Anyone else watch this? Bravura performance. A lot of explanation in the script, historical stuff. I wanted to get a pencil out and edit. But a worthy effort and a bit like proper theatre.
I was meant to have a decent amount of sleep the night before so obviously didn't fall asleep until gone half 4. Finished work an hour early to have a sleep, joined the globe thing, then over to a talk elsewhere then wondered back to this on the basis that 'maybe I won't like it and I can go to sleep'. Obviously that didn't work. I found it deeply moving, could easily imagine it in the theatre, where the laughs would come, were i'd be doing that frown thing that I have always imagined conveyed how deeply I was being moved and now from zoom know is not remotely visible and I look as vacant and disinterested as ever. Made me want to go away and look up the historical stuff, was thinking surely we didn't do that, of course we did.
FOLLOWING A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL ONLINE RUN, THE AWARD-WINNING REVIVAL OF MARTIN SHERMAN’S ROSE COMES TO THE STAGE.
FEATURING AN UNMISSABLE STAR-TURN FROM DAME MAUREEN LIPMAN.
This powerful one-woman production is a moving reminder of some of the harrowing events that shaped the century and remains sadly relevant today with racial tensions and allegations of antisemitism continuing to dominate the news.
Blending the personal with the political, this sharply drawn portrait of a feisty Jewish woman traces Rose’s story from the devastation of Nazi-ruled Europe to conquering the American dream. Rose reflects on what it means to be a survivor. Her remarkable life began in a tiny Ukrainian village, took her to Warsaw’s ghettos and a ship called The Exodus, and finally to the boardwalks of Atlantic City, the Arizona canyons, and salsa-flavoured nights in Miami beach.
Lipman is Rose – a woman shaped by her history. She offers an intimate and, at times, humorous account of the 20th century, and and it’s complicated heritage. This thought-provoking production acts as a caution, highlighting the importance of unity in the face of adversity, and the need to recognise and empathise with the suffering of others.
Having originally confused this with Andrew Davies' 1979/80 play of the same name which was a star vehicle for Glenda Jackson, I missed it at the Park but saw it tonight.
Obviously very static, an 80 year old woman sitting on a park bench on her own for two and a half hours does not make for an action-packed thrill-fest, but Maureen Lipman really is very good indeed in telling us the tale of this Jewish survivor from World War Two. Might this even be a career high point? She catches the deceptively rambling but sharp as needles nature of her character and gives a storming performance - racing through a whole gamut of emotions and beyond. Yes, the script is a bit too long and sometimes rather "Hollywood Jewish" with some jokes Groucho himself would have been pleased to quip, but it is poignant, warm, engaging and funny.
Lipman was also great with an ad-lib when someone blew their nose really loudly (did he/she really have to be that loud?) breaking the fourth wall - admittedly the whole of the monologue is addressed at the audience anyway - to remark that she thought it was someone from her retirement home, which is where we were at in the play when this happened.
I often praise theatre staff and would to do so again here but I can't. The Ambassador's really needs to get its act together. One person checking all tickets soon creates a long queue even in a smallish theatre. Once inside the usher directed us to the wrong entrance and they wouldn't sell programmes upstairs but no worries you can get it at the interval. Yeah but how do I check out who's in the cast before it starts??? Next a ten minute delay due to some issue with seats and, finally, the ushers were most in evidence before the end of each half when they would trundle down the noisy, creaking steps to break the tension at crucial points in the performance. Can't they wait till the curtain falls to move for goodness sake?