Dvd/150: NOTHING LIKE A DAME (Roger Michell, 2018)

Every so often, four acting greats - Dames Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith - meet at Plowright's Sussex home to catch up and reminisce; this time director Roger Michell was on hand to film them.

With their friendships crossing generations. they have much shared experience: first nights, critics, playing Shakespeare, acting with husbands, getting older...

Of course Laurence Olivier pops up in conversation several times: when talking about acting partners, Plowright says "Mine was the most difficult" to which Maggie dryly responds "Well, we all found him tricky".

I suspect the real gold was left out - there is a flash of it when they discuss their wariness in playing Shakespeare's Cleopatra: Atkins says she has found all actors playing Antony dislike it as they realize the best role is Cleopatra "Alan Bates told me he hated it" to which Maggie says "That's because he wanted to play Cleopatra!"

Shelf or charity shop?  Shelf!

Dvd/150: NATIONAL THEATRE 50 (2013)

A marvellous celebration of the National Theatre's 50th birthday, this 2-disc dvd includes the all-star gala which re-staged scenes and musical numbers from the NT's greatest shows plus the 2-part BBC Arena programme covering the National's tumultuous history, as dramatic as anything ever staged there.

Wonderful archive recordings and footage tell how Laurence Olivier launched the NT at the Old Vic and, in the second programme, how Peter Hall took over with it's move to the South Bank and how his successors Richard Eyre, Trevor Nunn and Nicholas Hytner have sustained it.  The programme interviews these directors along with the new Artistic Director Rufus Norris.

Also interviewed are Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Tom Stoppard, Peter Brook, Ronald Pickup, Jonathan Miller, Ian McKellen, David Hare, Peter Shaffer, Judi Dench and Alan Bennett.

It's worth it for the footage of GUYS AND DOLLS alone!

Shelf or charity shop? It has a shelf all to itself.