Theatre 2014: Review Thirty-Four

Doctor Scroggy's War, Shakespeares' Globe, London. October 2014.

After meeting Rebecca, having a cup of tea, saying goodbye to companion number one and locating our hotel we returned to the Globe for the evening.

We started in the lecture theatre below the theatre for a "Perspectives" talk. This involved Howard Brenton (author of the play) talking about the play and then taking questions from the audience.  The talk tried very hard not to spoil any surprises in the play for those of us who hadn't yet seen it but at the same time gave us a good idea on how it came to be written and some of the research undertaken to formulate it.

I was most interested in the areas of the talk, and questions, that talked about how Brenton wrote the play for the space and the uniqueness of the Globe, and how the audience interaction can both be a help and a hindrance to the playwright and actor.  I was also really pleased to hear Brenton talk about how WW1 wasn't the first mechanised/trench war - he acknowledged the American Civil War! This is a pet peeve of mine - can you tell!

After the talk we had very high hopes for the play and were in our seats well before the start.

The plot follows three people Jack Twigg - a temporary gentleman with a commission in the London Irish Regiment, Penelope Wedgewood - a leading socialite, and Dr Harold Gillies - a pioneering plastic surgeon with a progressive and unorthodox take on medicine and the importance of morale on healing. There are many other incidental characters helping to drive the plot and in historical terms the play focuses on the Battle of Loos in 1915 and the incredible mistake made by high command.

The play purports to be, and the pre show talk lead me to believe, that the focus would be on the dramatisation of the real life Gillies and his unorthodox but effective treatment of soldiers who suffered facial injuries - he was in fact mentioned recently in the moving ITV series The People's War - however for me this didn't turn out to be the case.

For me the play felt like it was put on stage too early - I think that there are three excellent stories to be told, but that to develop them better each needs more space, or a play of their own.  Jack's story is fascinating and I wanted to know more of him in all ways, without spoilers it is also still very pertinent in asking what does being British actually mean.

Penelope undergoes the most radical of changes and has a fascinating arc to explore, especially in the light of last year's Bluestockings and as for poor Gillies...he was played by the ever wonderful James Garnon but was woefully under used and I felt that there was a lot more mileage in his character. It almost feel disrespectful to use a real person in such a desultory way.

My final grievance with the play was the jig at the end, I can't explain why but for me to see people dancing to Goodbye Dolly Gray and Tipperary seemed wrong.

On the plus side the play held my attention throughout the (scant) two hours, I laughed lots and learned lots of new things about a subject I do know well. It was acted brilliantly and the use of sound was incredible.  I hope that perhaps some more work is done on this play and that it does come back again as it is an interesting story, I'm just not 100% sure that at present the play tells it.

Theatre 2014: Review Two

The Duchess of Malfi, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London. January 2014

I've been excited about this play for a long time, and even more so since I have been studying the theatres of the Jacobean era and first of all let me say that this didn't disappoint.

Over the past few years I've seen the outside of the new Playhouse take shape on visits to the Globe and I've also been following in the interior build thanks to the photos posted by The Globe on their website. A quick Google search shows the stages of the build and it has to be said that the CGI projections of what the finished building looked like were accurate but don't do it justice.

Inside it is like travelling in time (except thankfully without the aromas!) the theatre is all made of wood and lit with beeswax candles that are on movable chandeliers as well as some fixed candle sticks on the pillars.  Actors also carry candlesticks with them as they move about the space. The candles are also lit and extinguished throughout the performance so there is the lovely smell of wax and smoke at times too!

Now the play. I saw the Duchess of Malfi in 2012 and liked it very much, although looking back now I remember incidents and the Duchess clearly but the rest of the play and the actors have faded completely from my memory.
The version at the SWP managed to be physically lighter than the version I saw before, despite using no modern lighting. This made the impact of the darker scenes greater as you really noticed when the mood changed, it also meant that the characters themselves were more visible and I found all of the roles easy to distinguish and keep track of. Seeing the actors all of the time also meant that I got into the rhythm much quicker.
The flickering light and small space made the play feel very claustrophobic (in the right way) as an audience member you were complicit in the action and could see every small flicker of emotion on the characters' faces.

The horror scene however wasn't as effective in this version, I had forgotten when it occurred in the play but just didn't buy into the scene at all. However I did have many more goosebumps running up and down my arms throughout the play and it was scarier over all.

This version also lost a lot of the carnality I remember from the version at the Old Vic, however this did mean that we saw the action unfold rather than have it told to us.  Ferdinand's unhealthy obsession with his sister and descent into madness were much clearer in this version, and thoroughly creepy.

It was nice to see some of the main Globe's actors in a smaller space, and also to see similar styles of theatre from the open air stage scaled down but still visible in the new space.

However the new theatre isn't without problems, it feels cramped even after making use of the cloakroom. Leg room is an issue and Mr Norfolkbookworm with his long thigh bones was very uncomfortable. The Globe have always said that no seat in either of their Playhouses has a totally unrestricted view of the stage this is more true in the indoor theatre than ever. We had a very good view of the stage from our favourite area at the back of the Upper Gallery but even leaning forward we couldn't see the pit (unlike at the outdoor theatre) and seeing as the standing spots are twice the price of the Groundling area (listed on line as having the best view for only £5) the view from them appeared to be dreadful.

None of this has put me off, I'm going back in about 6 weeks to see the next Jacobean play performed. I loved the play and the playhouse but with a few reservations about the seating.

This images from Reuters gives a feel for the interior...

Theatrical Interlude 16

Doctor Faustus, Globe Theatre, September 2011.

After having such a good time on two previous occasions I had a look on the website to see if there was anything playing on days that Mr Bookworm and I were both free.

It was with great delight that I found a performance of Doctor Faustus that we could both attend. Mr Bookworm read it earlier in the year and proclaimed it 'more readable' than Shakespeare and I've always been fascinated by the idea of actually being able to sell your soul to the devil.

The day didn't start well, there was torrential rain falling in Norwich as we left, but by the time we reached Bankside the weather had more or less cleared. It being a Sunday we decided to treat ourselves and had brunch at The Swan at the Globe. Our table was possibly the best in the house being tucked into a corner window overlooking the Thames and St Paul's Cathedral. The food and drink were lovely too.

The weather appeared to change as we sauntered across to the theatre and it started to rain, our seats were right up at the top of the theatre but the view was wonderful and it was lovely to people watch as the theatre filled up. The rain stopped just as the actors appeared on stage and by the end the weather was gloriously sunny.

As ever it took me a little while to adjust to watching a play in full daylight but I was quickly immersed in the story and totally drawn in to the story of a man who literally will do anything to learn the secrets of the world and then once he has the power squanders it.

The acting and the staging were wonderful, I've only just started watching Doctor Who* and to be honest Arthur Darvill's character hasn't really made and impression on me - however he was great in Doctor Faustus. I loved the ensemble cast all taking more than one role (excepting the two leads) and the costumes made you think that there were 3 times as many actors than there actually were. I thought it was a great touch having the angel and the demon played by sword wielding females. And as for the dragons...

All in all another great play in a lovely theatre. I'm not going to get to see anything else there this season but already I can't wait for next year's to be announced.



*This is where I confess that despite what I said here I have become a convert to Doctor Who. Damn, 30+ years of resisting down the drain.

Theatrical Interlude 14 (reprise)

Much Ado About Nothing, Globe Theatre, August 2011.

I saw this earlier in the year with Mr Norfolkbookworm but seeing it again with friends was no hardship at all.

It turned out to be quite a different experience due to the wonderful English weather. The forecast wasn't great but we had hoped that the weather was going to hold off until after the performance.

We were very lucky, we had great seats, Row A in the Lower Gallery and as there was no wind we did stay dry, unlike the poor groundlings and actors.

The play was as funny on second viewing as it was earlier in the year and this time had the added bonus of the actors ad libbing weather related lines into the script - Benedick whistling 'Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head' whilst standing at the edge of the stage was wonderfully amusing, probably down to his facial expressions.

I did feel sorry for the actors however, as any sitting or laying moments of the play must have been very uncomfortable with rain pouring down as well as being on the wet ground. I can't imagine that the Tudor costumes are that comfortable when dry let alone when drenched by an August downpour.

The one dampener (!) on the day was indirectly caused by the weather - at times it was hard to hear the actors due to the noise the rain was making as it hit the waterproof coats worn by the groundlings.

On the whole the weather didn't matter too much, and the Globe is fast becoming one of my favourite venues (especially since I found out about the back rests!)

A sneak picture taken just before the start of the play, if you look top let you can see the rain.

Theatrical Interlude 7

Much Ado About Nothing, The Globe Theatre, May 2011

There is much buzz about Much Ado as there are currently 2 versions playing in London. One in the heart of the West End starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate and one at The Globe. You can guess which one is attracting most press attention...

We saw the RSC version at the Globe and had a great time. It isn't a play I knew before hand. I'd read a little of it but hadn't managed to read the whole thing but I knew the main story points. I always (and erroneously) equate Shakespeare with school, exams and being serious but this was frequently laugh out loud funny and unlike in many plays I've seen the actors do bounce off the audience.

It took me quite a while to get my ear in to the language of the play. I know that it is English but I did find at times that the words were washing over me like a foreign film and I felt like subtitles would have helped. It didn't detract from the play at all just felt dream like to me at times - I don't think I missed anything as the acting clearly told the story.

It was a special feeling to see a play in the same conditions that it would have been seen originally, and the Globe is unlike any other theatre I've been to as it isn't dark in the auditorium, the audience moves around and you are sat on pretty uncomfortable benches rather than soft seats. You also don't get too make squeaks from the audience as pigeons swoop in at mainstream theatres...

We were lucky and the rain held off until just as the play finished but the stage crew were already striking the Much Ado set and rebuilding it for All's Well which was playing in the evening.

I'm going back to the Globe later in the year and I will make sure that I have watched/read/listened to more Shakespeare before hand so that my ear is in tune from the very beginning - the Bard's work hasn't survived by chance and now I know what to expect at the Globe I want to do it far more justice.