fidgeting and sighing at the sight of SRB was affecting his viewing experience but for what he had to say about it, I feel so much better now. Paul says, it helped having Feigned Mischief sit beside me. As more than just a casual fan of Simon Russell Beale, she took enjoyment of the play to a whole new level. But then again even if you’re not sitting next to a Simon Russell Beale stalker, it is still worth a look… Cheers for this Paul, and we will Audio Boo next time I hope! x

Addendum 3
Here’s the much awaited West End Whingers take on this play, and to sincerely say that I found their review much amusing. Cheers Andrew & Phil! x

Theatre Review: Complicit

Plot: Ben Kritzer (Dreyfuss) is a journalist facing a Grand Jury over an article he’s written about the US administration’s use of torture post 9/11. He faces the prospect of a lengthy jail sentence if he doesn’t reveal his source. -West End Whingers

Now, it has to be said that I love Richard Dreyfuss. I thought he was briiliant in The Goodbye Girl, Always, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, just to mention a few of his noteworthy film projects. Ditto for Elizabeth McGovern whose films I grew up watching in the late 80’s like He Said She Said and She’s Having a Baby. And what about David Suchet, who doesnt love him as Poirot? So with all these seemingly good actors and with Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey, who’s an equally good actor/director at the helm of Complicit, then why didnt the play live up to its expectations?

I will not even say a lot about the first half of the play, let’s fast forward to the time the interval came, where our contingent was feeling half-hearted about it all. There was quite a lot of oohs and aahhs, loosely translated to not-quite-sure-yet-how-this-turns-out. When asked about how I felt about it so far, all I could say with all politeness was that, the moment hasnt quite arrived for I was sincerely hoping for it to improve by the second half. My companions for the evening were the West End Whingers with other theatre enthusiasts like John, Paul, Oliver, Jorge, Brian, Helen and Sue. The WEW are actually quite notorious for making or breaking any production, and boy, this play is not really going to stand any chance, and not when you take out their Fram Scale. I absolutely share the Whingers sentiments about the play. I do think it was an interesting subject to tackle but there were a few things about it that just doesnt all add up that perhaps the playwright, Joe Sutton should tweak, maybe in time for opening night?

The evening didnt finish on a sour note as our party decided to drown our disappointment at the nearby seedy Da Vinci bar. I suppose this is one of those times when you would rather bring out the Merlot for it does cushion a lot of the torturous blow. Yes, pun intended.

Complicit: 2/5
Playing at the Old Vic until 21 February

*On another note, I went up to Amanda Root who was sitting in a row in front of us and told her how I admire her work, that I enjoyed seeing her in last year’s The Norman Conquests and that she is my favorite Anne Elliot for all time. She looked very pleased and was quite sincere in her appreciation.

Watch This Spacey!

Kevin Spacey.

Hollywood A-list actor and now stage impresario of The Old Vic.

I have admired the man since I first saw him in 1995’s The Usual Suspects. Not convinced? Righto, check him out again in Se7en, that might change your mind. No? Not doing anything for you? What about L.A. Confidential? Nothing still? Did you at least like his portrayal of Lex Luthor in the last Superman film? If that doesn’t do anything for you still, then perhaps you need to head off my neck of the woods, try and finagle seats for a revival of David Mamet’s Speed the Plow and then maybe that will change your mind.

Now, why am I on about Spacey at the moment? Sure he’s got a new film coming out this week but since I have momentarily stayed away from the cinema in favour of the theatre in the last couple of months, this rant really has more to do with the fact that he has raised the alarm bells quite loud this week after criticizing the BBC’s unfair promotion by way of talent shows of West End musicals at the expense of other productions, and you know what, I think he is ABSOLUTELY right.

I don’t own a telly so I may not be as livid as some of you who (if you live in the UK) has to pay a license fee and be subjected to the kind of programming we are getting from the BBC. “The BBC is not a commercial operation and I thought it was crossing the line unfairly.” Spacey said of the shows: “I felt that was essentially a 13-week promotion for a musical … where’s our 13-week programme? When are they going to do one about a play?”

The talent search show in question is I’d Do Anything which is a search for the actress who will play Nancy in the revival of the musical Oliver! which followed on from Any Dream Will Do, which was a search for the lead in the new production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? in which contestants vied to star as Maria in The Sound of Music. Both musicals are produced by the Really Useful Group, owned by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who has been a judge on all three series. Oliver! is a Cameron Mackintosh production, but is due to be staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, owned by the Really Useful Group.

I have already expressed my own thoughts of this in one of my discussion groups in Facebook and it may not be the same as what Spacey here has pointed out, but apart from this idea of bringing in a new audience to the theatre by way of talent shows, or casting possible recruits in some soap opera first (e.g., Sound of Music’s Summer Strallen who was previously in Hollyoaks) to get a fanbase, although clever is really more about cheap gimmickry. I am cringing just watching the Oliver! auditions to cast the Nancy character.

Theatre critics and fans seem to unanimously agree on Spacey’s comments as you can find here:

Michael Billington (Guardian Unlimited)
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/theatre/2008/03/the_bbcs_attitude_to_theatre_i.html

Benedict Nightingale (Times Online)
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article3652462.ece

The hoot team of West End Whingers
http://westendwhingers.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/nancy-notes/

Evening Standard
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/article-23469229-details/Spacey+attacks+BBC+over+Lloyd+Webber+shows/article.do

What about you?