'Hansard' at the National Theatre

'Hansard' is a new play by Simon Woods playing in the Lyttelton at the National Theatre starring Alex Jennings and Lindsay Duncan. It seems to be part of the recent trend for short plays with no interval and this one is only 90 minutes long. It's a double-header between the two main characters but I'm not sure why it's called Hansard - Hansard is the official record of debates in the Houses of Parliament and, other than the male character being an MP I didn't really notice anything that might link the play to the official record.

The play is set in 1988 and the male lead is a junior minister inThatcher's Tory government who arrives at his Cotswolds home after a hard week of interviews and votes in the House. His bored wife still hasn't dressed yet or prepared for his little birthday party and the bickering starts. Snipes here and snipes there, snide language from both in what seems like a regular argument they have each weekend when he arrives home.  

This time the sniping takes a different turn when the wife seems to have discovered that her husband has been away overnight and his secretary thinks he's been away with her. But she spent the night alone in their London flat. O dear, he's not just another lying, cheating politician is he? As it turns out, he's not, and the thing they've managed to not talk about slowly comes out after years of silence. It's quite touching in that respect but I won't say what it is - see it for yourself.

It's an odd play and it wasn't too subtle in signposting the '80s with loads of references to the miners strike, AIDS, clause 28, Thatcher and everything except tucking your jumpa into your jeans and electronic music. What's wrong with electronic music? I did think it was nicely plotted - but possibly over-plotted? - and led to an interesting discussion afterwards.

It was all set in a very large kitchen - I bet that kitchen gets really cold in winter.

'Hay Fever' at the Noel Coward Theatre

I went to see 'Hay Fever' by Noel Coward the other night, appropriately at the Noel Coward Theatre on St Martin's Lane. It doesn't seem to be doing terribly well at the box office since, when I arrived, I had my ticket bumped up from the Grand Circle to the Stalls. That's only happened to me twice before, ever. It was quite handy though, and avoided the need to hobble up several flights of stairs so who am I to complain?

The play tells the tale of a dysfunctional and knowingly bohemian family of four who have all, unknown to the others, invited someone to stay in their country house one weekend. The main character is Judith Bliss played by Lindsay Duncan, an ageing actress married to successful writer David Bliss (Kevin R McNally) and with two children in their late teens/early 20s. All long for love and freedom and the typical Coward banter falls from their lips in a never-ending stream... except for the periodical silences designed to make everyone feel uncomfortable except for the family who seemed not to notice.

Lindsay Duncan is in fine form shifting effortlessly from mother to lover to stage actress playing her favourite role in 'real life' to the chagrin of their weekend guests. Hers is the largest role and she does it full justice. I also liked Jenny Galloway as the dresser turned housekeeper (she turns up in lots of plays I've seen) and Olivia Colman as the teasing flapper looking for an adventurous affair with David Bliss. They were both on top form, as were most of the cast.

Some things I was less keen on were the two children who over-acted terribly (or was it the direction?), were plain irritating and acted like 5 year olds jumping on the furniture at every opportunity and arguing most screechily. The set was a bit dull and was the same for the whole play - I think I've been spoiled by the sets in plays like 'Playboy of the Western World', 'Matilda' and 'The Ladykillers'.

Oh, and Lindsay doesn't wear the red hat or a shoulder-less dress as in the poster, that's just a bit or artistic license. Or something.