The Play's The Thing!

Given that the past month has been basically taken up with going to the theatre and that the Fringe is now only an exciting 3 months away, I thought I would revive the Valves theatrical review strand this month and pass comment on the four productions we've been to see this month. The fact that the so-far excellent (4 episodes in) third series of Who has visited William Shakespeare is purely coincidental! Luckily, the standard is high!

Updates - no new reports yet, but a few more in the pending pile---weight loss consistent, but 3lbs off-target, although it should become easier now summer is here----Ebay sales progress, and those who have taken their time to pay have now done so, hooray!----Theatrical excitement does not bode well for the Fringe goal.

The Play What I Wrote

So, first up is the Morecambe and Wise referencing "The Play What I Wrote", West End hit and promiser of Special Guest Stars!

I thought it was a straightforward Morecambe and Wise tribute show with perhaps a slight linking narrative, but in fact it's the story of a struggling double act with similarities to Morecambe and Wise, one of whom wants to divert into serious theatre with the Ern'-like Play What He Wrote and the other of whom wants to follow the big bucks that he believes a Morecambe and Wise tribute show will bring them. The first half ends with them agreeing to follow the Eric and Ernie route and the second half is set up to be the show. However, it never really gets going, and they are side-tracked again into the "Play What I Wrote" with the obligatory guest stars - in this case Colin and Justin, one of whom was very good, the other of whom was very dire. I'm not sure which is which but the bleached blonde one was rubbish.

The show was fun and, as long as you're prepared for variety-style pratfalls, cross talk and double entendres, contains many good laughs. The biggest problem with this particular production was that I never believed the two leads were actually a double-act and they didn't garner much sympathy from this particular audient. I just wanted them to get on with the curtain routines and the songs and dances.

NTW : The whole production was just a little threadbare - design, or actual wear and tair?

JTD : Well done to Colin and Justin (and to all the guest stars ever) because far from a walk on cameo, they have a lot to do to carry the second half.

Underneath The Lintel

To London's glittering West End, for Glen Berger's Underneath The Lintel, starring The West Wing's Richard Schiff.

The play is a whimsical little piece, that from time to time takes itself a little too seriously. The story of a Dutch librarian who becomes intrigued by a late returned book and embarks on a quest to find the borrower, Underneath the Lintel finds the single character ruminating on the nature of life, history and meaning without ever becoming forboding. The plot hangs on a series of Da Vinci Code-like coincidences and theories, and the skill for the single actor in the play is to make these seem natural or to make the librarian's acceptance of them not seem too outrageous.

Richard Schiff held the audience in his hand for 90 minutes, unspooling his tale of laundry tickets, 18th century landed gentry and tramcars with perfect timing and drawing the audience further into the world of the lonely librarian. His standing ovation at the peformance I saw (the final London performance) was the least we could do to signal our appreciation of his skill at his craft.

NTW : The set was a basic community hall or class room, so attempts to "jazz it up" with dimming and brightening wall lamps was distracting.

JTD : 90 minutes, an audience, one man. That's theatre right there.

Black Watch

So, 9 months on from this, would Black Watch still be as thrilling and satisfying a whole Fringe and a national tour later? In a word, yes.

On second viewing, the historical parallels are even stronger, the brilliantly executed set pieces even more brilliant, the writing even sharper and the characterisation, which was possibly overlooked by me last time in my awe at the complete spectacle, was pin sharp from the outset.

I would hesitate to say that the producers have taken the Valves advice and shortened the closing tattoo, but it certainly didn't seem to go on as long this time. The choreographed fights were tighter and what few alterations have been made to the structure of the piece have served to focus and energise it.

As the Herald says "The world should see this play."

NTW : The first "dance and physical theatre" move is still a tiny bit grating, but far less so than it was.

JTD : I've decided it's definitely letters from home. A wise man recently said "You can change people from that stage, change their minds." Even without a stage, Black Watch can do this.

Tutti Frutti

Anything was always going to pale next to Black Watch, but Tutti Frutti held its own well, but ultimately it was a battle it was never going to win.

Nonetheless, my advice would be don't go to see it directly after Black Watch rather than don't go to see it.

John Byrne has adapted six hours of TV drama into three hours of stage drama and almost gotten away with it. The speed is the biggest problem, you know what's happening, but you don't care as much as you should. The performers were great, the set is magnificent and practical and the lines are good, there are just too many of them.

Having never seen the TV series I sincerely hope the rumoured BBC4 repeat run can be secured, as the somewhat disappointing play leaves me in no doubt that it will be fabulous.

NTW : It needs to be slowed down, as the characters have no chance to endear themselves to you before they have begun their "journey".

JTD : Bizarrely, the same thing because it demonstrates brilliantly how your viewing of television narrative differs from stage narrative. On TV you give the characters a chance to establish their personalities without verbally or physically signposting them, on stage the lack of that signposting makes it very difficult to empathise or sympathise with them.