'The Height of the Storm' at Wyndham's Theatre

We went to see 'The Height of the Storm' last week, the new play by Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton, The draw was, of course, seeing Dame Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce on stage together, both actors worth seeing that I've seen in various productions in the last few years. It's a fashionably short play with no interval and is set in the kitchen of a large house outside Paris, so only needs one set.

The play opens on the morning after a big storm, with Andre looking out the kitchen window at the vegetable garden when his daughter walks in and starts chatting. He doesn't respond and something is clearly wrong  - is it shock? is it dementia? He gradually starts talking as Anne, the daughter, fills the silence. It seems like her mother, Andre's wife, Madeleine, has died and she's tip-toeing around the subject to avoid upsetting him. And then Madeleine appears, back from the shops where she's been buying mushrooms for lunch and Andre comes to life again. Later in the scene we see Andre talking to both his wife and Anne, but seemingly ignored, so is it he who has actually died?

The story develops as we meet their other daughter and her latest boyfriend, an estate agent, and a mysterious woman who knew Andre many years ago and has a grown son. Who's son is he? And there's a mysterious bouquet of flowers without a card. What's going on? I kept thinking it'll all become clear any moment, someone will say something and it'll click into place. But they don't and I'm none the wiser. And then the scene changes again. I think the best thing is to give in and go with the flow and it'll become clearer by the end (which I won't spoil).

There's some very complex writing here that takes some concentration to follow. It's not a linear story by any means, almost circular and picaresque, seeing the scenes from different perspectives and view-points. Who actually died? Who's is re-living scenes from their life? There's a clue from Anne when she gets upset and says she's having trouble understanding what's happening being back in the old family home. Particularly since she's reading her father's diaries at the request of his publisher. What is fact and what is fiction?

I really liked the relationship between Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce, I think they really pulled off  the appearance of a long-term marriage where they're still in love after so many years. It's a good on-stage pairing with a text that offers them great opportunities to demonstrate their love, such as the ritual of mushrooms for lunch. It was quite touching to see them interact and react to each other, especially in the final scene when Madeleine says she'll always be with Andre, always, because she doesn't break her promise.

I really liked Amanda Drew as the older sister that takes the brunt of the situation, as is her job as the eldest and most capable in the family but whose personal life seems to be falling apart. She has the look of capable older sister about her. But I think it's the quiet scenes between Eileen and Jonathan that I'll remember, sitting at the kitchen table peeling mushrooms.

'Three Days In the Country' at the National Theatre

Last week I went to see a preview of 'Three Days In The Country' in the Lyttleton Theatre at the National Theatre. It's a new version of the Turgenev play by Patrick Marber and it brings a nice comedic sensibility to the play which is otherwise full of broken dreams. So many broken dreams and lost loves that I lost count.

As the title suggests, it's set in a country house in Russia and the action takes place over three days one fateful summer. We meet the three generations of the family that lives there, their friends and neighbours, and their hired help including the maid and the young tutor. There are a lot of intertwined relationships going on and we watch as they develop and fall apart, and we see the history to some of them and can only guess at what happens in the future with others.

The play opens with Natalya, the bored lady of the house who's summoned an old friend of her husband's to the house to amuse her. Rakitin is in love with her and has been since they first met in Moscow years ago with her husband. She falls for Belyaev, the handsome young tutor for her son and so does her ward, Vera. Meanwhile, Belyaev is having fun with Katya, the maid. Already you can see this is destined to be no good for any of them. In a parallel tale, the family doctor Shpigelsky proposes to the household retainer Livaveta while trying to get Vera to agree to marry local neighbour SomebodyOrOther. It all gets terribly confusing and I won't tell you what happens because I don't want to spoil it for you.

The best scene was a double-header between Mark Gatiss as the doctor and Debra Gillet as the retainer in which he asks her to marry him by spelling out his worst habits and making clear what he doesn't want rather than what he wants. It's even better since he hurts his back, can hardly move, and regales his potential bride while crouching on the floor in pain. It really is an excellent scene and great comic performances from them both.

I also liked Amanda Drew as the lady of the house and John Simm as the long-time friend, along with Royce Pierreson as the tutor and Cherrelle Skeete as the maid (though I'm not at all sure why she kept breaking into song). The youngsters brought a lot of life and vitality to the play whereas their elders all seemed a bit angsty.

I was surprised by, and really liked, the sparse staging, a big open stage with a few bits of furniture and a mysterious red door hanging above the stage. The actors are in simple period costumes and the absence of clutter on the stage makes for a very 'clean' stage which transforms from drawing room to barn with a few deft shifts. Around the edges of the stage were chairs for the actors to sit in when not on the stage proper - given the sheer size of the Lyttleton stage then it was ok and they didn't intrude at all but that approach seems to be a bit on-trend at the moment.

The play is still in preview so I'm sure there's scope for tightening it up in a few places. It's light-hearted and tragic by turn and the overall message is don't throw yourself at your son's tutor because it won't turn out how you expect. O no. But, broadly speaking, I liked it so go and see it!