“. . . This new revival is eloquent and hilarious in equal measure. The physicality of characters and script is ingenious, engaging and energised on a level not seen before. Noble has manage to add so much more content to the already superbly witty dialogue, for which Wilde was famous, making this play look as if it has just been penned and as fresh and current as any new writing appearing at The Royal Court. . . “
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Florian Zeller is a clever writer. Instinctively it appears, he has learned one of the peculiar strengths of the theatre; the relationship between spectator and actor, in tandem with one of the most precious of dramatic skills, how to manipulate the audience. We saw it in The Father and here in The Mother (the first of the duo) we have that rug-pulling ability that makes us question what we see and what the actors are seeing.
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” . . . Alone in a boxing gym, with a video camera, there is one last thing that Ray has to do. Recording the lessons learned from a lifetime in the ring, he is forced to lower his guard and face the consequences of feelings buried for years beneath his hardened exterior . . . Christopher Fairbank does a splendid job of letting us in, despite the obvious challenges the piece burdens him with. His performance is dynamic and full of energy, his physicality gives a real sense of a proud ex-boxing champion . . . ”
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” . . . Ballet is often talked about in hushed, reverential tones and taken awfully seriously. Façade, though, is wonderfully disrespectful and laugh-out-loud funny. After the first little cameo, Scottish Rhapsody, I said to myself, “Yeh, that’s my favourite.” Then the Tyrolean milking piece, Yodelling, and I said, “No, that’s my favourite.” And so it went on . . . BRB is always a joy to watch and I look forward to seeing them with a sort of childish glee of which a man of my age should be ashamed. But I’m not, I love ‘em.”
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It is difficult to decide who might be most disappointed by Monty Python’s Spamalot. Certainly fans of Eric Idle or the Holy Grail who will go expecting to see something raucous and silly and madcap – something that harks back to golden years of the Flying Circus – or at the very least pays a fitting homage to the film it scrapes from and scratches at. Fans of musical theatre too will be disappointed by its lack of pizazz and its underwhelming score.
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” . . . is the fourth and final production of this year’s Directors’ Cuts season from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School . . . Harry Egan is wonderfully weird as receptionist Jim, and Karl Wilson delivers Donald’s sales patter with a powerful mix of warmth and menace. Most impressive of all is Dominic Allen as the dangerously unpredictable William. Director Laura Jasper has created a fast-moving, energetic production, and her actors do her proud. The 2015 Directors’ Cuts season has yet again shown that year on year the BOVTS produces graduates of the very highest quality.”
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