vivdunstan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
vivdunstan) wrote2025-02-07 06:54 pm
vivdunstan) wrote2025-02-07 06:54 pm
Current watching: Present Laughter (2019) from the National Theatre
Just finished watching this production, starring Andrew Scott as Garry Essendine, and including in the cast Indira Varma (who, like Scott, won an Olivier award for this role) and Sophie Thompson (also Olivier nominated, but lost to Varma).
This is an old play, written by Noel Coward in the 1930s, centred around a successful actor and his immediate circle of associates. This 2019 version updated it in places, including gender swapping a key character, making it more true to the unspoken feeling but unshowable then truth of the original 1940s production. I think the ending has been tweaked too.
The acting is sparkling, very theatrical and over the top, but works so very well, and keeps you glued for almost 90 minutes. The staging is good too, set in a single room, with clever use of furniture, doors and other props. Often when the front door bell would ring, leading to another disastrous arrival, the audience would laugh out loud. Indeed there was just so much laughter from the audience throughout the whole play.
In the lead role Andrew Scott was superb. Yes over the top and camp for much of the time, but with a sad pathos running underneath, and superb comic timing. The rest of the cast were excellent, especially Varma and Thompson.
Highly recommended viewing. I watched the recorded performance via my National Theatre at Home streaming subscription, which I bought at a greatly reduced cost (thankfully!) just before Christmas.
This is an old play, written by Noel Coward in the 1930s, centred around a successful actor and his immediate circle of associates. This 2019 version updated it in places, including gender swapping a key character, making it more true to the unspoken feeling but unshowable then truth of the original 1940s production. I think the ending has been tweaked too.
The acting is sparkling, very theatrical and over the top, but works so very well, and keeps you glued for almost 90 minutes. The staging is good too, set in a single room, with clever use of furniture, doors and other props. Often when the front door bell would ring, leading to another disastrous arrival, the audience would laugh out loud. Indeed there was just so much laughter from the audience throughout the whole play.
In the lead role Andrew Scott was superb. Yes over the top and camp for much of the time, but with a sad pathos running underneath, and superb comic timing. The rest of the cast were excellent, especially Varma and Thompson.
Highly recommended viewing. I watched the recorded performance via my National Theatre at Home streaming subscription, which I bought at a greatly reduced cost (thankfully!) just before Christmas.