Time was, I kept a running list of all the thing I’d seen that I wanted to mention on my watchlist posts, but I’ve lost the scrap of paper I was writing them on. I’ll start a new ‘note’ for next time, so this post will be heavy on the past few weeks and less so for Jan-Feb, as little has stayed with me worth mentioning, apart from the following: (edited to add one I forgot!)
On Stage & In Person
The English Shakespeare Co’s warehouse production of Macbeth at Dock X in London, starring Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma certainly was an immersive experience. I found Fiennes a little old-school in his so precise enunciation of word endings, but at other times he was good, and Indira Varma was a super Lady Macbeth. My full review is here .
I went to see Alice Wynn talk about her novel In Memoriam in town the other week. I hadn’t read the book before seeing her, but have only heard good things. I hadn’t realised she was American, but she is a product of Marlborough where she boarded, and when researching this novel, used copies of the school’s newspaper from the WWI period as inspiration. To hear her speak, she had clearly researched the potential lives of her two protagonists, and their will-they-won’t-they get together relationship, which was illegal in those days although crushes at school were accepted, so thoroughly. Result: I am really looking forward to reading the book. I’m not a fan of WWI/II-set novels in general, but will always make exceptions for gooduns!
This Saturday we went to Stratford to see the latest RSC production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Matthew Baynton ( Ghosts, Horrible Histories ) as an hilarious Bottom: he was side-splittingly funny from his first appearance. It was a modern dress production on a blank thrust stage, and Baynton came on in a double-breasted pinstripe suit with mustard shirt, tie and socks and a mod hairstyle, the very model of Paul Weller meets Sewing Bee’s Patrick Grant. Once transformed into an ass by Puck, (Rosie Sheehy as a punk Huck Finn type), he used his skinny frame to great advantage parading round in his Y-fronts – his ears were great too, they waggled and rose erect!!! There was plenty of innuendo, especially the Wall (Emily Cundick as Snout), and Lysander’s hips (Ryan Hutton) were worthy of a Strictly samba. There were some innovative effects and stage magic: for instance, we never see the fairies – only as lights cleverly appearing, and voices coming from the orbs suspended from the roof. As is usual, Theseus and Hippolyta doubled up as Oberon and Titania. I loved Bally Gill ( Allelujah ) as Oberon, as Theseus he reminded me very much of Rishi Sunak (perhaps deliberately?), whereas Sirine Saba was a sexy Titania and very much buttoned up Hippolyta until after the wedding. The Rude Mechanicals were all wonderful, but the primly dressed Starveling (Primi Tamang) became Linda Blair in The Exorcist as the Moon during their performance, truly an unexpected and gruesome transformation! They had cut various bits to keep it down to 2.5hrs – like the whole Ninas Tomb bit in the rehearsal in the woods, however it was just great fun. I couldn’t stop laughing. As you might imagine, Baynton played Bottom as Pyramus’ death scene completely for laughs, with lots of blood capsules hidden in his outfit. I’ll leave you with a montage of the production photos by Pamela Raith.
On Screen
Vanya – (Streamed to the big screen) I was originally going to see Andrew Scott’s one-man modern Irish take on Chekov’s Uncle Vanya in the West End, but I was able to resell my ticket once I saw there’d be a screening, which saved me over £100. I think that was the right decision. Although it was very good, it somehow left me wanting.
Poor Things – I streamed this on a Prime rental. Not a film you’d want to see with your offspring, given that Bella Baxter is humping for the second half. Kudos to Emma Stone for believing in the vision of director Yorgos Lanthimos and Alasdair Gray, who was obviously a randy old goat! Wonderful sets and costumes which were rewarded with Oscars as was Stone. I wasn’t convinced by Mark Ruffalo’s voice, he was trying to be a Terry Thomas-style smoothie, but it didn’t quite work for me.
American Fiction (Prime) – This film was so clever – a social satire on white audiences’ appetite for novels about the Black trauma and poverty trope. Jeffrey Wright plays a blocked writer who dashes off such a novel under the pseudonym Stagg R Lee (Stagger Lee being a murderer, and subject of a folk ballad – Nick Cave’s version is fab), only for it to not only sell, but become a bestseller and be called in for an award at which our writer is on the judging panel. It is hilarious and biting. Loved it, and must get to adaptee Percival Everett’s novels soon.
On TV
The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin (Apple TV) – A super silly comedy vehicle for Noel Fielding, who is the highwayman who cares more about his appearance than actually holding folks up for their money. Co-starring Hugh Bonneville and Tamsin Greig amongst the cream of British alt-comedy folk, it is hilarious and very silly indeed.
Constellation (Apple TV) – Noomi Rapace stars as an astronaut returned to Earth after an accident on the ISS involving a US gizmo that has odd repercussions when you’re exposed to it. It got rather complicated with multiple timelines, as people were replicated or not, but I sort of enjoyed it.
The Gentlemen (Netflix) – I’ve only watched the first three episodes, but Guy Ritchie’s new drama has a big vein of comedy running through it and, yes, it’s blokey, but it’s also fun. I may return to the remaining episodes, I may not.
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