Cocktail Sticks

Cocktail Sticks, Lyttelton Theatre, 2013. 

Cast: Alex Jennings, Gabrielle Llyod, Jeff Rawle, Derek Hutchinson, Maggie McCarthy,

Writer: Alan Bennet

Director: Nicholas Hytner

Now I'm forgotten whole plays by Alan Bennett which will never do. But this was only an hour long so I forgive myself. It seems to be about his family and growing up, leaving them behind and writing about them. I saw it as a double bill with another piece called Hymn, to make the journey to London worthwhile. It was dramatised for Radio 4 more recently and you can get a CD of it so let's see what eBay turns up.

Hairspray

Hairspray, Theatre Royal Norwich, 2011.

Cast: Michael Starke, Micky Dolenz, Laurie Scarth, Liam Doyle, Gillian Kirkpatrick, Wayne Robinson, Danny Bayne, Emma Dukes, Clare Halse, Sandra Marvin, Yvonne O'Grady, Seliza Sebastian, Carl Sanderson, Shakira Akabusi, Kane Andrews, Richard Dale, Harry Francis, Darron Gifty, Natalie Kelly, Gemma-Knight Jones, Mia Lincoln, Emily Luke-Taylor, Abiona Omonua, Yohemy Prosper, Charles Ruhrmund, Spin, Lauren Stroud, Helen Ternent, Nyroy Dixon, Mark Hilton, Debbie Jenkins, Jennifer Saayeng, Laura Thorogood, Matt Thorpe, Dina Tree.

Book: Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan

Music & Lyrics: Marc Shaiman

Lyrics: Scott Wittman

Director: Jack O'Brien

The second time I saw this and the second time I forgot I'd seen one of the Monkees. It's touring again but all the cheap seats have gone locally and after years of being spoilt by their cheap seats I'm reluctant to pay £35 for something I've seen twice. So I've just ordered the DVD instead.

Twelfth Night & The Taming of the Shrew

Twelfth Night & The Taming of the Shrew, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2013.

Cast: Ben Allen, Darrell Brockis, Joseph Chance, John Dougall, Finn Hanlon, Lewis Hart, Christopher Heyward, Vince Leigh, Chris Myles, Liam O'Brien, Benjamin O'Mahony, Gary Shelford, Dan Wheeler, Arthur Wilson.

Writer: William Shakespeare

Director: Edward Hall

I miss Propeller. I think they lost all their funding in one of the early rounds of government cuts which was a pity as I saw them several times and always enjoyed what they did. They always toured a pair of Shakespeare's plays at the same time I guess because selling a whole week of one would be too difficult outside of London and nobody wants to move a large cast every few days. There unique thing was that they were an all-male company, not with the point of excluding women although of course that's what they did, but because that's how the plays were originally performed. I'm not sure that would stand up so well now, but they were always well directed and performed so I'd welcome the chance to see anything Edward Hall does in future.

Black Watch

Black Watch, UEA Sportspark, 2013.

Cast: Cameron Barnes, Benjamin Davies, Scott Fletcher, Andrew Fraser, Robert Jack, Matt McClure, Stephen McCole, Adam McNamara, Stuart Martin, Daniel Portman, Richard Rankin, Gavin Jon Wright.

Writer: Gregory Burke

Director: John Tiffany

I remember going to this and liking it a lot at the time but details are vague now. It's about soldiers and it was staged in a sports hall rather than a theatre with audience on two sides of a long performance area. There's credits in the programme for movement and video so I imagine it was big and physical. There's also a long list of credits for music. A few years earlier it had won an Olivier award. I've not had much experience with the National Theatre of Scotland (unsurprisingly as I'm in England) but the ones I have had were a triumph.

Avenue Q

Avenue Q, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2011.

Cast: Matthew J Henry, Rachel Jerram, Edward Judge, Katharine Moraz, Adam Pettigrew, Jaqueline Tate, Chris Thatcher, Aveta Chen, Luke Kempner, Arina Li, Michelle Cornelius, Nicholas Duncan, Kayi Ushe.

Music & lyrics: Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx

Book: Jeff Whitty

Director: Jason Moore.

This was my second time seeing this and I wonder if I managed another one after that? I loved it and seeing this programme made me want to listen to a cast recording but the one I thought I had is missing from the cupboard so perhaps I imagined it. I was thinking it might be time for a revival but I wonder if it would work so well now, with some of the things they make jokey songs about having got an awful lots worse in the last decade or so, just off the top of my head, Everyone's a Little Bit Racist (basically the Conservative party theme tune) and The Internet is for Porn (sex crimes are worse than ever, coincidence?). I'd definitely watch a sequel although I suppose it would be about gentrification and zero hours contracts would be no fun at all.

Flare Path

Flare Path, Theatre Royal Haymarket, 2011.

Cast: Sienna Miller, James Purefoy, Sheridan Smith, Harry Hadden-Paton, Joe Armstrong, Jim Creighton, Sarah Crowden, Mark Dexter, Emma Handy, Matthew Tennyson, Clive Wood, Richard Beanland, Kate Colebrook, Jan Shepherd.

Writer: Terence Rattigan

Director: Trevor Nunn

I imagine the main reason I saw this was Sienna Miller who had been all over the tabloids for a long time at this point, but Sheridan Smith was surely the one with more experience and was probably better in this. I'm fairly certain I had a cheap seat in the highest circle.

In the programme it says that the play was written after Rattigan joined the RAF to help him get over his writer's block, a strategy suggested to him by a psychiatrist. Good God!

End of the Rainbow

End of the Rainbow, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2011.

Cast: Tracie Bennett, Hilton McRae, Norman Bowman, Robert Maskell.

Writer: Peter Quilter.

Director: Terry Johnson

This was so good it definitely needs reviving although you'd need someone as brilliant as Tracie Bennett to make it work and right now I can't think who that might be. She was so good I remember this as a one woman show, which it clearly wasn't. 

Midnight's Children

Midnight's Children, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2003.

Cast: Meneka Das, Kammy Darwelsh, Syreeta Kumar, Tania Rodrigues, Neil D'Souza, Sirine Saba, Zubin Varia, Sameena Zehra, Kulvinder Ghir, Antony Bunsee, Shaheen Khan,Alexi Kaye Campbell, Ranjit Krishnamma, Ravi Aujia, Kish Sharma, Selva Rasalingam, Antony Zaki, Mata Ghedia, Pushpinder Chani, Anjali Jay.

Writers: Salman Rushdie, Simon Reade, Tim Supple.

Director: Tim Supple.

This is my only experience of a work by Salman Rushdie. I've never read any of his books and I imagine that saving me the effort of reading one was part of the appeal of this. Looking at the programme it was 3.5 hours long, has a huge cast playing multiple roles, and the programme includes both a timeline and a family tree - I wonder if it was incredibly complicated? I wonder if I enjoyed it, because yet again I remember nothing about it.

Rain Man

Rain Man, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2009.

Cast: Neil Morrissey, Oliver Chris, Charles Lawson, Ruth Everett, Emma Gregory, Patrick Brennan.

Adaptor: Dan Gordon

Director: Robin Herford

I imagine I saw the film this was based on because at that time it would have been almost illegal not to go and see a Tom Cruise film. I doubt that or this version would get made now as it probably wasn't the best way to discuss autism, but different times. I was going to say I couldn't imagine any other Tom Cruise films might be adapted to the stage but A Few Good Men already has been - "you can't handle the truth!" As long as nobody gets ideas about Eyes Wide Shut we'll be fine.

Enjoy

Enjoy, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2010.

Cast: David Troughton, Alison Steadman, Richard Glaves, Josie Walker, Victor Gardener, John Gould, Julian Pindar, Carol Macready, Steven Alexander, Chris McCalphy, Jake Ferretti, James Parkes, James Woods.

Writer: Alan Bennett

Director: Christopher Luscombe

I saw this in Cambridge the previous November, earlier in the tour, and can only assume they hadn't announced this date at the time and when they did a friend wanted to go and so I ended up going twice. I wouldn't want to do that again but sometimes they announce tours in quite a chaotic way and these things happen. I wonder if I saw it when it was on in London too? I guess we'll find out eventually.

All About My Mother

All About my Mother, The Old Vic, 2007.

Cast: Eleanor Bron, Bradley Freegard, Joanne Froggatt, Robert Galas, Mark Gatiss, Lucy-Anne Holmes, Lesley Manville, Colin Morgan, Eileen Nicholas, Yvonne O'Grady, Charlotte Randle, Diana Rigg, Michael Shaeffer.

Writer: Samuel Adamson, based on the film by Pedro Almodovar.

Director: Tom Cairns.

Going through these boxes it's surprising how much stuff I've seen that's been based on films. And it's not like I've seen everything that has been. It's all a bit disappointing and unnecessary. This didn't need adapting for the stage but I suppose if it hadn't been I'd never have seen Diana Rigg or Lesley Manville (even if I had forgotten I'd seen Diana Rigg). I think Almodovar's time might have passed now and it's a long time since I was at The Old Vic. Perhaps I should reacquaint myself with both. 

Single Spies: An Englishman Abroad & A Question of Attribution

Single Spies: An Englishman Abroad & A Question of Attribution, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2008. 

Cast: Nigel Havers, Diana Quick, Jack Ryder, John Arthur, Clive Flint, Thomas Eyre, Janet Harrison, Chris McCalphy, Robin Soutar.

Writer: Alan Bennett

Director: Christopher Luscombe.

A double bill of Alan Bennett pieces about spies. The filed version of A Question of Attribution with Prunella Scales as the Queen is probably my favourite of his work and she's absolutely exquisite in it. I've no recollection of this, inevitably, but it has great potential for a good evening out and if anyone did it again I'd get a ticket immediately.

Peggy for You

Peggy for You, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2000.

Cast: Maureen Lipman, Tom Espiner, Kate Dudley, Richard Platt, Ian Sinclair.

Writer: Alan Plater.

Director: Robin Lefevre.

I loved this and was really pleased when it was revived a couple of years ago and was just as good second time around. The writing is excellent and although I'd remembered it as a one woman show - obviously Maureen must have been a tour de force - it wasn't. Very funny.

The Audience

The Audience, Gielgud Theatre, 2013.

Cast: Helen Mirren, Michael Elwyn, Haydn Gwynne, Richard McCabe, Nathaniel Parker, Paul Ritter, Rufus Wright, Edward Fox, David Peart, Geoffrey Beevers, Bebe Cave, Maya Gerber, Nell Williams, Charlotte Moore, Harry Feltham, Matt Plumb, Spencer Kitchen, Elaine Solomon, Jonathan Coote, Ian Houghton.

Writer: Peter Morgan

Director: Stephen Daldry

I guess this is the reason The Crown exists, which I think has become something of a mixed blessing. It's the only time I've seen Helen Mirren on stage. I think she's done other stuff that I could have seen, probably most notably some big Greek drama at the National Theatre which is not my cup of tea at all. I doubt I'll get the chance to see her again. I remember liking it a lot, possibly because I have a slight weakness for fictionalised versions of the Queen - we knew so little about her despite her always being there that she was ideal for this kind of thing. I'm not expecting the same to happen to the King.

Merrily We Roll Along

Merrily We Roll Along, Harold Pinter Theatre, 2013.

Cast: Ashley Robinson, Martin Callaghan, Amanda Minihan, Julie Jupp, Jenna Russell, Matthew Barrow, Mark Umbers, Amy Ellen Richardson, Robbie Scotcher, Zizi Strallen, Kirk Patterson, Josefina Gabrielle, Joanna Woodward, Damian Humbley, Glyn Kerslake, Noah Miller, Tommy Rodger, Joseph West, Clare Foster.

Music & lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Book: George Furth 

Director: Maria Friedman

One of my earlier Sondheim experiences, possibly even a cheap seat from the ticket booth towards the end of the run. I don't remember much about it other than liking it a lot. I wish someone would revive this again, although there is a film in production but it's being filmed in real time so will take ten years of something stupid.

Abigail's Party

Abigail's Party, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2003.

Cast: Lizzy McInnerny, Huw Higginson, Elizabeth Hopley, Simon Wilson, Liz Crowther.

Writer: Mike Leigh

Director: David Grindley

This is on my list of things I never need to see again, not because of this production which I'd forgotten I'd seen, but because of a later one that felt nasty and unpleasant. I don't think time has been kind to the characters and attitudes in it but I don't suppose it will ever go away.

Rebecca

Rebecca, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2005.

Cast: Elizabeth Dermot-Walsh, Maureen Beattie, Margaret Robertson, Martyn Stanbridge, Nigel Havers, Michael Hucks, Jenna Renshaw, John Nicholas, Gregor Henderson-Begg, Amanda Waldy, Ian Barritt, Guy Williams.

Adapted by Frank McGuinness from the novel by Daphne du Maurier.

Director: Patrick Mason

Nigel Havers does look rather dashing, and he'd have been 53 at the time so was probably ideal for the role. I have no recollection of seeing this unfortunately. Daphne du Maurier adapted this herself, and it starred Celia Johhson and Margaret Rutherford and was something of a hit so I wonder why it was adapted by someone else? I also wonder how they did the burning house on stage.

Plague over England

Plague over England, Duchess Theatre, 2009

Cast: Sam Heughan, Hugh Ross, Steve Hansell, Simon Dutton, Michael Brown, Celia Imrie, Michael Feast, David Burt, Leon Ockenden, John Warnaby,.

Writer: Nicholas de Jong

Director: Tamara Harvey

I thought I remembered this well but it turns out I just remembered it fondly. I'd completely forgotten that Celia Imrie was in it. I also misremember what theatre I saw it at, thinking it was the Finborough where it originated but obviously not. It wasn't very well attended and Wikipedia says it closed two weeks earlier. I though there was talk of a film but there was no mention of it. I wish I'd bought the play text for it. It would be interesting to see it again to compare it to The Motive & the Cue, which is also about Gielgud and which I loved.

Yes, Prime Minister

Yes, Prime Minister, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2011. 

Cast: Simon Williams, Chris Larkin, Richard McCabe, Charlotte Lucas, Kevork Malikyan, Jonathan Coote, Michael Fenton Stevens, Michael Chadwick, Mark Extance, Sarah Baxendale.

Writers: Antony Jay & Jonathan Lynn

Director: Jonathan Lynn

I'd forgotten Id seen this and probably shouldn't have. I must have seen the TV version because at the time there'd have been little other choice but I certainly wouldn't have been interested in politics or understood it beyond the humour. I imagine politics had changed so much since the original that it could only seem tame in comparison, and if anyone attempted politics on stage now I'd be sure not to go.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2009

Cast: Craig Chalmers, Rachel Louise Smith, Henry Metcalfe, Wayne Smith, Sam Cassidy, Camilla Rowland, Lee Mathieson, Chris Dilley, Jason Denton, Adam Hepkin, Simon Murphy, Ross Witherden, Drew Millar, Jonathan Alden, David Covey, Stephanie Harrow, Maria Coyne, Charlotte Watts.

Lyrics: Tim Rice

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Director: Bill Kenwright

The first appearance of this here but far from the last. My local theatre friend has kids and wanted them to enjoy theatre so they all got taken to this, some more willingly than others, and really the only outcome of it was that I loved it even more than I did when Jason Donovan did it (which I saw twice). It's possibly the show I've seen the most and it's hugely entertaining. I'd see it again. 

Brief Encounter

Brief Encounter, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2009

Cast: Hannah Yelland, Milo Twomey, Annette McLaughlin, Joseph Alessi, Beverly Rudd, Christopher Price, Violet Ryder, Jack Beale, Adam Pleeth, David Brown.

Writer: Noel Coward

Director & adaptor: Emma Rice.

Everyone loves the film Brief Encounter so putting it on stage is risky, but it did being life as a different play before Coward reworked it so everything's fine. I don't remember anything about this production, and am surprised to find I went to it, but I have seen a couple of versions of this since, once in London and once in Keswick, both very entertaining. I'd see this again.

Evita

Evita, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2009

Cast: Rachael Wooding, Seamus Cullen, Mark Heenehan, Carly Bawden, James Waud, Geraldine Atkins, David Burilin, Errol Clayton, Ryan Dixon, Claire Doyle, Anouska Eaton, Shimi Goodman, Susie Griffin, Thomas Harvey, Stuart Hickey, Kara Lane, Chris Palmer, Kieran Snell, Carl Stallwood.

Lyrics: Tim Rice

Composer: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Directors: Bob Dowson & Bill Kenwright

The second appearance of Evita on here and it won't be the last. It's definitely on my list of things I'd see again although probably not in London unless the casting was amazing, but after having seen Madonna in the film I can't imagine who might be brilliant enough to persuade me to go to London and see it. Someone prove me wrong.

Enjoy

Enjoy, Cambridge Arts Theatre, 2009

Cast: David Troughton, Alison Steadman, Richard Glaves, Josie Walker, Mark Killeen, Peter McGovern, Julian Pindar, Carol Macready, John Gould, Chris McCalphy, Jake Ferretti, James Parkes, David Bell.

Writer: Alan Bennett

Director: Christopher Luscombe

If you're an Alan Bennett fan it occurs to me that you have to sometimes sit through slightly less fun stuff because for every big hit there's something a bit more serious. From what I remember this is about a family who are being persuaded to leave their terrace house so it can be knocked down and the area redeveloped, although I might be misremembering it. It also makes me think that although I've seen Alison Steadman in quite a few things I wonder if I've ever been blown away by her, or is that more likely to happen on TV now.

Calendar Girls

Calendar Girls, Norwich Theatre Royal, 2009.

Cast: Elaine C Smith, Lynda Bellingham, Patricia Hodge, Sian Phillips, Gaynor Faye, Julia Hills, Brigit Forsyth, Joan Blackham, Gary Lilburn, Gerard McDermott, Carl Prekopp, Abby Francis.

Writer: Tim Firth

Director: Hamish McColl

It's easy to see why this story has been so popular and has been told in so many different ways - I've seen the film and the musical too, although as yet nobody has made a film of the musical but surely that will happen sometime. I couldn't tell you anything about this specific production though.

The Pitmen Painters

The Pitmen Painters, National Theatre, 2009

Cast: Deka Walmsley, Christopher Connel, David Whitaker, Brian Lonsdale, Michael Hodgson, Ian Kelly, Lisa McGrillis, Philippa Wilson.

Writer: Lee Hall

Director: Max Roberts

I'd love to see this again. It's the story of a group of miners who start painting and I remember it being brilliantly Northern and really good about the power of Art. It stayed with me so much that years later I went to the colliery museum where their paintings are exhibited to see them and was blown away by them. This needs reviving.