Theatre review: Endgame / Rough for Theatre II

A fairly quick review, I think, for the latest star vehicle at the Old Vic: Regular readers of this blog may both recall that I finally called time on Samuel Beckett a few years ago, having decided that I'd given him more than enough chances, and that no redeeming feature had ever been enough to make up for my dislike of his work. But my mum's been a huge Alan Cumming fan since reading his memoirs, so a chance to see a rare London stage appearance from him made a good Christmas present; plus I know people who were coming all the way from America to see Daniel Radcliffe, so Richard Jones' double bill got added to my calendar. It opens with the short play Rough for Theatre II, in which C (Jackson Milner) is a silhouette standing on the sill of the window he's about to jump out of. A (Radcliffe) and B (Cumming) are a pair of bureaucrats - possibly in C's own mind - going through paperwork full of evidence that will determine whether or not he'll go through with it.

Theatre review: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Like so much about Hamlet, the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are open to endless interpretation. Two old friends of Hamlet's, they're brought in by King Claudius to spy on his nephew's erratic behaviour, get to the bottom of it if they can, and report back. Later they're used by him again as messengers in an attempt to have Hamlet killed, a plot that ends up backfiring on them. But their appearances are sporadic and brief, leaving each production to fill in the gaps, particularly with regard to how guilty they are of collaboration: Are they happily betraying their friend in return for promised reward? Unhappy with their actions but aware they'll be in danger if they don't comply, like Rosencrantz in the current Robert Icke production, or honestly believing they're helping, like Guildenstern in the same production? Or are their onstage scenes the only idea they have of the main plot, meaning they're barely aware of the story or their part in it?

Theatre review: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Ireland can't be such a bad place if Daniel Radcliffe wants to go there. It's the mid-point of Michael Grandage's residency at the Noël Coward Theatre and Radcliffe takes the title role in a revival of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan. Inspired by the filming of documentary Man of Aran on the islands off Ireland in the 1930s, the play's rural community all look for their own ways of escaping the monotony of their isolated lives. Cripple Billy (Radcliffe) is orphaned, severely disabled in one arm and one leg, and has spent most of his life living with his "aunties" Eileen (Gillian Hanna) and Kate (Ingrid Craigie.) They run a small local shop with a shortage of eggs and sweets (for reasons that become apparent) but a plentiful supply of tinned peas. Billy's spent his life being mercilessly mocked for his disabilities and, unable to work, likes to get away by sitting in a field staring at cows - until the arrival of a film crew on neighbouring Inishmore gives him a plan to escape to Hollywood.