The Whitehall Theatre around the corner from 10 Downing Street has always been a bit of a white elephant since the 1960s when the farces for which it was once famous went out of fashion. Then about ten years ago it was converted into two theatres, The Trafalgar Studios, one which seats around 300 and a tiny little basement studio that seats fifty. Last week I had the chance to see shows in both spaces.
Upstairs, director Jamie Lloyd is in his second year of artistic directing great productions of interesting plays usually with a star in the cast. Martin Freeman had just finished a run there in Richard III and for the first time a guest director, the rather brilliant Sam Yates, had taken the reins and revived a hit comedy from 1997, East is East by Ayub Khan-Din.
Despite knowing more songs than I thought of the Kinks’ extensive back catalogue, this musical didn’t “really get me going” and was definitely not a “sunny afternoon.” This particular songwriter should stick to doing that – writing a musical storyline was not his forte.
Whilst parts of this show draw you in to a world of pure imagination, other parts leave you with that sickly sweet feeling as if you’ve eaten too much chocolate. Bring the performers up to the level of the production design.
If you love big stories, as I do, then the National Theatres of England and Scotland have a treat for you. They’ve combined forces with this year’s Edinburgh Festival to create an epic trilogy of plays that tell the stories of James I, II and III of Scotland, one king per play.
Despite my low opinion of this play, it was better than I expected – only because I expected it to be really awful. Lohan proves that she can remember lines and move around the stage, but the acting wasn’t particularly convincing.