The endless, endless rain has at last coaxed open the first of the Waterside purple poppies, as advertised in an earlier episode of this blog….
What a season this has been – all that wonderful open air Shakespeare, battling with the elements. Having seen the remarkable Isango Ensemble from South Africa perform last month at Shakespeare’s Globe, on the day the Royals floated in the drizzle amongst the Jubilee Flotilla my friend Jodi and I headed to the Hackney Empire, to see their final London performance this year, of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist. It seemed appropriate to balance the royalist fervour with a British classic of socialist literature, albeit transformed into a musical show set in 1960s Apartheid Johannesbourg.
Isango’s work is joyous, inspiring, and gloriously exuberant. They’ve gone back to South Africa now, but look out for their return next year, or catch them in Capetown, if you’re reading this in that part of the world.
Meanwhile I slipped off into the idyllic English countryside for a friend’s wedding in the rural area once known as Huntingtonshire. We stayed on the eve of the nuptials in the local eighteenth-century coaching inn called, almost inevitably, The George. After a convivial supper at a pub elsewhere in the village, we retired to our motel-style rooms in the old stables, aware of a somewhat noisy disco in the main building. In the morning we found out that a dispute amongst the local lads and lasses at the disco had led to unbridled warfare, with at one point ten falling upon one and biting off his ear…
Could the weather be to blame? This is the oddest British summer I can remember – I mean we’re a pretty long-suffering bunch, we’re used to an unreliable climate, that’s probably why we’re still more-or-less afloat as a nation – but this is not just maddening, it’s cruel! A few scattered dollops of sunshine – like a kindly word from the nice one in a nice & nasty cop scenario – and then we’re plunged into yet more driving deluge and vicious winds.
It held off for a few hours last Monday, when I caught a striking promenade production at Hendon School. The Cactus Productions team has used their impressive address-book to involve significant contemporary playwrights, including Mark Ravenhill, Judith Johnson and Philip Ridley, in creating a five-part sequence of stories inspired by the legends of King Arthur. The shows draw on inputs from all parts of this big comprehensive school, and mixes in high-level professional work from the Cactus team, including marvellous costume and design work from Annie Gosney.
The Once and Future Plays may yet re-appear at another venue – watch this space. As ever, bulletins will be posted here and at www.teachyourselfacting.com
Last night once again an example of a stoic Shakespeare audience. Down at the Bankside Globe I was hugely glad I’d invested in under-cover seats for “Henry V”, watching the fiver-a-head groundlings tugging up their parka hoods as the heavens opened and unleashed a drenching downpour. The joy of good live theatre is that adversity can be shared, and Jamie Parker’s brilliant, conversational delivery of the great soliloquies completely included the sodden audience in “we band of brothers”, and they all chuckled appreciatively as the water streamed down their faces.
It’s a very tidy production by Dominic Dromgoole, with lots of good, bright verse-speaking (notably from Kurt Egyiawan as the Dauphin and an old comrade from my days’ running the theatre at Keswick, James Lailey as Westmoreland) and a warm, intelligent delivery of the Chorus by Brid Brennan. To hear the lines about “this wooden ‘O'” from that stage in that space made me feel quite dizzy.
Henry Vs are lining up: the Propeller version is due any minute at Hampstead, and Jude Law is just over the horizon, as part of the new Michael Grandage season in the West End.
These Globe productions are a great showcase for Jamie Parker’s talent, which made such an impact in “The History Boys”.
Given that his fine acting is matched by great vocal and keyboard skills, maybe before long we’ll be seeing another RADAgrad making an impact on the West End musical stage? One of my most treasured memories of RADA was a now near-legendary production of “Guys and Dolls” by Geoff Bullen. I used to sneak in at the back of every performance to catch Jamie and Sian Brooke wringing every delicate nuance out of the song “I’ve Never Been in Love Before….”
Talking of which, I saw Sian at Will Norris’s wedding – she was looking GORGEOUS and clearly expecting a Happy Event some time quite soon. And followers of this blog will also be pleased to know that Andy Bone and Vissey Savafi’s trailed new production is now up and running – well, gurgling in a cot. He’s a boy, and so far is the Boy With No Name. We hope (for his sake) we will be able to make an announcement soon, and give him appropriate “and introducing…” billing.
News just in: Will you please welcome…Jimmie Bone!
