Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

by Jack Thorne

seen at the Palace Theatre on 28 November 2018

JohnTiffany directs this two part play based on 'an original new story' by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and himself, which deals with events immediately following the epilogue of the last Harry Potter book - that is, events in the lives of Harry's children and their peers. As the plays have been running for some time now, the original London cast is no longer in action. Harry Potter is played by Jamie Ballard, Ginny Potter by Susie Trayling, Hermione Granger by Franc Ashman, Ron Weasley by Thomas Aldridge and Draco Malfoy by James Howard. In the younger generation, Albus Potter is played by Joe Idris-Roberts, Rose Granger-Weasey by Helen Aluko, Scorpius Malfoy by Jonathan Case and Delphi Diggory by Eve Ponsonby. The production is designed by Christine Jones.

At first, given this time frame and the initial scene-setting of a new generation attending the Hogwarts school, it seems as if the play might be misleadingly named, but later Harry's own participation and predicament receives more attention. In fact, even the earlier scenes are only tangentially reviving audience memories of Hogwarts, as attention focuses on the difficulties youngsters may have being the progeny of famous (or notorious) parents. The increasing richness of the play lies in showing this dilemma from both sides: the anguish and the uncertainty of the parents - really, more specifically, of the fathers Harry and Draco, are just as sympathetically portrayed as the rebellion and frustration of the sons (it has to be said that Rose, the child of the Granger Weasley marriage, is not a particular focus of attention).

A Guide for the Homesick

by Ken Urban

seen at Trafalgar Studios Two on 22 November 2018

Jonathan O'Boyle directs Douglas Booth as Jeremy and Clifford Samuel as Teddy in this intense play about the encounter between two young men in a bland Amsterdam hotel room (or more likely, a hotel near Schiphol Airport, as there is often the sound of planes outside; set design by Jason Denvir).

Jeremy is returning to the US after a stint with Médecins sans Frontières in Uganda; as Teddy brings him to his hotel room he claims to have missed his connecting flight and to have no room booked for himself. Teddy has evidently has the room for a few days, and has been sharing it with a now vanished friend on a sort of private stag trip before the friend's wedding.

Summer and Smoke

by Tennessee Williams

seen at the Duke of York's Theatre on 21 November 2018

Rebecca Frecknall directs Patsy Ferran as Alma and Mathew Needham as John in this West End transfer of the Almeida production seen at their Islington theatre earlier in the year.

This 1948 play is given an impressionistic outing (designer Tom Scutt), which helps enormously with the fluid sequencing of the action, but also underlines the strange extremes of the situation. Rather than attempting to convey a hot Southern summer with a series of realistic sets, the stage is almost completely bare except for seven upright pianos ranged around the semi-circular back wall of the stage (here, a re-creation of the actual back brick wall of the Almeida theatre). Various characters play on the pianos - sometimes all seven are in use, and only Alma never plays one; and occasionally an actor will walk across the tops of the instruments.

Still Alice

adapted by Christine Mary Dunford from the novel by Lisa Genova

seen at the Liverpool Playhouse on 9th November 2018

David Grindley directs Sharon Small as Alice, Eva Pope as 'Herself' and Martin Marquez as her husband John with Mark Armstrong as their son Thomas, Ruth Ollman as their daughter Lydia, Anna Andresen as Dr Tamara and Micah Balfour as Dr Davis in a production from Leeds Playhouse currently touring.

Alice suffers from early-onset Alzheimer's disease, her dementia taking the classic form of struggling for words and repeating questions, then escalating to more severe forms of forgetfulness. Initially, as is so typical, the symptoms are brushed aside, but eventually they are too marked to be ignored, and a diagnosis ensues. Alice and John are both academics, she working in the field of linguistics, and he in scientific research, and so they are well-informed and perfectly capable of adopting whatever coping strategies are recommended; John is even sufficiently aware to propose certain forms of treatment not yet  widely available (though the novel was published in 2007, this stage adaptation begins in mid-2015 and finishes 'today', as the dateline preceding each major scene informs us).

The Inheritance (again)

by Matthew Lopez

seen at the Noel Coward Theatre on 31 October 2018

This great play has received a well-deserved West End transfer after its sell-out run at the Young Vic earlier in the year. With its original cast and design intact, it remains my highlight for theatre-going this year, despite some strong competition.

See my extended review for 18 April 2018 for more details:

https://nicholasatthetheatre.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-inheritance.html#more

A second viewing by no means disappointed: on the contrary, it was an opportunity to discern more clearly the skill with which Matthew Lopez has constructed his play, and to watch a great company of actors perform it. The emotional intensity of the experience was if anything even stronger.