'Vanya' by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Simon Stephens
29 February 2024
‘Uncle Vanya’ has been my favourite Anton Chekhov play since I saw ‘Vanya on 42nd Street’ - Louis Malle’s brilliant 1994 film which shows André Gregory directing a performance of the play in an empty New York theatre. I also liked Michael Blakemore’s film ‘Country Life’ - an excellent adaptation of ‘Uncle Vanya’ starring Sam Neill and Greta Scacchi, set in Australia just after the end of World War I, which coincidentally also came out in 1994. Last Saturday we were at the Curzon Cinema at Milton Keynes Gallery to see the NT Live recording of ‘Vanya’, Simon Stephens’ new adaptation of the play, recorded at the Duke of York’s theatre in London’s West End. This is an incredible one-person performance of the play by Andrew Scott. Like Jodie Comer’s amazing performance in Suzi Miller’s 'Prima Facie' (reviewed here in August 2022), Andrew Scott commands the stage, and our attention, without a break - playing all the characters. But whereas in 'Prima Facie' Jodie Comer was playing a young barrister recounting her story and re-enacting scenes and conversations, in ‘Vanya’ Andrew Scott is simply performing the play as all the characters, with no need for any framing device. At first this feels more like a radio play as he quickly switches voices in conversations with himself. But his physical performance is as important to how he tells the story. While he doesn’t use any different costumes or hats to distinguish the different characters, his stature, posture and gestures instantly make it clear who he is playing. And seeing his performance on the cinema screen, the close-ups allow us to see a different character emerging simply through a subtle change in his eyes and facial expressions. Simon Stephens has moved the story from Russia to modern-day Ireland and the setting works well. Andrew Scott gives Alexander and Helena Northern Irish and English accents respectively, emphasising that they are the outsiders in this family. There’s a lot of comedy in this tragedy and Scott is very entertaining, but some of the more poignant moments felt a little unemotional without reactions from other actors. One really effective touch was the piano - on stage throughout for Ivan occasionally to tinkle a few notes - which turns out to be an automated player piano, conjuring up Ivan’s dead sister Anna who he recalls playing duets with: seeing the piano keys moving on their own suddenly created the sense of another person on stage to break (or merely to emphasise) the loneliness of this solitary performance.
Labels: Drama, Film, Theatre
‘Cahokia Jazz’ by Francis Spufford
23 February 2024
I came to Francis Spufford’s third novel, ‘Cahokia Jazz’, having really enjoyed his debut novel ‘Golden Hill’ (reviewed here in August 2017) and its successor ‘Light Perpetual’ (reviewed here in July 2021). ‘Cahokia Jazz’ (which I read as an unabridged audio book, narrated by Andy Ingalls) is another shift of period and style from Spufford - a noir crime tale echoing Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, set in 1920s America. But this is an alternative reality America - a parallel universe in which the fictional midwest city of Cahokia is dominated by a First Nations people who are led by a hereditary monarchy and have embraced a version of European catholicism. The book starts with police officers investigating a murder and has all the tropes of a gumshoe detective story. But the racial and religious backdrop to the mystery - drawn in fastidious detail - creates a deeply unnerving mood. When, towards the end of the novel, one of the characters suggests that they are all living in a dream and none of this is real, it feels cathartically believable: the whole novel has a dreamlike quality. Francis Spufford’s writing is beautiful and he creates an extensive cast of well-drawn, sympathetic characters. The detective partners Drummond and Barrow - one short and talkative, the other huge and taciturn - reminded me of George and Lennie in John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’. And the American period setting of ‘Cahokia Jazz’ made me think of 'The Lincoln Highway' by Amor Towles (reviewed here in February 2022). ‘Cahokia Jazz’ is not quite as satisfying a novel as ‘Golden Hill’ but it’s another fascinating period drama from Francis Spufford and I look forward to seeing which genre he chooses to tackle next.
Labels: Books
‘Baraaim Ed-Louz’ by Koum Tara
16 February 2024
I have been enjoying ‘Baraaim Ed-Louz’, the new album by the French band Koum Tara, which explores chaabi - a traditional music of Algeria. Chaabi means 'of the people' and typically consists of Arabic/Berber vocals, set against violins and mandolins, a piano melody and percussion beats. Koum Tara take chaabi as the starting point for a fusion of North African and Western sounds, drawing on jazz and cinematic orchestral strings. The result is a gentle, laid-back blend which is an interesting contrast to the pulsing beats of Algerian rai music, made more popular across Europe by singers such as Cheb Khaled, Faudel and Rachid Taha, ‘Baraaim Ed-Louz’,is a lovely album: here is a sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXKlGtOOppc
Labels: Albums, Music
'Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures For Grown-Ups'
9 February 2024
On Saturday we were at the Quarry Theatre in Bedford to see 'Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures For Grown-Ups'. Using the model of the long-running improv show ‘Austentatious’ (reviewed here in August 2012) which invents a ‘lost’ Jane Austen novel based on audience suggestions at every performance, ‘Bumper Blyton’ does the same thing with Enid Blyton. But, whereas Jane Austen wrote six completed novels, Enid Blyton published 762 books, which provides fertile ground for exploring her style and genre - and rekindling childhood memories for most of the audience. On our way into the theatre we were handed small schoolroom slates on which we were asked to draw something symbolising a childhood hobby or activity. The cast then examined our chalk pictures to choose several elements to weave into their improvised story. It was all very silly and extremely funny. The many surreal flights of fancy made it feel more like a radio comedy show than a stage play, reminding me of Mark Evans’ stage adaptation of his BBC Radio 4 Dickens parody 'Bleak Expectations' (reviewed here in August 2023). ‘Bumper Blyton’ is clearly aimed at adults, and was not afraid to acknowledge the more questionable aspects of Enid Blyton’s work. Using adults to play young children without disguising the fact they are obviously adults (like Dennis Potter’s ‘Blue Remembered Hills’ - reviewed here in June 2013) also provides opportunities for considerably more innuendo than I remember from reading Enid Blyton as a child. ‘Bumper Blyton’ was great fun and ‘jolly japes’. And as they said at the end: “if you enjoyed the show, please come to see it again: it’s improvised so it’s completely different every night - and if you didn’t enjoy the show, please come to see it again: it’s improvised so it’s completely different every night!”
Labels: Comedy, Drama, Theatre
'Dear England' by James Graham
2 February 2024
In 2016, when Sam Allardyce left his post as the England men’s football manager by mutual agreement after one match and 67 days in charge, the England Under-21 team manager Gareth Southgate was hastily appointed as caretaker England manager for the next four matches. Southgate’s transformation, from a player best remembered for missing a penalty for England in the Euro 1996 semi final to arguably the most successful England manager since Sir Alf Ramsey, is told in ‘Dear England’, James Graham’s new play for the National Theatre. We saw the NTLive recording of the play at the Curzon cinema at Milton Keynes Gallery last Saturday. It’s a very funny, enjoyable and moving production, directed by Rupert Goold. The England footballers are brilliantly played by an extensive cast who create impersonations - of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Harry Maguire et al - that are both deliberately cartoonish while also capturing the players’ body language and posture uncannily accurately. Joseph Fiennes does a similar job playing Gareth Southgate - making him both laughably earnest and gently heroic - and Gina McKee is wonderful as the psychologist Southgate brings in to work with the England team. ‘Dear England’ refers to the open letter Southgate published in June 2021 ahead of the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, which addressed a country emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic and focussed on issues of equality, inclusivity and racial injustice. James Graham’s play tells the story of Southgate’s England team and its performances on the football pitch as a way of reflecting on the state of the country over the past few years. But football is the main focus of the play and the thoughtful maturing of the young England players through a range of challenges on and off the field is moving and inspiring.
Labels: Drama, Film, Theatre
