"Mike Barlett's play is strong, with sparking dialogue, but it's the acting that really compelled."
Cock – A Mini Review (2009)
C
NT: Phedre – now on NT@HOME
N
Twelve years after this was staged at the National Theatre it’s available to stream online until November 2021. Should you watch? If approaching with low expectations, I’d say go for it. Watch Helen Mirren reach and fail to grasp both the object of her obsession and the nuances in the Racine translation. Watch a young Dominic Cooper, fresh from the History Boys as the object of that obsession. Watch and...
The English Game – A Review
T
The English Game, co-created and co-produced by Julian Fellowes, is currently streaming on Netflix. This six part drama (also partly co-written by Fellowes, together with a team of writers) sees the English class struggle played out on muddy football fields, in the last days of the nineteenth century. Most likely based on, or inspired by, the biography Arthur Kinnaird – First Lord of Football by Andy Mitchell...
Belgravia – The Series – A Review
B
I admit, I have not read the novel. I tuned into ITV’s production of Julian Fellows Belgravia on the strength of the cast – primarily Harriet Walter and Tamsin Greig. Not having been a fan of Downton Abbey (I bailed during the second series) I went into this with rather low expectations. And, on the whole, after six episodes – watched live each week – I have to say I was rather pleasantly surprised...
Keeler, Profumo Ward and Me – a Review
K
A REVIEW OF THE BBC DOCUMENTARY - & RUMINATIONS ON A BYGONE ERA:
Locke – A review
L
“…a tour de force solo performance” Via streaming video and the brilliance of Chromecast, I rented Locke. I knew nothing about the film, but that Olivia Colman and Ruth Wilson were part of the cast. I had no idea that Tom Hardy would be giving what is a tour de force solo performance. Centring on a night’s drive down the motorway, from Birmingham to Croydon, the entire film takes place in real...
NT:LIVE – A Streetcar named desire
N
As written in 2014: I saw this NT:LIVE, not Young Vic live, last Tuesday and was hoping to get a proper review up but, time is of essence. Encore performances – globally – are happening tomorrow evening, and on October 6th. And it is well, well, worth booking a ticket. Information on venues and tickets can be found here. This is a magnetic performance of a lifetime, nay of a career. Gillian Anderson is...
NT:LIVE Coriolanus
N
As the Donmar’s 2014 production of Coriolanus goes NT:Live on the National Theatre’s YouTube channel tonight, for seven days, I thought I would repost my review from February of that year: AS WRITTEN IN 2014: I saw Coriolanus, on Thursday evening, thanks to the technical wizardry of N.T. Live. Although I don’t think ‘live’ carries the impact of the actual live performance – in that the...