Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Orange Tree Misses the Mark

In Richmond on Friday for The Madras House at the Orange Tree. Having seen The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville Barker at the National earlier in the year, I was eager to see another work by this rather radical playwright, but unfortunately Sam Walter's production left me feeling...educated, but not particularly entertained. Granville Barker's take on the position of women in early 20th century society is fascinating in places but at three stately hours the play felt interminable at times and I was checking my watch a great deal in the last act. A shame as the cast were excellent and the play was robust enough, I believe to stand a less reverential handling. Still a trip to the Orange Tree is alays enjoyable, it's such a great theatre, friendly, willing to stage unexpected and difficult work, and unique among London's fringe venues with its in-the-round set-up. However attending non-press performances, especially matinees, it's easy to feel like the youngest person in the room, bar the actors, by several decades. It needs to work on attracting a more rounded crowd.

On Saturday, the Gin Soaked Boy and Matt-in-need-of-a-nickname came over to the flat for Mexican food and Margaritas. We ended up talking into the early hours of the morning and went through a large amount of wine in addition to those margaritas. A great night, but I sloped off back to Sunbury the next morning with my second hangover in as many weeks.

2 comments:

Juice said...

Look tash this is what i posted from my bosses email to the guardian website for Mr Morpurgo to answer.

EducationEditor - 12:01pm Sep 14, 2006 GMT (10.) New:

Mark Gough writes:

I enjoyed the recent theatrical production of Private Peaceful by Mr Morpurgo. Is Mr Morpurgo happy now that all the soldiers shot for desertion have been given a post humorous pardon?

n MichaelMorpurgo - 03:46pm Sep 14, 2006 GMT (10.1) New:

I am not happy, because I know how much those 300 soldiers and their families went through. But I am pleased that finally, finally, the government have relented, and understood that a great injustice was done, and that a pardon was appropriate. It's just that it came so late, and too late, of course, for all those soldiers.

Juice said...

admitted its not exactly a very revealing reply but cool nevertheless.