Communicating Doors, Alan Ayckbourn, The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

Alan Ayckbourn outside the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough

For some time now I have wanted to visit the Stephen Joseph theatre in Scarborough.  For two main reasons firstly it is the artistic home of one of our great writers Alan Ayckbourn and secondly through Ayckbourn’s influence it has become a hot bed for new modern theatre and the encouragement of new writers.  My first venture to the theatre was to see his 1994 play ‘Communicating Doors,’ a time bending farce exploring the journeys of three women through a time warp that has locked itself into their hotel room.  The plot line you would be forgiven for having a sense of disbelief, but the quality of the writing and the acting, create a compelling sense of intrigue and has universal resonance in the 2010 version.  As Ayckbourn himself writes in the programme notes,

‘’Communicating Doors was one of the earlier plays when, encouraged by my first experiences in writing my Christmas ‘family’ pieces which generally tended to be set in fantastic and undreamt worlds, in my adult work I stepped cautiously outside the four walls of the real house or the actual garden fence. Into the realms of heaven knows where…..’’

Though Ayckbourn’s reputation is based primarily on his ability to write entertaining comedies, most critics agree that his plays convey serious themes concerning the failures and tragedies of ordinary life as well as the moral and cultural decline of society.  This play is no exception with the main protagonist Poopay (Phoebe), being led into a hotel room as a dominatrix expecting to provide a service for an ‘older’ gentleman, who then gets led into a world of murder, violence and intrigue through the influence of Julian, a malevolent henchman who has influenced Reece to commit murder and kill two of his wives.  Reece who is an old man when the play starts wants to put things right and attempts to get Poopay to sign a confession as a witness which is subsequently discovered by Julian.  The story further unfolds when Poopay hides in a cupboard and discovers it takes her back to a night some 30 years previously, where his second wife Ruella is to be murdered.  The farcical nature of the plot continues when Ruella having been convinced by Poopay of what is likely to happen then goes back a further twenty years to inform Jessica, Reece’s first wife of what will happen to her and how they could work to change the terrible possibilities of events.

As previously mentioned the fantastical the plot line does however create many questions and and offers several themes for exploration.  Ruella’s insistence on honesty, decency and persistence sets off the action and brings the story to a suprising conclusion.  The play suggests these verities will always triumph, even if it takes time to make it happen.  Poopay is a creature of circumstance, but the play suggests that growth and change are possible when circumstances change.  Reece is a man easily led by stronger personalities, suggesting that people are creatures of their associations.  If we are fortunate to live with honesty, decency, and persistence, we take on those attributes.  Running underneath these themes Ayckbourn offers us a quick glimpse of a bleak future, a world full of Julian’s – greedy, selfish and willing to cause murder and mayhem to reach their own ends.

Laura Donnington as Poopay and Liza Goddard as Ruella in rehearsals

Ayckbourn in his book ‘The Crafty Art of Playmaking,’ also stresses on the importance of casting and this play is a testimony to this.  The acting is flawless with particular mention to Laura Doddington as Poopay and Lisa Goddard as Ruella, both beautifully playing off each other as we see the relationship between them develop throughout the play.  Goddard is an acting tour de force, and perfectly coveys the feisty Ruella and her insistence on justice.  Reece played by Ben Porter, both young and old is a difficult part, but he manages to convince us of his tremendous old age as well as the young honeymooner when the play goes back in time.  Jessica played by Laura Howard is excellent and plays the slightly ditsy character very convincingly.  Harold played by Jamie Kenna plays the hotel security guard with great aplomb.  This leaves us with Julian played by Kim Wall who plays the covert and malevolent Julian with extreme and believable menace. An excellent performance.

Alan Ayckbourn directs the cast in rehearsal.

The play, however, does for me, have its faults, with a twist in the plot at the end that doesn’t quite work and suspends disbelief in a world which already is asking us to believe the absurd.  The time changing theme gets a little too complicated and confused in order to create *SPOILER ALERT* the happy ending that Ayckbourn envisaged.  Having said this the play for the most part delivers giving us the suspense, comedy and farce that Ayckbourn is known for as well as the moral questions he has us asking at the end of the play.  Ayckbourn himself writes,

‘’Communicating Doors also contains my other strongly held belief that your own good fortune often resides in the people you meet on the way. It’s good luck to have met them : it’s good sense knowing the ones to listen too.’’

I couldn’t have written it better myself, but there again I’m not Alan Ayckbourn.

Enron, Noel Coward Theatre, London

Whilst in London I had a number of choices of plays that I could see, the one that polarised my decision making was Enron.  Enron has been deemed as a huge success and keeps cropping up in various newspapers and magazines as the play to see, with lofty banner headings such as,

“Funny, inventive, exhilarating, entertaining. Not to be missed.” (The Times)

“It’s the gold standard show – that everyone wants to buy into.” (Time Out)

“This perfect gem is right on the money.” (The Observer)

“This will send the west end’s stock rocketing high.” (The Evening Standard)

So, on the face of it a must see event which has excellent reviews.  However, there were a couple of things which I was unhappy with.  The first was the subject matter.  In the current recession ravaged environment did I really want to see a play about the rise and spectacular fall of an American organisation in the 1990’s? My second misgiving was that I had mistakenly thought that the production was primarily a musical and therefore did I want to see a musical about the rise and spectacular fall etc., etc. However, the reviews and the feedback I had got from various sources persuaded me, if not a little reluctantly, to try it. 

Having made my decision and having seen the play, the hype, for once really did live up to its promise.  Lucy Prebble’s writing with the combination of Rupert Goold’s expert direction make this play an era defining experience.  The stagecraft of the production uses dance, music, technology and an ensemble of gifted performers to create the mood and atmosphere of the corporate disaster that was Enron.  The story of Enron is also a microcosmic glimpse into the unregulated running of a company, controlled by greed, which ultimately had a catastrophic effect on thousands of people’s lives. 

The play shows how the Texan energy giant, Enron, moved from a gold standard top 50 company to a bankrupt disaster with debts of $38bn. Chief instigator is Jeffrey Skilling: a charasmatic, ambitious and ultimately disillusioned leader who boldly announces,

 “We’re not just an energy company, we’re a powerhouse for ideas”.

His basic idea is to trade in energy as well as supply it. But, as his dreams expand to include video, internet and even the weather, the gap between stockmarket perception and reality grows ever greater. As profits fail to materialise, Skilling turns to his sidekick, Andy Fastow, to create shadow companies to conceal mounting debts. Once the market loses confidence, Skilling’s schemes are revealed for what they are: a fraudulent fantasy. Twenty one thousand staff in Huston, Texas were given $4,500 severance pay and 30 minutes to clear their desks after Kenneth Lay, the chairman, Skilling, the chief exec and other execs had urged Enron staff to invest their pensions in the stock of the company.  This house of cards was bound to fall and fall it did, dramatically.

The subject matter could therefore be deemed as a little dry but Prebble and Goold provide a combination of clever writing and expert direction to capture the universal themes of greed, avarice, vanity and incompetence. The shows energy and movement is a combination of excellent use of dance and stagecraft which contributes to the feeling of frenetic activity which is evident before the spectacular fall. 

There are a number of clever touches which includes the dubious contributios of the Lehman Brothers and Arthur Andersen accountants who ultimately became victims as a result of their associations.  Apart from a few questionable southern American accents the acting is superb with a particular mention to Samuel West as Skilling, Tim Piggot-Smith as Kenneth Lay, Tom Goodman-Hill as Andy Farlow and Amanda Drew as Claudia Rose.

I cannot really give the play justice, all I can say is it was not a traditional musical, but music and dance were included in the play, it was not boring, it was invigorating and thought provoking and ultimately left me wiser and more informed about the corporate world and man’s potential for greed.  Certainly not a con and well worth the time and money spent.

The Habit of Art, Lyttleton, The National Theatre

Michael Billington’s review of ‘The Habit of Art,’ gives us a great insight into this new work by Alan Bennett.  As he says, the play does not have the ‘universal resonance,’ of ‘The History Boys,’ but for a play within a play based on the dotage of WH Auden and Benjamin Britten and their artistic challenges at this late stage in life, it is doused with the wit and humanity of Bennett and has become an unlikely smash hit at the Lyttleton at the National theatre. 

Here is a short preview of the play for NT Live on youtube where they have put a series of plays on youtube live.  The Habit of Art has already been on the site but it gives you a feel for the play.

Leo Benedictus’ piece in the Guardian also mentions the unlikely success of the subject matter,

‘I’m no Cameron Mackintosh, but a blockbuster play about rehearsals for a play about the old age of Benjamin Britten and WH Auden? It doesn’t quite ring up pound signs across my eyeballs.’

Smash hit however it is and this is down to the cleverness of Bennett’s writing, showing the frailties of the artist in later life, the curmudgeonly baseness of Auden and the fragile ego of Britten mixed with the petty goings on of the actors who play the parts in rehearsal.

Richard Griffiths although not physically resembling Auden brings his superb comic timing to the play; Alex Jennings plays the anal and prissy Britten excellently with superb performances by Frances De La Tour and Adrian Scarborough as the world weary stage manager and the pained writer.

Interestingly, the part of Auden/Fitz was to be played by Michael Gambon who probably resembles Auden closer. Due to ill health he pulled out.  It would have been interesting to see what Gambon brought to the play. However, Griffiths’ still pulls the part off superbly giving his slant on the actor in rehearsal and the poet in old age.

As expected from a Bennett play it is full of wit and cleverness and well worth a visit.  The only criticism I would have is that it ended with a whimper rather than a bang.  I think the ending where the stage manager turns off the lights at the end of the rehearsal lacked a crescendo and a natural arc, which probably points out that we were most interested in the play within the play rather than being able to fully identify with the rehearsals and the actors within it.  A tricky one to pull off, but overall the production works well. 

Please read Michael Billington and Leo Benedictus’ reviews in The Guardian as mentioned above.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/nov/18/alan-bennett-the-habit-of-art

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/nov/18/alan-bennett-habit-of-art-reviews

Twenty Five Years of Misery – Les Miserables, Queens Theatre, London

Yes its twenty five years since the musical ‘Les Miserables,’ (probably better known as ‘Les Mis’), was opened and performed for the first time under the successful directorial partnership of John Caird and Trevor Nunn and under the capable production of Cameron Mackintosh.

All I can say is, both the music and the production, have lasted the test of time.  The formula is set, the design and staging the same and the characters as strong and as compelling as they have ever been.  The theatre is still packed out and the story is still as moving as before.  In fact second time around it was even more a joy as these songs and the story have become a musical theatre institution.

The message of poverty, hopelessness and despair juxtaposed with the message of grace and forgiveness is as alive as the original writer Victor Hugo intended it.

The skilled interpreters Alain Boubil and Claude- Michel Schonberg aided by the lyrics of Herbert Krezmer have created a classic within a classic.  The inspired collaboration of Mackintosh, Nunn and Caird, have provided a show that is a rare commodity, the mixture of populism with a universal appeal. 

I don’t even like musicals, but this is something more.

The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare, Manchester Royal Exchange.

In preparing for this review I thought I’d read former reviews from the broadsheets and have been left agog.  Here are a couple of links to the Independent’s review and Times On line review of The Comedy of Errors at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/the-comedy-of-errors-royal-exchange-theatre–manchester-1938507.html

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article7090636.ece

In her review dated the 8th of April Lynne Walker from The Independent states,

”The problem lies more in the fact that, in trying to reflect the multi-cultural society of the Turkish trading port, Silbert has assembled a multi-national company in which a melting pot of accents makes it difficult to pick up enough words.”

I’m sorry Lynne but the words ‘ear’ and ‘trumpet’ come to mind either that or a good de waxing.  She also goes on to state,

”Even in the hands of the experienced Fred Ridgeway as Egeon, it’s not always easy to follow the solemn tale of his sad quest. The words of those in several smaller roles, all deftly acted, are even harder to decipher. Bold though Silbert has been in her concept and casting, the focus surely has to be on the coherency and lucidity of the language.”

I can but disagree to me the actors were quite proficient in speaking the iambic pentameter and the only diverse cultural background I could see were perhaps a Turkish actor, a black British actress, an Asian British actor, a Welsh actor who plays one of the twins and an Irish actress.  Surely this is just a cross section of the Britain we live in today.  As far as I could hear there were no problems with their delivery of speech as most of the actors, although being from a diverse background, were as far as I could hear from a British upbringing.  Lynne I’m sorry you should be ashamed of yourself. 

Jeremy Kington’s review for Times Online is also a little hard to comprehend and seems to dwell more on the merits of the play and it’s lack of characterisation than the actual production itself.  Two words, Lazy journalism.

In my opinion the play was cleverly imagined with an intelligent cutting of the text to a healthy one and a half hours.  Roxanna Silbert’s production presented us with a bare, white stage in a freshly minimalist presentation.  The stage, in a simple round design subtley rose to a crescendo towards the end of the performance. 

The play did have a multi cultural feel probably precipitated from the diverse cultures within the cast.  For me this only added to the play and concentrated our minds to the cosmopolitan port the play was set in.  The music also gave us a subtle feel of diversity with its Moroccan/ Turkish undertones.

 The highlight of the play was the twins work.  Especially the Dromio twins played by Owain Arthur and Michael Jibson who played the slap stick and confused twins so well.  I have to say Owain Arthur particularly stuck out for me, an actor to watch for the future. 

 In my opinion the play deserved a four out of five with a couple of minor quibbles disallowing a five. The comedy was good, the production was well conceived and the only bad delivery I could fathom were the reviews from The Independent and Times Online, which shows you can’t believe all you read in the papers.