'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' at The Old Vic

I've known about the play 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' by Tom Stoppard for almost as long as I've known about 'Hamlet'. My old English teacher, Mrs Bowen, told us about it while teaching us about 'Hamlet' at 'A' level and encouraging us to read and think critically about what we read.  But I never read 'Rosencrantz' and I've never seen it performed so it was, of course, on the list of things to see when it was announced that it would celebrate it's 50th anniversary at The Old Vic.

The fact that it would star Daniel Radcliffe would be a minor distraction since it would mean the Harry Potter fans would be out in force to see their hero. I've seen Daniel on stage before, in 'Equus' years ago when he was much younger and in 'How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying' on Broadway. He was ok in both, better at singing than dancing (I recall he always seemed to be surrounded by dancers in dance numbers, never out front leading) so what would he be like in a play with the endless words of Tom Stoppard? In a sense he's already won by returning to the London stage in a 'big' play that carries expectations and he's not afraid of the risk.

So. Back to the story. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are friends of Hamlet from university in the Shakespeare play 'Hamlet'. They are summoned to Elsinore to find out what's really wrong with Hamlet and then, later, escort him to England where he is supposed to be killed by the tributory English. They're only in a few small scenes and have few lines, so they're very minor characters and that's where the interest is in this play - what are they doing, saying, thinking when they're not on stage? do they understand the political intrigue they've fallen into? and what really happens to them?

A third main character in this play is also a relatively minor character in 'Hamlet' although of much greater importance, the Player, whose company of actors puts on the play within the play in 'Hamlet' to prick the conscience of the king. After that risky play, the Player and his troupe are no longer welcome in Elsinore and so must leave, oddly on the same ship as the young men use to travel to England. The Player meets up with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at various places on the journey to and from Elsinore and keeps popping up during the play.

The main parts are taken by Daniel Radcliffe as Rosencrantz, Joshua McGuire as Gildenstern and David Haig as the Player. Joshua McGuire is the gobby one and gets the lions share of the lines between the two friends - will he ever shut up? They make a really good fist of it and seem to have developed a good rapport and partnership but I must save my kudos for David Haig. Haig has, for seeming decades played the part of a middle aged man slowly fraying at the edges and going off in mad manic panics - he's played that role so often that that's how I think of him. He even played an Edwardian shop-keeper like that in the worst play I've ever seen a decade or so ago (don't ask, please, it's still a painful memory). But he fully redeemed himself in this play and easily outshone the rest of the cast. One minute playing an Actor (with a capital 'A'), the next a pimp, the next a cockerney pirate and then a dead man (not really since he comes back to life). That was a very impressive performance and almost - but not quite - wipes the slate clean.

The simple staging worked well and I liked the lighting, always subtle and helping to focus attention where it needed to be. This will do no harm to anyone's career and seems to be going down well with critics and audiences alike and its run has been extended into May so there are still plenty of opportunities to see it if you can get tickets.

'Guys and Dolls' at The Savoy Theatre

I saw this new version of 'Guys and Dolls' at Chichester last year where it first played and it has now come into London at the Savoy before going on tour. It's jut as colourful and fast-paced as I remember it. There have been a few cast changes but it still features Sophie Thompson as Miss Adelaide and Jamie Parker as Sky Masterson, with new additions David Haig as Nathan Detroit and Siubhan Harrison as Sarah Brown.

You now the story of gamblers and nightclub singers in New York crossed with the Salvation Army and a trip to Cuba. Nathan's trying to set up a game and Sky is challenged to taking Sergeant Sarah to Cuba for dinner and he does so on the basis that he will provide twelve guaranteed sinners to Sarah's congregation the following night. It all goes right and then oh so wrong as Miss Adelaide and Nathan break up and Sky and Sarah fall in love. O dear, life is never straight-forward is it? Will it all work out in the end? I can't possibly tell you, you'll have to go and see it for yourself.

Sophie is great fun as the ageing Miss Adelaide who's been engaged to Nathan for a mere 14 years and never seems to move towards marriage. She hates his gambling but she loves him and can't help it. She milked every line at least twice for every laugh and she got the laughs too. David Haig was great as Nathan, very natural and slotted in nicely - they played off each other very well and had great timing. Jamie was good as Sky but I was less convinced by Siubhan as Sarah - I couldn't help but wonder what Julie Covington was like in the role back in the early 80s with the much-lauded revival at the National Theatre. I liked Gavin Spokes as Nicely Nicely, one of Nathan's gamblers who gets the show-stopping moment of 'Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat' towards the end and a great scene it is too. The other big show-stopper is Sky's 'Luck, Be A Lady' in the sewers beneath Manhattan when he wins twelve souls for Sarah at a game of dice and won back his marker.

If you get the chance, go and see this show, either at the Savoy or while it's on tour in 2016, it's well worth it.