Harold Pinter theatre; Barbican, London
Trevor Nunn began the summer by directing a heavy-handed Kiss Me Kate; he ends it by staging a star-encrusted but tepid Chorus of Disapproval. What a waste. Of Alan Ayckbourn, whose 1984 play has not been taken seriously, and therefore looks unfunny. And of Nunn, who has been innovative (Nicholas Nickleby) and meticulous (his Merchant of Venice was a revelation because of its detail), and who has helped (with Gorky's Summerfolk) to widen the theatrical repertoire but is in danger of looking fusty.
Rob Brydon fans may think his performance alone is enough to justify the price of a ticket. He certainly provides the high points of the evening. As the director of the Pendon Light Operatic Society's amateur production of The Beggar's Opera, Brydon is hangdog and top dog: bullying, cardiganed, down in the dumps, overweening. He unleashes a terrific riff when, while trying out...
Trevor Nunn began the summer by directing a heavy-handed Kiss Me Kate; he ends it by staging a star-encrusted but tepid Chorus of Disapproval. What a waste. Of Alan Ayckbourn, whose 1984 play has not been taken seriously, and therefore looks unfunny. And of Nunn, who has been innovative (Nicholas Nickleby) and meticulous (his Merchant of Venice was a revelation because of its detail), and who has helped (with Gorky's Summerfolk) to widen the theatrical repertoire but is in danger of looking fusty.
Rob Brydon fans may think his performance alone is enough to justify the price of a ticket. He certainly provides the high points of the evening. As the director of the Pendon Light Operatic Society's amateur production of The Beggar's Opera, Brydon is hangdog and top dog: bullying, cardiganed, down in the dumps, overweening. He unleashes a terrific riff when, while trying out...
- 9/29/2012
- by Susannah Clapp
- The Guardian - Film News
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