Paradise

by Kae Tempest

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 26 August 2021

Kae Tempest has transformed Philoctetes by Sophocles into a modern setting in which the titular hero is abandoned, wounded, but with an unerring bow which allows him to forage for food, on an island ironically called Paradise, shared with a chorus of women who live in some sort of refugee camp or staging post for possible release to another country, if only they had the correct papers for travel.

Odysseus, the wily captain, and Neoptolemus, the naive and impressionable son of Achilles, arrive on a mission to persude or compel Philoctetes to join them, since a prophecy has declared that the long war they are involved in cannot be won without him and his bow. Philoctetes is less than willing, his suppurating wound torturing him, and his sense of betrayal (it was Odysseus who abandoned him on the island) festering into suspicion and anger after years of brooding.

So much, so Sophocles, but in modern dress, with references to papers, immigration, refugee status, and the unchanging heartbreak of women who lose men in war, much is also different (the chorus in Philoctetes are sailors accompanying the warriors, not women trapped on the island). Also, although the talismanic bow and the disposition of Achilles' famed armour are still discussed, the soldiers speak in an entirely modern way clearly referencing styles in the British Army - Odysseus the clipped oficer type, Neoptolemus the raw but enthusiastic recruit, Philoctetes the broadest cockney imaginable. The women are very Caribbean in their sensibility, including an older wise woman who speaks, or rather almost sings, in an incantatory style. 

The original play pits youthful integrity against cynical worldliness, with the hapless Philoctetes hoping against hope that Neoptolemus is not trying to trick him and constantly appealing to the young man's sense of honor, Odysseus briskly trading on his naivety, and the young man torn between duty and honour, leading to an impasse so finely balanced that only the intervention of a god (the deified hero Heracles) can resolve the problem by instructing his erstwhile companion to swallow his pride and anger and go with the other two to Troy. In Paradise, by contrast, there is a neat twist forcing the play to suggest a cycle of wounded exiles rather than a resolution of the ethical dilemma - it's a clever idea.

Elsewhere the new playwright's interventions are less successful. The weird incantations are not always easy to follow, and at a critical moment Philoctetes delivers an excoriating speech about blighted patriotism, ugly colonialism and the generally despicble state of the nation to which Odysseus demands he be loyal, which for all its passionate anger seriously interrupts the flow of the drama. It was simply too much propaganda, the character suddenly a mouthpiece for the author.

Perhaps the most startling thing about the production (directed by Ian Rickson and designed by Rae Smith) is the fact that the whole cast (not just the chorus) was female. Anastasia Hille played Odysseus, Lesley Sharp Philoctetes, and Gloria Obianyo Philoctetes. Yet there was no sense that these were female soldiers; masculine pronoun still abound in the text and masculine body language and attitudes confront us everywhere on stage. It makes for an invigorating interpretation of a play that is almost two and half thousand years old, a difficult play in itself not always perfectly presented in its new guise, but nonetheless an intriguing and in many ways timely experience.

Peter Gynt

by David Hare after Henrik Ibsen

seen at National Theatre (Olivier) on 16 August 2019

Jonathan Kent directs James McArdle in the title role of David Hare's adaptation of Ibsen's dramatic poem Peer Gynt, the story of a man consumed by the need to be and feel authentic, heedless of the effect this has on those around him. Pruned of the elevated poetry, and relocated from Norway to Scotland, the play proves to be compelling, touching and often very comic, though it certainly takes a darker turn as the evening progresses, as the irrepressible young Peter grows older and more disillusioned with life.

On the exposed Olivier stage almost every scene is set outdoors (designed by Richard Hudson), whether just outside his mother's hut, down at the village where a wedding is supposed to be taking place, even in the kingdom of the mountain trolls, and then on a golf course in Florida, or in the African desert after a plane crash, or at sea in a fateful storm. The restlessness of Peter's life is thus emphasised by the lack of domesticity: when he first visits his mother all the talk is outside the dwelling and he finishes up leaving her on the roof of her hut so that she cannot interfere with his plans, and even at her death she seems to be as much in the fields as on her deathbed.

Antony and Cleopatra

by William Shakespeare

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 2nd January 2019

Simon Godwin directs Ralph Fiennes as Antony, Sophie Okonedo as Cleopatra, Tunji Kasim as Octavius Caesar and Tim McMullan as Enobarbus in a production sumptuously designed by Hildegard Bechtler making inspired use of the famed Olivier drum revolve to resolve the difficult task of transferring quickly the scene of action across various sites in the Mediterranean world (though the programme informs us that the play is set in 'an imagined present').

Boldly, the play here opens with the final tableau of the text, Caesar pronouncing (most of) the final eulogy, and then Agrippa taking parts of Philo's opening speech as if commenting on the denouement rather than setting the scene. At this point the revolve reveals the Egyptian scene and the body of Cleopatra becomes the Queen lazily awaiting the arrival of her lover. 

Follies

by Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Goodman (book)

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 19 December 2017

Dominic Cooke directs Imelda Staunton, Janie Dee, Philip Quast, Peter Forbes and many others in this revival of Sondheim's bittersweet 1971 musical in which the demolition of an old Broadway theatre brings a group of 'Weismann girls' to a reunion during which memories are evoked and life stories hinted at and regretted.

Impresario Weismann produced an annual variety show of 'Follies' between the wars (1918 to 1941); In 1971, with the impending demolition of his theatre, he hosts a reunion with eleven 'girls' and one 'boy' from his troupe, plus two husbands and some other guests (or staff). The older, and possibly wiser, characters are shadowed by their younger selves in full 'Follies' costumes.

Salomé

by Yaël Farber

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 5 May 2017

This play, originally inspired by Oscar Wilde's play of the same name, but much amended by the director Yaël Farber and her dramaturg Drew Lichtenberg, recasts the story of Salomé to take into account the fact that women's actions as recorded by male and prejudicial sources in the ancient world may have been very different from what is conventionally assumed.

Here, Pontius Pilate (Lloyd Hutchinson, representing Rome) and Caiaphas (Philip Arditti, representing the priestly establishment) and Herod (Paul Chahidi, a mere client king of the Romans) are all keen that Iokanaan (John the Baptist) should be kept alive, even though he has been arrested, in order to avoid any chance of a popular uprising should he be killed in custody. But the fatal promise by Herod in a moment of rashness brought on by his infatuation with his young niece is still made, the price - Iokanaan's head on a platter - is still exacted, and the rebellion occurs and is crushed (so Pilate thinks).

There are echoes of the Wilde play throughout, not least in the concentration on the fateful night of the execution, and the account of the oath and its consequences. However, the political situation is given far more explanation through the presence of Pilate, and Salomé's own motivation, and the interpretation of her significance, is completely altered, not least by the fact that her older spirit narrates the story (a white-haired Olwen Fouéré, billed as 'Nameless' in the cast list). I say spirit, because though in this version Herod does not order her death as at the end of the Wilde play, Pilate most certainly does in exasperation at her refusal to explain herself to him.

Instead of a decadent young woman obsessed with kissing the mouth of Iokanaan, Salomé is presented more as the victim of male desire and politics, and indeed in her younger version (Isabella Nefar) she does not speak at all until after her encounter with Iokanaan (Ramzi Choukair) in the cistern prison where he is being kept alive by force-feeding. The notorious dance of the seven veils is transformed from a titillating strip-tease before Herod and his dinner guests into an ecstatic preparation for a cleansing ritual after which Iokanaan baptises her in the dregs of the cistern water. Consequently, she wills the apocalyptic rebellion in order to attempt to free the people from foreign domination, and it seems that Iokanaan is more than half in love with the idea of martyrdom as well.

The production is powerful, but strange and demanding. The Olivier stage is almost bare apart from a few trestle tables and chairs; one long trestle support becomes a very effective ladder down which Salomé 'climbs' to reach Iokanaan (the production is designed by Susan Hilferty). Sand cascades from above at certain moments, reminding us of the desert setting of some scenes, and contrasting with the shallow troughs of water representing the Jordan and later the cistern. The deliberately formal and distancing language of the Wilde play (where it is used) is matched by an extremely ritualised presentation, including wordless singing by two women, and careful positioning of all the cast often on a slowly revolving stage. To add to the sense of strangeness and distance, Iokanaan does not once speak in English, but rather in Arabic (I assume) directly quoting many Old Testament passages from the Prophets and from the Song of Songs. Some of his words are translated on a screen projection, and this is generally enough to convey the import of the incantatory style of his delivery (though maybe many in a modern audience will really have no idea of the references). There is also a minor figure identified as 'Yeshua the madman' looking like a wild beggar from the desert and occasionally saying things recognisable as Gospel phrases, but his presence seems to indicate only that Iokanaan is the more significant figure in everyone's eyes. 

It's engrossing and thought provoking; the auditorium was almost full for a preview performance, and I noticed only two people leave before the end. The play runs for nearly two hours without a break and the audience was, so far as I could judge, genuinely attentive. I was certainly fascinated. At times the narrative of the 'nameless' older woman veered between being too didactic and too knowingly gnomic, with grandiose statements about 'the first and the last' and so forth. This could fall into pretentiousness, but the strength and conviction of the cast prevented this from happening. 

Twelfth Night

by William Shakespeare

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 10 April 2017

Simon Godwin directs Tamara Lawrance as Viola, Oliver Chris as Orsino, Phoebe Fox as Olivia and Tamsin Greig as Malvolia in a fascinating and at times hilarious modern dress production designed by Soutra Gilmour.

The gender confusions of this play, in which Viola (in Shakespeare's time played by a boy) spends much of the time disguised as a boy while falling in love with Orsino and being pursued by Olivia, are given added twists here by re-shaping the part of Malvolio as a woman, Malvolia, and also having the clown Feste played by a woman (Doon Mackichan). A couple of minor characters also become women, while the boundaries of friendship and the desire for a more intimate affection are also blurred for Antonio and Sebastian, for Orsino as he befriends the disguised Viola, and, at a comic level, even Sir Andrew Aguecheek's attitude towards Sir Toby Belch.

Amadeus

By Peter Shaffer

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 31 January 2017

Just over 36 years ago, on a cold December morning of 1980, I queued outside the National Theatre in the hope of buying two day release tickets for Peter Hall's original production of Amadeus starring Paul Scofield (Salieri), Simon Callow (Mozart) and Felicity Kendal (Constanze). In those pre-electronic days the limited number of day tickets were only on sale at 9 am from a small booth near the entrance to the building, which was not open to the general public until a later more civilised time of day. Inexplicably, the couple in front of me declined the tickets on offer, and so a friend and I were able to see the play from the centre of the fifth row of the stalls. In this prime position, it seemed as if Salieri was speaking to us alone out of the whole unwieldy amphitheatre of the auditorium as he mused on the appalling mixture of joy, pain, jealousy and betrayal he experienced on first hearing the music of Mozart.

The National has now revived the play in a new production directed by Michael Longhurst with Lucian Msamati as Salieri, Adam Gillen as Mozart and Karla Crome as Constanze, with the participation of the Southbank Sinfonia to provide the musical interludes. Once again, I bought a ticket at the last moment; just by chance there was a return for the evening performance when I asked to the Box Office in the afternoon, this time in the centre of the eleventh row.

The Threepenny Opera

by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 24 June 2016

The production is a new adaptation by Simon Stephens directed by Rufus Norris and designed by Vicki Mortimer. It features Rory Kinnear as Macheath, Nick Holder as Peachum, Haydn Gwynne as Mrs Peachum, Rosalie Craig as Polly Peachum and Sharon Small as Jenny Driver.

Brecht's technique of alienating the audience from their conventional expectations of 'an evening at the theatre' is marvellously emphasised in this production, with the vast Olivier stage exposed in all its glory, flats and flights of stairs wheeled about by the cast, the flats often faced away from the front of the stage (showing all their struts) and just as frequently revealed to be utterly flimsy as various characters burst through them to enter a scene. Occasionally the revolve is cranked onto service by means of a giant lever wheeled to the front of the stage and laboriously 'worked' by an actor; on only one occasion is the drum used to bring a pre-constructed set up to stage level.

wonder.land

by Damon Albarn, Moira Buffini and Rufus Norris

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 31 January 2016

This musical, inspired loosely by Lewis Carroll's 'Alice' books, is directed by Rufus Norris and designed by Rae Smith, and it features Lois Chimimba as Aly, Hal Fowler as the MC (and Cheshire Cat and Caterpillar), Carly Bawden as Alice, Enyi Okoronkwo as Luke Laprel and Anna Francolini as Ms Manxome.

Making full use of digital technology, both as a plot device and as a theatrical resource, this exuberant piece makes its presence felt even before one has reached the auditorium of the Olivier Theatre. There is an installation in the cloakroom foyer featuring virtual displays, smartphones and i-pads inspired by elements of the set, all stirring a great deal of interest among the younger members of the audience.

As You Like It

by William Shakespeare

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 15 December 2015

This modern-set production is directed by Polly Findlay with sets designed by Lizzie Clachan and it features Rosalie Craig as Rosalind and Joe Bannister as Orlando, with Patsy Ferran as Celia, Paul Chahidi as Jacques, Philip Arditti as Oliver and Mark Benton as Touchstone.

Banks of computer desks on a carpet of brightly-coloured rectangles greet us, with many besuited employees busy hot-desking. In a nice nod to the later pastoral setting, the screen savers are of lush English trees and the post-it notes are all green; there are bonsai trees on every desk. A young man in overalls arrives with a toolbox and starts tinkering with a machine, then polishing some glass.

Suddenly, he is Orlando, bemoaning his lot, a mere drudge in his brother's prosperous IT firm. Soon, the same set, without the bonsai and with less idyllic screensavers, is the domain of Duke Frederick, and somehow (despite the implausibility) there is a wrestling match set up in front of all the desks.

Our Country's Good

by Timberlake Wertenbaker

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 13 October 2015

This play, based on Thomas Keneally's novel 'The Playmaker', imagines the background to the first known theatrical performance in the colony of New South Wales, which took place to mark the King;s birthday in 1789. The play was George Farquhar's 'The Recruiting Officer'. 'Our Country's Good' was first produced in 1988 at the Royal Court.

The Beaux' Stratagem

by George Farquhar

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 3 June 2015

The play, directed by Simon Godwin, features Samuel Barnett as Aimwell, Geoffrey Streatfeild as Archer, Pippa Bennett-Warner as Dorinda, Susannah Fielding as Mrs Sullen, and Pearce Quigley as Scrub, with music by Michael Bruce and the set designed by Lizzie Clachan.

Two out-of-pocket London swells propose to gull wealthy Lichfield heiresses through marriage (or else, if that fails, they will try Chester, Nottingham and even Norwich; otherwise they will enlist and die). But what could have been a cynical or heartless confrontation between town and country values becomes something more complex and even radical in Farquhar's hands. Aimwell falls genuinely in love with Dorinda, thus turning callow opportunism into romantic comedy, while Archer finds himself matched (if not over-matched) by Mrs Sullen - young and attractive indeed, but already disastrously married. Their comic resolution is only made possible by a fantastical agreement to a divorce between Mr and Mrs Sullen, a project that would have been all but impossible in 1707 when the play was written. Mrs Sullen, who could have been merely a disillusioned and scheming flirt, proves to be a woman of spirit not totally daunted by her domestic misery.

Everyman

a new adaptation by Carol Ann Duffy

seen at the National Theatre (Olivier) on 27 April 2015

The late-mediaeval morality play has been adapted and expanded by the current Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. It is directed by Rufus Norris, the new Artistic Director of the National Theatre, and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Everyman, Kate Duchêne as God (and Good Deeds), Dermot Crowley as Death and Penny Layden as Knowledge.

The play opens with Everyman falling slowly from the fly gallery of the Olivier theatre into a pit created in the drum revolve - curiously, the reverse of the poignant conclusion of the opera 'Between Worlds' which I saw a couple of days previously. The two pieces both deal with the unexpected but inevitable confrontation with death, but in 'Everyman' the emphasis is on a personal 'reckoning' with God, which in turn requires a searching self-reckoning as Everyman, totally unprepared, confronts his maker.