It was raining when I set out for the National tonight. Nonetheless, I decided to go over the bridge again, rather than revert to my old route, via Waterloo, which takes longer and I didn't have time for. I think I'll stick to this route in general - it's both quicker and more scenic. Having said that, it was very misty when I crossed to the theatre this evening - you could easily tell which was the Shard, with its tip in the clouds!
Oh, I am sick of trying to find my way around the National. At least I knew I was in the Olivier Theatre - of course, they have a separate box office for each, and that for the Olivier is on the second floor. First thing I saw was a lift to the Olivier, with an "Out of Order" sign on it. Now, I don't know where my head was - probably frazzled with rushing to get there - but I completely forgot there is another lift beside it; to be fair, it's been a while. I then completely neglected to notice the other lifts, with "Olivier" written over them, and headed for the staircase I could see. Bad idea. It goes up, but not to the Olivier. Getting increasingly more frazzled, I returned to the ground floor and retraced my steps, where I saw the staircase I should have taken. With a sign over it saying "Olivier". And saw a working lift, which I took.
They could also do with taking a leaf from the BFI's handbook when it comes to finding your seat. The lights weren't even down, and I couldn't see whether the seat was mine! The seat numbers are tucked inconspicuously towards the back of the inside of the armrests. Honestly.. I had to ask the guy in the seat next to mine what number it was.
This production of Edward II, by Christopher Marlowe, has received mixed reviews, owing to its juxtaposition of modern elements in the telling of a tale of medieval times. I was curious to see whether this would work, as it often can. I'm delighted to say that, in my opinion, it definitely did here. As we took our seats, we were treated to a medieval tune, with a harpsichord effect. Played by a guy wearing sunglasses, playing an electronic keyboard onstage. So far, so good.
The play opens with the coronation of Edward II. Not too many props in this play - just a throne, a golden curtain that could be raised and lowered as required, and wooden screens forming a separate room onstage, where surreptitious meetings could be had, and so on. Interestingly, for practically the entire play, one of the cast members carried a video camera, whose images are broadcast on two large video screens either side of the stage. Much of what this is used for was to show what was happening in this hidden room. Worked well! Helpfully, the screens also gave us the background - the coronation of Edward II, Gaveston's exile, and so on.
They had a few male parts played by females, I guess to redress the gender imbalance. I thought the combination of modern and medieval dress by various characters worked well. The man sitting on my other side remarked to his companion at the interval that he'd never thought that Isabelle's character was very strong in this play, but he was impressed by what this actress made of her, playing her as a hard, drinking, smoking, sexy woman. They also turned the Earls of Kent and Pembroke into women, addressing them as such too. Kent spends the first part of the play in a modern business suit.
The audience seemed to think it was played for laughs more than I did, although some parts definitely were. Gaveston started the play in the audience, and clambered his way, most acrobatically, onto the stage. The conspirators took messages by telephone, and I have to admit that the sight of a man in armour answering the phone with a stern "Warwick" deserved its laugh. Overall, I have to commend the vigour of this play, which was vibrant and not one bit dull, compared with some worthy Shakespearian productions I've seen over the years. And, with one of those cheap £12 Travelex tickets, a real bargain. I loved it.
Coming back, I noted, as I did last night, that they've removed the sandpit they had on the South Bank all summer. Autumn is here at last - and with the weather this evening, you couldn't disagree.
And now for something completely different! Going to see Rush tomorrow. At least it's not on until 8.30, which gives me a little time to breathe. And there's a change in plan for Thursday - still going to a film, but I managed to get a free ticket to The Merry Wives of Windsor, with ShowFilmFirst. Supposed to be good. Then I'm off to Greywell for the weekend - or most of it; if I'm back in time, I'll try and get to some buildings in the Open House festival on Sunday.
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