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‘Worthy but certainly not revelatory’: RUTHERFORD & SON – National Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Aleks Sierz4th June 2019Leave a Comment

Revival of Githa Sowerby’s 1912 classic of industrial patriarchy Rutherford and Son is worthy but rather cumbersome and inaccessible.

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REVIEW ROUND-UP: Rutherford & Son at the National Theatre

In Features, London theatre, Native, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Emma Clarendon3rd June 2019Leave a Comment

Love London Love Culture rounds up the reviews for Polly Findlay’s production of Rutherford & Son at the National Theatre starring Roger Allam.

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‘Beautifully well-observed character study of a dynasty under threat’: RUTHERFORD & SON – National Theatre ★★★★

In London theatre, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Anne Cox1st June 2019Leave a Comment

Githa Sowerby used her own upbringing as the daughter of a Tyneside glass-making family for her breakthrough play, Rutherford and Son, but whether her father was as cold, insensitive and bullying as patriarch John Rutherford is open to speculation.

‘If this show is saved at all, it’s by some of the acting’: RUTHERFORD & SON – National Theatre

In London theatre, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Rachel Williams31st May 2019Leave a Comment

Rutherford and Son is not my cup of tea. The acting does just about salvage it, or at least stop it from being a complete disaster, but it’s not enough.

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‘A new-century’s howl of irritated perception at the imprisoning absurdities of society’: RUTHERFORD & SON – National Theatre ★★★★★

In London theatre, Opinion, Plays, Reviews by Libby Purves30th May 2019Leave a Comment

Psychology, social rage, human sadness and betrayal move in an elegant circle in Rutherford & Son at the National Theatre and Findlay’s direction doesn’t miss a beat of it.

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‘Audiences can expect a great story written by an amazing writer’: Laura Elphinstone stars in Rutherford & Son at the Sheffield Crucible

In Features, Interviews, Plays, Regional theatre by Emma Clarendon23rd January 2019Leave a Comment

The actress Laura Elphinstone spoke to LLLC’s Emma Clarendon about starring in Rutherford & Son at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield.

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NEWS: National Theatre announces new season including cast of 40 for stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Small Island

In London theatre, Musicals, Native, News, Plays, Press Releases by Press Releases18th January 2019Leave a Comment

Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Leah Harvey and Aisling Loftus lead the cast of Small Island, adapted by Helen Edmundson from Andrea Levy’s prize-winning novel, directed by Rufus Norris in the Olivier Theatre, as part of the National Theatre’s new season.

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NEWS: Richard Hawley, Dan Gillespie Sells & Kiss Me Kate feature in new Sheffield season

In Musicals, Native, News, Plays, Press Releases, Regional theatre, Sticky by Press Releases2nd March 2018Leave a Comment

Sheffield Theatres’ new season includes Standing at the Sky’s Edge by Michael Wynne, with music and lyrics by Richard Hawley; A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by Robert Hastie with music by Dan Gillespie Sells; and this year’s Christmas musical Kiss Me, Kate.

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THE STEPMOTHER – Chichester

In Opinion, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews by Libby Purves19th August 2017Leave a Comment

Rarely seen, half-forgotten, Githa Sowerby’s 1924 play is sharp, entertaining, truthful and elegant: Richard Eyre’s direction respects it with delicate precision.

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Patriots

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Patriots by Peter Morgan – Almeida Theatre, London

Peter Morgan’s new play is a history lesson, filling in the gaps in our understanding of how we ended up where we are now. Specifically, it connects events in Russia after the fall of Communism with the high profile deaths in the UK of Russians who had fallen out with Vladimir Putin and, more implicitly, with the invasion of Ukraine and the state of Russia today. There is no doubt that the story of Boris Berezovsky is fascinating, providing important insight into how Russia ended up led by a brutal autocrat. It is, however, a story without sympathetic characters. Tom Hollander, in a fairly remarkable physical transformation, plays Berezovsky as a balding Richard III – a charming bully used to having things his own way, whose inevitable downfall is as much part of his character as his success. He is very watchable, but there is no hiding the fact the Berezovsky was a greedy, ruthless criminal and a complete bastard, just not as ruthless as Putin.

Morgan flashes back to Berezovsky’s childhood as a maths prodigy, with Ronald Guttman as the professor who took him under his wing, and highlights his decision to turn away from a self-contained life of equations on blackboards (mathematics on stage must always involve chalk) to engage with the world as it opened up under Boris Yeltsin. However, he doesn’t manage to get to the heart of why the world he chose to join was the post-Communist gangster capitalism of the 1990s, where he made a fortune from importing and illegally reselling cars. His role, however, in putting Putin where he is now is well told. Will Keen plays Putin as so reserved as to be almost tongue-tied when Berezovsky plucks him from an obscure role as Deputy Mayor of St. Petersburg and has the Yeltsin family appoint him head of the FSB then, when Yeltsin resigns on millennium eve, makes him Prime Minister. Keen’s subtle, increasingly terrifying portrayal shows him growing in confidence while remaining in the shadows until he can seize his moment, and reject the man who expected to control him. Berezovsky’s downfall begins here and ends with his 2013 suicide in luxury exile in the UK.

Elements of the story connect in ways that surprise: for example, the notorious murder of Alexander Litvinenko (Jamael Westman) in London in 2006 is an inherent part of the story. As Berezovsky’s head bodyguard his killing was a message for the exiled oligarch. Director Rupert Goold draws a great deal of entertainment from a dark story of increasingly desperate political and criminal gambles. Miriam Buether’s set has a pair of catwalks set at right angles, with characters on these but also on high stools beside them at ground level, partially hidden from circle seats and a complicated arrangement that doesn’t obviously serve the production. Patriots struggles, as plays that try to document history over long periods often do, with the balance between teaching the audience about events and allowing the characters to live. In this case, the result is too much telling and not enough showing.

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Patriots by Peter Morgan – Almeida Theatre, London

[post_excerpt] => Patriots by Peter Morgan – Almeida Theatre, London Peter Morgan’s new play is a history lesson, filling in the gaps in our understanding of how we ended up where we are now. Specifically, it connects events in Russia after the fall of Communism with the high profile deaths in the UK of Russians who had fallen … Continue reading Patriots [post_date_gmt] => 2022-08-11 11:15:59 [post_date] => 2022-08-11 12:15:59 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-08-11 11:15:59 [post_modified] => 2022-08-11 12:15:59 [post_status] => pending [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => closed [guid] => http://tombolton.co.uk/?p=6394 [meta] => Array ( [$(post_content)] => Array ( [0] => ... ) [enclosure] => Array ( [0] => https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/53f5dbe621d8562eb38dc6c070e6b52e?s=96&d=identicon&r=G [1] => https://vanishedcity.files.wordpress.com/2022/08/1250-99237df0084101fe474ca7f96e302b71.webp?w=1024 ) [syndication_source] => Theatre blog – Tom Bolton [syndication_source_uri] => https://tombolton.co.uk [syndication_source_id] => https://tombolton.co.uk/category/theatre-blog/feed/ [rss:comments] => https://tombolton.co.uk/2022/08/11/patriots/#respond [wfw:commentRSS] => https://tombolton.co.uk/2022/08/11/patriots/feed/ [syndication_feed] => https://tombolton.co.uk/category/theatre-blog/feed/ [syndication_feed_id] => 183 [syndication_permalink] => https://tombolton.co.uk/2022/08/11/patriots/ [syndication_item_hash] => e365b141c45b8d3fca56cb78d22211ca [faf_process_image] => ) [post_type] => post [post_author] => 90 [tax_input] => Array ( [category] => Array ( [0] => 1102 [1] => 730 [2] => 1104 [3] => 729 [4] => 72792 ) [post_tag] => Array ( [0] => 10484 [1] => 27244 ) [post_format] => Array ( [0] => 27246 ) ) )