Diary Of A Resting Thespian Pt II – Theatre

Hubble Bubble’s latest hot tips on tickets worth fighting for

The resting thesp has had a bit of a busy time of late and has not been able to hubble up as much arty bubble as intended. All will be forgiven, no doubt, when I reveal that my absence has been due to the call of the wild: an unexpected offer to tread the boards as an obsessive, controlling but at times hilarious mother of a misbehaving teenager. Not sure what that says about me or my acting skills but the show is up and running and I now have time for an arts round-up assembled from things seen, things to see and hot tips from mates on the prowl in the London arts world.

A bit main-stream but first up is Rory Kinnear's Hamlet at the National Theatre: playing the student Prince in a Primark t-shirt apparently, reviews attest to new insights and edge-of-your-seat moments he has brought to this great play. The run is completely sold-out but (hot tips coming), the NT sells a limited number of tickets from 9.30 am at the theatre each day, followed by £5 standing room tickets. You could also try turning up of an evening for returns if you can get in early. "To be, or not to be"... in on the act, that is the question, entirely up to you but don't say you haven't had the full range of options. Be warned, the show runs at just under four hours but I have it on good authority that it is worth every minute.

Also on at the NT is a rare staging of Ena Lamont Stewart's Men Should Weep. An instant hit in 1947, the play was largely forgotten until it popped up in the NT's Top 100 plays back in 2000. Set in a Glasgow slum in the midst of the 1930's Great Depression, a strong cast plumb the depths of life below the poverty line, finding humour as well as pathos in their hardship. Although the Glasgow accents can be challenging at times, it has attracted four-star reviews from most of the quality press and is definitely on my list of things to see.

Whilst on the subject of the National Theatre, I noticed this week that its smallest and most experimental theatre, the Cottesloe, is about to undergo a huge revamp and will be renamed The Dorfman Theatre, on account of the philanthropic donation of 10 million pounds from Lloyd Dorfman, the founder of Travelex (current sponsors of the NT's £10 ticket scheme which is worth checking out if you are booking seats at the NT), so if you fancy having a theatre named after you .... get saving!

The Royal Court remains on a roll, as I reported recently, and I am drawn to its current offering, Tribes, by this quote from the Telegraph review: “Though this is a play about deafness, it is one that constantly sounds the still sad music of humanity". A new play by Nina Raine, following the success of her first play Rabbit in 2006 which won The Evening Standard and Critic's Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, it is billed as a 'fascinating dissection of belonging, family and the limitations of communication', essentially a play about people deaf to the needs of others.

I would also urge you to book up for the January 2011West End transfer of Clydebourne Park which I flagged in my last report. I caught one of its last performances at the Royal Court and thought it absolutely brilliant. A play by Bruce Norris (who wrote The Pain and the Itch 2007), it is a satirical exploration of the fault line between race and property juxtaposing two periods in the sale of a house in the white suburbs of Chicago.

In Act One, set in 1959, the first black couple look likely to move into the area on a knock-down sale creating upset in the community, the play then moves, in the second half, to 2009 with a white couple trying to buy the same house and rebuild it. Sharp, intelligent, and at times deeply unsettling, it features a hilarious (if a bit over-the-top or some tastes) performance from Sophie (sister of Emma) Thompson in a central role and a piece of pure genius from Martin Freeman. This production will be the fourth transfer for the Royal Court under Dominic Cooke's Artistic Directorship (also director of Clydebourne Park) and not to be missed if you are in the West End in 2011. The Royal Court also has Red Bud on upstairs at the moment, which might also be worth a look, but enough of the beloved Court.

Further hot tips from mates out on the town include: Ivan and the Dogs, a one-man show at the Soho Theatre based on the true story of a young boy who spent two years living with dogs in Moscow during the Yeltsin era until he was captured by police in 1998 and adopted. Gripping and moving, I am told.

There’s also A Number at the Menier Chocolate Factory, by Caryl Churchill. This play won the Evening Standard Best Play Award in 2002. Set in the near future it deals with the subject of human cloning, identity and nature versus nurture through the conflict between a father and son played by Timonthy and Samuel West. Incidentally, The Chocolate Factory is a brilliantly atmospheric venue to visit in itself with old artefacts in glass boxes, a nice bar, dinner available and always a good show, many of which have transferred to the West End and Broadway, most recently Trevor Nunn's production of A Little Night Music.

I am not a jazz enthusiast but for those that are, there’s the London jazz Festival which runs this month from 12th-22nd November. Check out Esperanza Spalding, apparently she's the real thing according to the purists and she wants the world to hear her astonishing music. Barack Obama is a big fan already.

London is also celebrating Sondheim (love him or hate him) at 80 with its centrepiece a production of Passion starring Elena Roger as the neurotic, ugly Fosca whose love for a young soldier drives the plot, and you can find that at the Donmar Warehouse.

TFN
Hubble Bubble