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NATHAN THE WISE
HAMPSTEAD By MARTINA ANZINGER
THIS is not a play for true believers. For beneath the noble
plea for inter-faith tolerance is a merciless satire on the absurdity
of religious exclusivity.
If you think your belief system has a hotline to God, Gotthold Ephraim
Lessing’s drama provokes the question: Is it a Jewish hotline?
A Christian? Or a Muslim?
Set in the Holy Land of Richard the Lionheart during that first
great clash of civilisations called the Crusades, the title character,
a rich Jewish merchant, finds himself caught between the rival faiths.
When Nathan returns from a business trip, he discovers his beloved
daughter Rachel has been saved from death in a house fire by a German
Templar knight come to do battle with the infidel incarnate, Sultan
Saladin.
As the plot lines are peeled away, to an improbable denouement,
Lessing exposes the insane pretensions of religious righteousness
to withering scrutiny with a fabulous metaphor – the elemental
power of a ring of destiny.
When first published – as a dramatic poem – in 1779, Palestine
was free of internecine strife, slumbering under the overlordship
of the Ottoman Empire. Lessing’s real target was a European
society tainted by the persecution of “Christ killer”
Jews, and caught in the turmoil of the Enlightenment.
This is the first production of his play in London for 40 years,
but its themes have a starkly current resonance and this revival
directed by Anthony Clark has been superbly realized.
The minimalist, but dramatic set provides a brooding counterpoint
for a highly experienced cast who find the right mix of farce and
pathos.
Michael Pennington is perfect as the benevolent Nathan, and Vincent
Ebrahim as Saladin. They are ably supported by Celia Meiras, Anna
Cateret and Shelley King, while Justin Avoth is both a suitably
sinister Patriarch and a funny, endearing Dervish. Perhaps only
Sam Troughton over-eggs the emotional angst as a defeated soldier
of Christ.
Until October 15
020 7722 9301
Vision of Alan Partridge
hell
ME AND MICHAEL - A MOTORWAY TALE
OLD RED LION By LEONORA BAIRD SMITH
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MIKE Holt is a middle class, suburban human resources
manager whose seemingly flawless life spirals out of control when
his wife leaves him for the next-door neighbour, and he is replaced
by a younger and more dynamic model of himself at his automotive
company.
He finds himself in a pokey motel room, somewhere off the M6,
chatting to an imaginary Michael Parkinson on the television in
an attempt to solve his ‘people problems’.
Family, friends and colleagues are on hand to play out scenes
from his recent, shambolic life, and Mike’s escalating madness
soon becomes clear as does his increased confusion between fantasy
and reality. The sympathy we feel for him throughout act one subsides
into pity, and once we see his pathetic and obsessive nature in
act two one cannot help but be afraid for his sanity.
The intense and somewhat surprising climax is intelligent in idea,
but is executed too quickly and chaotically to do justice to such
a subtle and well thought out performance.
The extremely accomplished cast of nine play each part beautifully
and provide the perfect balance of comedy to what would otherwise
be a rather gloomy and depressing tale.
Mike Holt is played exceptionally well by by John McAndrew, whose
credits include several seasons at the RSC and more than 250 radio
broadcasts, as is his daughter’s lecherous Italian boyfriend
Angelo (Nick Meadows), who adds much needed humour at the darkest
of times.
The intimate surroundings of the Old Red Lion provide the perfect
setting for the required voyeuristic atmosphere, and the fantastic
script and faultless acting ensure the audience is in stitches
throughout. It would be enjoyed by all ages but especially to
those for whom the words ‘mid-life crisis’ seem only
too familiar.
Until October 1
020 7837 7816
Russian wolves hunt prey
WOLVES AND SHEEP
THE PLEASANCE By JAMES DEACON
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THERE is a lot going on in Ostrovsky’s 19th-century
farce, and although there are moments when it plays like an English
drawing room romantic comedy – with all the characteristic
enmeshing of plots and sub-plots, there are equally moments of
sheer weirdness that could only be Russian.
Set in the privileged milieu of the rural land-owning classes,
the action is based around two large houses and their inhabitants,
a rum bunch of characters who can roughly be categorised as either
wolves (cunning and manipulative) or sheep (naïve and exploited).
Head wolf is landowner Meropiya, an energetic lady whose ceaseless
conniving to get her nephew married off to the rich, young and
beautiful widow next door (across the fields), is the main engine
of the plot. The part is wonderfully played by Susan Henry who
displays an almost sensual delight in the power she wields through
the machinations of her wily lawyer (another wolf).
At first sight the opposition seem to be woefully ill-equipped
to deal with such formidable opponents as Meropiya and her lawyer.
But things don’t all go Meripoya’s way, largely thanks
to the unremittingly wayward character of her penniless and dissolute
nephew, played with a lascivious sense of abandon by an impressive
Ryan Gage, whose clumsy efforts at seduction never look like succeeding,
despite the fact that Nicole Harvey’s amusingly sexy portrayal
of the widow is all pouts and fluttering eyelids, with a large
dose of Essex girl.
Caroline Lynch’s production is at its strongest when it verges
on the surreal. Unfortunately, the more slapstick scenes are occasionally
laboured and the script could have been cut.
It’s undoubtedly an entertaining evening, but you can’t
help feeling that Ostrovsky was too generous in doling out the
air time, and gave too much plot space in the second half to characters
that don’t come across as though they should be in the limelight
for so long.
Until October 2
020 7609 1800
Pensioners’ love
affair has charm
THE COLOUR OF POPPIES
NEW END THEATRE By MARTINA ANZINGER
IN this play love’s clearly not time’s fool, even
though its heroine’s rosy lips and cheeks have long gone.
After 50 years of loveless marriage, Marthe has discovered that
love and marriage do not go together like a horse and carriage.
And, now at 75 both seem out of reach forever for a widowed grandmother.
Enter at last a gallant knight, in the guise of 80-year-old Felix,
an artist with a colourful line in cravats. Their first rendez-vous
is a night at the opera – with The Barber of Seville.
Rossini inspires their first exchange of tenderness, and Marthe’s
monochrome existence is suddenly transformed by the flashing colour
of the red poppy: the colour of passion.
Their love story is the heart of this intimate one-character play,
and Marthe lays bare her soul, sharing her diary of memories –
cherished as well as awkward moments of her passion.
This adaptation of Noëlle Châtelet’s novel La
Femme Coquelicot is suffused with benign humour and unpicks everything
you always wanted to know about love in old age, but didn’t
dare ask.
There’s even a Titanic moment – in Felix’s studio
Marthe plays Grande Odalisque, draping herself on the sofa. And,
then, she stays the night.
The play is a demanding test for any actor. But Faith Brook rises
to the challenge.
She subtly and touchingly conveys the full range of emotions,
from the ecstasy of the first love letter to the bitter pangs
of jealousy. In the end, it’s the barber that does the trick
again – this time for real, when Felix invites Marthe for
a romantic mini-break in Seville.
Until October 9
0870 033 2733
Invitingly relevant theatre
TAKE TWO
THE GATEHOUSE By REBECCA OMONIRA
CAMERAMAN Mick Prentice and news correspondent Piers D’Avenant
are kidnapped by a group of dissidents while working in a war
zone. Back in London stuck with not only the trauma of the kidnapping
but personal issues left behind by the two men, are their respective
partners Jerry and Rosamund.
The premise for Take Two is invitingly relevant. A quote used
in the programme sums up the potential of the play: “I was
drinking from a very dangerous cocktail. Fun, fear, excitement,
adrenaline and a sense of mission.”
But then it failed to tap into the dramatic possibilities of such
a kaleidoscope of emotions.
If, however, the play was trying to recreate the slick coldness
of the media operating in volatile and life threatening situations
then it may have been interesting. But the pendulum did not swing
that way either.
Until October 1
020 8340 3488
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