Dennis Kelly’s 2005 play After The End is set inside a nuclear fallout shelter, so it is not surprising that it deals with situations beyond the boundaries of what passes for normality.
‘A truly troubling scenario emerges with a horrific imbalance of power’: AFTER THE END – Theatre Royal Stratford East
With all its effortful but pointless violence, Dennis Kelly’s After the End leaves me cold at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.
NEWS: Matilda The Musical is back in the West End in September – full casting is announced
Casting has been announced for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s West End production of Matilda The Musical which returns to the Cambridge Theatre from 16 September 2021. Celebrating 10 years since the multi-award-winning show opened in London, the much-loved British musical is now booking through to 13 February 2022.
‘A rambunctious, riotous, rebellious bundle of joy’: MATILDA THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★
If, like me, you still love to stick your head in a book and long to remember the days you could read for hours unencumbered by the worries of the world then get along and see Matilda The Musical, a kindred spirit’s story writ large across the Southampton stage.
‘It’s impossible not to get swept up in the excitement’: MATILDA THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★
For many parents unable to travel to London, this is their opportunity to take children to Matilda The Musical for the first time, and it’s impossible not to get swept up in the excitement upon arriving at the theatre.
‘The ideal tonic for our modern world’: MATILDA THE MUSICAL – West End ★★★★★
It’s no wonder Matilda The Musical has managed to stand its ground in the West End; it’s a sheer delight for adults and children alike, brimming with optimism and a clear sense of right and wrong.
‘What stands out is the sheer power of storytelling’: MATILDA THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★
Stories rule in the RSC’s brilliant production of Matilda The Musical in an adaptation which feels properly true to the spirit of its Roald Dahl original – complete with dangerous spikes and revolting children.
MISSED THE BOAT: Girls & Boys
Posted on June 21, 2018June 21, 2018 by Debbie
Girls & Boys
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
Earlier this year, award-winning actress Carey Mulligan made her return to the London stage in this new one-woman play by Dennis Kelly. It ran at the Royal Court from 8 February until 17 March, and has now transferred across to New York’s Minetta Lane Theater for a limited engagement there. Somehow it missed out on an Olivier Award nomination – granted, that particular group was very strong this year, but for whatever reason there were only four nominees in the Best New Play category (taken from a list of 39 eligible productions) as opposed to five competing for the Best New Musical award (taken from a slim list of 11 eligible productions). But I’m not going to go on another rant about the peculiarities of the Olivier nominations here.
I’m obviously saying that based on now having read the play – as well as from people’s reactions at the time, and knowing the calibre of both the writer and actor involved. Carey Mulligan is, without doubt, one of my favourite actresses; she continues to surprise with the variety of roles she takes on (both stage & screen) and impresses every time. I haven’t actually seen a lot of Dennis Kelly’s previous work, but I did really enjoy Pinocchio at the National – and Matilda is also a wonderful show. And I didn’t miss out on this particular play through want of trying! Yes, I was pretty busy during the few weeks it ran, but I did have spare evenings – I was just spectacularly bad at the Royal Court’s online day seats (though with that clunky system I can’t have been the only one). I’m also rubbish at sorting out tickets for anything at the Royal Court in advance of casting announcements, which I hope to amend in the future so I don’t keep missing out…
Girls & Boys
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
The play makes its way through a series of “chats” and “scenes”, told from the perspective of Mulligan’s unnamed character. It charts the way through her relationship with her husband, interspersed with scenes where she’s with their two children (Danny & Leanne); the relationship doesn’t start well (“I met my husband in the queue to board an easyJet flight and I have to say I took an instant dislike to the man.”), but from this bad first impression springs admiration and eventual marriage. She had been travelling in Europe having become disillusioned with life and boring jobs, so upon their return she was starting from scratch – she fixed on the aim of becoming a development executive in the film industry, getting her foot in the door as a PA before starting her own production company. Her husband has a job he’s passionate about and successful at – what could possibly go wrong?
I have to admit, as I was reading rather than watching, the scenes ‘with’ the children did niggle at me a bit – I was trying to decide whether they did actually have child actors there (even though I knew it was a one-woman play) but with no spoken parts, or how the gaps where the children should be were managed and if this was acknowledged through performance. I imagined the latter as I read, trusting in any stage directions & notes, and that pays off when you reach one of the later “chats”. From then on everything takes a more sinister turn, and even thinking back to what’s happened previously starts to colour it in a completely different light – it almost makes you want to immediately re-read everything to see if you missed any hints, or simply to read it now you know the context in which this story is being told.
Girls & Boys
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
I see a fair amount of one-person shows, and it’s always interesting to see how they’re approached. Most often the ones I see are fringe productions, so it’s usually the bare minimum in terms of the setup – maybe the odd prop, or a backdrop – or if it’s in a bigger space you’re likely to get a bit more put in front of you (such as My Name Is Lucy Barton at the Bridge Theatre, with its hospital bed and multiple screens behind that change the scenery). It’s interesting to try and piece together exactly what Es Devlin provided in terms of set design; it seems like the “chats” are delivered with a blank background, and the “scenes” have a bit more of a set to play with. For this particular piece that makes a lot of sense, with the ‘children’ to consider – though in some solo shows having too much going on around the performer could end up a little distracting.
Since devouring the play text, I’m even more gutted that I missed out. (And when I heard about the New York transfer I was practically praying for it to be later in the year!) Not just because I can imagine how incredible Carey Mulligan’s performance must have been, but also because it’s a great piece of writing; a really engaging story told in a well thought out way. Sometimes you get the feeling that twists are added in just to try and force the story or make the structure a bit more original or interesting, but (for me) this flows perfectly through a compelling plot.
Girls & Boys
Photo credit: Marc Brenner
Girls & Boys has transferred to the Minetta Lane Theater, New York – it runs until 22 July 2018. Tickets are available online or from the box office. An audio version will be released through Audible on 27 June 2018.
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Tags: #MissedTheBoat, Carey Mulligan, Dennis Kelly, Es Devlin, Girls and Boys, London, Minetta Lane Theater, New York City, Off Broadway, Off West End, review, Royal Court Theatre, theatreCategories: all posts, missed the boat, review, theatre
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‘A gift of a show’: MATILDA THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★★
Children are maggots, worms, vipers and disgusting little blisters. Matilda The Musical, the multi-award-winning stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s magical book, opened at Milton Keynes Theatre and captured our hearts.
‘The greatest Dahl adaptation to date’: MATILDA THE MUSICAL – Touring
Matilda is THE family musical of this generation and a must-see for musical theatre aficionados for Minchin’s score alone. The fun and mischief are infectious and I can’t remember the last time I smiled this much at the theatre.
‘Kelly plays a blinder’: GIRLS & BOYS – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★
One helluva writer, that Kelly and his ‘muse’, Carey Mulligan. Will Girls & Boys transfer? It would be a sell-out, if arduous to maintain, I imagine for Mulligan. Time will tell…
Text of the Day: Girls & Boys
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk.
‘Structurally simple but linguistically rich’: GIRLS & BOYS – Royal Court Theatre
Girls & Boys at the Royal Court Theatre is a necessary contribution to mainstream subsidised theatre and unquestionably deserving of a place in contemporary feminist theatre’s canon.
‘Absolutely superb’: GIRLS & BOYS – Royal Court Theatre
The fact that we still have men today who think male violence is “a complex issue” shows that Dennis Kelly’s play Girls & Boys – with men firmly in its sights – remains desperately needed.
‘Carey Mulligan’s tragic intensity is peerless’: GIRLS & BOYS – Royal Court Theatre
Es Devlin’s design for Girls and Boys, aided by Luke Halls’ video work, is simply stunning – the simplest of ideas realised with perfect execution.
‘The most moving play I’ve seen for years’: GIRLS & BOYS – Royal Court Theatre ★★★★★
With its almost unbearable ending, Dennis Kelly’s play is a wonderful mix of hilarity and horror. Carey Mulligan is simply brilliant, totally at home on stage in Lyndsey Turner’s well-paced, absorbing and finally utterly compelling production.
‘A unique, faintly creepy brand of entertainment’: PINOCCHIO – National Theatre
No matter the weather, as you walk into the Lyttelton’s auditorium for Pinocchio, you’ll find that it is snowing. A simple trick but one that inspires just the right childlike wonder for an adaptation of such a popular fairytale.
NEWS: Carey Mulligan returns to Royal Court in premiere of Dennis Kelly’s one-woman Girls & Boys
Carey Mulligan has been cast in the world premiere of Girls & Boys, written by Dennis Kelly and directed by Lyndsey Turner. Girls & Boys will run in the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, 8 February 2018 to 10 March 2018.
NEWS: Royal Court winter includes Dennis Kelly premiere & Rita, Sue & Bob Too revival
The Royal Court Theatre has today announced new season of work for autumn/winter 2017/18. The programme includes five world premieres.
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