Who's in it? Charles Edwards, Phil Daniels, Philip Glenister, Lauren O'Neill, Richard Ridings, Vincent Franklin and Julian Wadham.
Where did you see it? The Cottesloe, but it's sold out run finishes on the 1st December and with a transfer to the Olivier in February.
Every so often this blog develops an unhealthy obsession with a play (Collaborators, Last of the Duchess) and this is my play of 2012. It helps with James Graham's This House to be a major fan of politics but this young writer merely puts together a coherrent script out of the real life drama that was the House of Commons between 1974 -1979.
It is a testament to the storyline that there is no real character development outside the Labour and Conservative Party whips. Charles Edwards, Ed Hughes and Julian Wadham are in the blue corner and Philip Glenister, Lauren O'Neill, Vincent Franklin, Philip Glenister (sadly not appearing in the Olivier transfer) and Phil Daniels, who appeared later in the run due to a family bereavement and was replaced by the fantastic Andrew Frame (appearing script in hand as the Cottesloe doesn't employ understudies) for the early shows.
The ensemble made up of Gunnar Cauthery, Andrew Havill, Christopher Godwin, Helena Lymbery, Giles Taylor, Matthew Pidgeon, Rupert Vanisart and Tony Turner are probably the most interesting to watch, they get to show their range even when their characters don't even have names; most of the MPs are refered to as the Member for [insert constituency here], which draws acknowledgement when the Member for Finchley is mentioned but mostly caused me to want to go home and google resulting in a "Oh that's who the Member for Abingdon is!"
The play's strength isn't so much its script (reading the playtext reveals a long winded play that would have been far longer than the 2 hours 45 it clocks in at) but a director and set designer in Jerrmy Herrin and Rae Smith, respectively, who make the most of the Cottesloe (the set's main attraction is the House of Common green benches in the stalls) and a house band doing versions of David Bowie songs (Daniels, envoking his Parklife days even does a number) that add to the seventies atmosphere and avoids being pretentious or embarassing to watch. Even the choreographed numbers feel like they have a place in a play that's text already has a lot going on.
I cannot really find fault with this play and it is such a relief to see a strong play after the disaster that is Damned by Despair at the National Theatre and what has been a weak year for NT productions in general.
Showing posts with label Cottesloe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cottesloe. Show all posts
Monday, 26 November 2012
Sunday, 6 November 2011
John Hodge on Collaborators, 4th November 2011
What was it? John Hodge talks about his play Collaborators at the Cottesloe, which I reviewed here
I'm not sure why I booked tickets for this long before I had even seen Collaborators. I'm worried I was hoping to see Alex Jennings (I did but only getting off the bus on his way the the NT). My obsession is out of control.
Once I did see the play I was strangely looking forward to this. I had given it a harsh review but I couldn't get it out of my mind and I hoped Hodge would answer the questions that remained.
Hodge, it was explained, like Bulgakov was a doctor too. It was also mentioned that this was a film script but nobody wanted to make it so Hodge sent it to the Literary director of the National Theatre, added all the necessary exits and entrances theatre needed (though didn't specifically demand the odd zig zag staging) and subsequently gained interest from Sir Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director of the NT and director of the play. I'm still unsure why this is in the Cottesloe with such huge names in the cast, the cynics over at West End Whingers suggest that Hytner thought it wasn't good enough for the Olivier or Lyttelton and wouldn't have sold out. I think he was pandering to the egos of SRB and Jennings, who never get to perform in the Cottesloe before they are darlings of the theatre world.
The biggest issue with this platform was that many in the audience had yet to see the play and were seeing it after the platform (perhaps I should have done that) so there was a NO SPOILERS air and a lot of questions being asked that would have been explained if they had just held tight for another three hours. The things I wanted to know I was too scared to ask, why such a poorly written supporting cast, was that a relic of the film script? Why didn't the NT put on a Bulgakov play whilst Collaborators was in rep?
I was also left with the impression Hodge wasn't really aware of what was going on in terms of the actual production, like things had happened inbetween his handing it over and the press night that nobody told him about? He seemed perplexed, though diplomatic, about the set and didn't give any opinions (good or bad) about the cast though he may have been aware that Mark Addy was watching him in the cheap seats.
I've probably been left with more questions than answers but I do enjoy a NT Platform so I will forgive
I'm not sure why I booked tickets for this long before I had even seen Collaborators. I'm worried I was hoping to see Alex Jennings (I did but only getting off the bus on his way the the NT). My obsession is out of control.
Once I did see the play I was strangely looking forward to this. I had given it a harsh review but I couldn't get it out of my mind and I hoped Hodge would answer the questions that remained.
Hodge, it was explained, like Bulgakov was a doctor too. It was also mentioned that this was a film script but nobody wanted to make it so Hodge sent it to the Literary director of the National Theatre, added all the necessary exits and entrances theatre needed (though didn't specifically demand the odd zig zag staging) and subsequently gained interest from Sir Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director of the NT and director of the play. I'm still unsure why this is in the Cottesloe with such huge names in the cast, the cynics over at West End Whingers suggest that Hytner thought it wasn't good enough for the Olivier or Lyttelton and wouldn't have sold out. I think he was pandering to the egos of SRB and Jennings, who never get to perform in the Cottesloe before they are darlings of the theatre world.
The biggest issue with this platform was that many in the audience had yet to see the play and were seeing it after the platform (perhaps I should have done that) so there was a NO SPOILERS air and a lot of questions being asked that would have been explained if they had just held tight for another three hours. The things I wanted to know I was too scared to ask, why such a poorly written supporting cast, was that a relic of the film script? Why didn't the NT put on a Bulgakov play whilst Collaborators was in rep?
I was also left with the impression Hodge wasn't really aware of what was going on in terms of the actual production, like things had happened inbetween his handing it over and the press night that nobody told him about? He seemed perplexed, though diplomatic, about the set and didn't give any opinions (good or bad) about the cast though he may have been aware that Mark Addy was watching him in the cheap seats.
I've probably been left with more questions than answers but I do enjoy a NT Platform so I will forgive
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Collaborators (Preview) 28th October 2011
Who is in it? Collaborators is performed by Alex Jennings, Jacqueline Defferary, Simon Russell Beale, Patrick Godfrey, Maggie Service, Pierce Reid, William Postlethwaite, Mark Addy, Jess Murphy, Marcus Cunningham, Nick Sampson, Michael Jenn and Sarah Annis
Where did you see it? Cottesloe, National Theatre
When this play by John Hodges (Trainspotting, Shallow Grave) was announced back in January a large sigh was made by all those who read it. It would be easier to source hen's teeth than tickets for this play. The presence of Alex Jennings AND Simon Russell Beale;who have only worked together once before in 2006's The Alchemist also directed by Collaborators director Sir Nicolas Hytner, in the 300 seater Cottesloe meant the tickets didn't even get to public booking before being sold out.Thankfully I have an Entry Pass, which meant a select few tickets were held back for each performance even if those tickets are literally in the cheap seats. The benefit with the Cottesloe is that the staging is adaptable and the audience (relatively) small so viewing, despite being on row T, wasn't a problem.
The play is set in 1938 where Mikhail Bulgakov (Jennings) is haunted by dreams of Joseph Stalin (Beale) chasing and killing him with his own typewriter. Bulgakov is battling terminal illness and Soviet oppression as he attempts to stage Moliere, about a playwright's struggle about an oppressive force. The play is banned after one performance but the secret police in the shape of Vladmir and Stepan (Addy and Cunningham) offer Bulgakov a choice; write a play about Stalin for his upcoming 60th birthday and see Moliere staged again or be arrested by the secret police and executed. Bulgakov takes the first option.
The play's strength is the relationship between Bulgakov and Stalin, as Stalin realises that Bulgakov cannot write a sycophantic play so Stalin will write it for him in exchange Bulgakov will do his job. What follows feels like a psychological thriller as Bulgakov defends Stalin's evil to his wife Yelena (Defferary) and friends, a situation encouraged by an improvement in their living conditions.
The play struggles, perhaps due to direction, staging or just time limits, to depict the message I think Hodges really wanted to get across that Batum, the birthday play for Stalin about his youth and emergence as a key Soviet figure (which later be depicted in Young Stalin, a book by Simon Sebag-Montefiore) isn't like Bulgakov's other work and thus must be written by someone else. This relies on the audience being familiar with his previous work and not being like myself, who only came because I enjoy this period on a historical level and because they quite fancy Alex Jennings (Jennings is looking foxy as ever said one twitter account-Absolutely!)
Instead the message becomes "Tsk, wasn't that Stalin a scamp let's laugh at this ridiculous...oh no wait he did kill a lot of people and maybe we should be all serious and that about it in the second half" Beale is then forced to go from playing the clown, which he clearly enjoys to playing this "monster" a lesser actor would fail but Simon Russell Beale manages to turn the clown into a monster without it feeling like major, inexplicable change. Jennings has a easy role as the tragic Bulgakov who everyone seems to adore, is intelligent. His only "failing" is fearing the death of himself and loved ones at the hands of Stalin so he does odd things like write letters asking to let out of Soviet Union then backtracking when offered a job at the Moscow Arts Theatre. It isn't clear why he didn't just leave, Yelena seemed keen to.
The biggest let down is the dull supporting cast, with the exception of Addy who is pretty close to perfect in this and bigger revelation than the theatre gods that are Jennings and Beale. The parts for the supporting cast feel very much like Hodges promised a drama school parts for their graduates. There is nothing for them to get their teeth into, for example William Postlethwaite plays a friend of Bulgakov, Grigory but there was nothing in the performance that really made him stand out. At the risk of sounding cruel if he didn't have the Postlethwaite name and cheekbones I wonder if he would have even been considered because, frankly, any young actor could have played that part.
I think crucially this play is very good and very well researched but it doesn't feel special. I didn't, despite its big names, feel I was watching a classic play and thus deserves its place in the tiny Cottesloe but I expect demand means it may get restaged in one of the bigger National theatres. If you can't get a ticket, don't worry, see it when it comes to NT Live on December 1st
Where did you see it? Cottesloe, National Theatre
The play is set in 1938 where Mikhail Bulgakov (Jennings) is haunted by dreams of Joseph Stalin (Beale) chasing and killing him with his own typewriter. Bulgakov is battling terminal illness and Soviet oppression as he attempts to stage Moliere, about a playwright's struggle about an oppressive force. The play is banned after one performance but the secret police in the shape of Vladmir and Stepan (Addy and Cunningham) offer Bulgakov a choice; write a play about Stalin for his upcoming 60th birthday and see Moliere staged again or be arrested by the secret police and executed. Bulgakov takes the first option.
The play struggles, perhaps due to direction, staging or just time limits, to depict the message I think Hodges really wanted to get across that Batum, the birthday play for Stalin about his youth and emergence as a key Soviet figure (which later be depicted in Young Stalin, a book by Simon Sebag-Montefiore) isn't like Bulgakov's other work and thus must be written by someone else. This relies on the audience being familiar with his previous work and not being like myself, who only came because I enjoy this period on a historical level and because they quite fancy Alex Jennings (Jennings is looking foxy as ever said one twitter account-Absolutely!)
 |
| Simon Russell Beale in rehearsals |
The biggest let down is the dull supporting cast, with the exception of Addy who is pretty close to perfect in this and bigger revelation than the theatre gods that are Jennings and Beale. The parts for the supporting cast feel very much like Hodges promised a drama school parts for their graduates. There is nothing for them to get their teeth into, for example William Postlethwaite plays a friend of Bulgakov, Grigory but there was nothing in the performance that really made him stand out. At the risk of sounding cruel if he didn't have the Postlethwaite name and cheekbones I wonder if he would have even been considered because, frankly, any young actor could have played that part.
I think crucially this play is very good and very well researched but it doesn't feel special. I didn't, despite its big names, feel I was watching a classic play and thus deserves its place in the tiny Cottesloe but I expect demand means it may get restaged in one of the bigger National theatres. If you can't get a ticket, don't worry, see it when it comes to NT Live on December 1st
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