(no subject)
Had lunch made for me today which is always nice- the chocolate cheesecake at the end was very VERY nice and I need to ask A where she got it from although I think I may have been ever so slightly greedy as I haven't been able to eat anything else since *g*
Spoke to Mum & Dad this evening- it's their 40th wedding anniversary today and they're at the halfway point in their tour around northern Italy! They arrives just outside Siena today and apparently the campsite has a very good restaurant (and, I suspect, very nice wine judging by the conversation we had *g*)
Anyway I feel I really ought to get round to this review before any of it fades because it was incredible and they are filming it at some point so hopefully it will be on in cinemas for those who can't get to London to see it!
The Crucible @ The Old Vic
I've never studied this play but we did put it on at my secondary school- I wasn't in it but I remember vividly auditioning to be one of the girls and then watching that scene in the final production and knowing I'd never have been able to do it. Anyway even though that was a school production the play has stuck with me and I can't think of a better actor to see as John Proctor than Richard Armitage.
He has such a physical presence on stage and you could see the summering tensions- his guilt and anger and fear- all just underneath his skin ready to burst out so that even though I know the play at last a little it felt dangerous watching him because in that powder keg of a situation his actions became sparks.
And they managed to create an incredibly tense and frightening atmosphere using some quite clever choreography and lighting- the start of the play as we ended up in Betty's bedroom was absolutely beautiful and the lighting was sparing so you felt danger was lurking just off stage.
And the girls were all incredible. The girl playing Betty made such strange shapes with her body you could entirely see why everyone panicked and they were perfect when they were acting in unison and having fits and I felt physically sick when they started repeating poor Mary Warren. I was genuinely on the edge of my seat,heart in my mouth, feeling awful for her and wanting her to stay strong and really wanting to shout out to tell her to stay strong even though I knew it was hopeless. When she snapped at the end it was perfect- Natalie Gavin is definitely one to watch.
Of course Samantha Colley's Abigail was brilliant too- sulky and passionate and desperate so that you knew there was no hope for anyone once she got started. I wouldn't have crossed her either and once the court scenes started, when the judge questionned her, she got right up in his face and you could see the way she was loving having that kind of power.
On the other side Anna Madeley was the perfect Elizabeth- quiet and dignified and clearly still in love with her husband even if she didn't trust him and I loved every second she and Richard Armitage were on stage together because you could see them circling each other and working things out and trying to find a new balance so that when she was questionned you KNEW how she was going to answer despite John's trust that she'd never lie and wait was awful waiting for it to happen.
Of the rest of the cast Sarah Niles made an affecting Tituba- you could see her weigh up her options and go with the one that seemed best and how could you blame her? William Gaunt was of course utterly perfect as Giles Corey- aging and heartbroken but still a powerful man and one you could believe would hold out against such pain (incidentally his death always gets to me because it's the one that's true and how can people do that to each other? how can that have ever seemed like a good response to someone who wouldn't plead?!) Ann Firbank as Rebecca Nurse was a voice of calm and common sense and then at the end I believed she had one foot in heaven and was just praying for John to hold true to himself.
Oh and I have to mention Adrian Schiller's Hale because I loved that he was always a real person, clearly aiming for the best even if the moment he arrived you knew everything was doomed. The Putnam's pain gave them personal motives, Abigail was clearly out for revenge, Reverend Parris is obviously a weak and selfish man but Hale believes he's doing good and that's why he's so dangerous and why, when he realises what he's done, he goes so far the other way and clings to LIFE as the sacred thing rather than truth or anything else.
I feel like I've typed a lot of words and still not really explained why it was so good which is always the curse with good plays. It was three and a half hours and it flew by in an instant and I was absolutely bound up in every second of the action and I suspect I was an awful person to sit next to because I was on the edge of my seat and willing things to happen differently than I knew they would.
I'm SO glad I got to see it. I can't see much else topping it this year.
Spoke to Mum & Dad this evening- it's their 40th wedding anniversary today and they're at the halfway point in their tour around northern Italy! They arrives just outside Siena today and apparently the campsite has a very good restaurant (and, I suspect, very nice wine judging by the conversation we had *g*)
Anyway I feel I really ought to get round to this review before any of it fades because it was incredible and they are filming it at some point so hopefully it will be on in cinemas for those who can't get to London to see it!
The Crucible @ The Old Vic
I've never studied this play but we did put it on at my secondary school- I wasn't in it but I remember vividly auditioning to be one of the girls and then watching that scene in the final production and knowing I'd never have been able to do it. Anyway even though that was a school production the play has stuck with me and I can't think of a better actor to see as John Proctor than Richard Armitage.
He has such a physical presence on stage and you could see the summering tensions- his guilt and anger and fear- all just underneath his skin ready to burst out so that even though I know the play at last a little it felt dangerous watching him because in that powder keg of a situation his actions became sparks.
And they managed to create an incredibly tense and frightening atmosphere using some quite clever choreography and lighting- the start of the play as we ended up in Betty's bedroom was absolutely beautiful and the lighting was sparing so you felt danger was lurking just off stage.
And the girls were all incredible. The girl playing Betty made such strange shapes with her body you could entirely see why everyone panicked and they were perfect when they were acting in unison and having fits and I felt physically sick when they started repeating poor Mary Warren. I was genuinely on the edge of my seat,heart in my mouth, feeling awful for her and wanting her to stay strong and really wanting to shout out to tell her to stay strong even though I knew it was hopeless. When she snapped at the end it was perfect- Natalie Gavin is definitely one to watch.
Of course Samantha Colley's Abigail was brilliant too- sulky and passionate and desperate so that you knew there was no hope for anyone once she got started. I wouldn't have crossed her either and once the court scenes started, when the judge questionned her, she got right up in his face and you could see the way she was loving having that kind of power.
On the other side Anna Madeley was the perfect Elizabeth- quiet and dignified and clearly still in love with her husband even if she didn't trust him and I loved every second she and Richard Armitage were on stage together because you could see them circling each other and working things out and trying to find a new balance so that when she was questionned you KNEW how she was going to answer despite John's trust that she'd never lie and wait was awful waiting for it to happen.
Of the rest of the cast Sarah Niles made an affecting Tituba- you could see her weigh up her options and go with the one that seemed best and how could you blame her? William Gaunt was of course utterly perfect as Giles Corey- aging and heartbroken but still a powerful man and one you could believe would hold out against such pain (incidentally his death always gets to me because it's the one that's true and how can people do that to each other? how can that have ever seemed like a good response to someone who wouldn't plead?!) Ann Firbank as Rebecca Nurse was a voice of calm and common sense and then at the end I believed she had one foot in heaven and was just praying for John to hold true to himself.
Oh and I have to mention Adrian Schiller's Hale because I loved that he was always a real person, clearly aiming for the best even if the moment he arrived you knew everything was doomed. The Putnam's pain gave them personal motives, Abigail was clearly out for revenge, Reverend Parris is obviously a weak and selfish man but Hale believes he's doing good and that's why he's so dangerous and why, when he realises what he's done, he goes so far the other way and clings to LIFE as the sacred thing rather than truth or anything else.
I feel like I've typed a lot of words and still not really explained why it was so good which is always the curse with good plays. It was three and a half hours and it flew by in an instant and I was absolutely bound up in every second of the action and I suspect I was an awful person to sit next to because I was on the edge of my seat and willing things to happen differently than I knew they would.
I'm SO glad I got to see it. I can't see much else topping it this year.