Entertaining Mr Sloane at Young Vic

There was a time when I was a fairly regular visitor to Young Vic but for various reasons (my changes in employment, their change in artistic directors) I had not been there since 2017 but a Joe Orton play was a good reason to go back.

It was a slow return and it took some good reviews to finally nudge me into booking and that was a non-trivial process due to my poor memory of the seating plan there. 

In the end I went for row P entirely missing that this is the front tow of the Balcony which I would have gone for automatically if I had noticed it. There seat Balcony P35 cost me £57.

The view from there was excellent and the first impression of the set was good too, this was clearly a production with some strong stylish thinking behind it.

Entertaining Mr Sloane has a simple concept, young exuberant Mr. Sloane starts renting a room with lonely middle-aged Kath who is regularly visited by her wheeler-dealer brother Ed. Their elderly father also lived with Kath.

The rich comedy came from the dialogues between the three main characters and the way that Orton wrote their words. The speech comes thick and fast with lots of short sentences that followed each other erratically, much like jokes work but with more natural language.

The stylish staging continued throughout with, for example, Mr Sloane remaining a centre of attention even when not in the scene by posing spotlight off-stage. The ending was equally stylish.

The Joe Orton script gave the play a solid base which the cast and staging enhanced. It was a marvellous return to Young Vic. I suspect it will not be another eight years before I go back.

Emma at Rose Theatre

There are obvious attractions for a play based on Jane Austen's novel Emma but for me the main one was simply that it was on at Rose Theatre where I have to have a good reason not to go and see a play.

Quick booking got me a seat in the very centre of the Circle, A35, for £41.5 with Senior Citizen Concession.

My only recollection of Emma, from a radio drama adaptation, was that she interfered unsuccessfully in other people's relationships while ignoring her own; not much of a plot but a sound basis for some character comedy.

The only comments I read about the production beforehand said that it was a complete reworking set in current times, so I had even less idea on what to expect.

Not knowing the original story that well I cannot comment on how close this version was and all I can do is comment on the play in its own right.

This Emma was a very entertaining character comedy. Emma, the character, was a fairly normal young woman surrounded by several exaggerated characters, notably her soon to me married self-centred sister who was fully into all the modern tropes from Instagram to Love Island.

Other notable characters included her frantic father, a boisterous hairdresser, a surly parcel delivery man and her sister's timid fiancee. A rich source for comedy indeed.

Given that the richness and success of the play relies so much on the strength of the cast, some of them with notable tv exposure, I think that it is something of a shame that the poster shows just the relatively unknown Emma.

This Emma was an unashamed rom-com and hit all the right buttons providing plenty of lives as the various couples eventually came together as they should and as we all expected.

The Truth About Blayds at Finborough Theatre

It was nice to have a good excuse to go back to Finborough Theatre and a play by A A Milne was certainly a good excuse.It also helped that it included William Gaunt who I have fond memories of from The Champions in the late 60's.

All that was easily worth £28.

Visits to Finborough have a routine and that started with a pint in Courtfield, opposite Earls Court Station, then a small meal in Cafe du Coin before walking down the incredibly busy, and fast, Redcliffe Gardens to the theatre.

That routine got me to the theatre early enough to claim a seat in the front row somewhere close to the middle.

The stage was set as a period study and this is where everything happened.

The titular Blayds was an elderly man and a famous poet. He lived in a fairly grand house with several members of his immediate family, one of who acted as his carer and another who managed his affairs.

The first half of the play covered the preparation and execution of Blayds' birthday and the second half covered the aftermath of his death soon after and the deathbed revelation (the truth) he made.

It was an interesting, if simple, plot whose real purpose was to be the framework for the interactions between the family members who were very different people and had very different perspectives on the situation. The truth was elusive, disputed and modified.

It was the mix of characters and their viewpoints that made the play interesting and entertaining while the truth in question raised a few points to ponder over. An entertaining play that makes you think is always good.

Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre

I am still determined to see every production of a Philip Ridley play that I can so a revival of The Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre was a no-brainer, despite (or because of) having seen it twice before, in Brighton in 2023 and Shoreditch Town Hall in 2017.

The King's Head Theatre has moved from above a pub to far below a new mixed-use development nearby and that has had an impact on ticket prices so my seat C21 was £42. That's not actually that much for theatre these days but my price expectations are sill somewhat set (unreasonably) by pre-covid pub theatre prices.

My keenness meant that I was quick to book and got a seat in the centre of the main seating with a perfect view of the stage.

All the action takes place in this messy sitting room with its many door locks.

Here we meet the odd twenty-something twins Presley and Haley. They argue over chocolate and medicine and tell each other exaggerated stories about being chased by dogs and being in a dark wasteland. These are stories they have told each other many times, just like one repeats stories to young children.

These stories are also typical Ridley monologues and so have their own value despite not being directly related to the main story.

Then they see two people outside, one of whom leaves, and after some argument they allow the other one in. That is Cosmo Disney and everything changes. Cosmo is a loud force of purpose and certainty which the meek and subdued twins can do little to contain.

The tone changes from retelling favourite stories to a barrage of questions as Cosmo tries to work out what is going on with the twins and they struggle to find out something about Cosmo. This is where the cockroaches in the poster come in. Here Cosmo's swagger dominates the play and William Robinson's acting is relentlessly powerful, questioning and in command. Cosmo has to carry the play and with William Robinson it does so assuredly.

The final short section introduced the other man seen outside, Pitchfork, who is monstrous in appearance and sound. While the Cosmo character is recognisable, if exaggerated, there are no similes for Pitchfork in real life.

It is a short sharp shock that bring the play to a magnificent conclusion.

The Pitchfork Disney at King's Head Theatre was an excellent production of an excellent play.

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts at Richmond Theatre

Again this was a case of it is on at Richmond Theatre so I ought to go and see it. 

I have fond memories of the tv series too though my recollection of it is dimmed by the many intervening years.

For some reason, this was a more expensive show than usual for Richmond Theatre and so I headed up to the top level where seat Upper Circle A 12  was a mere £17.5.

It was dead centre too. The only downside is that it takes an awful lot of stairs to get up there and then some more very steep ones to get down to the front row. I am starting to notice these things!

In House of Ghosts, Morse has to solve a case of unexplained death during a performance of Hamlet and the ghosts were from his university days when he had been involved in another production of the play which involved some of the people who were also involved in the latest production.

Morse, and Lewis, tried to solve the puzzle by interviewing lots of people in lots of places, as well as going to the pub together, so the scenes changed swiftly. This was done smoothly and cleverly by moving just enough props to create each place. This is common theatre practice but it is not often done as well as it was here.

At the centre of everything were Morse (Tom Chambers), Lewis (Tachia Newall) and prime suspect and director of both Hamlets (James Gladdon) and they were a very strong core. Each character was vivid, believable and brought something different to the play.

I vaguely recall seeing this episode on TV and while that might have helped with one of the twists it did nothing to help to solve the main mystery and the ending came as a good surprise.

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts did everything that I expect from a show at Richmond Theatre, it was a professional production that entertained easily without expecting too much from the audience.

Rainbow in Rock at The Cavern (12 Sep 25)

For some reason I had not seen Rainbow in Rock at The Cavern since February and whether that was their fault or mine, or both, I was glad to end the musical drought.

As is my custom, I was slightly late so missed the start (but not Man on the Silver Mountain) so I do not know if anything was said about the keyboard player who was new. His newness showed a little as he messed by just a little a couple of times which is no surprise given how much catching up he had to do with the other four who have been playing these songs together for years. It made no difference to my enjoyment of the evening.

Other than that things were pretty much the same, the pub was full with plenty of familiar faces, the beer was good (Wimbledon Brewery's SW19 this time), the set list was fantastic and the playing superb. 

This was exactly what I go to see pub bands for.

Death Comes to Pemberley at Richmond Theatre

I had not heard of Death Comes to Pemberley before, and had forgotten that Pemberley is the country estate owned by Fitzwilliam Darcy in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but I had heard of PD James and it was on at Richmond Theatre where I see almost every play so I went for it.

Mu usual seat on the left side of the front row of the Dress Circle had been taken so I went for the right side instead where seat Dress Circle A6 cost me £43.

The view from there is good, which is why I (almost) always choose to sit in the cheaper seats in the front row of the Dress Circle.

The photo also shows that the stage was fairly bare, more on the later.

While this was set in the world of Pride and Prejudice all that did was give the story a location and some characters to start with and this was very much a crime story and not a period drama.

It was a good story too with lots of dead ends and twists, in other words I had no idea who the killer was or why the killing was done until the reveal on stage.

However, I do not think that the story translated well from the page to the stage and, at times, it felt like a staged reading, an audiobook with pictures. I would have to see it again to test my theory but I think that part of the problem is that books can quickly move from one location to another whereas plays cannot so to achieve those changes they went for a fairly bare stage and moved just a few props in and out for the different scenes. That sort of worked but it meant that the play was not very visual and with little physical action there was little to watch.

Putting those negatives aside, it was a good story and the actors told it well. I enjoyed it but would find it hard to recommend it.

Stop Starving Gaza

While the condemnation of Israel's genocide is growing slowly no serious action has been taken against Israel (they are even still in Eurovision and the football World Cup!) and their deadly violence continues against Palestinians and any perceived supporters in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen, etc. and so the demonstrations for peace continue in force.

The demonstration this time was also against the ridiculous mass arrests of people sitting peacefully holding placards with the simple message, "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.".

As usual there was a small group of genocide supporters waving Israel flags at one point along the route. I really do not understand why they are allowed to do this (when the far-right march we are not allowed anywhere near them) or why the Israel flag is allowed when it is a clear support for terrorism.