Jamie Parker

The Great Catch-Up Post of 2017

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The list of plays I have seen but not blogged about has been growing. And growing. And growing. And now, I am going to draw a line under it. Here is an update with capsule reviews from the past umpteen months, with apologies and definite plans to do better going forward. Probably.

  • Bug (Soho) – James Norton and Kate Fleetwood were mesmerising in this production of Tracy Letts’s play, where Fleetwood heartbreakingly comes to believe in Norton’s delusions. A very uncomfortable theatre in just about every respect, however.
  • Romeo and Juliet (WE) – Lily James was beautiful, flighty and young, as Juliet, and I was thoroughly convinced that she was in love with Richard Madden’s articulate and passionate Romeo. However, I didn’t necessarily believe the reverse, as the chemistry simply wasn’t there on his side. The production was delightful, however, filled with Italian sunshine and gorgeous costumes.
  • My Mother Said I Never Should (St James’s) – Having never previously seen Maureen Lipman on stage, I was very much looking forward to her performance. I was not disappointed. This exploration of the lives of three generations of Northern working class women was beautifully acted and well staged.
  • Threepenny Opera (NT) – Any production involving Rory Kinnear can’t be all bad. But this was decidedly odd, with his intelligent thug a foil for Rosalie Craig’s cunning good girl. Perhaps it’s Brecht’s fault, but this was a puzzling evening.
  • The Deep Blue Sea (NT) – Helen McCrory’s amazing performance in this Rattigan revival cannot be praised enough. Her transparent, intelligent face reflected complete understanding of her situation, longing, infatuation, and utter despair. Strangely uplifting.
  • Breakfast at Tiffany’s (WE) – Dire. Pixie Lott can sing a little, but can’t act for toffee. The worst accents I have ever heard on a London stage. Didn’t return after the interval.
  • The Spoils (WE) – Jesse Eisenberg’s play was, as the kids say, aight. It struck me as being of a very millennial sensibility, with immature young men and the sighing young women who take care of them. Fairly well acted, with particular praise for Katie Brayben, whose New Jersey accent was subtle and excellent.
  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (WE) – Much more effective on the stage than on the page. Excellent acting (Noma Dumezweni, Jamie Parker and Paul Thornley all did a great job as the core trio, as did Sam Clemmett as Albus and Anthony Boyle as Scorpius) and some of the simplest and yet most effective stagecraft I have ever seen made these plays an absolute joy to behold.
  • Richard III (Almeida) – I have been enjoying Ralph Fiennes’ frequent appearances on the London stage of late, but this was absolutely the most effective. I saw echoes of his Amon Goeth and his Lord Voldemort in one of the finest Richard IIIs I have ever seen.
  • Aladdin (WE) – Quite the slickest and Disneyest production I have ever seen in the West End. Still trying to figure out how they managed the flying carpet.
  • Groundhog Day (Old Vic) – I enjoyed this thoroughly and Andy Karl did an excellent job of making me forget about Bill Murray (the only exception being the “I am a God” line, but he’s not superhuman). A delightful adaptation.
  • Guys and Dolls WE) – It was the same production as previously reviewed, but minus Jamie Parker and with the addition of Rebel Wilson as Miss Adelaide. She did a lovely job, charming and with unexpected vulnerability.
  • Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour (NT) – I’m not sure exactly why it’s shocking that teenage girls like to drink, smoke and have sex, but they did so loudly, enthusiastically and Scottishly in this energetic production.
  • The Libertine (WE) – I am still not sure why they revived this play. Dominic Cooper was somewhat one note, and the play itself was dull. I was bored stiff.
  • King Lear (Old Vic) – Glenda Jackson made an absolutely stonking return to the stage. She was in clear, stunning voice and brought pathos I had never seen before. A triumph.
  • Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (B’way) – It turns out that when you take the “war” out of War and Peace, what you’re left with is really rather trite. Josh Groban and Denée Benton were terrific, however.
  • School of Rock (WE) – A light as air musical providing a delightful evening of escapism. The children were absolutely terrific.
  • Nice Fish (WE) – Mark Rylance is incapable of giving a bad performance, but this was a trifle. An enjoyable, disposable evening.
  • Come From Away (Toronto) – I adored it from start to finish. A fabulous ensemble cast, tight production and a story (stranded passengers taken in by a small town in Newfoundland after 9/11) to make you believe in humanity again. Needed now more than ever.
  • Rent (WE) – It has held up well generally, but I felt so OLD. One for the young people, I think.
  • Dreamgirls (WE) – A slick, enjoyable production. Amber Riley sang beautifully.
  • Art (Old Vic) – I certainly didn’t think the play was a masterpiece (it hasn’t aged all that well) but Rufus Sewell, Paul Ritter and Tim Key were fantastic and had amazing chemistry.
  • The Tempest (RSC Stratford) – Simon Russell Beale was his usual marvellous self. The production was innovative in the best way, and the projections were stunning.
  • Amadeus (NT) – An intense evening, somewhat over-acted. As ever, the music was the best part.
  • Hedda Gabler (NT) – Ruth Wilson was head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. I’m not fond of modern Heddas (I want to say “get a job”) but she was excellent.
  • Sex with Strangers (Hampstead) – The play was middling, but Theo James was really rather good (and very handsome). Emilia Fox was inexplicably bad, with a very poor American accent.
  • Much Ado About Nothing (RSC London) – Charming WWI-era production, with top-notch acting and gorgeous sets.
  • Jonas Kaufmann (Barbican) – Not in absolutely top voice, but his technique and feeling made up for it.
  • Twelfth Night (NT) – Gloriously sharp gender-fluid production. Tamsin Greig was a joy to watch.

Guys and Dolls (WE from Chichester)

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Does the world really need another production of Guys and Dolls? This Chichester transfer garnered rave reviews in its original incarnation. For my part, I still recall fondly the recent production with Douglas Hodge. It is, of course, a cracking musical with great songs and a superior book and it’s always a pleasure to see it. This production was very enjoyable, but there wasn’t much novelty to it.

The cast was delightful. It was great fun to see Sophie Thompson as Adelaide and David Haig as Nathan Detroit, the first time they have acted together as a couple since their immortal Lydia and Bernard in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Siubhan Harrison was a charming Sarah Brown and Jamie Parker a really excellent Sky Masterson. The supporting cast were also very good.

Guys and Dolls is about a somewhat anarchic prewar New York, where the archetypal guys and dolls drink, gamble and generally enjoy themselves, and Sarah Brown’s mission (clearly modelled on the Salvation Army) attempts to save their souls. Masterson takes a bet from Detroit that he can’t get Sarah to accompany him to Havana. They go, of course, have a lovely evening and discover that they are very much attracted to each other. Their respective lifestyles seem destined to tear them apart, until Masterson makes one last gamble on love. The songs are the heart of this musical, with “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Adelaide’s Lament,” “Luck be a Lady,” and “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” hands down classics.

Sophie Thompson is an excellent comic actress, and she didn’t disappoint here. She was, perhaps, a little more subdued than I would have liked to have seen. Her singing was secondary to the comedy, and so I would have liked a little more breadth. But her wistfulness added an interesting tone to Adelaide that I hadn’t seen before, and it was overall a very good performance. David Haig was also very good, although I would have liked to see a little more chemistry between the two. I enjoyed Haig’s performance as the craps game facilitator rather more than his interactions with Thompson. I believed that Thompson loved him, but not necessarily the reverse.

Siubhan Harrison was a lovely and charming Sarah Brown with a beautiful voice. She acted well, as you could just see how she was falling for Sky and the subtle turn of her lips as she found it hard to keep from laughing at his ploys. Jamie Parker was similarly restrained in his attraction, but it was clear. He is an excellent actor, and we are lucky to have him on the London stage. The two had superlative chemistry, and that is what really makes or breaks a production of Guys and Dolls. Parker is more an actor than a singer, but I was generally impressed with his singing when it was in the tenor range. He had lovely, dare I say Sinatra-esque phrasing and a beautiful tone. He is not, however, a baritone, and when the songs dipped into a lower register his projection suffered.

The ensemble was also very good, with lovely singing and dancing throughout. The sets were a little basic for the West End but generally good. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and am perhaps a little churlish in looking for novelty. When a production is as charming and well put together as this one, why quibble?