LONDON TRIP REVIEWS

Apr 97

The primary attraction of London that brings us back every five years or so is the quantity and quality of theatrical plays. We typically see 10 plays in 7 days. This time it was 16 plays in 14 days. Our first afternoon in London, after a brief nap, was spent theater hopping, buying tickets like maniacs. Some people shop, we go to the theater. On the whole, we were impressed with the quality of plays in London. We saw no major clangers, and several very fine shows.

Check in regularly at the Leicester Square 2-for-1 booth for tickets.. Of the 16 plays we saw nearly half were available at half price. Big musicals generally are not on the board, but an amazing number of others are available at discount. Well worth checking out the booth if you are interested in saving money.

The General From American in the Barbican Center Pit Theatre (200 seats on 3 sides of the extended stage) put on by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company . It was an interesting play about Benedict Arnold and how he turned traitor, almost turning over the fort at West Point and supposedly George Washington in the bargain. I came away with no sympathy for Arnold despite his having some legitimate grievances, and even less sympathy for the British. Moreover, I personally felt that if a better case for Arnold couldn't be created, there was little point in resurrecting this tawdry bit of history. Reba and our London-based companion Anne Lister don't agree with me about presenting the play, and we all agreed we need to do some historical research. Anybody know a good book on Benedict Arnold?

Art. Fascinating. The story revolves around three very good male friends after one spends 250,000 francs on a totally white picture. The closest I can come to understanding it is that the persona of the characters and the relationships are totally obvious, just as the painting was totally white. But that doesn't really describe either the people or the significance of the painting.

Birdie ranks at the bottom of the shows we saw, yet even it was not bad. It is about 2 life-long friends who survive a war, but one of them ends up acting like a bird in a military psycho ward. A two hour show that would have made a good 30 minute PBS telecast. Maybe one hour. It has been booking through August but just after we saw it the notice went up that it is closing in 2 weeks. We can understand why.

Blood Brothers. a musical that has been running for 10 years. Twin boys are separated at birth because the mother already has 10 children and can only support one more. The other child goes to a wealthy family. Despite all efforts by the "mothers", the 2 boys become friends and are involved in each others lives, tragically. It isn't a great play but it was worth seeing. Local theaters could pick it up because it requires talent but not great talent to do it right and the sets are simple.

Cats. What a magnificent play. It is the closest to ballet that we'll ever enjoy, with good choreography, graceful movements, good music and lyrics (by T.S. Eliot). We sat in the rear of the stalls (orchestra) rather than in the front where the view would not as embracing, or in the dress circle (balcony) where we would not have heard quite as well (maybe). We have seen Cats twice in Washington and once before in London. The play works better on the big stage with seating on three sides and the British junk is fun to see.

East Is East. Despite having problems with accents, we thought this was really quite a good. Show. It is about a Pakistani husband and an Anglo wife, married for 25 years, and their 7 kids. The family is lower class, and the father tries to be a total dictator even while his children grow up in a liberal social environment. The explosive situation ignites when the father tries to make a marriage contract for two of his sons. The dialog and actions rung true and even the father becomes a sympathetic character by the end.

Martin Guerre. This was written by the same team that put on Les Miserables and Miss Saigon. It got crucified when it first opened and has been considerably rewritten. The basic plot concerns a soldier who returns to his village claiming to be Martin Guerre. It is clear that he is not, but virtually everyone wants him to be, including Martin's wife. The plot thickens when it turns out that Martin's wife and a village contingent are Protestants in a Catholic milieu. Does it work? Reasonably well. We enjoyed it. But it is available at the two-fer booth in Leicester Square, an evil omen.

The Herbal Bed Put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company, we expected a lot and left disappointed and irritated.. The story line is that Shakespeare's married daughter Susanna is accused in 1613 of having an affair with a married neighbor. She sues for slander in ecclesiastic court. The hype is for an erotic love story that bursts into a courtroom drama. Actually, the whole thing has as more to do with herbs used for medicinal purposes and the ability of people to deceive themselves. Leave out the name "Shakespeare" and it would have dies a natural death long ago. This one probably ranks down in the bottom two or three shows we've seen. And we paid full price for it. Phooey.

The Importance of Being Oscar, a one man show on the life and works of Oscar Wilde. Very well done. There were readings from Dorian Gray and Lady Windermere's Fan, from Wild's letters written in jail and many others, showing wit, intelligence, and sensitivity far beyond that to be expected of such a dandy. Reba and I both came away with the intent of reading some Wilde as soon as we can. The tragedy really comes through of Wilde serving two years at hard labor for homosexual activity, ending his literary career and, shortly thereafter, his life. It seemed that Wilde helped bring himself down, and I'd like to know more about that aspect. Can't help but like a show that makes you want to know more.

An Inspector Calls. J B Priestley's 1946 play set in 1910, about an upper middle family entangled in various ways with a poor but honest young woman who commits suicide. An Inspector comes to interview each member of the family, tying them one at a time to the woman and her death. There are some twists and turns that held our interest but the basic political message is beaten home with a hammer. Even so, we liked it. The acting was good, and the theatrical tricks work. The message -- that we are all one family -- is better than a lot of other messages broadcast in plays these days. It wasn't one of the top plays of the season but it was worth seeing. And after it was all over, we went outside and saw the Inspector seeking contributions for the homeless! What a spectacular touch.

Marlene. This was a one-woman show with Sian Phillips as Marlene Dietrich. We were enraptured, despite the somewhat slow pace and rather loose stitching of the play. Marlene would be close to 100 if she were still alive, but we saw her tonight doing Lilli Marlene and all her old classics, acting the prima donna, and being full of life. I saw Dietrich in about 1965 and this was her at about that stage (actually about 1970.) This is an absolute must see.

Oliver. The music and characters in Oliver are so entertaining that it is impossible not to have a good time following the waif from orphanage to the clutches of Fagan and Bill Sykes. Unfortunately we picked a matinee to see it and the theater was full of kids on holiday, wildly exuberant for a Fagan pulling all the strings, playing his part most broadly.

Phantom of the Opera We have seen Phantom here 7 years ago and once more recently at the Kennedy Center. We love the music, and the production was very good. But there really wasn't much more to get out of seeing the play than we had already gotten. Unlike Cats which is ballet, Phantom is static singing with pyrotechnics. We think we would see Cats again, but listening to the Phantom CDs is enough.

Popcorn. The caution is "rude language" which indeed it has. It is about an Oscar winning American movie director who produces murderous movies and excuses them by saying the public wants them. His house is invaded by a maniacal couple, the "mall murderers," who procede to shoot up the place and justify their actions by blaming the director. Funny, poignant, just very well done. We rate this one at the top of plays we saw. Forget the rude language and see it if you possibly can.

Sunset Boulevard. We saw this one in its final 4 days here (and NY is closing too.) It was magnificent. Good music, good acting, brilliant sets. It really may be Weber's best. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Tom and Clem. This strange play is about a flaming homosexual newspaperman/backbencher and Clement Atlee at Potsdam. The dialog was witty at the personal level, but heavily laden with a debate about how to initiate socialism in Britain and whether a revolution can be conducted "without tears." Atlee was the pragmatist and Tom an ideologue. The whole thing was strange -- Tom's homosexuality is irrelevant to the political discussion and Marxism in 1997 is hardly a defensible cause. We don't give this long to live -- it is in previews now and if this were the US it would close out of town.

Victor K Heyman
Email : vheyman@dc.net