WHILE THE SUN SHINES at the Orange Tree - Wartime Bedfellows...

Terence Rattigan's centenary in 2011 heralded a continuing wave of successful revivals of his plays and re-evaluation of his mastery for exposing the sadness in the lives of the English upper-middle class in his most well-known works.  However Rattigan's first big success had been the comedy FRENCH WITHOUT TEARS which was revived in 2015 by the small Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond which proved so successful that they produced it again the following year.

Now the Orange Tree has revived another Rattigan comedy WHILE THE SUN SHINES, which premiered in the West End in 1943, next door to the theatre where his wartime drama FLAREPATH was already playing.  Remarkably - bearing in mind Rattigan also wrote such hits as THE DEEP BLUE SEA, THE WINSLOW BOY and SEPARATE TABLES - his longest West End run was WHILE THE SUN SHINES.  Interesting too that these two productions played next door to each other on Shaftesbury Avenue as they are two sides of the same coin - both contemporary plays set in WWII England, both focus on men and women in uniform but one is an emotional drama and the other a comedy.  WHILE THE SUN SHINES was such a hit that Anthony Asquith directed a film version four years later.

FLAREPATH is the better play but it is fascinating to see WHILE THE SUN SHINES especially as Rattigan works in several occasional gay references, needless to say, these moments are fleeting and soon explained away but must have made his gay audience members recognize them for what they were.  The Orange Tree's Artistic Director Paul Miller directed their revival of FRENCH WITHOUT TEARS and he returns to Rattigan here with the same gossamer touch, it's a production full of grace and humour.

Bobby, the young Earl of Harpenden is on leave from the Navy to marry his sweetheart Lady Elisabeth who is also in the services.  He is an affable, genial soul who tries for promotion but knows he will never amount to much in the Navy.  On the day before the wedding, Bobby's butler finds him in bed with an American Lieutenant Joe Mulvaney - Bobby had found Joe raving drunk in Piccadilly and brought him back to his flat in The Albany to sleep it off.

Joe is thrilled to see inside the world of the aristocracy so Bobby leaves him there while he goes for yet another promotion interview but not before phoning up his sometime-mistress Mabel Crum, a typist in the Ministry who is also the easiest party girl in London, to come over as she has a penchant for Americans.  Appearing instead is Lady Elisabeth to surprise Bobby - and of course Joe thinks she is Mabel and gets her sozzled before realizing too late who she really is.

But that's only the start of an evening of misunderstandings and changed allegiances - the confusion being added to by the appearance of Elisabeth's military father The Duke who cannot resist a chance to gamble, a Free French officer Colbert who Elizabeth met on the train to London and who now swears devotion to her and of course Mabel, who watches the romantic to-ings and fro-ings with the resigned air of someone who knows what she wants but settles for what she can get.

While never uproariously funny, Miller bounces the play along on a bright and breezy tone and is helped enormously by a charming cast who all play their characters with a similar light touch.  I particularly liked Philip Labey's Bobby who, while playing the louche aristo well, also hinted at an inner life of listless wandering, as well as Michael Lumsden's Duke, full of splenetic fury which vanishes as soon as a game of cards or dice is offered.  There was also a nice display of suppressed emotions too from John Hudson's butler Horton.

By far the best performance was Dorothea Myer-Bennett as practical party girl Mabel Crum, loving life in the blackouts but aware that she has to make hay while the sun shines.  A few years ago we saw Shaw's THE PHILANDERER at the Orange Tree and Myer-Bennett shone in that as a woman trying to be a Shavian New Woman but ruled by her volatile emotions and that element of loving cynicism shot through her performance as Mabel too; every time she was packed off to the offstage kitchen to keep one of the men out of the way, I wanted to follow her as she was by far the most interesting character.

I also want to highlight Simon Daw's cleverly economic set which suggested well the living room of Bobby's Albany flat.  I really enjoyed this opportunity to see yet another facet of Rattigan's ability to craft that sometimes derided thing - the well-constructed play - with a collection of characters who even at their silliest were all delightful.  Paul Miller has again triumphed in bringing an admittedly minor Rattigan work to his stage and making it shine.

PRESENT LAUGHTER at the Old Vic - Coward's 1940s Fizz in New Bottles...

This production of Noel Coward's PRESENT LAUGHTER marks my 45th production seen at the Old Vic Theatre.  Constant Reader, this occurred to me when faced with the frustrating front-of-house building work that the Vic is currently doing during this sold-out run and made me realize that it is a theatre that I have never felt comfortable in.  There is always *something* to irk me about the experience of seeing plays there - oh I have enjoyed productions - it's just the constant tsouris while inter-acting with the theatre.  Was it this awful even during Olivier's National Theatre days? 

The main foyer has been configured again and again and it still feels unwelcoming.  The Dress Circle is always like the Black Hole of Waterloo - and now they have crammed tables and chairs into the central space, while the basement area is given over to a bar/restaurant space that's open to all - of course an earner for the Vic - but again, the audience for the actual show is left with no space due to the non-theatre-going table-hoggers... and of course there is the notorious lack of loos for patrons.

But now the Old Vic is addressing this latter issue by rebuilding the basement while the run of PRESENT LAUGHTER is happening.  Couldn't they wait until a gap in their season?  Temporary portaloos are in the road next to the theatre while the balcony loos are also closed - so the 1,000+ patrons all have to use these, mostly during a 20 minute interval.  At the end of the show, we were only allowed to leave down the back stairs... which of course took forever because the exit doors lead out - you guessed - straight into the queue for the toilets.

Believe me, it would have to be an exceptional production that managed to transcend this frustrating visit.  Luckily it was.

Noel Coward wrote the play in 1939 but it's premiere was cancelled at the outbreak of WWII so it waited until 1942 before being staged with Coward in the blazing star role of Garry Essendine, an unashamedly self-centered West End leading man.  Over the years it has been revived frequently with actors who have lent towards the showy - O'Toole, Sinden, Callow, McKellen, Kline - and I first saw it played by Alex Jennings in the National Theatre's 2008 production.  Although Jennings was fine as Garry it wasn't a production that particularly grabbed me.  So I leapt at the opportunity to see it again and also to see how it worked with a younger than usual actor in the lead.

Director Matthew Warchus says that he had shied away from taking on a Noel Coward play before but when he and star Andrew Scott hit upon the idea that, by changing the genders of a married couple in the play, it could open the play up in a vibrant new way while keeping the shape and, more importantly, the essence of Coward's vision intact.

Another morning in West End star Garry Essendine's Mayfair apartment and his staff - secretary Monica, valet Fred and cleaner Miss Erikson - go quietly about their duties while their temperamental employer sleeps off his hangover - and as usual, there is a 'guest' who has stayed the night having somehow 'forgotten their latch-key'.  This time it's gushing starlet Daphne who Garry - when he eventually wakes up - has to quote his most romantic Shelley verse to before he can get rid of her.  Garry's hope for a quiet day to prepare for an overseas tour is interrupted by appearances from his closest associates - his manager Morris, his producer Helen and his estranged wife Liz - who, along with Monica, is the only one that Garry feels he can fully trust.

Liz is worried however: she has heard that Helen's husband Joe is having an affair with Morris - who vehemently protests his innocence - but Liz knows that if Helen finds out, Garry's protective bubble will be broken.  Added to all this, there is a forgotten appointment with young Roland Maule, a new playwright who has asked for Garry's opinion of his play.  They clash when Maule reacts badly to Garry's criticisms and he belittles the shallow West End star vehicles the actor appears in - before confessing that he actually adores Garry and wrote the play just to meet his hero.

Later that night, finally alone in his apartment, Garry is visited by the suave Joe who appears to have "forgotten his latch-key".  Garry tells his unwanted visitor exactly what they all think of him and warns that gold-digger Joe will be cast out of the golden circle if he keeps seeing Morris - but Joe has his eye on a bigger prize than Morris... needless to say, the narcissist in Garry cannot refuse the offer of more adoration and they spend the night together.

Warchus has done his gender-flip on the characters of Joe and Helen - as written by Coward the characters are predatory actress Joanne married to manager Henry.  But the change works wonderfully well, staying true to Coward the writer and more importantly, Coward the man.  It also works well within the plot: having seen Garry ruling all around him as a spoiled star, here he is confronted with someone who refuses to be cowed by his imperious manner; Joe knows Garry's Achilles heel and he strikes...

Once again Garry's staff quietly go through their morning chores only now they have the boastful presence of Joe to contend with rather than some airhead starlet.  Garry has to finally face up to his actions but not before all the characters descend on the apartment and end up being thrown in kitchens, spare rooms and bathrooms as Garry finds himself in the middle of a French farce situation.

Warchus has saved another change for the end of the play - echoing the end of the first half - where Garry is alone in the apartment with someone close to him calling his bluff.  The original has a more obvious curtain-line and business, but Warchus has the play end on a more uncertain note, playing up the feeling of sadness and ambiguity that runs beneath the surface of what has gone before.

Matthew Warchus handles the material wonderfully, letting both the verbal wit and physical comedy shine but always keeping that undercurrent of Garry's loneliness flowing just below the surface.  If there is a problem with the show it's that some of the supporting performances fail to rise - the characters of Morris and Helen are particularly ill-served.

But there are several which contribute wonderfully to the show's success: Enzo Cilenti has just the right air of calculating brazenness for the character of Joe and his big scene at the end of the first act was very well-handled, seductive and menacing at the same time.  Luke Thallon was great fun as Roland Maule the writer in love with Garry's glamour and I particularly loved Joshua Hil's laconic, deadpan valet Fred, indifferent to the artistic temperaments exploding around him.

Sophie Thompson was in delicious form as Monica, the seen-it-all Scottish secretary who is always one step ahead of Garry's demands and who keeps a big sister-like eye on him for his own good; her knowing one-liners were delivered to perfection.  I also liked Indira Varma as Liz, the poised and cool ex-wife might not be a particular stretch for her but she made an excellent counterpoint to the shenanigans around her and she hit the right sensible tone throughout.

PRESENT LAUGHTER cannot work without an actor who can be the outrageous temperamental star and also suggest the emptiness behind the glittering mask and Andrew Scott was sheer perfection.  Watching him soar in this role, it dawned on me that here finally is an actor who comes close to the quicksilver quality that the late Ian Charleson brought to his theatre performances: the same graceful physicality, effortless charisma and the ability to hold a moment between comedy and despair, revealing all you need to know about his character that is hidden underneath the lines he is saying.  He was that good.

The run is now sold out but NT Live are filming it for a November screening - click on the picture below to book your seats - just think, you probably won't have to queue for a portaloo at the cinema...

Dvd/150: THE HOLLOW CROWN: THE WAR OF THE ROSES - RICHARD III (Dominic Cooke, 2016)

The second cycle of THE HOLLOW CROWN ends with Benedict Cumberbatch murdering his way to the throne as RICHARD III.

Starting with a tracking shot around Richard's grotesque twisted spine, Cumberbatch gives a subtle portrayal of evil shot through with a sense of murderous fun as he colludes with the viewer in his treacherous plans.

Ben Power's adaptation keeps the plot moving fast but in this part of the trilogy, some poetry is lost - Queen Elizabeth's plea to the stone walls of the Tower to protect her captive sons and, more unforgivably, Clarence's dream of drowning.

This is Dominic Cooke's first filmed work and the trilogy has an assured, cohesive vision.  Again Sophie Okonedo is marvellous as Queen Margaret, cursing the royal family who learn too late she is right, and in a relatively minor role as Richard's mother, Judi Dench is magnificent in her final denunciation scene with him.

Shelf or charity shop?  Ruling from the shelf, the final death toll incidentally is 25... farewell Clarence, Edward IV, Lords Hastings, Grey and Rivers, Princes Edward and Richard, Queen Anne. Buckingham, Catesby and of course, you know who...

Dvd/150: THE HOLLOW CROWN: THE WAR OF THE ROSES - HENRY VI PT 2 (Dominic Cooke, 2016)

The plot - and spilled blood - thickens as the balance of power seesaws between the houses of Lancaster and York in Dominic Cooke and Ben Power's adaptation of HENRY VI PART 2.

Nearly all Shakespeare's original PART 2 is jettisoned - Irish wars, Jack Cade's revolt - to concentrate on his PART 3: the clamorous battle in the narrow streets St Albans results in York forcing Henry VI to disinherit his young son in favour of York's children. 

Furious Queen Margaret wreaks bloody vengeance on York and his youngest son, leading to his other three sons, Edward, George and infamous Richard, seeking revenge on her and the mentally-unstable Henry.

Allegiances change and change again and all the time, bodies keep falling - and Richard inches nearer and nearer the throne.

Standout performances include Benedict Cumberbatch as the murderous Richard, Sophie Okonedo as Margaret, Geoffrey Streatfeild as Edward IV and Stanley Townsend as Warwick.

Shelf or charity shop?  Fighting it out in gory detail on the shelf - the death toll is now 14...buying the farm here are the Dukes of York, Exeter and Suffolk, Prince Edward, Henry VI, Somerset, Warwick, Edmund Plantagenet, Young Lord Clifford - and you know there are more to come in RICHARD III...

Dvd/150: THE HOLLOW CROWN: THE WAR OF THE ROSES - HENRY VI PT 1 (Dominic Cooke, 2016)

What again??  Yes, after the BBC's THE AGE OF KINGS (1960) and the RSC's THE WAR OF THE ROSES (1965), I plunge again into the 30 year civil war with the BBC's second cycle of THE HOLLOW CROWN, four years after their version of The Henriad.

Luckily Dominic Cooke has a cast of well-known actors; all the better to keep track of the countless Dukes - Somerset, Winchester, Exeter, Suffolk, etc. - fighting to control weak Henry VI and secure their way to the crown.

Cooke and Ben Power have condensed one and a half plays into this version but keep the plot moving, from Henry V's burial to the murder of the Duke of Gloucester, which triggers the Yorkist rebellion.

Notable are Hugh Bonneville as the doomed Gloucester, Ben Miles as sly Somerset, Sophie Okonedo as devious Margaret of Anjou and Tom Sturridge's blankness works remarkably well as Henry VI

Shelf or charity shop?  a definite shelfer - oh and by the way... the death toll is currently five - the Duke of Gloucester, Sir Edmund Mortimer, Lord Talbot, John Talbot and Joan of Arc - watch this pile grow!

50 Favourite Musicals: 17: THE RINK (1984) (John Kander / Fred Ebb)

The 50 shows that have stood out down the years and, as we get up among the paint cards, the shows that have become the cast recording of my life:

First performed: 1984, Martin Beck Theatre, NY

First seen by me: 1987, Forum,Wythenshawe

Productions seen: three

Score: John Kander / Fred Ebb
Book: Terrence McNally

Plot:  Anna Antonelli has finally sold the Coney Island roller rink that she used to run with her volatile Italian-American husband, wanting rid of all the unhappy memories it holds.  But just as the wrecking crew arrive to start demolishing the rink, Anna's estranged daughter Angel appears after fifteen years on the road, wanting to come back to the only home she knows... let battle commence!

Five memorable numbers: COLOURED LIGHTS, CHIEF COOK AND BOTTLE WASHER, THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL, WALLFLOWER,  AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

In 1984, THE RINK opened on Broadway with the double-threat casting of Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli as the estranged mother and daughter Anna and Angel.  Despite them and a score that is pure Kander & Ebb, the reviews were iffy and it lasted six months with Minnelli leaving before the end to check into rehab, her replacement was none other than Stockard Channing.  Kander and Ebb had originally wanted it to be a smaller show: Off-Broadway with a different book and director.  But when their good friend Liza expressed an interest, the investment money poured in, a new director was brought on board and Terence McNally was drafted in to re-write the book.  Despite it all, THE RINK won Chita Rivera both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actress in A Musical.

In 1987 I went up to Manchester to see the UK Premiere at Paul Kerryson's northern musical powerhouse The Forum Theatre in Wythenshawe starring the wonderful pairing of Josephine Blake and Diane Langton.  They had whetted my appetite by singing songs from THE RINK in the Kander & Ebb tribute show HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET! in 1985 so I could not let that opportunity pass - little did I know they were to transfer to London's Cambridge Theatre the following year.  But, as I got in to see them in their shared dressing-room after, I'm glad I made the effort.  Sadly history repeated itself when, despite their explosive performances and the energetic performances by the male chorus of six, the show received so-so reviews and it closed after only a month despite the goodwill of all who saw it and a rallying campaign by Jo Blake who suspected double-dealing from the show's management.  It was all very sad but the London cast recording captures some of their unique performances.  A while after it closed, there was a concert version staged at Her Majesty's with Blake again but with Langton's understudy Caroline O'Connor playing Angel - and last year O'Connor starred in the Southwark Playhouse revival playing Anna with Gemma Sutton as Angel.  It was great to see again but it proved that if you are going to stage it, you really need two larger-than-life performers whose voices still are travelling when they smack the back wall.  Where are the likes of them these days?

Luckily THE RINK got a slot on the Olivier Awards show before it opened so sit back and experience the take-no-prisoners belting vocals of Josephine Blake and Diane Langton with Michael Gyngell, Richard Bodkin, Peter Edbrook, James Gavin, Gareth Snook and Steve Hervieu as the Wreckers - Go Girls!

Dvd/150: SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (Joseph L Mankiewicz, 1959)

Tennessee Williams' one-act play is expanded by screenwriter Gore Vidal into a fevered Southern Gothic horror classic (Williams recieved a co-writing credit but did no work on it).

Mankiewicz's overwrought film doesn't do the play justice but it's worth it when you have Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn going at each other, leaving Montgomery Clift's doctor a mere onlooker.

Hepburn is fantastic as the possessive Mrs Venable, offering to bankroll Clift's hospital providing he lobotomize hysterical niece Taylor, the only witness to her son's death "suddenly last summer..."

Taylor looks magnificent and gives us full 'star' acting, but it's in her quieter moments that she really delivers; her manic scenes show off her vocal limitations too much.

Taylor demanded Clift play the doctor but only three years after his near-fatal car crash, he is a hesitant, stumbling shadow of his former self.

For all it's flaws, unmissable!

Shelf or charity shop?  Katharine Hepburn was so disgusted with Mankiewicz's on-set bullying of shaky Montgomery Clift that when he yelled 'cut' on her very last scene, she asked him if that was definitely her last moment on the film, when Mankiewicz said it was she spat in his face.  One to keep but living in the limbo of my plastic DVD box.  It's worth keeping for the crazed cameo of comedy harridan Rita Webb as a knitting asylum inmate!

 

 

Dvd/150: THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (Arthur Lewin, 1945)

The most famous of the eighteen films based on Oscar Wilde's 1890 supernatural novel made a big impression on me when I first saw it years ago.

However  although the film has some great components, ultimately it is smothered by MGM's 'taste'.

The film also suffers from Hurd Hatfield as Dorian; he certainly looks the part but his glacial, uninvolving performance never suggests anything underneath, good or bad.

The film however looks wonderful with marvellous art direction, atmospheric lighting and Academy Award-winning cinematography by Harry Stradling.

It also gained 20 year-old Angela Lansbury an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award, in only her third screen role.  She is luminous as tragic Sybil Vane, loved and discarded by Dorian.

George Sanders' silky Sir Henry excels while Lowell Gilmore as Basil, Richard Fraser as James Vane and Morton Lowry as a dissolute artist make up for Hatfield's anonymity.

Shelf or charity shop?  I can see myself watching this again but it lives in the limbo of my plastic DVD box...