By Michael Coveney
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All My Sons, Daughters & Friends

Much the most interesting article written about Elizabeth Taylor was Philip French's in the Observer at the weekend, when he made the crucial point that Taylor was one of a close-knit quartet of British actors who had all arrived in Hollywood at around the same time and created their own networks with various cross-over connections; the other three were Peter Lawford, Angela Lansbury and Roddy McDowell.

Peter Hall once said that the British theatre was like a large village in which the same four or five hundred people worked with each other all the time.

More pointedly, perhaps, Timothy West commented the other day on the dynastic flavour of most cast lists these days - I don't think in any derogatory way - omitting to mention either his own dear old dad, Lockwood West, who sang "They were all green fields when I was a boy" in the musical Billy, or even his own son, Sam.

But last night's opening of Cause Celebre at the Old Vic validated his remarks to the hilt, providing a plum pudding of dynastic and familial connections that would make any anti-nepotism (should that be auntie-nepotism?) fanatic quiver with rage and righteousness.

Working down the list, there's Niamh Cusack, one of the great Cusack family, supported in the stalls last night by brother Padraic, formerly Nicholas Hytner's planning controller at the NT, big sister Sinead (with husband Jeremy Irons) and husband Finbar Lynch; Lucy Robinson, playing Niamh's sister, daughter of the broadcaster and ace autobiographer Robert Robinson (who hosted the TV chat show on which Kenneth Tynan first stuttered the flipping feared four letters); and, playing Niamh's son, Freddie Fox, son of Edward and Joanna David, nephew of Robert and James.

We've barely started: Tristram Wymark is brother of actress Jane and son of playwright Olwen and actor Patrick; Timothy Carlton, father of Benedict Cumberbatch and husband of Wanda Ventham (sitting in the stalls in front of A A Gill); Nicholas Jones, son of Griffith, once a British movie juvenile lead and in his latter years a venerable stalwart on contract (with long white beard) to the RSC, and brother of Gemma, who is joining Kevin Spacey in his upcoming Richard III company; and Richard Clifford, civil partner of Derek Jacobi.

There are probably many other links and connections. We'll all have our little personal ones, too. Simon Chandler, for instance, who has a lovely scene as Niamh Cusack's sexually errant and unreasonably proper husband, lives in  my street and is married to leading agent Nicky van Gelder, who spends most of her time chaperoning Helena Bonham-Carter from one awards ceremony to another, sometimes sharing her weirdly bohemian wardrobe.

I can't nail any hint of nepotism on the usually wonderful Anne-Marie Duff, slightly miscast and disappointing as Alma Rattenbury, but husband James McAvoy was lending support out front and dealing with the paparazzi with exemplary cool and charm.

Kevin Spacey was schmoozing his sponsors big time during the interval. I just hope they didn't include the couple sitting next to me in Row L - the Old Vic has been reconfigured with a middle aisle in the stalls for the first time in living memory, certainly in over 20 years.

My neighbours both fiddled with their Blackberries thoughout the first act, and one of the handsets did in fact ring the minute its owner put it away in his pocket. The flashing continued as the second act started and I told one of them to turn the thing off. "It's on silent," he said, defensively, as if that were enough. The illuminated panel was a constant distraction to at least four or five others seated nearby.

It's high time the Old Vic instructed its patrons, before the start, that all mobile phones should be turned off completely - and not just to "silent" - and I've now decided to tell every single person I'm sitting near to do so, as of now, in every single theatre that I visit.

- by Michael Coveney

Any opinions expressed above do not represent the view of Whatsonstage.com nor any of its staff or contributors beyond the bylined author.

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
	Cause Celebre Listing Page

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	Michael Coveney: New York honours Matilda with five big awards - 20th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Tales from New York in Kinky Boots - 17th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Finsbury hails its local Park Theatre opening - 15th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Hooray for Halifax and Carrie's ENO debut - 13th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: All change at Trafalgar, Liverpool and Finsbury Park - 10th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Critics come full Circle in centenary bash - 8th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: High old time with High Tide in Halesworth - 7th May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Hytner steams on, Sondheim scintillates - 2nd May 2013 blog
	Michael Coveney: Theatre queens and Paris low-life - 30th Apr 2013 blog
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Internal Links
	Top Ten: Rattigan Returns in Centenary Year - 7th Jun 2011 features
	1st Night Photos: McAvoy Helps Old Vic’s Cause - 30th Mar 2011 photos
	Review Round-up: Critics Rally to Rattigan Cause? - 30th Mar 2011 roundup
	Cause Célèbre - 29th Mar 2011 reviews
	Opening: Old Vic Cause, Moon, Smash!, Iolanthe - 28th Mar 2011 news
	Cast: Scholey in Richard, Root's Sea, Full Butley - 25th Mar 2011 news
	Duff is Rattigan's Cause Celebre at Old Vic - 24th Mar 2011 blog
	Cast: 39, Cusack Cause, Stubbs & Page's Lives - 2nd Feb 2011 news
	Anne-Marie Duff Stars in Old Vic Cause Celebre - 12th Nov 2010 news