Hello! How are we all?
I have been the most unproductive individual ever for about 3 weeks, but I have watched 3 series of Gossip Girl and several hour-long interviews with the Queer Eye cast, so I guess it hasn’t been a huge waste. Anyway… We’re on our 4th NT at Home post?! They have really treated us! They are releasing 3 more, so before long our series will come to an end. I have loved watching these streams! This week we’ve got The Madness of George III, Small Island and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Mum’s taken the lead on these again. Yes, she has a real-life human job she has to do everyday and managed to write these too, whilst I have been eating cake and forgetting to brush my hair. She’s better than me in every way and I’m okay with that. But italic Ellie is back again, and I love her.
As always, I will leave links at the end to cast and creative lists and to ways to donate to the theatres involved in these productions. Take it away Mum!
The Madness of George III, a Nottingham Playhouse Production (produced in November 2018, streamed on 11th June 2020)
Set in 1786, George is King of Britain and Ireland, but succumbing to what were to become regular bouts of mental illness – the madness. Through the extended period of madness depicted, the Prince consorts conspire with the political opposition to expose the King’s weakness and take the throne (and thereby also replace the Prime Minister). The incumbent Prime Minister, William Pitt, who comes over as ineffectual, equally tries desperately to quash any suggestion that the King is no longer fit to rule. As the King becomes increasingly deranged, a series of Doctors attend to him, each with their own means of diagnosis and cure; the colour of his water, the appearance of his faeces and the use of caustic poultices. Finally, on a recommendation, an unqualified quack takes over. He restricts the King’s access to family and friends and ‘punishes‘ the King by use of a straight-jacket until his rantings cease. Eventually the madness ceases and all is restored to normal.
Mark Gatiss (playing George III) is barely off the stage in this production and created a character who was believable and sympathetic. His depiction of the developing madness was convincing and moving. Mark Gatiss was phenomenal, like amazing in this role! Because I know very little about any sort of history, I decided to do some research into George III. I wanted to know if there was anything about him that meant I didn’t want to feel sympathetic for him and subsequently happy about his recovery. I think that says a lot about the wonderful acting in and writing of this play. He was pro slavery whilst others tried to see it abolished, so obviously he sucked. The Princes (Harry Kershaw and Wilf Scolding) jarred in the light of the King’s personal tragedy. They were played, and possibly written, as caricatures of upper-class dandies who had nothing to do but enjoy themselves, in whatever way they chose. Their conspiring came over as spoilt, immature boys playing a game. Dare I say, not dissimilar to Trump’s behaviour. Yass Mum! Other cast members played multiple roles, for instance, Doctors morphing into politicians and back. I confess that in some cases this was so effective that I did not realise they were the same actor. Amanda Hadingue (who played Dr Pepys and leader of the opposition, Fox) was brilliant, the differentiation between her two roles was great, like Mum said, you could barely tell it was the same actor, in fact, I think I pointed it out to Mum. The Doctors, or some of them, were also played as caricatures, or were over-acted, possibly to ensure differentiation from their other roles. Overall, I found the humour written into the play to be misplaced in light of the serious subject matter. It trivialised the struggles that so many people face with mental health, although exposing the potentially significant impacts that such conditions can have on the life of the person suffering and those around them. I both agree and disagree with Mum. I personally thought that the script was great, and very ‘Alan Bennett’ (funny that…). I didn’t think that the humour trivialised George III’s suffering, but rather exposed how the characters were trivialising him. There were some exceptionally poignant moments too where, as she says, it exposed the reality of his condition.
Okay now for the bits she missed that I want to add:
Firstly, some other actors I think need a shout out. Dr Willis, played by the wonderful Adrian Scarborough (fun fact – I’ve met him! Even shook his hand) was great. Also, I thought Jack Holden who played King G’s sort of first mate, Greville, was lovely, like the sweetest guy.
The set and costumes were incredible, so SO beautiful and intricate and mesmerising! The way locations changed in a kaleidoscope of walls was seamless.
There was a cool moment in parliament where, for it to look like there were more people there, actors held up faces on sticks (not as sinister as it sounds). It was just really simple and effective and inspired.
I enjoyed this production, I thought it was visually stunning, I thought the script was pretty wonderful and the company was strong.
Small Island (produced in April 2019 (was set to return in 2020, but 2020 happened, so yeah), streamed on 18th June 2020)
Streamed to coincide with Windrush Day 2020, and particularly poignant given the Black Lives Matter demonstrations currently happening across the World. The story, based on the novel by Andrea Levy, takes us from a hurricane in Jamaica, to a hurricane of emotions; from a child being given away in Jamaica to another given away in Great Britain.
Jamaicans’ Gilbert (Gershwyn Eustache Jr.) and Michael (CJ Beckford) enlist to fight for Great Britain in WWII, the Mother country. Both end up staying with Queenie (Aisling Loftus), whose husband (Bernard – Andrew Rothney), a dry stick of a man, has (eventually) enlisted and left her with responsibility for his elderly father (who is mute owing to shell shock from WWI. Arthur – David Fielder). Queenie has a one-night liaison with Michael and she, we find out later, falls pregnant. Having returned to Jamaica, Gilbert subsequently travels to Great Britain on HMT Empire Windrush expecting to be welcomed as a conquering hero, and to find a better life - Gilbert dreams of training as a lawyer. Michael’s cousin, Hortense (Leah Harvey) was brought up by his family. Determined she is destined for better things, she manipulates Gilbert into marriage – paying his fare on the promise that when he is settled he will call for her. Entirely a marriage of convenience, she expects to arrive and find employment as a teacher. The reality is far from the idyll they had imagined. Gilbert is renting one room from Queenie, who believes her husband to be dead. The ‘stuck up’ Hortense is horrified at the conditions and mortified when her qualifications are not accepted. They experience racism seemingly from all but Queenie, ‘it is not easy to live in this country’ (Gilbert). Queenie’s husband does ultimately return and turns on the black lodgers insisting they leave. Hortense softens as Gilbert stands up for them in the face of abuse. This speech was so powerful! Queenie, with Hortense’s help, has the baby, which is black, eventually asking Hortense and Gilbert to bring up the child. They do as they move on.
I loved this production from start to finish. My husband said it was cliched, but I disagree – he often takes this view of plays. I understand what he means by this I think, often when the adult character narrates what happens as their younger self acts out the scene it can look and feel cliched. However, I, like Mum, also disagree. I thought this production was beautiful. I had read the book some years ago, and the portrayal was true to the original story. It had humour and pathos, it was uncomfortable in the periods where racism was evident, with the bigotry of the day not watered down. The irrational nature of the racism, the small-minded idiocy of it, was centre stage. It held up a mirror to the current climate. The way that those arriving on Windrush were dropped into a new life without support was staggering, and the evaporation of their dreams heart-breaking. Hortense is a great character – snotty and ‘up herself’, prim and proper, she is really just naive to the white cruelty and a dreamer. Hortense is a woman with a plan and a dream. Leah Harvey is fantastic in this role. Our main 4 told their stories beautifully. The entire cast of 40 was great.
The staging was simple, suggesting the various locations rather than fully defining them. The Olivier stage span us into different locations, I particularly liked the doorframes rising from the floor and the choreography of the chairs during the hurricane. The scene change into London was beautiful, the choreography of set, the dance, in keeping with the period, it was a spectacle. Scenescapes were projected onto the back wall of the space, to set spaces or move the story on. At one point the HMT Windrush was projected, actors walked up to the screen and then their shadows were projected climbing the steps to board the ship. The technical aspects of this production were fantastic. The large cast were used to great effect, almost as silhouettes, in depicting crowds escaping the hurricane or busy London streets.
I didn’t write too many notes whilst I was watching this production as I was so lost in it. It really was amazing! I, like Mum, adored this production. I had a very strong emotional reaction, I found it very difficult to process the racism and bigotry. I’ve found it difficult to articulate my thoughts around the BLM movement, because I can’t comprehend the racist way of thinking. Of course black lives matter, I was never under the impression that they shouldn’t.
This production was exceptional and important. One quote that has stuck with me is this:
We both just finished fighting a war for a better world we want to see, but still, after all we’ve suffered together, you still want to tell me that I am worthless. (Gilbert)
(Back to regular Ellie now!)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a Bridge Theatre production (first produced in June 2019, streamed on 25th June 2020)
I watched Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre in early 2018 and it was phenomenal, so I was very upset when I wasn’t able to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but so excited to watch this stream (4 times so far). And I wasn’t disappointed! Midsummer is one of the most well-known Shakespeare’s, love triangles, fairies and heavy dose of humour! Our two worlds are split apart by costume, Athenians are dressed in sharp suits and conservative clothing and our fairies in rich colours, silks and glitter. Titania’s (Gwendoline Christie) dress was beautiful! Though I want crazy about her acting. Generally, the cast was strong. I thought Oliver Chris as Oberon was great, Puck played by David Moorst was suitably mischievous, and Bottom (Hammed Animashaun) and Lysander played by Kit Young were my favourites! The set was a series of beds which rose and lowered, used both as beds and as the forest. It was a simple set really, but very effective and pretty. There were silks hung from the ceiling, which our fairies hung from and swung on, really cool and a nice touch.
Some of my favourite moments include, the swapping of Oberon and Titania’s text (from Act 2 Scene 1 line 67), it worked really well in my opinion. Due to this, you get an Oberon and Bottom love story, and what a love story it was! Loved it! The dance at the end of Act 1 to Love On Top was amazing, I mean I can’t help but dance when I hear Love On Top so I was loving it. Midsummer Night’s Dream wouldn’t be Midsummer without the Rude Mechanicals and they were FANTASTIC.
I adored this production! It was hilarious. The cast had a wonderful handle on the text, everything made sense and the addition of moments of modern text only helped to strengthen the story. This production is still available for a few days, give it a watch!
One more NT at Home to go! I’m not sure what our next post will be, but I’ve got a couple what-I’ve-done-at-home-during-lockdown ideas I want to try and get down, so keep your eyes peeled.
Thank you for reading you lovely lot.
Keep fighting the fight, keep educating yourself, keep donating, keep protesting! #BLM
Ellie and Anita x
Cast and Creative Lists:
The Madness of George III - https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/sites/default/files/national-theatre-at-home-the-madness-of-george-iii-cast-list.pdf
Small Island - https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/sites/default/files/national-theatre-at-home-small-island-cast-list.pdf
A Midsummer Night's Dream - https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/sites/default/files/national-theatre-at-home-a-midsummer-nights-dream-cast-list.pdf
Theatres and Companies included in this blog:
National Theatre - https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/
Nottingham Playhouse - https://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/support/curtain-up-appeal/
Bridge Theatre - https://bridgetheatre.co.uk/membership/