kelly_chambliss (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kelly_chambliss) wrote2013-11-24 09:57 pm
kelly_chambliss) wrote2013-11-24 09:57 pm
National Theatre 50th Anniversary
I'm back from my trip to see a filmed-live broadcast of the [Royal] National Theatre's 50 Years on Stage Gala. It was a three-hour drive each way, but so worth the trip.
I left Rural Hamlet at 8:30 in the morning, got to City in time to have lunch with a very old friend (whom I haven't seen in literally 20 years), saw the show (two hours and 45 minutes of fabulosity), went to Trader Joe's, and was home again by 8:30 p.m. It was freezing bitter cold, but otherwise, the weather was clear and dry and made for an easy trip (listening to e-books on the road helps, too). The TJ's frozen food got back safely, courtesy of a cooler, bagged ice, and the below-freezing temperature of my trunk.
A couple of years ago, I read an article about how the theatre-going audience is aging, and if the audience at today's film is representative, that claim is true. The theatre was only about one-quarter full, and except for two 20-somethings, I was the youngest person in the place. (And trust me, I ain't no kid.)
But the program was like a dream come true. Here, feast your eyes on this list.
My thoughts on the various performances:
• Joan Plowright as Joan of Arc was powerful.
• In general, I'm no Cumberbatch fan, but I have to say, Benedict Cumberbatch in Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead was hilarious; his comic timing was impeccable.
• Maggie Smith as Myra in Hay Fever is equally fun; it's a clip that is also available on YouTube.
• I confess to being a bit disappointed by Smith's turn in The Beaux' Stratagem -- it was short and rather subdued, and unless you know the play, I don't think the particular excerpt was very meaningful or gave Smith much scope.
• Penelope Wilton in Bedroom Farce was totally delightful. I'm not familiar with the play; the bit we see seems light, fun, and frivolous, and Wilton was a pleasure to watch.
• Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon in No Man's Land were interesting. Jacobi's role was more talky and showy than Gambon's; in fact, Gambon didn't have much to do. It was a rather unbalanced choice of scene, I thought.
• Even I, old-lady-lover that I am, thought it was a bit odd to see Judi Dench playing Cleopatra at age nearly-80, good though she was.
• Though most of the segments were live performances, they did have a few video clips (like Hay Fever) from the archives of original productions. My favorites were Fiona Shaw in Richard II and Zoe Wanamaker in The Cherry Orchard. (I had the inestimable pleasure of seeing that very production of The Cherry Orchard in 2011 in London -- in the company of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
therealsnape and tetleythesecond).
• To my mind, one of the best scenes was performed by Helen Mirren and Tim Piggott-Smith, from Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra. I'd forgotten how gothic and over-the-top the plot is, but the actors carried it off with a taut intensity that was just excellent.
• Another great scene was the one from Angels in America. In some ways, the AIDS-related plot has dated a bit, but in other ways, the play is still powerful. The actors -- Andrew Scott and Dominic Cooper -- were really strong.
• I was disappointed in the scene from Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. That play is one of my very favorites; I've seen three different major productions of it (including the American premiere in 1995) and have been in it myself. I agree that it's not easy to excerpt -- but I felt that neither the chosen scene nor the performances gave much idea of just how good that show is.
• The curtain call was the perfect ending. I'll say no more about it, in case you get to see the show yourself (I think it's going to be released on DVD and/or Netflix). Just know that it's a very fitting conclusion.
All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon, and I'm so glad I went, even though I have so much to do that I really had no business leaving the house.
I left Rural Hamlet at 8:30 in the morning, got to City in time to have lunch with a very old friend (whom I haven't seen in literally 20 years), saw the show (two hours and 45 minutes of fabulosity), went to Trader Joe's, and was home again by 8:30 p.m. It was freezing bitter cold, but otherwise, the weather was clear and dry and made for an easy trip (listening to e-books on the road helps, too). The TJ's frozen food got back safely, courtesy of a cooler, bagged ice, and the below-freezing temperature of my trunk.
A couple of years ago, I read an article about how the theatre-going audience is aging, and if the audience at today's film is representative, that claim is true. The theatre was only about one-quarter full, and except for two 20-somethings, I was the youngest person in the place. (And trust me, I ain't no kid.)
But the program was like a dream come true. Here, feast your eyes on this list.
My thoughts on the various performances:
• Joan Plowright as Joan of Arc was powerful.
• In general, I'm no Cumberbatch fan, but I have to say, Benedict Cumberbatch in Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead was hilarious; his comic timing was impeccable.
• Maggie Smith as Myra in Hay Fever is equally fun; it's a clip that is also available on YouTube.
• I confess to being a bit disappointed by Smith's turn in The Beaux' Stratagem -- it was short and rather subdued, and unless you know the play, I don't think the particular excerpt was very meaningful or gave Smith much scope.
• Penelope Wilton in Bedroom Farce was totally delightful. I'm not familiar with the play; the bit we see seems light, fun, and frivolous, and Wilton was a pleasure to watch.
• Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon in No Man's Land were interesting. Jacobi's role was more talky and showy than Gambon's; in fact, Gambon didn't have much to do. It was a rather unbalanced choice of scene, I thought.
• Even I, old-lady-lover that I am, thought it was a bit odd to see Judi Dench playing Cleopatra at age nearly-80, good though she was.
• Though most of the segments were live performances, they did have a few video clips (like Hay Fever) from the archives of original productions. My favorites were Fiona Shaw in Richard II and Zoe Wanamaker in The Cherry Orchard. (I had the inestimable pleasure of seeing that very production of The Cherry Orchard in 2011 in London -- in the company of
therealsnape and tetleythesecond).• To my mind, one of the best scenes was performed by Helen Mirren and Tim Piggott-Smith, from Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra. I'd forgotten how gothic and over-the-top the plot is, but the actors carried it off with a taut intensity that was just excellent.
• Another great scene was the one from Angels in America. In some ways, the AIDS-related plot has dated a bit, but in other ways, the play is still powerful. The actors -- Andrew Scott and Dominic Cooper -- were really strong.
• I was disappointed in the scene from Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. That play is one of my very favorites; I've seen three different major productions of it (including the American premiere in 1995) and have been in it myself. I agree that it's not easy to excerpt -- but I felt that neither the chosen scene nor the performances gave much idea of just how good that show is.
• The curtain call was the perfect ending. I'll say no more about it, in case you get to see the show yourself (I think it's going to be released on DVD and/or Netflix). Just know that it's a very fitting conclusion.
All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon, and I'm so glad I went, even though I have so much to do that I really had no business leaving the house.
no subject