Watching Trevor Nunn's funny and fleet-of-foot production of Love in Idleness, a "new" play forged by combining two drafts of an old play written by Terrence Rattigan that's been barely performed, is like a blast from the past.
Until the emergence of angry, radical drama in the 1960s every theatre in the West End would offer variations on its formula - posh people chattering away in posh drawing rooms, with a quick dip into melodramatic peril before leisured wit and privileged are restored. The overarching philosophy of most of this repertoire is summed up when a character quips that there's nothing that can't be overcome with "small talk".
It is always interesting to see how a small theatre company tackles the second longest play in the canon with a roster of over 50 speaking characters – there are more ghosts listed in the cast list than in a typical West End play… Here the Arcola Theatre tackles Richard III with 13 fine actors, a couple of extras and a couple of children; a few suitable costumes and a composite set.
Ivo van Hove is currently one of the most acclaimed theatre directors in the world. His 2014 production of A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE has forever changed my understanding of not only approaching well know texts but also of the possibilities that the exploration of both time and space can create for theatre makers.
In the interests of full disclosure I should reveal that this production has been directed by one of our regular critics, 
Angels in America, all seven and a half hours of it, is the best soap opera in town.