Sandy Pritchard-Gordon

Sandy Pritchard-Gordon
Theatre Blog

Saturday 26 September 2015

People, Places & Things at The Dorfman





Much has been written about Denise Gough who stars in the new play, People, Places and Things by Duncan Macmillan at The Dorfman, all of which has been complimentary.  And this is how it should be because she is unbelievably good playing troubled actress Emma, who has alcohol and drug abuse problems.

We first see her in the role of Nina, the ingénue in Chekhov’s play The Seagull and it is soon evident that all is not well.  This is confirmed when the scene swiftly changes to what is obviously a reception area in a (not quite so obvious) rehabilitation unit.  Our flawed heroine has checked herself in to sort herself out, but if becomes clear that she is no model patient.  Wanting, among other things, to rescue her failing career and her sanity, she rails against her rescuers, refusing to give up her propensity for lying, especially when it comes to her actual name.  The clinic’s twelve-step recovery programme, where the patients are advised to avoid peoples, places and things that might trigger temptation is not something to which she’s keen to subscribe.  After all drugs and alcohol have never let her down and have always loved her!  Eventually she does surrender to the detox regime, joining in with a role play session which when played out for real with her parents, varies to such an extent that her decision to beat her addictions is seriously undermined.

In the wrong hands, the portrayal of such an intelligent but damaged soul, veering from one emotional meltdown to the next, could become tiresome.  But this splendid, virtually unknown actress, ensures that her journey from the effects of withdrawal, through sullen unresponsiveness to eventual capitulation, is as harrowing as it is utterly believable.  She sniffs, squints and squirms, her stance indicating terror and rage in equal measure;  every inch the addict. Thanks to Jeremy Herrin’s marvellous direction and Bunny Christie’s minimal but authentic design, we’re privy to the hallucinations Emma feels during her initial detox.  Many versions of herself are seen escaping from her bed and ghostly bulges gape through the clnically white walls.

Although Denise Gough is undoubtedly the “star of the show”, there are other fine performances.  “You look like my mother”, Emma says to the Doctor.  This is unsurprising, because Barbara Marten takes on this role as well as Therapist and Mum and is totally believable in all three.  And other group member Nathaniel Martello-White as Mark, the deliverer of superb one-liners is excellent.

People Places and Things far from being depressing is witty and not without hope, whilst the ending hits just the right note.  Ambiguous it may be but there is never any certainty that an addict is no longer an addict having gone through rehab.  The only certainty is that Denise Gough is no longer a virtual unknown actress.

Saturday 19 September 2015

Future Conditional at The Old Vic








If the first production by the new man at the helm of The Old Vic is anything to go by, we’re in for an exciting ride during his tenure.  Future Conditional, a new play written by Tamsin Oglesby and directed by Matthew Warchus, Kevin Spacey’s replacement, is excellent.  Not only does it include live rock music courtesy of Ben Lochrie and Carmen Vandenberg on electric guitars, but also lots of laughs, most of which are provided by the excellent Rob Brydon on tip top form.

Future Conditional is basically a play about education, but it doesn’t focus on just one aspect.  One of it’s main narrative strands concerns Alia, a 17-year-old Pakistani who is taught by Rob Brydon’s, Mr Crane in a state school in Sussex.  She’s bright and focused, but should she be admitted to an Oxford college?  When we’re not privy to Crane’s daily problems that teaching in a mixed race secondary school brings, we’re flies on the wall during meetings of an obstreperous committee compiling a report on education and equality.  Because Alia, the outsider, is intelligent as well as innocent, she is deemed to be a perfect candidate for adding her thoughts to this rag tag group.  The third strand transports us to a primary school playground, where a group of disparate mums, are desperately trying to get the best education for their children that they can; even if that means a little manipulation of the system.  In a nutshell it’s a play that explores the turmoil surrounding our fractious education system.

It’s a large cast of twenty-five, if you include the two musicians, and the scene changes are undertaken during guitar riffs by several actors dressed in school uniforms.  It could be chaotic as the scenes change frequently, but under Matthew Wachus’s direction, the whole procedure Is seamless.

Apart from the impressive Rob Brydon, there are several other actors who deserve a mention.   Joshua Maguire plays Oliver one of the committee members and an old Etonian, with a ready but forced smile.  He is an actor who never disappoints and is particularly hilarious here, especially when pitted against the equally good, Brian Vernel, who portrays Bill, a working-class northerner, who definitely didn’t go to any public school, let alone Eton.  No prizes for guessing which one of them rejects the way the privileged few have access to the best education for their offspring.

The tension surrounding the Mum’s gathered in the playground is beautifully realised.  There is Hettie, middle-class through and through whose moral dilemma about sending her child to a pay feeing school, is brilliantly brought to life by Lucy Briggs-Owen.  At the other end of the social scale is the equally affecting Amy Dawson as Kaye, a working class Mum who doesn’t have any choice about where her child goes to school and is, seemingly, not that bothered.  Oh and I also loved Natalia Klamar as the idealistic Suzy.

Future Conditional may not answer any profound questions, but it gets an A+ for energy and entertainment.

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Our Country's Good At The Olivier





On seeing Gary Wood as the lone Aborigine on the huge Olivier stage as I walked into the theatre, I had a gut feeling that this would be a very affecting production of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s 1988 play Our Country’s Good.  And this feeling wasn’t too wide off the mark.

Adapted from a novel by Thomas Keneally, Wertenbaker’s play takes us back to 1788 and the landing of The First Fleet in Port Jackson (now Sydney Harbour).  Second Lieutenant Ralph Clark (Jason Hughes) undertakes to stage a production of George Farquhar’s The Recruiting Officer in an attempt to give some of the convicts a sense of purpose.  Slowly but surely they do start to commit to the project and the regenerative power of drama is highlighted.  As is to be expected, the project doesn’t enlist across the board approval.  Many of the naval officers in charge of this ragtag bunch of supposed no-hopers believe it is punishment and not culture that should be used to bring them to heel.  As a result there is violent conflict amongst the convicts and many of the officers, very much at odds with the redemption of the former taking place during rehearsals.

A large cast is assembled here at The Olivier and, for the most part, there isn’t one dud note.  Even Cerys Matthew’s musical score is nearly always in tune with what is happening on stage.  Two performances in particular are well worth a mention.  Liz Morden, beautifully brought to life by Jodie McNee is the most belligerent of the convicts.  A raging Scouser, who detests everyone and everything, she metamorphoses into a woman with a quiet dignity, which, thanks to McNee is totally and utterly believable.  The other is Ashley McGuire playing Dabby Bryant, a girl from the West Country who poignantly longs to return to her beloved Devon.  Sadly she never will.

Designer Peter McKintosh makes full use of the Olivier Stage, using its revolve to rise up and show the convicts in the cramped, claustrophobic hold during the first few minutes of the play.  Plus he has created a wonderful backdrop, which perfectly illustrates what their first impression of this new land must have been.  The bands of bright yellow, orange and red, very much in the style of an aboriginal painting, signify the blistering Australian sun.  We’re immediately in tune with the suffering they’ve endured and the problems they have yet to encounter.

As I’ve said, the music mostly does justice to this iconic play, especially when Matthews uses traditional ballads and Josienne Clarke delights us with her beautiful voice.  The only problems are that she also includes songs, which have a tendency to sabotage the play’s emotional depth and, their inclusion doesn’t help the lengthy running time.

These are minor quibbles.  Nadia Fall’s production is, on the whole, a delight.