'Against' at the Almeida

I saw Ben Whishaw's performance in 'Bakkhai' at the Almeida theatre a little while go, and really enjoyed it, so when I saw that he was appearing there again, I decided to book.

This time, rather than a take on an ancient Greek myth, the play was a new one, 'Against' by Christopher Shinn, which explores the issue of violence in society, how we respond to it, anf whether it can be changed.

Ben Whishaw and Emma D'Arcy CREDIT: JOHAN PERSSON

Whishaw plays Luke, a  Silicone Valley billionaire who has a revelation, believing he has heard the voice of god, and is called to "go where the violence is", leading him to visit the family of a school shooter, and a college campus where there has been a high profile rape (or rapes).

Its an intriguing idea, posing questions about violence in society is seen, and how we talk about it, and also about how the original, fairly simple idea which Luke has, of listening to people and giving them a space for their stories, becomes more complex.

There are some interesting (and uncomfortable) scenes with Kevin Harvey, as a college lecturer (and former sex worker), whose determination to stand up for the marginalised (sex workers, those in unconventional relationships) results in his being intolerant and bullying towards anyone who doesn't share his views, brow-beating his student, Anna (Emma D'Arcy) about the (thinly veiled autobiographical) short story she has written, to try to persuade her to change it to reflect his views, and  pushing Luke to disclose whether, and to what, he masturbates..

Harvey also appears as Jon, a friend of Luke's, and the founder and CEO of Eclipse, an Amazon-esque company where Luke plans to make his next announcement. (and there is a sub-plot, (which doesn't quite work), with Elliot Barnes-Worrell and Adele Leonce as a pair of low-wage workers at Eclipse.

It is a play which provokes thoughts and questions, but doesn't really offer any answers, and I did feel that the final scene, which introduces a totally new character, might have worked better had we met that person earlier in the play.

It was a very interesting play, with a strong cast. 

The performance I saw was the penultimate one, so it's now closed. 

Another Hamlet

When I saw that Andrew Scott (Moriarty from 'Sherlock') was going to be playing 'Hamlet' at the Almeida Theatre, this Spring, with Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude, I couldn't not try to get tickets. I didn't manage it directly, but my friend A did, which meant that last night he and I fortified ourselves with an excellent Turkish meal before heading to the Almeida.

This production of the play is almost uncut, and is directed by Robert Icke, who was also responsible for the horribly effective and chilling 1984.

It was very interesting, and very different from the last couple of versions I have seen. This iteration of the court of Denmark is modern, the stage divided by sliding glass doors allowing to see behind the arras at times, the opening scene sees Horatio and Marcellus spot the ghost on the bank of screens showing feeds from security cameras, and updates such as Fortinbras's invasion are shown as news reports (complete with Danish headlines running across the bottom of the screen).

Andrew Scott's Hamlet is not, for the most part, as maniacal as you might expect, from seeing his Moriarty - from the outset, he came across as anxious and uncertain, constantly fidgeting with his watch, and lacking in self-confidence. His soliloquies are often conversational, and this is definitely a Hamlet in which the madness seems genuine rather than feigned.

Production Photo: Claudius, Hamlet and Gertrude

Gertrude (Juliet Stevenson) and Claudius (Angus Wright) are passionate with one another, unable to keep their hands off each other, but I wasn't entirely convinced by Claudius-as-villain , except in the final poisoning scene.

I was left feeling a bit ambivalent about the production. I would quite like to see it a second time. But I found it interesting, and worth seeing. 

Hamlet is at the Almeida until 15th April.