Review: Betrayal @ The Comedy Theatre (14/06/2011)

It has been mentioned by esteemed voices in the theatre world that Pinter's plays, rife with long pauses and subtle witticisms, are no longer suitable for a modern audience; especially semi-autobiographical numbers such as Betrayal...

These doubters have been stupendously silenced by this particular production. Director Ian Rickson, who had the honour of directing Pinter himself once in Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, has managed to not only pull together a star studded cast but has created a masterpiece in bleak, harrowing comedy.

First of all, and perhaps most importantly, Kristin Scott-Thomas is effortlessly brilliant as cheating-wife Emma. The reverse-chronological nature of the text makes hers a challenging role, as her character is required to shift backwards through many different stages of emotional attachment to both her on-stage husband and her clandestine lover (consequently best friends and work-mates). Particularly impressive was her ability to flip completely from repulsion to absolute adoration, terror to comely love in a matter of moments. Fantastic.

The rest of the small cast are also notably effortless. Jerry's drunken scene (Douglas Henshall) is a masterclass in creating tension, and the desperate following line 'have you ever been to the Sahara Desert?' slices the audience into welcome a nervous laugh as the emotional rollercoaster begins to slow. Robert (Ben Miles) creates a pitiful portrait of a broken man as he recounts to Jerry his solo adventure on an island off Venice, and has the audience in raptures with seemingly limitless ability to make light of such a bleak situation, in this seemingly impossible marriage of three lost individuals.

The dynamic and well crafted set is also worth mentioning; so many different scenes, ranging from a cold-water Kilburn flat to a plush Italian hotel, are born before the audiences very eyes and play a huge part in setting a bleak and cold atmosphere within which the play takes place. It's whitewashed and clean, does not distract but creates enough to remind us where each scene is set and allows viewers to attach emotions and judgements to each physical scene.

So far, this is the best show The Prompt has seen in 2011- and for that reason earns 5 well-deserved stars. The purpose of theatre, in this writer's eyes, is to awaken in an audience an understanding of the human condition they were previously unable, or unwilling, to apprehend. This production does just that, and leaves behind a chilling but fulfilling feeling and a sudden but humorous realisation of the incomprehensible and unchangeable flaws in everyday human nature. Excellent.


(***** 5 stars issued by Mr T. Prompt)

Quick Quiz: #14 Felicity Jackson

1. Where are you working at present?

I am working at Surviving Actors HQ! 

2. Describe your occupation and why you love it.

I love my occupation because I work within the creative industry, and get to meet some really interesting people. I run large scale events so the pressure is pretty immense, and every day is completely different! 

3. Who do you most enjoy working with and why?

I most enjoy working with my colleague Lianne - she's always got a smile on her face, and she's great at her job as well - which is a bonus! 

4. What's your dream day?

My dream day is the day after a huge event - logging on to twitter and reading how much everyone has enjoyed it! It's such a buzz! 

5. Favourite ever show and why?

Favourite ever show would have to be Miss Saigon. I watched when I was around 10 years old, and it was the first piece of theatre where I really enjoyed myself, and was fully immersed throughout the whole show. It's what converted me to theatre.

6. Favourite actor/actress and why?

Favourite actress has got to be Helena Bonham Carter - she always produces quality work and I trust films that she is in. 

7. Favourite band/musical artist and why?

At the moment Muse - I saw them at Glastonbury last year and the atmosphere was just unreal! I also have a soft spot for girly pop like The Saturdays... and J Lo is back - whoop whoop!

8. Where do you see yourself in 25 years?

In 25 years I hope to see myself producing Surviving Actors conventions all over the world - I want to take the event global! Oh and married... couple of sprogs?

9. Any exciting future projects you'd like to mention?

Well yes! We have a Surviving Actors coming up in Manchester in just over a month - July 23rd 2011 at Manchester University, Renold Building. You can register here: http://survivingactors.com/register.html

10. Random one: what's your favorite cheese?

Brie
  

11. Do you have Twitter? Do you follow @the_prompt? You should...

Yes I follow you... but do you follow me? @survivingactors

Quick Quiz: #12 Hannah Anderson

1. Where are you working at present?

I am rehearsing for Pericles on at the Rose Theatre Studio in Kingston during the IYAF & will soon start rehearsals from Snap. Catch. Slam. which we're taking to The Pleasance at Edinburgh this year.

 

2. Describe your occupation and why you love it.

Actress & voice-over artist. No day is ever the same, I am forever challenged and I never wake up not wanting to go to work.

 

3. Who do you most enjoy working with and why?

Anyone who is fun, receptive and not negative.

 

4. What's your dream day?

Working on a Julian Fellowes drama.

 

5. Favourite ever show and why?

The God Weeps. First ever show written by Dennis Kelly (my fav writer) that I managed to see. Incredible performances, brilliant writing, an electric production.

 

6. Favourite actor/actress and why?

Right now I'm really into Ruth Wilson. An intensely brilliant & edgy actress who showcases British talent to the max.

 

7. Favourite band/musical artist and why?

Burlap to Cashmere - an American folk band who have recently reformed with a more punchy vibe than they've ever had before.

 

8. Where do you see yourself in 25 years?

Getting as much enjoyment out of my career as i do now. 

 

9. Any exciting future projects you'd like to mention?

 

I am waiting on a short who I starred in alongside James Northcote, who plays Edgar in Wuthering Heights this summer. A beautiful person to work with.

 

10. Random one: what's your favorite cheese?

Goats cheese. Hands down.

 

11. Do you have Twitter? Do you follow @the_prompt? 

 

Yes to both. Follow me @HhAnderson

Quick Quiz: #11 Polar Bear

Where are you working at present?

All over the place. In a good way. I’m a resident artist at BAC where I’m developing a new piece for young people. I’m working on a new epic episodic online animated story with Birmingham mac. I’m working with Akram Khan on his new performance piece. I’m running the spoken word collective at Roundhouse as well as developing a new full length story for a run there in November. I’m leading an educational project with the RSC called Sound & Fury and a bunch more stuff. When you write it down on paper it looks like a lot and it is. I think i should write it down more often, might help me make sense of my time a bit better.

Describe your occupation and why you love it

I think of myself as a writer. Sometimes the things I write are for me to perform myself. Sometimes they are entwined with musicians and producers. Sometimes they are for other people to perform and sometimes they’re to be read. like those book things.

Alongside my writing I spend half my time helping other people work with words. This ranges from leading sessions with young children through to helping adults craft words for their own mouth.

It’s pretty hard not to love it because my time revolves around ideas. Either mine or other people’s, and that’s pretty much a dream situation. It can be hard and tiring and a little disorientating sometimes but I have a lot of ideas so to base my professional life around them is nice.

Who do you most enjoy working with and why?

Talented people. I don’t care whether you’re 4 or 64, if you’ve got ideas and skill I get excited. When two or more people start working on something together it stops being about either of them and becomes completely about the thing they are making. Everything from that point has to serve the work and if everybody involved gets that, and is also talented, it can make for amazing collaboration.

I’ve got a couple of people I work with again and again and the main reason for that comes down to personality and common sensibilities and, most importantly, a lot of skill.

What’s your dream day?

Wake up. Build a train track. Bit of jungle ninja role play. make breakfast. Drop kids to school. Cup of tea. talk ideas. Cup of tea. think. write. make lunch. share ideas. cup of tea. talk ideas. write. arm wrestle. plan dinner. pick up kids. look for mini-beasts. football. make dinner. bath time. kids to bed. cup of tea. talk ideas. write. watch a film. when everybody is asleep get headphones on and have one person hour long silent disco jungle rave.

Favourite ever show and why?

T.V show I’d have to say Northern Exposure closely followed by Twin Peaks. Both the perfect mix of amazing characters, suspense, comedy and an element of the surreal.

On stage my girlfriend to me to see a production of Mark O’ Rowe’s ‘Howie the Rookie’ at the Bush theatre about 10 years ago and it blew me away. The simplicity of the form and the craft of the storytelling. I’d never been to the theatre before other than school trips to naff versions of C.S Lewis tales and I dropped lucky. It was brilliant and had a big influence on me, long before I even thought about writing for myself to speak.

Favourite actor/actress and why?

Marlon Brando. Became a bit of a Brando nerd at uni and he’s still my favourite. in terms of current people. I really like Mark Ruffalo and Meryl Streep. There’s too many. I think I like people who make things seem effortless and yet don’t seem to need you to think that they’re cool. That applies to real life too. The best actor of my generation in my opinion is Riz Ahmed. I haven’t seen him in anything and not thought he was brilliant. I think there’ll only be more from him too.

Favourite band/musical artist and why?

Come on mate. You kidding? my fingers are tired now. A Tribe Called Quest. Nick Drake. Bjork. Ella Fitzgerald. Jono McLeery. LTJ Bukem etc etc etc

Where do you see yourself in 25 years?

Sitting on a train typing answers to interview questions. I’m seeing some kind of moustache though. Seriously, I don’t think about stuff like that so i have no idea. I’d like to think that my life is still about ideas and that my children’s lives are about whatever floats their boats too.

Any exciting future projects you’d like to mention?

Loads but not a lot that i can really without wanting to jinx things or give crappy two line blurb summations of. Excited about the Roundhouse run in November. Excited about the young people’s piece at BAC and finally getting some musical tracks finished and out into the world.

What’s your favourite cheese?

I can’t handle the hardcore ones. the ones that smell like horses. Too much for me them. I’ll rock a little brie and grapes on some nice bread, or maybes a applewood smoked on my rarebit if it’s that kind of night. have been known to pull out the buffalo mozarella when I’ve had to. For the ladies like, but that’s strictly a smoking jacket type affair scenario.

Laughing cow is also nice.

Do you have twitter?

www.twitter.com/homeofpolar and I do follow theprompt. It seemed like the right thing to do

Review: 1888 @ The Union Theatre

What is immediately striking about the tucked-away Union Theatre is the intimate and charming nature of the space itself; obscure and angular inside the auditorium, warm and welcoming around the bar area. Indeed, this antique and shadowy setting beneath a railway bridge proved a worthy backdrop for the dark and dingy tale of '1888'- a piece of musical theatre based upon the fascinating tale of a one 'Saucy Jacky', also known as Jack the Ripper...

London's West-End is dominated by musical theatre today; rife with uplifting harmonies, fist-clenching solos and enough special effects to keep even George Lucas happy. However it is rare in extremes that a musical is stripped back and performed in such proximity to an audience in such a way as 1888. This proves for an altogether different viewing experience. True; the obvious cliches of musical-theatre performance are much more noticeable from such a short distance (cue bulging eyes, wild gesticulation et al.), however it is somewhat special to witness the incredible choreography required for these types of performance up close.

And 1888 is extremely well choreographed, especially taking note of the small and irregular space gifted to the performers. Full cast dance routines are co-ordinated and tight- performed with oodles of energy and presicion unabounded. The songs are somewhat hit and miss, with one particularly weird and un-settling number detailing the death of a hooker marking the low point of the show, however Jack the Ripper fans will certainly appreciate the clever re-working of some of those famed letters into catchy musical numbers.

Performance wise, leading lady and young-star Gemma Salter shines brightest as scullery-maid Rosie Walker; she is certainly one to watch in future with her brilliant voice and obvious talents as an actress as well as a singer. Particularly impressive was the 'picnic' scene with romantic interest Stephen Lloyd (Detective Beck), where her reactions to John's well delivered 'post office' speech were both believable and telling of the obvious chemistry between the two protagonists.

All in all, this is a fun evening out and a captivating tale of a bygone London that is suitable for the whole family (well okay, maybe not the sub-13's). The Prompt would advise any fans of musical theatre to pop by and take a look.

(*** 3 stars issued by Mr. T. Prompt)

Quick Quiz: #10 @youngvicteabitch

1. Where are you working at present?

Young Vic Theatre

2. Describe your occupation and why you love it.

My occupation has no boundaries and I don’t really know what it is, I guess that is why I love it! In no particular order I have been a press assistant, a project researcher, an usher, a producer, a balloon modeler, a box office duty manager, a finance officer and for one brief spell a cleaner... however most recently a tweeter!

3. Who do you most enjoy working with and why?

 I most enjoy working with everyone until they say something stupid or give me a job I don’t want to do,at which point I moan about it until finally I forgive them until the next time…

4. What's your dream day?

Drinking at least 3 litres of tea a day preferably with biscuits, getting some new followers for YVteabitch, taking an overlong lunch break, doing as little work as possible.

5. Favourite ever show and why?

Jeeez that is a toughy! I thought Pillowman at the NT was incredible as was the production of No Man’s Land a few years back. At the Young Vic Tobias and the Angel was brilliant due to it’s sheer scale and warmth, I also really loved Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and more recently I Am the Wind (but that was a real marmite production for a lot of people) it was beautiful poetic and moving.

6. Favourite actor/actress and why?

Big fan of Mark Rylance he was stupendous in Jerusalem (but then everyone knows that) Tom Brooke in I Am the Wind was fantastic and he was also amazing playing Oswald in a workshop production of Ghosts we did here a couple of years ago. Oh and I just remembered Nancy Carroll in After the Dance – sensational, nuanced and powerful.

7. Favourite band/musical artist and why?

Duke Special they are one of those bands you can listen too in any mood, they also did the music for Mother Courage at the National last year but I didn’t see that so I have no idea if it was effective or not.

8. Where do you see yourself in 25 years?     

Oh god hopefully rich and fat moving from one of my many apartments to another eating the finest food the world has to offer and watching great things in great theatres. Hold on that was where I want to be in 25 years not where I see myself… I see myself poor and grumpy eating McDonalds and feeling sorry for myself, probably wishing I’d worked harder 25 years earlier.

9. Any exciting future projects you'd like to mention?

Really looking forward to seeing some Pinter at the Young Vic later this year, I don’t remember us ever having had one before so a double bill is a winner!

10. Random one: what's your favorite cheese?

Stichelton – so good; a mix of stilton and something else- go and get some from Neals Yard Dairy and grab a St John bakery eccles cake to go with it – heaven!

Quick Quiz #9: Amy Clarke

Where are you working at present?

I currently work in the marketing department at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon

Describe your occupation and why you love it

My job title is Marketing Officer (Corporate) which means that I work as part of the team marketing the RSC’s “other” activities, rather than productions. My main responsibilities are marketing the RSC Membership scheme and my role has also grown to encompass digital  marketing (one of my favourite things!). Over the past three years I’ve focussed on building the RSC’s presence on social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, I manage the company’s email marketing and am always on the lookout for new and exciting digital opportunities. I enjoy the variety in the work I do and working with a creative and talented marketing team.

Who do you most enjoy working with and why?

I’ve enjoyed meeting up with other digital marketers and enthusiasts in the arts sector to share ideas, case studies, challenges and horror stories. When I started out in marketing 7 years ago digital was just moving to the forefront, and now it’s such a major part of people’s lives and jobs. I enjoy sharing learning and experiences and I love the collaborative nature in the arts. 
 

What's your dream day?

A sunny, not too hot not too cold day, on a coastal path in Devon or Cornwall, with my boyfriend, ice cream cones, breathtaking views, and then eating some freshly caught fish in a local pub for dinner.

Favourite ever show and why?

Steppenwolf Theatre’s August: Osage County a few years ago at The National. It was an epic, engrossing production but was the perfect was to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Favourite actor/actress and why?

Meryl Streep has never let me down

Favourite band/musical artist and why?
 

At the moment I’m listening to a lot of Jamie Cullum, and the soundtrack to (500) Days of Summer

Where do you see yourself in 25 years?

Living somewhere rural, running my own digital consultancy business, with a family and lots to look forward too

Any exciting future projects you'd like to mention?

At the moment the two projects I’m working on is implementing an all new email marketing system (I’m a geek and this is exciting to me) and I’m about to start doing some research and profiling of our social media audiences (and hopefully sharing this info and possibly the model with other arts marketers). The great thing about working for the RSC is that’s there always something exciting waiting around the corner.

Random one: what's your favorite cheese?

Can I say cheesecake?

Do you have Twitter? Do you follow @the_prompt? You should...

Yes, I do and I do. I’m @amyclarke_uk on Twitter and also tweet as @theRSC