After leaving the stirring production of Henry V at The Globe my theatre going friend and I strolled along the South Bank until we got to the National Theatre. We did intend to only visit the shop but the lure of the theatre was too strong and on discovering that there were reduced price tickets to a play that evening we were too weak to resist.
The joy of this play was apart from the playwright, George Bernard Shaw, we know nothing at all about it. It has been quite a time since I've gone so 'blind' in to a performance.
The play itself was very good and very thought provoking, a lot of valid ethical questions were raised and yet at the same time the play was very funny for much of the time. I wasn't quite sure about the ending but I suppose that was the point Shaw was making - doing the right thing, even for the wrong reason, doesn't always get you what you want.
The real star of this play for me was the staging, the sets were beautiful and moved so cleverly that I at least felt I was walking between locations rather than the scenery changing! This year has been the year of incredible scenery at the theatre, and the use of light through windows especially often makes me forget I am in a dark theatre and not actually in the house/garret.
All in all a surprise evening of theatre that was very enjoyable and proof that if a play is good then it doesn't matter if you don't know the story (or the actors) in advance.
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