The Motive and the Cue - Lyttleton NT / Noel Coward

At the Noel Coward 9th December 2023 - 23rd March 2024

Harsh but not untrue

I wonder if the person in front of him was blocking his view, causing him to reposition constantly to follow the movement on stage. Is there a good solution in that situation? (I'm asking because I've been in that situation and tried to minimize my own head movement, but doing so sacrifices my own view in favor of the person behind me.)

OK sure but like what an incredibly well executed ending. An iconic ending. It reminded me a little bit of Exit The King, where even if you hated what came before it (as I did with ETK), you couldn’t help by being utterly beguiled by the final few minutes of the play. It was beautiful.

And I liked the rest of it too but, seriously, what a fantastic ending.

Five stars just for the ending.

I'm wondering how Jack Thorne managed to write both this and the Donmar's Winston play. My initial take was that they seemed worlds apart in terms of quality, but maybe the actors/direction swung it, or maybe it's just me. Maybe I was in the right frame of mind for Motive and not for Winston? More likely is that I find Gielgud and Burton interesting and John Reith, as portrayed, rather tiresome.

Watched this for a second time on Wednesday I really loved it even more than in my previous visit. For me this play has been one of the theatrical highlights of the year.

In the case of The Motive and The Cue, the original idea was conceived by Sam Mendes who came across the book about the production of Hamlet and through Neal Street commissioned Jack Thorne to write it as a play. 

It's not that unusual for writers to have multiple play in some form of development with multiple theatres or producers. James Graham had Ink, Labour of Love and Quiz in the same year and last year Mike Bartlett had The 47th at the Old Vic and Scandaltown at the Lyric Hammersmith. 

For me, both plays are excellent, and, in some ways, are the same play:

Both plays present a lonely, complex and refined man (Gielgud/Reith - both gay, incidentally) trying to resist a complex man of action, who wields far greater worldly power (Burton/Churchill), from using that power to bulldoze straight through him and his values.

"The Motive and the Cue" is the more loveable play because deep down, actors respect each other's talent and can affirm each other, resulting in feel-good emotions for the audience, whereas politicians do not and never will respect broadcasters, resulting in feel-bad feelings for the audience.

Further, Gielgud is far more fundamentally decent (and thus more likeable) than Reith, as depicted, and Burton is far more vulnerable (and thus more likeable) than Churchill, as depicted.

Thus, both action and character favour audiences walking out of "The Motive and the Cue" with more benign feelings about themselves, about other people and about the world they live in, and the play itself, than if they walk out of "When Winston went to war with the Wireless," which is fundamentally deeply depressing, even if Reith does succeed in creating an institution which is designed to build bridges between a deep political divide in the population.

Anyway, I saw "The Motive and the Cue" again tonight, the last night of the National run, and it was so exquisite and brilliant (and feel-good) that I adjusted my rating above from 4 to 5 stars (my initial reaction in previews was 4 and a half stars, but that half star is filled for me now).

Some spoilers follow. . .

Absolutely everybody in the production is firing on all cylinders at all times now, but of course it's Gatiss and Flynn who carry the conflict and the story, and both are precision perfect now.

Truthfully, I think Gatiss had Gielgud from hello, but tonight his end of the first half delivery of Hamlet's address to the players, where he rails against players who "out-herod Herod" (Burton, anyone lol?) was filled with such a well of deep emotion, of memories of youth, of mourning for a world gone by, of wistfulness for a world that never was, that I was in tears.

But it's Flynn taking absolute command of his Burton that has really lifted this production, as everyone else in the show is responding to what he does.

In previews, when acting emotional moments, the accent might waver or the staccato punchiness of Burton's performance style might be lost.

Not now. Flynn has a hold of everything Burton now: his posturing, his vulnerability, his accent, his penchant for electric exclamation in performance, the slow rise of his temper, the moments his guard falls and he softens, and being able to combine all this simultaneously makes for hugely alive moment to moment theatre.

Indeed, Flynn is so good at getting inside Burton's tempestuousness now that I found myself rooting for him, even when he was behaving despicably, as I felt from Flynn the emotions and reasons for why he was behaving like that. Although I still enjoyed Janie Dee telling him off lol.

And with Flynn on fire, it lifts the game of everyone else, including even Gatiss.

In "Winston went to War," the real protagonist is the BBC, it's fight to walk its own path, apart from Government, to unite a Country. And that's an important story.

In this, all the actors on stage fight to walk their own individual paths (as we all must do), with Flynn and Gatiss leading the way, coming together to create art. And that's an equally important story.

I loved this tonight. 5 stars from me.

though that was a revival, so slightly different situation. thorne's revival of a christmas carol runs every year and cursed child is still playing. 

Really enjoyed this play at the Noel Coward Theatre last night. The cast seemed pleased with a standing ovation. I loved Gatiss' performance as Gielgud & thought Johnny Flynn was a good Burton. Disagreed with the lady next to me who thought Flynn's voice was grating & annoying. Although having seen Hamlet & several other Uncle Will plays, I was more interested in the Gielgud/Burton ego dynamic. The staging also hit the mark.