(no subject)
So my first proper play of 2011 was last night- When We Are Married
Had a slightly interesting journey to the theatre as somebody had plonked a load of road works on the road between work and home (that weren't there in the morning) so I drove home, parked, RAN to the station and then managed to grab a quick, free (hurrah for loyalty cards) pancake in St Pancras before dashing to theatre and rather brilliantly arriving at exactly the same moment as my parents and their friends who'd had a leisurely supper *g*
Rather brilliantly I realised as I arrived that the only other time I've seen something by J.B. Priestly on the stage was also at the Garrick theatre, years ago when we were studying An Inspector Calls at school, so it was nicely full circle.
When We Are Married @ Garrick Theatre
Rather hilariously in the interval of the play my Mum overheard the people behind us complaining that they couldn't understand the strange accents on stage... I was really rather loving the broad Yorkshire accents to be honest and didn't find them even slightly difficult to follow *rolls eyes*
It's a terribly silly play, in which three couples (married on the same day) discover on their 25th wedding anniversary that the priest who married them wasn't actually registered. LOTS of misunderstandings with the chapel organist (courting the daughter of one of the couples who tells them about the unregistered priest) a journalist, a photographer, a painted lady who has had an affair with one of the men, a priest sent round to "help", the maid and the char lady.
So a farce basically but a BEAUTIFUL one. Maureen Lipman was all snappy and naggy and Sam Kelly as her husband does do henpecked very well but when he finally snapped it was HILARIOUS <3
And David Horovitch constantly saying how wonderful he was and not at all stingy was wonderfully punctured in the end though he was totally upstaged by Michelle Dotrice as his wife, especially her glee at the idea she could go on the stage <3
The best of the older generation on stage though was Roy Hudd as the "slightly tiddly" photographer. He was that sort of wise fool character and played drunk very well- clinging to furniture to walk across the room and then they gave him his very own music hall number <3
The younger generation got mostly ignore, the organist and his girl didn't even really get an ending, but Jodie McKnee as Ruby the maid was daffy and earnest and rather wonderful all round.
The only things that annoyed me about the play were 1) Maureen Lipman actually stumbled over her lines a couple of times (:-/ very strange) and 2) some idiot started the applause as the curtain came up WE ARE NOT ON BROADWAY PEOPLE < / theatre snob>
Very good start to the year though.
Had a slightly interesting journey to the theatre as somebody had plonked a load of road works on the road between work and home (that weren't there in the morning) so I drove home, parked, RAN to the station and then managed to grab a quick, free (hurrah for loyalty cards) pancake in St Pancras before dashing to theatre and rather brilliantly arriving at exactly the same moment as my parents and their friends who'd had a leisurely supper *g*
Rather brilliantly I realised as I arrived that the only other time I've seen something by J.B. Priestly on the stage was also at the Garrick theatre, years ago when we were studying An Inspector Calls at school, so it was nicely full circle.
When We Are Married @ Garrick Theatre
Rather hilariously in the interval of the play my Mum overheard the people behind us complaining that they couldn't understand the strange accents on stage... I was really rather loving the broad Yorkshire accents to be honest and didn't find them even slightly difficult to follow *rolls eyes*
It's a terribly silly play, in which three couples (married on the same day) discover on their 25th wedding anniversary that the priest who married them wasn't actually registered. LOTS of misunderstandings with the chapel organist (courting the daughter of one of the couples who tells them about the unregistered priest) a journalist, a photographer, a painted lady who has had an affair with one of the men, a priest sent round to "help", the maid and the char lady.
So a farce basically but a BEAUTIFUL one. Maureen Lipman was all snappy and naggy and Sam Kelly as her husband does do henpecked very well but when he finally snapped it was HILARIOUS <3
And David Horovitch constantly saying how wonderful he was and not at all stingy was wonderfully punctured in the end though he was totally upstaged by Michelle Dotrice as his wife, especially her glee at the idea she could go on the stage <3
The best of the older generation on stage though was Roy Hudd as the "slightly tiddly" photographer. He was that sort of wise fool character and played drunk very well- clinging to furniture to walk across the room and then they gave him his very own music hall number <3
The younger generation got mostly ignore, the organist and his girl didn't even really get an ending, but Jodie McKnee as Ruby the maid was daffy and earnest and rather wonderful all round.
The only things that annoyed me about the play were 1) Maureen Lipman actually stumbled over her lines a couple of times (:-/ very strange) and 2) some idiot started the applause as the curtain came up WE ARE NOT ON BROADWAY PEOPLE < / theatre snob>
Very good start to the year though.