Filmknitter

Pride & Prejudice at the Oxford Playhouse

I received the new Oxford Playhouse brochure before Christmas and snapped up tickets for this one as soon as I spotted it - a stage version of Pride & Prejudice (best rom-com of all time) and starring Susan Hampshire? I knew it would be good. And, thankfully, it was! Susan Hampshire is brilliant as Mrs Bennet, her familiar friendly face giving the usually unsympathetic character a little more warmth. The play also stars a few other familiar faces from UK stage and screen including Carolyn Pickles as an excellent Catherine de Burgh, as well as a plethora of talented newcomers. Katie Lightfoot, playing Lizzie, stands out in particular, newly graduated from stage school in 2009 she manages to bring something new to a very familiar character and, I think, gets closer to the character in the book who isn't quite as angelic as Jennifer Ehle's portrayal in the 1995 TV adaptation.

The young men of the story are also very well cast. Nicholas Taylor is stately, disapproving, and somewhat Byronic, and makes an excellent Darcy. The actor playing Bingley (I forget his name) is incredibly pretty and suitably silly, and strikes an excellent pose in the 'portrait gallery' scene. Tom Motherdale as the odious Mr Collins obviously enjoying himself the role and succeeding in being one of the funniest things in the play.

Apart from the actors however the play itself is brilliantly staged. Costume, set, music, and lighting are all used innovatively and to great effect. The actress playing Mary, an accomplished violinist, opens the play with a solo on the violin and punctuates the action with suitable music for the rest of the play. The costumes all look very authentic and the colours and styles are used to great effect. I loved Lizzie's more practical blue pinafore-style dress, compared with her younger sisters' fashionable efforts. There's also a nice selection of bonnets and some beautiful jewellery used to mark out Miss Bingley as the only truly wealthy young lady at the ball.

The set is ingenious, the stage is mostly bare and grey with each scene change carried out by the actors themselves, whisking chairs, chaise longues, and candlesticks on and off stage. The final scene in the garden between Lizzie and Lady Catherine is a particular delight as six or seven of the actors enter with comedy topiary hats (including a reindeer and a poodle) and turn their backs to the stage, occasionally jumping at a bang from Lady Catherine's cane, or turning to gape as Lizzy and Darcy kiss. 

Pride & Prejudice is an old favourite of mine and I was worried that a stage version would not do it justice. There are a couple of gripes: the role of Whickam being whittled down to a couple of lines for instance, but apart from that it's so immensely enjoyable that I can forgive it, and would happily see it again if its run at the Playhouse were longer.

Nation - NT Live at the Picturehouse

I had my first experience of National Theatre Live on Saturday, as the matinee performance of 'Nation' (adapted from the book by Terry Pratchett) was transmitted to cinemas around the world, including the Phoenix in Jericho. I had wanted to see Nation at the theatre but actually I'm really glad I saw it in the cinema. I was massively impressed by NT: Live as you get all the benefits of theatre without having to trek all the way to London for it. Also, being a frugal type I would have paid for the cheapest seat possible and been stuck at the back, unable to see any detail. With NT: Live the cameras are right on stage so you see every expression on the actors' faces, every detail of costume, props, and stage. It's brilliant and I felt that connection with the actors which is usually exclusive to live performance. Judging from the spontaneous clapping at the end of each act the rest of the audience felt the same.

The play itself is an interesting adaptation. I didn't have massively high hopes as Pratchett's writing is remarkably difficult to adapt to live action, depending as it does on clever in-text jokes and footnotes. The daily vomiting of the Grandfather Birds for instance, would be almost impossible to translate to stage! Nation is also weirder than his Discworld books in many ways as there is a lot less that's familiar, and there's much deliberation about theology, which is difficult to make interesting in such a visual medium. However, despite the critics' sneerings, I still felt that Melly Still (Director) and Mark Ravenhill (Screenwriter) had done a pretty good job with this. It's fun, lively, and I assume that kids would enjoy it. The love story between Mau and Daphne is as touching as it is in the book, even if painted with rather broader strokes. The comedic gold of Milton is most successfully used as he is played by an actor in an imaginative parrot costume, combining sticky-up hair and an Edwardian bustle. Jason Thorpe has the parrot movements down to a T and comes out with hilarious non sequiturs at the most iinappropriate times. Gaye Brown as Daphne's grandmother is another highlight, regally sliding into the action in an enormous crinoline at various points to interject withering comments on Daphne's appearance and conduct.

As I said the play doesn't exactly capture the complex brilliance of the book, but that would be difficult. What it does do is entertain and amuse, and would be a good introduction for children and teenagers to the works of Pratchett. I would have been disappointed if I'd paid £30 to travel to the National Theatre for it, but having paid £10 to see it in a comfortable cinema on the big screen not 20 minute's cycle from my front door, it was a most enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The Truth

The second Discworld play I have seen this year: The Truth, was on at the OFS in Oxford last week. Being a Discworld play, of course, I was looking forward to it but it's really my least favourite of the books so my expectations weren't high. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible and enjoyable the stage adaptation is. Simply put, the plot is a whodunnit. The Patrician, Lord Vetinari, has been arrested after, apparently, confessing to stabbing his Clerk, Drumknott. William de Worde, a well-spoken young man with an enquiring mind, having recently acquired the Disc's first printing press, becomes the Disc's first journalist and sets out to discover the truth behind the mysterious crime. Also appearing are old favourites such as Vimes, Angua, Foul Ole Ron, and The Duck Man, as well as brilliant new characters such as Mr Pin and Mr Tulip.

As I have said The Truth isn't my favourite Discworld story, I struggled with it on first reading, and although I understood the story better on subsequent perusals, I still find de Worde an uninspiring hero, and the whodunnit plot confusing. However, for the play the plot has had to be simplified somewhat, and it all makes much more sense. William de Worde's inadequacies were more than made up for by an excellent turn by the actress playing Sacharissa, as well as my personal favourite: Otto Chriek, who was magnificently entertaining throughout. Casting generally was brilliant, I also enjoyed Mr Pin and Mr Tulip, whose portrayal was incredibly accurate physically, and underpinned by some excellent acting, especially by the guy playing Mr Pin whose mental state convincingly unravelled throughout the second half.

The staging was excellent with a low-tech but effective way of making the dwarfs shorter than the humans, as well as inspired use of UV light for Otto's unconventional flash photography. Costumes and make-up were very good too. I enjoyed the dwarf's giant goggles, Sacharissa's flouncy skirts, and the use of puppets for the two dogs - Gaspode and Wuffles. The actor playing Gaspode/Foul Ole Ron deserves special mention for his switches between speaking as Gaspode and lapsing into mental absence for Ron - "Buggrit, millennium hand and shrimp, I tole em, I tole em" etc. I would love to know more about the company, apparently named 'Parabox Productions' but there is a sad lack of any mention of them on the web so I will content myself with looking out for future appearances at the OFS.

Wyrd Sisters - Studio Theatre Club

So last night was a slight historical event in my life as my housemate and I went to see the 'Director's Cut' of Wyrd Sisters performed by the Studio Theatre Club at the Unicorn Theatre in Abingdon. I've been aware of the STC for years, ever since I started snooping around the web for Discworld-related stuff in my teens, as it contains the talent that is Stephen Briggs (the guy who has written the many Discworld plays). However it was only fairly recently that I realised they perform in Abingdon, a mere ten minutes drive from Oxford. After I found out that vital piece of information it was simply a matter of waiting for their next Discworld play. And lo, this January it was Mr Briggs new and improved version of Wyrd Sister's, originally performed back in 1991. The new version includes additional scenes, characters, and according to the website, a bigger budget (and you could tell, we were particularly impressed by the magic wand which shot flames into the air!).

It's been a while since I last saw a performance of Wyrd Sisters so I couldn't tell you exactly which bits are new, but I thought this performance was excellent and definitely outstripped the versions I've seen before. The three witches, played by Kath Leighton (Granny), Judy Leonard (Nanny), and Sarah Viner (Magrat), were spot on. Granny Weatherwax was the spitting image of Paul Kidby's excellent drawings, inspired by the books, and got the perfect balance between 'stubborn old woman' and 'most powerful witch of her time'. Nanny Ogg was suitably bawdy, and I loved the scene in the dungeon when she confers with the ghost of Old Verence to discomfort Duke Felmet. Sarah Viner's performance as Magrat was perfect, conveying Magrat's wet-hen innocence, but being endearing rather than annoying (as I sometimes find Magrat in the books). We also thought that their costumes (and the costumes throughout the play) were brilliant, with Granny's hat and cloak drawing our admiration in particular.

In terms of the villains, Matthew Kirk as an imposing Duke Felmet, and Heather Neary as his caustic wife, were brilliantly sinister with Felmet seeming constantly on the brink of dropping off the edge of sanity. Heather Neary was especially scary, and I can see why she always plays villains (as explained in the programme). Verence the fool was played hilariously by Jamie Crowther; I was particularly impressed by his wielding of the bladder-onna-stick, and loved the moment when he pulls out his handkerchief for Felmet, only to reveal that, it too, has bells on it. Stephen Briggs, as Vitoller, was even better than we had expected, and I also enjoyed his second role as Champet Poldy, the guard who is faced by Granny Weatherwax's unconvincing 'innocent apple seller' routine. Another highlight was the demon-raising, always my favourite scene in any version of Wyrd Sisters, in this one he appeared wearing a shower cap (with horns sticking out) and holding a devilish rubber duckie.

I'm now very much looking forward to the STC's next Discworld play, due November 2009 I believe, and would recommend any Discworld fans in the area to look out for it, but book early - Wyrd Sisters does have two more performances, tonight and tomorrow, but is completely sold out!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Apologies for abandoning the blog this week.  I haven't been to the cinema and have been absurdly busy so really haven't had time for any updates.  However, I had a glorious day off work yesterday and went to London to see 'Joseph'. I booked these tickets last summer as the show is so amazingly booked up.  However it was well worth the wait.  It's a spectacular production and everything about it is just full of energy and excitement.  I only knew a  few songs from watching 'Any Dream Will Do' on the telly so I very much enjoyed hearing all the others for the first time.  Pharoah's songs in the second
act are very enjoyable, as well as 'One More Angel in Heaven' (which was also very funny) and the brilliant 'Benjamin Calypso' was another highlight for me. 

As well as the very talented Mr Mead (my vote in the TV show final was money well spent!) the entire ensemble were fantastic.  The brothers were hilarious, and Tom Gillies as Benjamin was particularly brilliant, he was just so bouncy!  I also enjoyed all the 'wives' who did some amazing dancing, in some rather risque outfits!  Also the guy who played 'The King' - Pharoah, who really stole the show in his scenes.  The set was very clever with lots of moving parts and some of the larger set pieces were amazing and just looked so glamorous and glittery.  I must also mention the brilliant part at the end where Jospeh rises up from the stage on some kind of mechanical contraption with his rainbow coloured cloak streaming behind him, until he was nearly on a level with us lot sitting in the uppoer circle!  That was certainly something worth seeing.  However, the whole thing was fantastic, and as the show is only just over two hours it really doesn't stop for breath.  It was well worth seeing and were it not for the cost I would definitely go again!

Photograph by Tristram Kenton © The Really Useful Group Ltd 2007