Paradise (Olivier- National)

I’ll be first to chip in then too as I just saw it tonight and was absolutely blown away by this new retelling. Lesley Sharp is mesmerising as expected but the cast as a whole are more than great too. Gloria Obianyo too is a standout and the direction taken by Ian Rickson really highlights the best of British and Greek drama. Highly recommended!!

An odd evening.

I must admit I wasn't that gripped - although the person I went with - and many of the audience clearly were.

The concept was strong - the design a little non-descript and the staging in many parts was alarmingly static. Long arguments ( sometimes very long arguments ) delivered with 2 actors standing opposite each other with little or no movement. The aim, I guess, was that the text should shine through - but on a stage as big as the Olivier I was longing for more movement and dynamic changes. I liked the Chorus - worked well as a team with one or two stand-out performances. Sure I'll be shot down in flames for saying this , but I wasn't convinced by the all-female casting of the male roles. No attempt to change the sex of the protagonists ( 'Yes sir..' etc) and one actress 'sounded' as if she was attempting a lower range 'male' voice , which I found off-putting. Lesley Sharp certainly held attention and managed to draw out humour from the text. She had more than her fair share of 'f*** this, f*** that', which always got a response from the audience. She delivers the lead role in a strong Cockney accent which I thought seemed a little unnecessary and perhaps an easy choice?  But that said, she was the best thing in the show by a yard-mile. Kae Tempests adaptation was very good - modern, cutting, relevant, crude and poetic when needed.

Think the evening suffered a little from having no interval : at close to two hours it's a fairly demanding listen . Standing ovation from about 50% of the house.

I was looking forward to being back at The National - but it was a soulless affair - no real atmosphere in the foyer. Limited choice of drinks at the bar ( one white wine, one red wine in tins). Staff all decent and doing their best - although some sort of security guy on the door needs a lesson in basic manners. My small bottle of Appletise was taken off me ('it would have been fine it if was water'!) I asked if the Bookshop was open and I had a withering look and a 'of course not' reply. ( All bookshops are open in London - why not here?)

3 stars. ( But 4 stars from many I guess).

Covid has provided the perfect smokescreen for some bureaucrats to let leash their inner power-control yearnings to enforce policies that have the most tangential of connections to any logic or science.

Most perverse was London Northwestern Trains who used Covid to justify closing station toilets (i.e. hand-washing facilities) for several months.

Saw this Saturday night and found it dull and aimless. Though both Lesley Sharp and Anastasia Hille were terrific, I found the script itself to be at fault. It was a long 1 hour 50 minutes. And while a few people stood up at the end, t seemed that most of the audience was just bored. Ian Rickson's blocking was listless . For me this was a sizeable misfire.

Are you allowed into the foyers pre-show? Or is it still outside queueing as with Under Milk Wood?

The chorus are one of the biggest changes to the original and worked well I thought. Gives the members of the chorus real personality and presence which of course wouldn't be there in the original. Some of the other changes make sense (no Greek gods, so no final Deus ex Machina, though a different denouement gets tacked on in its place), others less so (the shoe-horning in of what is clearly meant to be a Guantanamo reference as explanation for why no one can leave the island - since the bulk of the rest of the play is essentially not fixed in time this wasn't really needed). I thought the minimalist staging worked well from where I sat (I got a Rush seat about 1/3 of the way back in the stalls). With the restrictions imposed by the seating to the rear of the stage not sure they could have done much more anyway. I didn't find the time dragged at all - but it is still at heart a Greek play so be warned if you're not keen, this will be another marmite one! The cast gave strong performances for the most part (wasn't as convinced by Obianyo who didn't really sell the switches in her character as well as she might) and it was nice to be back in pretty much a full house. As for the procedures, I can see why the NT are still hesitant - the outside bar is taking in the money from the passing trade, and they probably don't want to fully reopen the internal spaces to random bodies yet. Just like BFI and Southbank. We've seen from elsewhere how random covid infections can bring a production to a grinding halt, so I get why they are doing this. I believe the BFI are planning a fuller reopening very soon so maybe the others will follow within the next few weeks. At least you can now buy a drink (very limited choice) at the bars just outside the theatres on your guided trek through the building, so it's not quite as limited as at reopening.

Have they closed off the Circle?


I returned my ticket, the last thing I need after trudging around the streets of south London for 4 hours is hearing about the patriarchy again:

The cast are all female. The writer is female. The designer is female. But the director in charge of them all is a male. Tell me again about patriarchy ?

Token toxicity.

I really liked it. I was slightly dreading a long, dry, heavy evening of serious theatre. And while it certainly has plenty to say, and is at its heart a Greek play with a lot of talk and little action, it's also full of wit, humour and pace. At her first entrance I was worried Lesley Sharp was going to be a bit BIG in her performance for my taste, but she is so committed to the character that I very quickly found it believable. I also loved the chorus of distinct characters and personalities. Overall a very enjoyable night.

They've definitely stopped selling the Circle and, seemingly, one flank of the Stalls. £20 available across the remaining auditorium >

www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/tickets/18407/syos

I may be in the minority here but I did not enjoy this. The acting was good, but the direction is just so incredibly flat.

Not been impressed with the Olivier this season.