We saw the famous Stratford production done in 1994-1995 with William Hutt, Martha Henry, Petrr Donaldson and Tom McCamus, directed by Diana Leblanc, and remember it as a great evening.
this production also directed by Diana Leblanc had another very strong cast with Joe Ziegler, Nancy Palk, Evan Buliung and Gregory Prest. We even like Krystin Pellerin as the maid, Cathleen.
But O'Neill is no longer new to us, and the thought of staying for another hour of rage and destruction was just too much to bear. We left the Tyrone's to get on with it alone.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs
110 minutes- no intermission. fantastic! I didn't have any desire to leave, as the play and performances were gripping. taking off from the tale of bluebeard's chamber, this play explores the nature of relationships and what happens when someone is given everything except one small thing. The room at the top of the stairs becomes immediately attractive, even if it means risking everything else.
Nicole Underhay was amazing as Grace, who goes into the room and discovers more than she wants to know. Sarah Dodd was perfect as her mother Joyce, while Clare Calnan exemplified every sister who was not the favorite! Raquel Duffy was sly and hopeful as the maid Jenny, clearly in love with Henry, the man at the centre of it all. Rick Roberts used his good looks and charm to convince everyone in the audience of the reasonable requests he was making.
The end of the play is enigmatic, but I think a happy ending is achieved. Another viewer might draw a completely different conclusion.
But we alll thought it was a great play with a great cast.
Nicole Underhay was amazing as Grace, who goes into the room and discovers more than she wants to know. Sarah Dodd was perfect as her mother Joyce, while Clare Calnan exemplified every sister who was not the favorite! Raquel Duffy was sly and hopeful as the maid Jenny, clearly in love with Henry, the man at the centre of it all. Rick Roberts used his good looks and charm to convince everyone in the audience of the reasonable requests he was making.
The end of the play is enigmatic, but I think a happy ending is achieved. Another viewer might draw a completely different conclusion.
But we alll thought it was a great play with a great cast.
My Granny the Goldfish
Started out funny, but quickly became repetitive. "Trite" is the word I used to describe it.
This is a play that should be cut back to 90 minutes and performed with no intermission, so the audience can't leave (as we did).
This is a play that should be cut back to 90 minutes and performed with no intermission, so the audience can't leave (as we did).
High Life
Four losers in search of a score - sounds depressing doesn't it? But when the losers are Diego Matamoros (Dick), Michael Hanrahan (Bug), Oliver Dennis (Donnie) and Mike Ross (Billy), the result is a fantastic evening of theatre. The play is a comedy, with laugh out loud moments, but you can't help feeling sorry for these losers, who somehow never had a chance.
It is tempting to single out one performer, but all of them were so good it seems pointless. Donnie has to pee: Dick has to keep all of them in the car -the dialogue was familiar to every parent in the audience.
The playwright, Lee MacDougall is new to me, but I will certainly keep an eye out for other productions of his plays.
Maybe I'll meet him on the street here in Stratford.
It is tempting to single out one performer, but all of them were so good it seems pointless. Donnie has to pee: Dick has to keep all of them in the car -the dialogue was familiar to every parent in the audience.
The playwright, Lee MacDougall is new to me, but I will certainly keep an eye out for other productions of his plays.
Maybe I'll meet him on the street here in Stratford.
Twelfth Night
I was thrilled to hear that the Stratford Shakespeare Festival had decided to film their 2011 production of Twelfth Night, as I thought it was the best I had ever seen. I am happy to report that it works just as well on film as on stage.
The Comedy of Errors
The combination of the National Theatre and Lenny Henry was too good to miss! Could Chef do Shakespeare?
The answer is yes - no problem! a funny role is a funny role, and Lenny Henry knows what to do with a funny role. His smiling eyes and wild grin are just as funny on stage as on TV. The big shock was seeing how much older he is, and how much weight he pas put on since his Chef days. but, it happens to all of us.
The production was inventive, combining two modern English accents to distinguish the two groups. Lenny Henry had the Jamaican beat, while the two sisters Adriana (Claudie Blakley) and Luciana (Michele Terry) stuck with estuary English. The contrast was funny and very believable.
Seeing this production I am again amazed that people still claim they can't stand Shakespeare!
The answer is yes - no problem! a funny role is a funny role, and Lenny Henry knows what to do with a funny role. His smiling eyes and wild grin are just as funny on stage as on TV. The big shock was seeing how much older he is, and how much weight he pas put on since his Chef days. but, it happens to all of us.
The production was inventive, combining two modern English accents to distinguish the two groups. Lenny Henry had the Jamaican beat, while the two sisters Adriana (Claudie Blakley) and Luciana (Michele Terry) stuck with estuary English. The contrast was funny and very believable.
Seeing this production I am again amazed that people still claim they can't stand Shakespeare!
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