|
Fri 13 April 2007
John Normington ill withdraws from Entertainer
John Normington has withdraw from John Osborne's The Entertainer, due to ill health. The understudy, David Baron will take his place for the rest of the run to 26 May at the Old Vic.
Directed by Sean Holmes, the play opened 7 March 2007, following previews from 23 Feb, to excellent notices from the popular press: NICHOLAS DE JONGH for THE EVENING STANDARD says, "I was caught in a haze of nostalgia, amusement and high emotion." SARAH HEMMING for THE FINANCIAL TIMES says, "Sean Holmes’s fine production stokes up the energy and features some first-rate performances." ALICE JONES for THE INDEPENDENT says, "[Pam] Ferris is magnificent." MICHAEL BILLINGTON for THE GUARDIAN says, "Fine production." CHARLES SPENCER for THE DAILY TELEGRAPH says, "It is impossible to praise [Robert] Lindsay's magnificent star performance too highly...Pam Ferris is unforgettable." BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE for THE TIMES says, "Fine production."
The cast includes: Robert Lindsay (Archie Rice), Pam Ferris (Archie's wife)
The Entertainer is designed by Anthony Lamble, lighting by Peter Mumford. Music by John Addison with arrangements and additional music by Steven Edis, and sound by Fergus O’Hare.
Archie Rice, a music-hall performer in an age when music halls had all but disappeared. Driven by dreams of stardom and a desperation to equal his father's success, Archie finds himself a man out of his time - a selfish, deceitful has-been, headlining a tacky revue in a rundown seaside town. Family tensions rise to a boil as he shamelessly cheats on his wife and tricks his dying father into financing one last revue. But throughout it all, Archie jigs and jabbers before his ever-diminishing audience and does whatever it takes to keep the show going.
|
