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My first two visits to Glyndebourne this year were two of the best experiences one could wish for. You make an effort to get to an inaccessible place to watch a supposed inaccessible art form and you appreciate it all the more for that. Your day is sacrificed in order to watch and experience a group of people, an organisation, strive for perfection in a way that you rarely see in London. This perhaps is why I took so easily to David Hare's play about Glyndebourne's conception at the Hampstead Theatre. It is a celebration of striving for excellence; the singleminded, ambitious aims of John Christie and the importance of art at it's purest. Hare manages to create a narrative of Glyndebourne's early years whilst jumping about different time gaps which in so many cases is frustrating but here goes unnoticed. It is a riveting play which keeps you hooked for the duration. Rae Smith has designed a set which shows the construction of beauty with an unfinished oil painting of the organ room with a stage being surrounded by tables and paintings off stage for action that isn't about Glyndebourne itself which Jeremy Herrin stages ingeniously. Roger Allam is, as ever, delightful to watch as the headstrong yet personable John Christie whilst Nancy Carroll is quiet yet forceful as his wife Audrey Mildmay. George Taylor, Paul Jesson and Nick Sampson are wonderful as the team who come to turn Christie's dream into reality. There is one speech which Roger Allam performs spectacularly well addressing the price of art, saying that people need to invest in the art they see 'and if it takes a whole day and wipes out their savings, so much the better'. Whilst this argument is strong, it is an argument I fundamentally disagree with. Art does require investment but if that means that a whole section of society can't access that art, that art form becomes elitist and exclusive which is disturbing to me. It is therefore to the plays credit that I came out of this play pleased, despite this speech, and this comes down to the talent of the cast and creative team.
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Shows about theatre and it's actors seem robe blooming. People, Places and Things start with a scene from The Seagull; Nell Gwynn explores Restoration theatre of the 17th century and now Ian Kelly's stage adaptation of his biography Mr Foote's Other Leg. Like Nell Gwynn, humour dominates this play following the life of Samuel Foote however, unlike Swale's play, there is a darker side to Kelly's play. The satirisation get more brutal and the laughter becomes less about the fool and more about the pain of Foote's later life. After a needless prologue, the play bounces along, with a few medical scenes which seem oddly out of place. Richard Eyre's production juggles the silly with the serious well. It doesn't get too jarring with either and does well in showing this extraordinary man. Simon Russel Beale takes the starring role as Foote and, as always, is a delight. The joy he brings is tremendous yet he also provides an insight into how being in the public eye can distort and disturb an individual. Dirvla Kirwan is wonderful as Peg Woffington whose accent and character is a marvel to behold whilst Joseph Millson is a grand and aloof yet sympathetic David Garrick. It's fitting that this play is getting a transfer to the theatre which Foote set up and it is thoroughly deserved for a perfectly judged play.
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I'm not a diehard fan of the Kinks. I know of their work but was bitterly disappointed that this won the bulk of the Oliviers over the fantastic Here Lies Love. Having now seen Sunny Afternoon, my view is unchanged. Joe Penhall's book lacks substance a generic story arch which creates an obvious plot and creates a musical that drags rather than soars (when the reference to 1966 emerged, I had my head in my hands). Miriam Buether's design contains a needless catwalk in an otherwise decent set, there are no standout performances in terms of straight acting, and Edward Hall's direction creates what-would-be a middle of the road ITV drama of the Kinks. However, the musical adaptations from Ray Davies and Elliot Ware turn this musical from the ditch and transforms it into something that is almost amazing. The depth and quality of the Kink's music means that it sounds at home on the stage and, from the a cappela transition songs to the full-on deafening concert renditions, you love every note that emerges from the cast's mouths. There's a real understanding for what makes good music here and the intensity and the richness of it is perhaps the greatest on the West End. If this was just an hour set instead of a 2 hour 45 minute musical, perhaps it could have been the experience of a lifetime yet as it stands it becomes yet another flawed jukebox musical that only has the music to rely on.
