Reader Reviews
The Dresser (Duke of York's Theatre, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | (Performance seen - evening 17th March) Now, here is an enigma! 'The Dresser' is undoubtedly one of the great plays of the latter partof the 20th century. The individual performances in this production are very fine and my overall feeling on leaving the theatre was one of having somehow been sold short! It is very hard to pin down quite why. As Sir, Julian Glover gives a wonderfully rounded performance - totally believable. Nicholas Lyndhurst as Norman shows total mastery of timing but, somehow, put together, there is a lack of balance. Perhaps it has something to do with the respective genres of the two actors. Lyndhurst's Norman is minutely observed and played with all the fine detailed subtlety of a great small-screen actor. In a theatre any larger than The Duke of Yorks (which is small) much of it would be lost. Glover's Sir, on the other hand, would be seen, heard and understood in the very back row of the largest hall in the land. That said, I am glad that I saw it on this, one of its rare professional outings. It is just a shame that it seemed to me to be an interesting experiment in which the whole was not really a total fusion of its componant parts! - 212.100.250.212) | 20 Mar 05 |
| Thought Lyndhurst was fantastic but thought the play dragged. Sorry - but I was bored. - 212.158.229.242) | 08 Mar 05 |
| Braved my way through the bad weather to see this last night with the WOS outing and I sure am glad I made the effort.In the same way that Kim Catrall is an inspired choice for the lead in Whose Life Is It Anyway Sir Peter Hall has pulled it off again by casting Nicholas Lyndhurst as Norman and affording us the pleasure of seeing this actor stretch himself and reach new heights. The characters are beautifully and sensitively drawn as fallible individuals who possess a generosity of spirit.They are all wounded in some way either physically,emotionally or by society's reaction to them but have found a place for themselves in the theatre.Amidst the bombing the show must go on as do most of their lives,their imperfections and vulnerabalities highlighting their humanness and oneness with others.A real treat to see such an intelligent play and to listen to the 74 year old Sir Peter talk about it afterwards. - 81.154.96.213) | 25 Feb 05 |
| How do you follow a definitive first production of a great play, which has successfully transferred to screen and has been seen by milions in cinemas and on TV, and where the lead actors have made the roles so much their own ? I'm not sure I entirely know how, but Peter Hall's company have certainly done it successfully. The play feels newly written, at times very funny and often poignent. The staging serves it perfectly - with the offstage / onstage scenes particularly effective -on an excellent set. But above all this play relies on exceptional performances and the entire ensemble is spot on. Nicholas Lyndhurst is a revelation - it was a brave decision to accept this part, but I susepect he will look back on it as a career-defining moment. Julian Glover has the vast stage experience that helps him fit the role of 'Sir' like a glove. Annabel Leaventon and Liza Sandovy are perfect in their respective roles. This was a real treat, which MUST come into London. - 81.134.81.210) | 05 Dec 04 |
| Brilliant performances by lyndhurst & Glover - 81.137.202.252) | 19 Nov 04 |
| Seen at a Saturday matinee at Brighton, this is a solid and amusing production of one of the best plays on the theme of life in the theatre. Julian Glover as `Sir' becomes increasingly and endearingly fruity as he dons the makeup and hairpieces of Lear while Nicholas Lyndhurst's prim, old-maidish Norman fusses around him. The hazards of touring while Hitler's bombs are falling are given careful authenticity and the desssing-room scene between `Sir' and his nagging `Lady-wife', too old to play Cordelia, contrasts tellingly with that between the ageing, failing actor-manager and the company's attractive new recruit. Norman's disgust at being taken for granted is well-conveyed in Lyndhurst's thoughtful, if slightly mannered performance. - 195.93.34.12) | 13 Nov 04 |
