'The Normal Heart' at the National Theatre

My last theatre play before the pandemic was 'The Visit' on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre and my return to plays was 'The Normal Heart', also on the Olivier stage. 'The Normal Heart' is an odd play in some ways, very autobiographical by Larry Kramer about the AIDS crisis in early '80s New York and written in 1985 while the crisis was still raging and turning into a world-wide epidemic. 

The play starts with the characters assembling on stage, lights go down and the 'thump, thump, thump' sound of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' blasts out into the auditorium for a few seconds  and we see the characters pull their shirts off and dance in spotlights before it all vanishes and we're in a doctor's waiting room meeting the first casualty of the epidemic. The hedonism before the tragic results. I's quite a powerful move.

The play and the arguments start with endless words, words, words, shouting and confrontation. It's not the easiest of plays to watch, especially if you're around my age and lived through it all. The strange cancer gradually comes to be associated with gay men and with sex and Ned Weeks, the lead character, feels the need to tell his community about it. But others who fought for equal rights feel that you can't tell men how to live their lives after finally finding (relative) freedom. That's the premise of the play, the results of the freedom to be out and enjoy life openly versus the emerging medical epidemic that calls for restraint.

There's a lot of polemic on both sides of the argument - 'it's my right to have lots of sex' versus 'be careful' - and I can't help but feel that this would've benefited from a good edit to make the play flow better rather than get stuck in a position every now and then. At the time it was written this was probably relevant but seems odd looking back when people were dying. It made me wonder when I first heard of AIDS and I can't remember, probably the mid-'80s but I probably didn't really understand it. In 1987 I worked in an unemployment benefit office and had quite a few AIDS/HIV men on my caseload so certainly knew about it by then and visited one of the main treatment hospitals in London to better understand it (as it was back then).

There's no happy ending to this play, it was written in 1985 after all. Ned's lover Felix catches the disease and dies - did he catch it from Ned or not? The best it can claim is that it reconciles Ned and his brother, a sub-plot in the play. I can't say I enjoyed the play but it did make me think and remember. The covid pandemic isn't the only one I've lived through (so far), there was an earlier one in my lifetime

Ben Daniels played Ned and Dino Fetscher played his lover. I liked seeing Liz Carr come on in her wheelchair, showing that just because you're disabled doesn't mean you can't turn in a powerful performance. The play has now closed and, while I'm not sure I enjoyed it, I'm pleased I saw it. 

'Macbeth' at the National Theatre

'Macbeth' at the National Theatre on the Olivier Stage? Rory Kinnear as Macbeth? Well, obviously I had to go and see it. It's one of those awkward plays where I've yet to see a great production so maybe this will be it? 'Macbeth' is one of those plays where there's a lot going on and the director really needs to decide which avenue to take the production down and what story he really wants to tell. Rufus Norris directs this production and, since he's the current Artistic Director of the National Theatre, then this is really his baby.

I've seen Rory Kinnear in loads of things over the years (except his 'James Bond' role) and he's done the 'greats' of Shakespeare - Hamlet, Iago and now Macbeth, all on the Olivier stage - and I look forward to seeing his Lear one day when he's older. I really enjoyed his most recent roles in 'The Threepenny Opera' and 'Young Marx' and was looking forward to seeing what he would do with 'Macbeth'.

There's always that moment when you first walk into the Olivier Theatre and see the stage and the initial set - the stage is too big to be curtained off - and that sets the pattern for the thought processes. In this case, we had a funny looking bridge with totem poles and a backdrop of black plastic bags stuck together to create a rocky grotto or a waterfall (I'm not sure which). I quite liked it at first. What's all this meant to be then? It doesn't look like Scotland to me but I'm sure it'll all become clear at some point. Then, without any notice and while the audience was still chattering, a few people ran down the bridge followed by enemies and while some run off another is beheaded. And then the wyrd sisters arrive to open the dialogue. I wasn't quite sure why one of them kept running round and round the stage but why shouldn't she be on speed? She's a witch after all.

So. Quite a dramatic start and I'm all approving - drama, spectacle, blood, magic and weirdness. That's what I want. Then the play's off and running and we see characters all dressed a bit steampunk except the king who's in a cheap red suit. Then we see Macbeth's castle which seems to be a few concrete bunkers and I start wondering what's going on. Why would a great lord who commands an army dress and live like that? It makes no sense. Throughout history rich people dress richly, not in a hodge-podge of bits and pieces like anyone else. Otherwise, why be rich and powerful?

There seems to be a trend at the moment for 'ugly' productions. I saw 'Julius Caeser' a month ago which features Mark Anthony, one of the richest men in the world, wearing a cheap flannel hoody and I sat there thinking 'why would he wear that?' rather than listening to the text. Ugly productions can be very distracting and it didn't really help this production of 'Macbeth'. It must've been great fun to be let loose with the dressing-up box but isn't there more to putting on a great play on one of the nations great stages?  Doing a steampunk version might sound attractive in a rehearsal room but does it really work?

I also wasn't too keen on some the '90's elements of the production, like the boisterousness of the men at some points, banging tables and shouting 'oi! oi! oi!'. Really? That just struck me as lad culture gone to the extremes. This was particularly galling in the banquet scene in a  Nissen hut with folding tables and spindly chairs (exactly what you'd expect in a king's castle) and the queen dressed in pink bits and pieces. Are these people squatters or what?

I suspect part of the problem is directors and producers wanting to make Shakespeare 'relevant' to a modern audience, to young people, and attract people to the theatre. What they seem to forget is that Shakespeare's plays are being put on because they are great plays with universal themes and great poetry and don't need to be adapted. Let the play tell the story because, let's face it, it's a great story. Trust the material you've got in front of you, it's been around for 500 years and still works.

Overall, I think I quite liked this production - or, rather, some elements of the production - but wouldn't go back for seconds. I liked the weird witches in all their witchiness but I'm not sure why they climbed the totem poles in the final scene, I liked the main characters (until Banquo became a zombie rather than a ghost) and some of the acting was great but, I think, held back by the overall design of the production. Bits of the play seemed to have been switched around and cut for some reason but it flowed well enough.

I liked Kevin Harvey as Banquo (until he became a zombie), Trevor Fox as the porter and Amaka Okafor as Lady Macduff, all great performances. I was less impressed by Patrick O'Kane as Macduff who came across as 'Belfast thug' rather than anything else.

Anne-Marie Duff was fine as Lady Macbeth and seemed to push her way through the awful patched rags she wore as a steampunk queen to give us some real emotion. And so did Rory Kinnear, especially in the quieter scenes. They both know how to speak Shakespeare.

There you are. I'm pleased I've seen it but I won't be going back to see it again. I'm still waiting for the great 'Macbeth'. One day ....

NT @ 50 = 46

As you probably know, the National Theatre is celebrating being 50 years old at the moment. There are celebratory talks at the National, documentaries on TV and radio, features here and there and even (gosh) a celebratory website.  The physical reality of the National Theatre is a 1970s concrete 'brutalist' building - before then it was based in The Old Vic.

I've attended a few of the celebratory talks with people who've played at the theatre over the years such as Imelda Staunton and husband Jim Carter, Julie Walters, Simon Russell Beale and Brenda Blethyn as well as former director, Richard Eyre. They've taken place in the early evenings in the National theatres before they open for the evenings punters. They've been great fun and a great idea.

The National Theatre is actually three theatres in the same building. It's made up of the Olivier Theatre, the Lyttelton Theatre and the Cottesloe Theatre (currently being renovated and will open in 2014 with a new name). With three theatres on the go it has the opportunity of putting on so many shows each year. My favourite theatre is the Olivier and I can't believe that it will ever change its name.  How could it?

My personal archivist pointed out the other day that I've seen 46 National Theatre productions (some more than once) in the last 10 years (and will be seeing an additional two before the year is out). So here's the last ten years of the National and me...

2003: Henry V, Jumpers, His Girl Friday, Play Without Words

I remember Adrian Lester as Henry V in a modern day Iraq-type scenario for the great war play but I don't recall anything about 'Jumpers' at all. Zoe Wanamaker was great in 'His Girl Friday' and 'Play Without Words' was sublime. We saw 'Play' with Dezur from New York and I saw the same production again last year at Sadlers Wells as part of the Matthew Bourne 25th anniversary celebrations.

2004: Jerry Springer: The Opera, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Two big ensemble pieces with far more swearing in 'Jerry Springer' than is good for anyone and some good old fashioned smut in 'Forum'.

2005: The House Of Bernarda Alba, Once In A Lifetime

I still remember Penelope Wilton leading the cast of women in 'Bernarda Alba', wringing her hands at the front of the stage and putting on a brave face. I find it hard to believe it was that long ago.

2006: Pillars Of The Community, The Voysey Inheritance

Two Victorian plays in one year.

2007: The Rose Tattoo, Rafta Rafta, The Emperor Jones, War Horse

Zoe Wanamaker (again) in 'Rose Tattoo', the great Meera Syal in 'Rafta', the golden stage opening for 'Jones' and, of course, the brave horse that is Joey in 'War Horse' which I saw twice and, on one night, Steven Sondheim was a few rows in front of us, so who knows what might happen. Joey is so far from being a puppet, he is bravery personified.

2008: Much Ado About Nothing, Present Laughter, The Year Of Magical Thinking, August, Osage County

A great production of 'Much Ado' with Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale speechifying from a deep pond on the stage, a tour de force from Vanessa Redgrave in 'Magical Thinking' and the sprawling complexity of the family drama of 'Osage'.

2009: Every Good Boy Deserves A Favour, The Pitman Painters, Burnt By The Sun, All's Well That Ends Well, Time And The Conways, Nation

'The Pitman Painters' was a revelation with art growing out of the mines of Northumberland between the wars - not quite class warfare but some powerful message nonetheless. I loved the almost fairytale nature  of 'All's Well' and the clarity of vision and writing of 'The Conways'.

2010: London Assurance, The White Guard, After The Dance, Spring Storm, Hamlet, Fela!

This was a good year, with Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw playing off each other in a most disgraceful and humorous way - how dare they be that outrageously funny! Rory Kinnear's 'Hamlet' is the play that cemented him in my mind as an actor and 'Fela!' was, largely, the same as the Broadway production of the life of Fela Kuti and Afrobeat.

2011: Twelfth Night, Frankenstein, The Cherry Orchard, The Comedy Of Errors

'Twelfth Night' remains one of my least favourite productions for many reasons (read the blog if you want to know more) and 'Comedy' sticks in my mind for the failings of the moving (or, rather, non-moving) bits of the set. Not the most successful year other than the great production of 'Frankenstein' with it's revolving lead players.

2012: Travelling Light, She Stoops To Conquer, Timon Of Athens, The Last Of The Hausmanns, Scenes From An Execution

A pick'n'mix year, with 'Travelling' and 'Timon' both unsatisfactory and 'She Stoops' and 'Hausmanns' as highlights. I loved 'Hausmanns' with Julie Walters as the still-hippy mother to two grown up children with Rory Kinnear playing gay by standing on one leg.

2013: Hymn/Cocktail Sticks, Children Of The Sun, People, Othello, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, The Amen Corner, Edward II 

Two plays by Alan Bennett, the powerful and moving 'Amen Corner' and my disappointment with 'Othello' (with Adrian Lester from ten years earlier and Rory Kinnear again) and the terribly disappointing 'Edward II'.

Still, I have tickets to see two more National productions in November and December - 'Emil & The Detectives' and 'The Light Princess', the Tori Amos musical. I'm looking forward to seeing both.

So there you have it, my own tribute to the National Theatre.  I wonder what's on next year ... ?