Ghost Stories at the Duke of York’s Theatre

 

Billed as “a truly terrifying theatrical experience”, Ghost Stories comes to the West End following a sell-out season at the Lyric Hammersmith.  Ghost Stories is written by two men who need no introduction in the arena of the dark and macabre: The League of Gentlemen's Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman who is best known as co-creator and director of Derren Brown’s television and stage shows. 

The play is narrated by Andy Nyman in his role as Professor Philip Goodman, an expert in parapsychology and a sceptic at heart.  He begins by essentially debunking the idea of paranormal phenomena but then intriguingly introduces the idea that not everything is as it may seem.  As he gives a mock lecture to the audience he explains that in twenty years of professional experience, he has come across only three cases that have been different enough to warrant his attention.  These are the cases that disturb, that keep him up at night.  I won’t spoil the play for you by telling you about the three cases but I can tell you there was a lot of screaming, squealing and hiding behind partners on the part of the audience.  It is certainly not advisable to hold a drink in your hands whilst watching the show.

One of the best aspects of the show was the design.  I had already noticed the dismembered leg in the foyer of the theatre and the main arena was transformed from a stately old theatre into a horror house of sorts.  There was police tape and cob-webbed gas lamps to give a truly eerie experience and the overall effect was completed by the seemingly random numbers chalked onto the walls.  The stage had a creepy veil as a curtain which had “safety curtain” painted on in red paint and green, slimy paint on the stage itself.  The set design was really good too with distorted, angular rooms, creepy forests and corridors of old asylum cells to set the general tone of fear. 

Ghost Stories is a lot of fun (if being scared and screaming out loud is your cup of tea) and I did enjoy the show.  At times however, the plot did get a little ridiculous or thin and there were certainly times when the audience was laughing or scoffing when they should have been screaming.  In a classic coup de théâtre, there is quite a twist at the end of the play and at first I felt a little bit underwhelmed by the ending.  As I sat on the train on the way home though, I came to appreciate how cleverly all the pieces fit together as I sifted through the various clues that had been left throughout the play.  Having said that, I didn’t feel that it was like watching a live horror film, as one audience member had previously stated and it certainly did not reach the levels of scariness and tension that films do.  I can imagine that it is quite difficult to portray that nail-biting, terrifying suspense in front of a live audience and I had always been sceptical about the ability to bring such a story to the stage. 

During the play, the one impression that I did have was surprise that they managed to secure a major West End theatre for the glorious summer and early autumn season as in spite of the impressive set design, this is really more of a community theatre production.  Nevertheless, if you are looking for a fun and somewhat exhilarating 80 minutes, then I would recommend Ghost Stories.  It is not the standard quality we’ve come to expect of West End shows though, so do make sure you’ve seen all of the big ones first.

Ghost Stories also stars Ryan Gage, David Cardy and Nicholas Burns and will run at the Duke of York’s Theatre until 7th November 2010.  Tickets range from £22.50 to £47.50.

Article first published as Theatre Review (London): Ghost Stories at the Duke of York’s Theatre on Blogcritics.

Theatre: The Little Dog Laughed

On Tuesday night, we went to see the Garrick Theatre production of Douglas Carter Beane’s The Little Dog Laughed.

The Little Dog Laughed is about a rising Hollywood star Mitchell (Rupert Friend) who in the words of his agent “suffers from a slight recurring case of homosexuality”.  He meets rent boy Alex (Harry Lloyd) and their lives are turned somewhat upside down when they both fall for each other despite both asserting that they are not gay.  The play is set against the backdrop of Hollywood and homosexuality and explores all of the double standards and difficulties with coming out in show business.  There is a fantastic quote by Colin Firth in the programme which just about sums it up:

“If you’re a straight actor who takes on the role of a gay man, it’s obviously not the same as being one in this business”.

The Little Dog Laughed was written by Douglas Carter Beane who also wrote To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, a 1995 film starring Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snapes.  It first opened off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in 2006. 

The play is narrated by Mitchell’s morally challenged agent Diane (played by Tamsin Greig) who has such classic lines as "A writer with the final cut? I'd rather give firearms to small children”.  It is no secret really that I am a massive fan of Harry Lloyd and have spent the past three years watching each and every one of his plays but it is Greig who absolutely steals the show and her acting, wardrobe and personality all fit the role perfectly.  In her role as Diane, Greig superbly breaks through the fourth wall, allowing the audience into the world of Hollywood agents, actors and writers and she did it very well indeed.  She was incredibly comfortable chatting and winking to the audience one minute and then diving right back into her encounters with the rest of the cast the next.

Rupert Friend plays the drunken, privileged and somewhat sheltered Mitchell really well.  While I tend not to question how characters were written (as it is generally a fixed factor when putting on a play), I have to wonder at a rising Hollywood star who doesn’t get the significance of coming out to the world and the effect that could have on his career.  In the end, his naiveté is what trips him up though.

In an equal sense, Harry Lloyd’s Alex just doesn’t seem to understand the dynamic of his relationship with his girl pal Ellen (played by Gemma Arterton) and the effect that his growing relationship with Mitchell will have on her.  He does, however, utter my favourite line of the play while trying to get a point across to Mitchell: “God, talking to you is like sewing a button on cottage cheese”.

As far as rather shallow, clueless roles go, Friend and Lloyd do as well as they can do but they have both taken on much better roles in the past.  The one thing they do both handle extremely well is the intimacy and affection that develops between their two characters.  There is a fair bit of nudity in the play (with Harry Lloyd being fully nude at one point) and both actors were professional and convincing in their roles.

Gemma Arterton was far less convincing and you got the idea that she was trying to inflate her supporting role somewhat as the character definitely shrinks in comparison to the other three.  She seemed to posture a lot and to shout her lines rather than speak them with meaning and emotion.  She is quite inexperienced in theatre though and this certainly didn’t ruin the play.  You have to wonder though if those in casting didn’t foresee that she would be completely overshadowed by Greig (or perhaps that was the point?)

This production of The Little Dog Laughed was directed by Jamie Lloyd and I must say he made good use of the space and actors.  There is one invisible character, so to speak, who appears in one scene and speaks on the phone but is not played by anyone.  I thought this was really well portrayed by the cast and well managed by the director.

The set was designed by Soutra Gilmour who received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Set Design in 2009.  While Gilmour’s sets are often dark and almost sinister, this was stark, bare and completely white but the minimalist set worked in this play. 

The play itself is incredibly funny and highly entertaining.  It doesn’t provide any grand answers to the problems it identifies but seems to focus more on the situation at hand and how that plays out.  The audience was laughing along raucously at the numerous one-liners and there was much enthusiastic clapping and cheers of “bravo!” at the end. 

All in all it was a fun night out and I’d certainly recommend the play for people seeking a light-hearted comedy experience.

The Little Dog Laughed is playing at the Garrick Theatre until 10 April 2010.  There are really good prices available on tickets at LastMinute.com and we got tickets for £29.50 each from WestEndTheatre.com.

Watch The Little Dog Laughed trailer:

Theatre: Hamlet, Novello Theatre, WC2B

We went to see the RSC production of Hamlet tonight at the Novello Theatre on Aldwych and I am sorry to say that we didn't like it at all.  In fact, I did something I have never done before and that was leave during intermission.  It's no secret that we originally bought tickets because David Tennant of Doctor Who fame was starring as Hamlet but after he sustained his prolapsed disc injury, I was more than willing to give the rest of the cast a chance.  Tennant's understudy, Edward Bennett, took over in the role of Hamlet and I must say that he gave an energetic, enthusiastic performance.  In the end though a couple of things several things ruined it for us: we could barely hear what the actors were saying (and we were in the stalls!); they really mixed up the order of the scenes and left out some vital scenes; they mixed Shakespearean English and modern English (and not in a good way); there was no set design and they wore 1950's costumes (?); and all in all it was a confusing mish-mash of a production.  So we decided to escape early (if you can call it that - it was already two hours into the play!!). 

In a way, I am glad that David Tennant wasn't able to perform tonight because I might have tried to stay for the full play or convince myself that I enjoyed it.  Sadly, though, I really didn't.  I think really hard-core Shakespeare fans might enjoy it as a modern, minimalist take on Hamlet (in the way that as a music lover, I appreciate a remix of a favourite track) but I do think you'd need to be really familiar with the story of Hamlet (or fluent in Shakespearean English) in order to have made sense of this production.

Theatre: A View From The Bridge

There have been rumours circulating that Harry Lloyd is to star in Arthur Miller's "A View From The Bridge" which is starting at London's Duke of Yorks Theatre in January.  He is to be playing Rodolpho alongside Ken Stott and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.  One of the fans from HarryLloyd.net contacted his agent and she confirmed that Harry will indeed be playing this role.

This looks to be an all-star ensemble and I am not too sure if I am going to wait to get a group together.  There are special group discounts but there are also early bird tickets of £39.50.  Hmmm.  But then you have to pay a £20 joining fee.  Oh well... Still makes the tickets less expensive than the advertised £66.  I can't make up my mind!

Most importantly, these tickets are going to sell fast and I don't want to be disappointed.  I'm sure Stephen wouldn't mind me "treating" him to see this play for our wedding anniversary.  It would be in line with this year's anniversary "treat" of seeing Harry in The Sea.