The Tragedy of King Richard II - Almeida Theatre

The first theatre visit of 2019 was to see Simon Russell Beale as King Richard II, at the Almeida. 

I was intrigued when I saw that he was going to be playing the role, as of course the actual, historical monarch was one of our younger and, on the whole,  less successful kings (other than with the peasant's revolt), and  was only 33 when he was deposed, and died, and he is generally played by a younger actor. At  almost 60, Russell Beale isn't the obvious choice. 

It's unusual casting, and its an unusual production - the set is a single, apparently metal-lined box or cell - it's not clear whether this is Richard's cell, and the play is all in his mind, or whether it is symbolic of the  ways in which power can trap someone, or something else altogether.

The production is in modern dress, with no costumes other than the gloves which everyone but the king wears, and no props bar a crown, and a number of buckets, labelled, and containing, blood, water and soil. It's also a very small cast, of 8, so everyone except Simon Russell Beale (Richard) and Leo Bill (Bolingbroke) plays multiple roles.


I enjoyed it, Simon Russell Beale is an excellent actor, but I was less convinced by the staging - I felt it was less easy to follow than it could (perhaps should) have been - and I have the advantage of being pretty familiar  with the play. I think in paring it down, they have pared a little too much.

However, I was glad to have seen it , and enjoyed some excellent acting. It was interesting.

The Tempest

On Saturday, I went with  some friends  to see the RSC's production of 'The Tempest' in Stratford on Avon.

The production has been created in collaboration with the imaginarium studio,  (Which did the motion capture special effects for films such as the Lord of the Rings) .

Stage, pre-performance

Going in the the theatre, the set is striking, the huge, broken shell of a  ship, and then of course the performance begins - Simon Russell Beale is, at first, not  a striking Prospero,a small figure, in a simple, dark, academic gown, but he grows in strength and power as the play progresses.

Simon Russell Beale as Prospero (Photo (C) RSC)

Ariel, (Mark Quartley) is one of the stars of the show, performing, as he does, with his own avatar - it's fascinating to watch, as mostly he is on stage at the same time as the projected version of him; sometimes in the shadows, sometimes more obviously. The avatar takes all sorts of different forms,  including a huge, winged harpy, and seemed almost synchronized with his movements, but sometimes with a slight lag, and occasionally appearing to be moving a little in advance of him!

Ariel in the cleft tree (C) RSC

It was absolutely stunning.

I was a little concerned that the special effects might overshadow the play itself, but I didn't feel that they did, largely due to Mark Quartley and Simon Russell Beale's performances.

I was slightly underwhelmed by Caliban,who seemed to be defined by grotesque costuming (and a fish) but had little opportunity to let any character show. I don't find the 'comedy' between Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban very funny, but it was well done (particularly Tony Jayawardena as Stephano.)

All in ll, I was very impressed, and enjoyed the play a lot. I know it is due to be broadcast to cinemas on 11th January and I am tempted to go to see it, to have the chance to look more closely at the details.

The live play is at Stratford until 21st January, and then in London at the Barbican from 30th June until 18th August next year.

There is a video about the making of the special events, for those who are interested!

King Lear

Several months back, before I knew when I would be moving, I arranged with a couple of friends that we would meet up to see 'King Lear' at the National Theatre.

I don't think I would have planned to have a day trip to London 10 days after moving house, but in fact, it worked pretty well.

I got the train into London (I shall have to get used to not having a railway station within walking distance, anymore. It means you have to pay for parking) and met up with J and J on the South Bank, after an uneventful journey (unless you count meeting a Bride and Groom, in full wedding gear, getting off the tube at Waterloo, as an event!)

We enjoyed a glass of bubbly (to celebrate J and J's recent wedding, and my recent house move) and then a relaxed and enjoyable lunch, before making our way into the theatre.

We had seats up in the circle, but with an excellent view of the stage. 

King Lear is not a play that I have seen very often, although I did see a fantastic production, with Derek Jacobi in the title role, a couple of years ago, and it's perhaps inevitable that I should compare the two.

I thought that this version had some excellent moments, but I did not find it as moving as  the Jacobi production. I think partly because there was more going on - big sets, lots of extras, which detracted from the central tragedy.

Lear starts out as a Stalin-like, dictatorial figure, surrounded by soldiers, (one thing which was lost in the broadcast, which I saw with  a different friend, a little later) compared to the live performance was that  the number of  'knights' reduced during the course of the play, slipping away unobtrusively as the King crossed the stage. (There were about 25 of them to start with) 

Edmund (Sam Troughton) is suitably villainous, deeply creepy - I should be interested to see him play Iago, in future! Poor Edgar (Tom Brooke) suitably mad (and noticeably a little less naked, in the broadcast, than the live performance!) and Simon Russell Beale is excellent - an unsympathetic, but ultimately pitiable figure.

When we saw there play, there was a slight hiccough as there was a problem with the scenery, which led to an unplanned hiatus while it was fixed. It came just after Edgar fled from the unjust allegations made against him, which seemed like a natural break point, so it did not detract from the play at all!

I enjoyed seeing the play a second time as a broadcast - it allowed me to consider some of the nuances, and interestingly, the habit of the film directors to zoom in in major scenes made it, to mind, more intense - there was some loss, in the lack of background characters, but it focussed the lay more closely on the main characters, adding to the intensity. Very interesting. I'm glad I saw it in both formats!

'The Hothouse'

A few months ago I saw that John Simm was going to be appearing in a play in London, and as I still haven't really got over the fact that I missed seeing his Hamlet when that was on, I decided that this time, I'd make it to see him.

He is appearing in The Hothouse, and as I realised after booking, not only does it feature Simm, but also Simon Russell Beale (who I last saw in the cinema broadcast of the National Theatre's Timon of Athens). The rest of the cast is equally impressive:
Harry Melling (best know as Dudley Dursley, but unrecognisable)
Christopher Timothy (who has got somewhat older since playing James Herriott),
Clive Rowe (among other things, he was in the Voyage of the Damned episode of Doctor Who),
Indira Varma (Suzie Costello of Torchwood) and
John Heffernan (I don't think I've seen him before, but I think he is going to be one to watch)

I haven't seen the play before, and decided not to read any reviews before seeing it, so as to see it fresh.

The play is set in an Institution. It's never explained what  kind of institution, whether it is a rest home, a psychiatric hospital, or something more sinister - we never see any of the inmates (patients?), although we hear wails and screams, and learn that they are known by numbers, not names, and that they are locked into their rooms., and everything is run under the distant control of The Ministry

Simon Russell Beale is Roote, the director of the institution, initially merely ineffectual, but as the play proceeds, increasingly, frighteningly unhinged and unpredictable. Simm's Gibbs is coldly efficient, the perfect 'company man', apparently more in control of himself than the other staff members, (and perhaps therefore more culpable) .

As the play unfolds, we learn that one inmate has died, another has given birth, probably as a result of rape by one of the members of staff. We see the hapless Lamb (Harry Melling) subjected to mental and physical abuse in the name of experimentation, and things do not end well.

Despite the nature of the setting and subject matter of the play, it is full of very funny moments - as long as you don't think too closely about what you are laughing at. It's a very strong cast, and well worth seeing.

(oh, and I'm even more disappointed I didn't get to see Simm as Hamlet)