Reader Reviews
Spring Storm (Cottesloe (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Well, at last something wonderful at the NT and, refreshingly for me, an evening where I haven't felt compelled to walk out. And it's not an NT production either! This is what the NT ought to be doing all the time - there was a time when it did too. A sensational production by the Royal & Derngate, Northampton. The telephones of the actors' agents must be singing! It's nights like this that make me carry on going to the theatre. I read somewhere recently Mark Ravenhill prattling on about audiences needing to be coaxed into being more adventurous at the theatre and by comparison he mentioned Tate Modern and Tracy Emin's bed. Well forget all that claptrap - this evening I saw the art of theatre at its very best. Others here have mention some of the outstanding male cast members, but for the women Liz White is absolutely stunning as Heavenly and Jacqueline King turns in a sterling performance as her mother ably supported by Janice McKenzie as her rather more down to earth sister-in-law Birdie. Tennessee Williams isn't everyones cup of tea and in the wrong hands he can seem to go on a bit too, but with this cast and the superb direction of Laurie Sansom it's poetry. A fine play and an absolutely stunning production. - rds | 12 Jun 10 |
| VERY VERY long night. Sure it's interesting to see the seeds of Menagerie and Streetcar but a better insight was to be had from the two experts at the PLATFORM. Really only of academic interest, as the production is pretty ropey at times. - Coral | 29 May 10 |
| Tennessee Williams wrote this play at University and it lay untouched for the next 60 years until it was first staged in the US in 1996; this is the European premiere. It opened here to rave reviews and for the first 30 mins or so I was wondering what all the fuss was about, but then it began to captivate me. It covers the usual TW ground – Southern sensibilities, social-climbing, mental illness, alcoholism…. The central character flits between poor macho man – who she loves and who her heart says is Mr Right - and rich wimp - who the family are promoting and who her brain says she should marry. What’s so fascinating is how, from a flawed early work like this, you can see the seeds of genius so clearly. It takes your breath away in the same way as it does when you hear a piece by a very young Mozart – you just can’t believe someone so young can produce something so mature. Of course, what followed were much better plays, but I suspect many playwrights would die happy if this was the pinnacle of their work. There are some very good performances. I really liked Liz Smith’s energy as heavenly (what a terrific name!) and thought both the male leads – Michael’s Thomson and Malarky- excelled; this was a very impressive stage debut for Malarky (what must it feel like to have your debut performance go straight to the National!). I thought it was a huge mistake to have a back curtain on three sides as this required you to suspend disbelief a little more than necessary; in fact, though I appreciate the difficulty of moving from high bluff to home to garden to library, the design overall was the weak link here. I thought the voice-over stage directions rather quirky - it made it seem like a film – but I can’t say it bothered me. It’s great to see regional work of this quality being brought to the National. Congratulations to Laurie Sansom for discovering and bringing this play to the UK and thanks to Nicholas Hytner for recognising both the significance and the quality and transferring it to London. - Gareth James | 28 Apr 10 |
