British Theatre

[dpgmel]

Justr been reading that the Broadway sell out version of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof featuring an all coloured cast will open at the Novello Theatre later this year starring James Earl Jones ( who reprises his Broadway role )and Adrian Lester

[torinfan]

I know this is a long shot but I'll give it a go...



Did anyone here see "Exercise Bowler" back in 1946? It was performed at the Arts Theatre in London. Thanks. :)

[dpgmel]

Seeing Torin's above post has prompted me to ask if any forum members rememeber attending any of the gone West End theatres such as : St James, Saville and Westminster ( soom to be reopened ! ) ?

[torinfan]

I know it was a long time ago.



I was born during the wrong time and place.

[LukeAFB]

dpgmel,



I don't know if it counts, but I did see 'Run for your wife' at the Whitehall theatre in about 1959, with Brian Rix and Co. However, does the Whitehall still exist as a theatre?

[dpgmel]

name='LukeAFB']dpgmel,



I don't know if it counts, but I did see 'Run for your wife' at the Whitehall theatre in about 1959, with Brian Rix and Co. However, does the Whitehall still exist as a theatre?

Luke the Whitehall is now divided into two theatres : Trafalgar Studios 1 and 2, Stiduo 1 is the former stalls area of the Whitehall and Studio 2 is a smaller space above, from the 80's onwards the Whitehall struggled as it was deemed to be too far outside of " proper theatreland " which of course is absolute tosh as The Old Vic for example is in South London !



So yes it does count , only went there once myself before it was converted to see Frank Skinner's "Cooking With Elvis" which was very funny.

[LukeAFB]

Thanks for that dpgmel.



You're right about 'outside of " proper theatreland "', being a poor excuse for closing it. Did someone forget that, say, Covent Garden is only three stops on the Underground from Trafalgar Square? And what about the Donmar, National Theatre, The Globe etc.

[Windthrop]

name='LukeAFB']dpgmel,



I don't know if it counts, but I did see 'Run for your wife' at the Whitehall theatre in about 1959, with Brian Rix and Co. However, does the Whitehall still exist as a theatre?

Certainly does,but now remodelled as the Trafalgar Studios



Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY - Othello,

[Maurice]

name='dpgmel']Luke the Whitehall is now divided into two theatres : Trafalgar Studios 1 and 2, Stiduo 1 is the former stalls area of the Whitehall and Studio 2 is a smaller space above

While audiences may appreciate the intimacy, there can be difficulty obtaining tickets when a theatre has only 100 seats.



Last month, NEW BOY ended its successful run at Trafalgar Studio 2.



Might the play, directed by Russell Labey - and adapted by him from William Sutcliffe's novel - reappear in the provinces?



Daily Telegraph review (Dominic Cavendish):



"Nicholas Hoult's achievement - and the lurking profundity of this superficially shallow comedy - is to persuade you, or remind you, that adolescents are their own worst enemies, ever stoking their insecurities and inadequacies......



"The play doesn't call for grand emotional peaks or troughs.....but the stomach-churning aspects of youth's hormonal rollercoaster ride are relayed with keen-eyed affection."



LINK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/c...os-review.html

[Maurice]

In March, 1971, I attended two memorable plays with a serious approach to the "rollercoaster" of adolescence mentioned earlier.



1. Simon Gray's SPOILED (dir. Stephen Hollis) Theatre Royal, Haymarket



Originally intended for television, SPOILED is an intense study of a teacher's obsession with his male pupil.



cast:

Howarth: Jeremy Kemp

Donald: Simon Ward

Joanna: Anna Massey

Les: Peter Denyer

Mrs. Clenham: Pamela Pitchford





2. Henry de Montherlant's LA VILLE DONT LE PRINCE EST UN ENFANT

(dir. Jean Mayer) performed by the "Theatre Michel" (Paris) Aldwych Theatre



The play is set in a Catholic school in Auteuil, Paris, over three days sometime between WW1 and WW2.



cast:

Abbe de Pradts: Paul Guers

Serge Souplier, fourth-form pupil: Dominique Pennors

Andre Sevrais, upper sixth-form pupil: Gil de Lesparda

Monsieur Habert: Bernard Ristroph

Henriet, upper sixth-form pupil: Edgar Givry

Abbe Pradeau de la Halle, headmaster: Yves Brainville



The play, conceived when the author was 17, was inspired by a personal experience leading to his expulsion from a school in St. Croix de Neuilly.



Although the play was published in 1951, Montherlant forbade its performance because of the delicate nature of its theme - despite requests from several theatres including the Comedie Francaise.



In 1966, he granted rights solely to Jean Mayer.



Jean-Jacques Gautier wrote:



"The play has the measure, tension, economy, the dramatic counterpoise, the controlled vehemence and the vision, at once searing and chilling, of a tragedy.



"It portrays the obsession, the overwhelming anguish of a young teacher-priest's painful awakening to the passion which possesses him."



In 1957, Sir Donald Wolfit presented two of Montherlant's other plays:

MAITRE DE SANTIAGO (1948) and MALATESTA (1950).

[dpgmel]

Have been reading the more than favourable reviews that the revival of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia has received this morning.



Looking forward to seeing this at the Duke Of York's Theatre in August, is anyone else planning a visit to see it ?

[LukeAFB]

dpgmel,



Not at the moment, but I'm going to see a revival of 'Blythe Spirit' at the Newbury Watermill on Saturday.

[dpgmel]

Some excellent news just out from the Old Vic :



[Nunn Directs Spacey in Old Vic Inherit, September - News - Whatsonstage.com

[Maurice]

Today's edition:



While one journalist, David Gritten, writes about dwindling audiences for "grown-up movies", another, Charles Spencer, finds the British theatre weathering the recession remarkably well.



"Drama is thriving in a crisis"

extracts:



Theatre, I assumed, would become an increasingly unaffordable luxury as the credit crunch got worse, and people woke up wondering whether they would get through the week without being summoned to collect their P45.....



But what are they actually doing? They are going to the theatre in amazingly large numbers....



What's more, our theatre is hugely successful. British shows, actors and creative talent have received no fewer than 39 nominations out of 111 at the Tony Awards to be presented this Sunday in New York.



Nor are theatregoers merely booking escapist musicals to forget their troubles.....



The National Theatre's powerful production of WAR HORSE, based on Michael Morpurgo's moving children's novel about a horse and its owner enduring the horrors of the First World War, has proved a smash hit in the West End even after two bestselling runs at the NT.



Last week, it took £280,000 at the box-office, breaking all previous records for a straight play in the West End. Scheduled to play until September, its run has been extended by a further six months.....



Shows at the National Theatre itself are still playing to about 90% capacity, with some, like Richard Bean's ENGLAND PEOPLE VERY NICE, a brave "Carry On"-style comedy about immigrants in London, proving a popular smash hit and playing to 100% of capacity.....



Even Samuel Beckett's bleak WAITING FOR GODOT, not normally regarded as a box-office hit, is proving so popular that the run is being extended.



"People are looking for substance," says Nicholas Hytner, the National Theatre boss who is directing PHEDRE.



"When you watch a wrenching tragedy like PHEDRE or a play by Shakespeare or Chekhov, you are experiencing the best that has been thought and felt by the human mind, and contemplating the best and worst of human nature."



In HAMLET, so superbly revived this week, the prince describes the purpose of theatre as being "to hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature".



In an age of corrupt politicians, junk television, meretricious celebrity culture and lost religious faith, it is theatre that perhaps best shows us what really matters in life, as it explores the mysteries of the human heart, mind and spirit....



LINK: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/c...-a-crisis.html

[Windyridge]

name='dpgmel']



[Nunn Directs Spacey in Old Vic Inherit, September - News - Whatsonstage.com

Theo Bosanquet wrote this piece which contains good news about the Nunn/Spacey collaboration. However, if Bosanquet is the son of the much loved Reggie, he really should know how to spell 'Separation" as in "Six Degrees Of" which is also coming to the Old Vic.

[billy bentley]

Maurice I believe the Hamlet "hold a mirror up to nature" was Brando's favourite quote on the subject of acting.

[dpgmel]

Fans of Brothish theatre and in particular the West End will be interersted in this book which was bought to my attention by a forum member in Canada ! ( and very good it is too ).



[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1847733212/ref=sib_rdr_dp]London's Theatres: Zoe Wanamaker: Amazon.co.uk: Mike Kilburn, Alberto Arzoz: Books[/ame]

[Windyridge]

If anyone can get me a couple of tickets to A Doll's House at the Donmar I would be much obliged!

[Maurice]

BILLY ELLIOT had 10 wins including Best Musical, Best Director, Stephen Daldry, Best Choreographer, Peter Darling and Best Actor prize for its three young leads: David Alvarez, Kiril Kulish and Trent Kowalik.



LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/th...al/08tony.html

[blacknorth]

name='Maurice']In March, 1971, I attended two memorable plays with a serious approach to the "rollercoaster" of adolescence mentioned earlier.



1. Simon Gray's SPOILED (dir. Stephen Hollis) Theatre Royal, Haymarket



Originally intended for television, SPOILED is an intense study of a teacher's obsession with his male pupil.

Not just intended for television but actually made as a Wednesday Play starring Alan Bates. Unfortunately the production has been wiped.