The Pitmen Painters, Duchess Theatre

When I walked into the Duchess Theatre to see The Pitmen Painters, I had no idea what the play was about. I assumed from the title that art and painting would have a major role but aside from that I didn't know what to expect. On press night the theatre was full and had a real buzz, obviously everyone else was intrigued too.

The Pitmen Painters is set between 1932 and 1947 and documents the lives of a group of working class pitmen who turn to art to learn and escape the harsh reality of their jobs in the mines. With the encouragement of their teacher, they create work that is both sensitive and beautiful; it is a revelation to themselves and the world. Through their own experiences and creations they learn what art ‘means’. I found the story very powerful and moving, a real narrative that translates wonderfully to the stage.

We were in row B, very close to the stage, so close my neck ached by the interval, and the fountains of spit from the energetic and angry actors were not far from our faces! Though the real Pitmen Painters consisted of over thirty members, writer Lee Hall focuses on five men to depict, characters that are all based on their historical namesakes.

After hearing so many dodgy accents recently, I was delighted by the cast of Pitmen Painters who all seem totally at ease with the Geordie accent, it is believable throughout. The acting is superb, each and every man seems totally involved in the play and manages to balance the feelings of enthusiasm and confusion towards the new found interest. Trevor Fox is astounding as the most talented artist, Oliver Kilbourn, his nuanced performance is very affecting and made me feel both joy and sorrow with him. Joe Caffrey expends endless energy as the sniffling grumpy WEA union official, though convincing and hilarious he shouts perhaps a little too much. Ian Kelly strikes a contrast with the pitmen as the posh uptight art teacher who is initially perplexed by the men but gradually becomes devoted to them and their work.

I felt genuinely sad at the end of the play when, despite all their efforts and exhibitions these ‘Ashington Painters’ remain unknown and their artwork seemingly forgotten, hopefully this play will help to revive interest in these talented heroes.

The Pitmen Painters continues at the Duchess Theatre until 21 January, 2012. Buy tickets here.

Butley at The Duchess Theatre

English actor Dominic West is best known for his role in HBO series The Wire, in which he played detective Jimmy McNulty from 2002 to 2008. He returns to the London stage to take on the title role in Simon Gray’s hilarious play ‘Butley’. Celebrity actors and critics turned up to support the play on press night last week.

The play takes place on a single day; University professor Ben Butley is having a tough time, his personal and professional lives are collapsing simultaneously. He is suffering the final breakdown of his marriage, while his friendship with best friend Joey is also on the rocks. At work he is accused of poaching a student from another lecturer, and is hassled constantly by his melodramatic colleagues. Butley deals with his woes by annoying his friends as much as possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lindsay Posner’s production of this humorous piece. Effective direction enables the actors to make the most of Gray’s hilarious script. The action is set in a campus office, dusty books balancing precariously on the bookselves, with Ben’s desk and surrounding floor littered with the day’s debris - a visual depiction of the turmoil wrecking Ben’s life.

Dominic West gives a witty and intelligent portrayal of the play’s selfish protagonist. Butley is a charismatic and clever man, but is also sulky and solitary in a juvenile way that reminded me of Hugh Laurie as Dr House (another British actor in a successful American show). Butley seems overtly interested in his gay friend’s relationship, so much so that it suggests he may be bi-sexual, though this remains ambiguous. He is totally preoccupied with rhyming verse and regularly pesters those around him with relentlessly silly rhetoric. It is wonderful to watch West tackle this fast paced dialogue with such ease and panache.

The rest of the cast support West well, despite having rather small roles by comparison, Martin Hutson is the pathetically timid Joey and Paul McGann his unbearably petty Yorkshire bred lover, Reg Nuttall. I enjoyed Emma Hiddleston as wide eyed student Miss Heasman, she takes on the role of this overly sensitive student, innocent and unaware as Butley bullies her.

Simon Gray wrote Butley forty years ago and yet in this well adjusted and amusing production I felt it was undated and fresh as ever.

Butley continues until 27 August, book here.

Michael Gambon in Krapp's Last Tape

It is a pure delight to see Michael Gambon perform on stage in London in a one man play. Krapp’s Last Tape is a miniature, a 50 minute piece written by Samuel Beckett. It is said to be biographical of Beckett’s life. It is being performed in the cosy Duchess Theatre, and was full to the brim on the night I went. The first fifteen minutes is silent, with no speech, we see a hapless looking Krapp sprawled across a table, he gradually rises and begins fumbling around the stage as the audience fidgets impatiently in their squeaking seats. This makes his eventual words much more emphatic and lasting in the memory.

The set is minimal. On stage is a small desk, a chair and a light that shines over the weary man and acts metaphorically too, a spotlight on his life. Every year on his birthday he records himself talking on a reel of tape. Then he listens to a previous year, choosing at random from the large dusty collection. We listen to excerpts from box 3, spool 5, learning about his former life, his loves, his realisations. He mumbles his regrets and recollections, getting increasingly frustrated and obsessing about the past.

The frank stream of thought reminded me of Virginia Woolf’s writing, complete with beautifully articulate descriptions. At times Krapp is endearing, sometimes even witty, but most of all he seems dejected and alone, and I couldn’t help but pity the character.

This is an unusual production for London’s buzzing West End. I found it refreshing after the two and three hour shows I have seen recently. It allows you to have a relaxing meal either side of the show, and leaves you pondering the drama you have just seen. Best of all, you can be home in bed by 10 pm.

The Fantasticks

The Fantasticks is a simple romantic tale of a boy and a girl and their fathers who scheme to make them fall in love. It is based on the play The Romancers by Edmond Rostand. It is a universal story that should appeal to all, though unfortunately I can't see how this production would.

The show has been a long-running hit on Broadway, and now a new Japanese production brings it to London's West End. The Fantasticks suits the dinky Duchess theatre in Covent Garden. It is an intimate space that serves well for smaller scale musicals, and has a certain charm about it that makes the show more intimate. Thank god because if it was any bigger the audience wouldn't be able to hear the voices of the two young leads: Lorna Want (Luisa) and Luke Brady (Matt) who certainly benefitted from the limited space. Carl Au who played The Mute moved fluently across the stage, but was rather a pointless additional character with little necessity in the story.

The more mature actors in the show, Paul Hunter (Mortimer) and Edward Petherbridge (Henry) were much more convincing and managed to squeeze an occasional laugh from the audience. Clive Rowe and David Burt, as the two fathers were full of energy and worked well together onstage, the only chemistry of the night. Hadley Fraser had charm and charisma as the narrator and held the whole show together. Unfortunately these actors had little to work with, as the music is pretty average, the song 'Try to Remember' is definitely the musical high point. The narrative is poor too, with most of the action over by the interval leaving little anticipation for the second act.

The Fantasticks has many West End wonders to contend with at the moment, and unfortunately by comparison is not too fantastic a show.

http://www.duchesstheatre.co.uk/