Theatre Review: Underneath the Lintel
Do you want the long story or the short story? No spoilers, just awesomeness.
Short story - this play is AMAZING. Go see it immediately, if not sooner.
Long story -
I was a little nervous going in, because I didn't know what to expect. I've seen some good one-man plays before, but I've also seen some absolute travesties. athena25, queenspanky, wingsmith and myself had just finished a lovely lunch at Belgo Centraal - their Stop the Clock mussels, which made our two-course meal with glass of wine a mere £10 per head - and we were fed and happy. And then we went into the theatre, and I was immediately struck by how small it was. I mean, we're talking Donmar-small. We were in the stalls, so there were people above us, obviously, but we couldn't see them. All we saw was this spartan stage, and Richard.
And he - man. He blew us all away. First off, his Dutch accent was spot on. Second, he - I don't even have words for his performance. I went there with these ideas in my head of Toby, live and in concert - so to speak - but by two minutes in, I wasn't watching Toby. I wasn't listening to Toby. It was The Librarian, and it was heart-breaking.
This play made me laugh and made me cry. It made me squeal with joy and hug my scarf for comfort. It took me in and convinced me of this man, this librarian on a quest, seeking miracles, and it made me feel for him in a way I wouldn't have thought was possible. See, this is the thing - Richard Schiff was amazing, but it wasn't just Richard's doing. The play is amazing, so much so that even I, as a theatre lay-person - nothing more than an enthusiast - could see why he'd fallen in love with it.
When we exited the performance, queenspanky was in tears, athena25 was still clapping, wingsmith was frantically scouring my programme to see how he could get his hands on a copy of the play, and I was practically hyper-ventilating.
Long story short? All four of us loved it. All four of us are going to see it again, and bringing all of our friends.
GO SEE THIS PLAY. NOW.
Short story - this play is AMAZING. Go see it immediately, if not sooner.
Long story -
I was a little nervous going in, because I didn't know what to expect. I've seen some good one-man plays before, but I've also seen some absolute travesties. athena25, queenspanky, wingsmith and myself had just finished a lovely lunch at Belgo Centraal - their Stop the Clock mussels, which made our two-course meal with glass of wine a mere £10 per head - and we were fed and happy. And then we went into the theatre, and I was immediately struck by how small it was. I mean, we're talking Donmar-small. We were in the stalls, so there were people above us, obviously, but we couldn't see them. All we saw was this spartan stage, and Richard.
And he - man. He blew us all away. First off, his Dutch accent was spot on. Second, he - I don't even have words for his performance. I went there with these ideas in my head of Toby, live and in concert - so to speak - but by two minutes in, I wasn't watching Toby. I wasn't listening to Toby. It was The Librarian, and it was heart-breaking.
This play made me laugh and made me cry. It made me squeal with joy and hug my scarf for comfort. It took me in and convinced me of this man, this librarian on a quest, seeking miracles, and it made me feel for him in a way I wouldn't have thought was possible. See, this is the thing - Richard Schiff was amazing, but it wasn't just Richard's doing. The play is amazing, so much so that even I, as a theatre lay-person - nothing more than an enthusiast - could see why he'd fallen in love with it.
When we exited the performance, queenspanky was in tears, athena25 was still clapping, wingsmith was frantically scouring my programme to see how he could get his hands on a copy of the play, and I was practically hyper-ventilating.
Long story short? All four of us loved it. All four of us are going to see it again, and bringing all of our friends.
GO SEE THIS PLAY. NOW.