Tag Archives: Max Stafford-Clark

Bang Bang Bang = Bad, Banal, Boring – Royal Court Theatre – Review

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The day had to come eventually… The day when I left a play at the interval as it was so bad.

That day was yesterday and was at a performance of Stella Feehily’s new play Bang Bang Bang. Yes for the first time in all my theatrical going over the years, I was relieved the interval had arrived and I could get out.

Usually I can force myself to see a play through to the end, I didn’t last night for the simple reason, after an hour with this cast, I just didn’t care. About the characters, about the so-called plot, about the issues even (that’ll make me sound very hard-hearted and I’m not!).

The script was so contrived and stilted, I felt patronised and the whole tone of the play condescending. The best way to describe it would be, that it reminded me of the sort of play you’d be forced to watch by a travelling drama group at school, to make you aware of “issues”. However even those were better than this.

I was more disappointed that Out of Joint were involved in it and Max Stafford-Clark directed it. It just felt so dull and predictable.

Yet I wanted to be moved, it’s dealing with hard issues, but the whole way it was structured lessened the impact. It all felt a bit wishy washy and naff to be honest. The main characters boyfriend has chosen a life away from humanitarian aid, “ohh let me think how can I make him a baddy?? I know I’ll make him work for Shell”, that is the level of thought that’s gone into this, I mean come on!

Also why did they feel the need to have excessively loud thumping music during each of the scene changes?

It’s sold out for most of its run, that’s the problem with the Royal Court, it’s not worth missing what’s on there, as usually it’s so good. Sometimes though it’s a dud. Which with this calibre director and company I would not expect but that’s the joy of the theatrical world, nothing is certain.

Top Girls by Caryl Churchill – Trafalgar Studios, London – Review

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I’ve read it, I’ve re-read it, I’ve written assignments on it, referenced it in other assignments, seen it mentioned in almost every module. If you’re a theatre student, there is no escaping Top Girls.

On each re-reading, I’ve grown to appreciate it a bit more, but I’ve always wanted to see it. Act 1 is nigh on impossible to read, as it’s a script of the women at a dinner party, talking over and interjecting each other. I was looking forward to sitting back and watching it as I’ve felt I’ve never really “got” this play due to the scripting in Act 1.

The infamous Act 1. With the eclectic guest list

I was also pleased as this production was to be directed by Max Staffford-Clark who directed the original production all those years ago (yes 1982 is actually quite a long time ago, scary but true!). I was pleasantly surprised to see during the interval he was sitting a row behind me, with his notebook.

As usual my wife joined me on this theatre trip, I was keen to see how she’d respond. She knew nothing of the play and I was also keen to see how as a woman the play would speak to her.

The assembled cast of Top Girls, certainly gave good performances, especially Surrane Jones as Marlene. She was stunning as the 80′s woman, and gave her character a real conviction. Stella Gonet was excellent in her three roles but especially as Joyce in Act 3.

Act 1 was visually striking, as each guest arrived in their period costume, the scene was set for this absurd first Act. I was struck by how humourous it was, with great character acting by Olivia Poulet as Dull Gret. I always wondered if this would actually work or whether it was a clever idea on paper only. Having now seen it I feel it does work. It cleverly shows that the challenges women face are timeless and even though different times and cultures have come up with different solutions the challenges of career, sex, childbearing, violence, marriage and men, are still relevant.

Into Act 2, which having not revisited this play for the last 18 months or so, I’d totally forgotten about! Having dug out my dog-eared script this morning, I was also surprised to see that they’ve changed the order of scenes. I think the version I saw last night got it right, going straight to Angie and Kit playing in their garden, then moving on to the Tops Girls Agency in London.

The attention to detail in the Top Girls agency and home set of Act 3, was brilliant but also a bit scary that my childhood is now a “historical setting” ! Why were electric kettles brown in the 80′s??

Stella Gonet and Suranne Jones

Act 3 was extremely powerful as it shows the stark choices Joyce and Marlene have made. It doesn’t offer any glib solutions or answers and Caryl Churchill sensibly avoids defining whether Joyce or Marlene are “right” in the decisions they’ve made. I have to say I sympathised most with Marlene, wanting to escape the backwaters of East Anglia and make something of her life was easy for me to understand.

On leaving I finally felt like I understood this work properly for the first time. As my wife and I meandered back to Charing Cross and we chatted on the journey back, we said that not much has changed in the last 29 years. Women still get paid less than men in comparable roles (my wife being a case in point!), the choice of career and/or children is still one many women struggle with. Also how do women retain their “womanliness” in the more male dominated careers. As Joyce wryly observes in Act 3, of Margaret Thatcher, “What good ‘s first woman [prime minister] if it’s her?” Just as importantly though my wife enjoyed the play, she thought Act 1 was fun and actually set the scene in an admittedly unusual but effective way. We also enjoyed the office scenes, especially the interviews.

So I’m chuffed I’ve managed to see this, perhaps if I’d seen it first I’d have found its themes and structure more palatable when reading/studying the play. So if you have had to, or are going to be studying this play, get along and see it!

I also have a greater appreciation for Caryl Churchill and her work. I’ve read a good number of her plays, some I love such as Easy Money, others I loathe such as Cloud Nine! Yet her contribution to 20th and 21st century theatre is important and Top Girls will always remain part of the theatrical canon, having now seen it I can say that it rightly deserves to be in there.

Words into Action

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I was fortunate to spend 45 mins in the presence of William Gaskill and Max Stafford-Clark on Monday night at the National Theatre. William Gaskill was giving a Platform Talk and it was linked with his new book Words into Action.

I originally went just to hear these two giants of theatre talk/lecture and muse, which they did, however I immediately rushed to the foyer following the Platform and bought a copy of this wonderful book. I’ve only read the first few chapters, but I REALLY recommend this to all those interested in theatre,be that actors/directors/designers/students.

It was wonderful hearing BIll Gaskill talk about his experiences working with Olivier, Bond, and Beckett (amongst others), and hearing his insights and thoughts on the current theatre scene. Max also contributed and I could have listened to them all night.

A particular highlight was hearing Bill talk about his experience of seeing the Berliner Ensemble coming to England in 1956 and him describing their work as “beautiful and meaningful, it’s unusual to get both”. I’ve read so much about that visit in my module at college last year, to actually hear someone talking about it and reminiscing was amazing and brought it to life more so that any book I’ve read. It also made me realise what a key moment that visit was in British theatre, one that is perhaps overlooked.

His passion for the words of the text is refreshing. As so often directors especially, seem to think they can chop and change the writers words, which regular readers of my blog will know gets on my wick too.

I was also struck by how often they referred to theatre as a “craft”, with an enormous respect for it, something that I feel is also not done enough today. Theatre is a “craft”, which we need to work at and be expert craftsmen. I certainly came away with a deeper respect for this “craft”, and the example of these two luminaries is worth bearing in mind.

My notebook is full of wise words here are a few I jotted down;

  • ” Argument is not a bad word, it’s a very useful word in rehearsal.” to which Max added “remember you don’t need to win them all either, win the right ones!”
  • “Know what banner you want to work under, and know what you Do and what you DON’T admire.” (and why)
  • “Theatres have been handed over to directors, and in my view that’s not a good thing.”
  • “Theatre is about writers and actors, the director is a midwife.”
  • “The reason there are no decent right-wing plays is that there are no decent right-wing writers”

It was a great evening and time really well spent, I truly felt honored to have the opportunity to listen to their wise words.

Max quoted the last sentence/question from the book and I feel it’s worth sharing

“Today the amount of talent in writing and acting is enormous, but not enough is focused or shared. We live in an individualistic, competitive society, but does it have to dominate our work?”

Something for us all to ponder upon.