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The Chalk Garden

The Chalk Garden
By Enid Bagnold

Directed by Alan Strachan
Designed by Simon Higlett
Music by Catherine Jayes

Chichester Festival Theatre
Wednesday 30thMay 2018, 19.30

CAST
Penelope Keith – Mrs St Maugham
Amanda Root – Miss Madrigal
Oliver Ford Davies – The Judge
Donna Berlin – Nurse
Matthew Cottle – Maitland
Sarah Crowden – Third Lady
Emma Curtis – Laurel
Caroline Harker – Olivia
Victoria Willing – Little Lady

CFT_Website_Images_447x792px_CG

Enid Bagnold wrote National Velvet in 1935, and the subsequent film introduced Elizabeth Taylor (aged twelve) to the world. She wrote more novels than plays, and The Chalk Garden dates from twenty years later in 1955. I have to admit I’d  barely heard of her, and my mind went back to an elderly drama teacher we knew in the 1970s who had serried ranks of “Best Plays of 1932” and “Best Plays of 1951” etc. plus two long shelves of 1920s and 1930s stuff I’d never heard of either. The Chalk Garden was a success and revived several times. It debuted on Broadway in 1955, and in London in 1956. There was a film version in 1964 with Hayley Mills as Laurel and John Mills as Maitland, the manservant. As in the 1956 production, Edith Evans took the lead role.

See: THE CHALK GARDEN (1964) film review

Chichester Festival Theatre is an appropriate setting for a play which takes place in Sussex, where Enid Bagnold lived.

In a Telegraph review of Grandage’s Donmar Warehouse production,which revived it ten years ago, Charles Spencer said:

Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden opened in London in 1956, just a few weeks before John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger. More than half a century on, it now seems the greater play. 

Well, Look Back in Anger and the kitchen sink plays fell to television which from Coronation Street to Eastenders did that sort of thing so much better. Compare the number of productions of Rattigan and Coward in recent years with those of Osbourne and Wesker.

In a review of the same production, Michael Billington said it is known as “the last drawing room comedy.” The programme notes, which draw fascinating parallels between Bagnold’s life and the play, mentions it as the (missing) link between Coward and Rattigan on one hand,  and Ayckbourn and Frayn on the other.

L to R: Miss Madrigal, The Judge, Mrs St Maugham, Laurel, Maitland

The set by Simon Higlett is meticulously detailed, and follows on from his brilliant set for The Norman Conquests at Chichester last year.  The garden creeps off the stage into the auditorium (meaning front of house staff continually had to ask people not to walk on the pebbles!) We were seated slightly to one side (stage left) and never saw the blasted garden visible in the picture above. It is a Chichester issue. It is a semi-circular rather than thrust stage, and in most productions we try to get central seats, because there are inevitable blocking issues with some important parts where you view the back of head. On a strongly thrust stage as at Stratford, they have to work more to avoid too much back to audience..

Mrs St Maugham (Penelope Keith) and Laurel (Emma Curtis)

The play takes place in the Sussex house of Mrs St. Maugham. We start with three ladies apparently waiting to be interviewed for the post of governess to Laurel, Mrs St Maugham’s sixteen-year old granddaughter. Not an easy child. She starts fires. There was positive use of back of the head here with Miss Madrigal (back to audience) monosyllabic while the other two wittered on. She gets the job by default. Maitland is the manservant (NOT butler). As he explains, the butler, Mr Pinkbell, had a stroke but rules house and garden from his bedroom. The nurse is the line of communication. Like the mother in the Norman Conquests he is an unseen brooding presence who we never meet. Everyone is terrified of this unseen butler deity.  He was so strict in his interpretation of social rules and so severe that when the judge appears for lunch, he admits he modelled his courtroom stance on Mr Pinkbell.

Act One: Miss Madrigal (Amanda Root) meets Laurel (Emma Curtis)

Gradually we wonder about the past. We learn that Maitland spent five years in prison as a conscientious objector and is addicted to real crime stories, particularly murderesses. Why does Madrigal know so much about gardening? This is her key to entry to the household … Mr Pinkbell has ruled planting and gardening for years, which is why everything is so unsuccessful on the chalk soil. She knows better and is prepared to confront his authority. Laurel has mother issues and fled to join her grandmother after her mother, Olivia, remarried. But is Laurel telling the truth about her reasons? Olivia (Caroline Harker) arrives and is fended off from meeting her daughter. After four years, she wants her back, and is planning to take her to Aden, where her second husband is an army colonel. There are some great lines between Mrs St Maugham and daughter … in particular asking why she would wear orange with a face her colour.

Olivia (Caroline Harker)

The judge, an old friend (presumably beau) of Mrs St Maugham arrives for lunch. He has no name, though Mrs St Maugham calls him “puppy.” We realie that Miss Madrigal and the Judge have met in the past … no more plot spoiling.

I was fascinated by the language. Mrs St Maugham speaks in Wilde one liners or epigrams. The enigmatic Miss Madrigal though is approaching Pinteresque.  Maitland, the manservant, also gets oddly enigmatic utterances. The language is formal, deliberately stilted. The play apparently has no contracted forms: I did not … I have not …  The judge uses Shall you …? in a question twice. In British English, shall is first person in formal style, and switches to second and third person in emphatic, legalistic statements. The US Constitution is full of shall in that sense. But shall in a second person question?  Very odd.

Act 2: Laurel (Emma Curtis) and Maitland (Matthew Cottle) puzzle over the initials on Miss Mardrigal’s pen box.

I thought Bagnold lost out on the teenager Laurel’s lines though. Cultural references enjoy saying that the teenager was “invented” in 1955 or 1956 just as this play came into being. The designer here points it with her costume – jeans and top in rebellious Act One mode, but in a plain salmon frock in Act 2 once Miss Madrigal has influenced her. But she doesn’t get the language differentiation which might have happened.  Given 1956, that might be a good thing. If Bagnold had stuck See you later, alligator or Daddio onto the script it would have aged badly. Whatever, the teenager doesn’t ring true in this production. The Times review blames the actor. I don’t have a text, but I couldn’t hear “a voice” in the intrinsic writing of the part.

Constant references to the ill butler upstairs as the old bastard might even have caused them notes from the Lord Chamberlain, and I swear I heard a single fuck mid-line which I know can’t have been done on stage in 1956.

Penelope Keith as Mrs St. Maugham

Penelope Keith was utterly marvellous. In the original British production, Mrs St Maugham was played by Edith Evans and it was directed by Sir John Geilgud – so very high profile. We had seen Penelope Keith in Edith Evans role as Lady Bracknell in Bath and it was “easy casting” as she carried over the aura of Margo from The Good Life effortlessly. This role gave her more to play with as Mrs St Maugham is somewhat potty as they would say in the 1950s and the eccentricity gave more scope for originality. There is good material to work with. Like the terrifying  Mr Pinkbell, Mrs St. Maugham is hidebound and confused by esoteric social rules. She reminded me of a neighbour who was driven to fury because we had painted our connecting garden fence chestnut brown. Hadn’t we realized, she explained, that any person of any social standing would only ever permit black creosote on a garden fence? A STAIN was so appalling. I think she meant “non-U”. I was tempted to re-do it in turquoise and tangerine stripes.

Amanda Root as Miss Madral

Amanda Root, as in Racing Demon last year, gives a masterclass in acting too, as does Oliver Ford-Davies as the judge. We enjoyed Miss Madrigal’s range of guilty expressions, and every part of her stance radiated inner tension. Oliver Ford-Davies judge was nuanced, with his usual splendid projection with his rich tones. He is in the area as a circuit judge, and as he begins to recall more about Miss Madrigal, we see his inner struggle. A lot in the play is about truth; from the truth or lies game Miss Madrigal and Laurel play, to the real story of Laurel leaving her parents, to Miss Madrigal’s past and to the judge’s view of his decisions of fifteen years earlier.

Oliver Ford-Davies as The Judge.

It is definitely an interesting play. In some ways, it subverts the “drawing room comedy thriller” genre. As mystery goes, there isn’t much you can’t predict. It also doesn’t go flat out for comedy either. It has pointers to drama from later. The deliberately cold language reminded me of Max Frisch’s The Fire Raisers at times, or even Peter Barnes. Without any fore knowledge I had been expecting something along the Rattigan / Coward line. It’s not. I’d agree with reviews that it dips a tad in Act 2, but it makes up for it.

Annoyingly, Chichester had no play texts on sale. They said many people had asked for them. I ordered the DVD of the 1964 film, and the playscript, and will add more once they arrive.

****

See: THE CHALK GARDEN (1964) film review which compares the acting in the two. The stage play wins!

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID
4
Dominic Maxwell, The Times ****
Steve Turner, Reviews Hub ****1/2
3
Domenic Cavendish, The Telegraph ***
Patricia Nicol, Sunday Times ***
Rosemary Waugh, The Stage ***
Maxwell Cooter What’s On Stage ***
Fiona Scott, Broadway World ***
2
Arif Akbar, Guardian **

LINKS ON THIS BLOG

It was interesting for us to see two actors who have featured in our ELT comedy video series: Amanda Root was in Grapevine 3 with Jim Sweeney and Steve Steen, and Matthew Cottle was in the My Oxford English series some years later.  

PENELOPE KEITH
The Way Of The World, Chichester

AMANDA ROOT
Racing Demon, by David Hare, Bath 2017

MATTHEW COTTLE
Neighbourhood Watch, by Alan Ayckbourn, Bath 2012
Quatermaine’s Terms, by Simon Gray,  Brighton, 2013
Communicating Doors by Alan Ayckbourn, Menier Chocolate Factory, 2015

OLIVER FORD-DAVIES
Richard II, RSC, 2013
Henry V, RSC 2015

CAROLINE HARKER
Present Laughter, Bath 2003

EMMA CURTIS
Comus by John Milton, Wanamaker Playhouse 2016

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      • Best of 2016 – Theatre
      • Best of 2017 – Music
      • Best of 2017 – Screen
      • Best of 2017- Theatre
      • Best of 2018 – Music
      • Best of 2018 – theatre
      • Best of 2019 – Concerts
      • Best of 2019 – Theatre
      • Best of 2019- Music
      • Best of 2020
      • Best of 2020- Music
      • Best of 2022 – Music
      • Best of 2022- Theatre
      • Cars are cars
      • Chorizo is Vile
      • Christmas Markets
      • Christmases long past …
      • Civil Wars & Statues
      • Climate Change: my rant
      • Communication skills: Leaders TV debate 2015
        • Opposition Leader’s Debate, 16 April 2015
      • Crisis at the Cash Register
      • Culture Shock Bourbon Street
      • Cycling in London (and elsewhere)
      • Encounter: Saul Bellow
      • Eurovision 2022
      • Fawlty Towers and Tall Poppies
      • Flags and anthems
      • Football nicknames
      • Free Broadband in Every Packet!
      • Guilt and innocence
      • Hail, hail, the first of May
      • Howards End is a blur
      • In the April Garden …
      • In The Days of Covid-21
      • In the May Garden
      • Jangle Bells: shopping for Christmas
      • Jumble Sales
      • Land Of My Mother’s
      • London-centric theatre
      • Mail v Guardian
      • Major Brylcreem or My adventures in the CCF
      • Matinees
      • Not an amazing grace
      • On The Road: Information overkill
      • Parent and child spaces
      • Poppies
      • Princely Names
      • Quaint hotels
      • Remember, remember …
      • Secondhand Christmas
      • Shrink wrapping albums
      • Sloppy fiction?
      • Someone will call you back …
      • Sound … and Fury… at The Globe
      • SS-GB – Mumbling soundtracks
      • Supermarket check-outs
      • Surveys
      • Testing in schools
      • The “Poldark” Effect
      • The 2019 watershed?
      • The 70s were crap
      • The Building Behind Me …
      • The Cheerful e-bay seller
      • The Curse of The Crawleys: Downton Abbey Series 10
      • The Decline of Bournemouth
      • The End of Deference …
      • The Famous Five – by Paul F. Newman
      • The four day week?
      • The Great War
      • The Hacking Cough
      • The Long & The Short Of It
      • The March of The Halloumi Fries
      • The Shakespeare Cod-Piece
      • The Stitch Up
      • View From The Queue
      • What happened to car CD players?
      • What’s happened to air travel?
    • stage
      • ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore – Cheek by Jowl
      • ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore – Wanamaker
      • 8 Hotels
      • A Damsel in Distress
      • A Little Hotel On The Side
      • A Mad World My Masters
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – BBC TV 2016
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Bridge 2019
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Filter 2011
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe 2013
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Globe 2016
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Grandage 2013
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Propellor 2013
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – RSC 2011
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – RSC 2016
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Selladoor 2013
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Watermill 2018
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Watermill Tour 2019
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Young Vic
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bath 2016
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Globe 2019
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Headlong
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream- Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare
      • A Midsummer Nights Dream – Handspring 2013
      • A Midsummer Night’s Dream RSC 2016 Revisited
      • A Number
      • A Streetcar Named Desire NT Live
      • A Taste of Honey
      • A Very Very Very Dark Matter
      • A View From The Bridge
      • A Woman of No Importance
      • Abigail’s Party 2013
      • Absolute Hell
      • Ah, Wilderness!
      • Albion
      • All My Sons
      • All New People
      • All’s Well That Ends Well – RSC 2013
      • All’s Well That Ends Well- 2018
      • All’s Well That Ends Well- RSC 2022
      • Amadeus – 2014
      • Amadeus – NT 2017
      • American Buffalo
      • An Enemy of The People
      • An Ideal Husband 2018
      • An Ideal Husband- 2014
      • Antony & Cleopatra – RSC 2013
      • Antony & Cleopatra – RSC 2017
      • Antony and Cleopatra – Globe
      • Antony and Cleopatra 2012
      • Arcadia
      • Arden of Faversham
      • Around The World in 80 Days
      • As You Like It – Globe 2015
      • As You Like It – Globe 2018
      • As You Like It – National 2015
      • As You Like It – RSC 2019
      • As You Like It RSC 2013
      • Awful Auntie
      • Bakkhai
      • Balletboyz: The Talent
      • Barber Shop Chronicles
      • Bartholomew Fair
      • Beauty & The Beast (Ballet Theatre UK)
      • Before The Party
      • Birthday
      • Bitter Wheat
      • Black Comedy
      • Blithe Spirit
      • Blithe Spirit – Bath 2019
      • Blood Wedding
      • Blues For An Alabama Sky
      • Boudica
      • Bring Up The Bodies
      • Broken
      • Candida
      • Cardenio
      • Carmen Disruption
      • Caroline or Change
      • Comedy of Errors – Globe
      • Comedy of Errors – RSC, 2021
      • Comedy of Errors NT 2012
      • Comedy of Errors RSC ’12
      • Communicating Doors
      • Comus
      • Copenhagen
      • Coriolanus – NT Live
      • Coriolanus – RSC
      • Crazy For You
      • Curiosity Shop
      • Cymbeline – RSC
      • Cymbeline – Wanamaker
      • Dancing At Lughnasa
      • Death Of A Salesman
      • Deathtrap
      • Dedication
      • Dido, Queen of Carthage
      • Dinner With Saddam
      • Doctor Faustus
      • Don Carlos
      • Don Juan in Soho
      • Don Quixote
      • Doubt – a parable
      • Dream
      • Dunsinane
      • Echo’s End
      • Educating Rita
      • Edward II
      • Electro Kif
      • Endgame / Rough for Theatre II
      • Eyam
      • Fallen Angels
      • Fantastic Mr Fox
      • Far
      • Farinelli and The King
      • Fences
      • First Light
      • Flare Path
      • Follies
      • For Services Rendered
      • Forests
      • Fortune’s Fool
      • Forty Years On
      • Fracked! Or Please Don’t Use The F-Word.
      • Frankenstein – NT Encore
      • French Without Tears
      • Funny Girl
      • Future Conditional
      • George’s Marvellous Medicine
      • Girl From The North Country
      • God of Carnage
      • Gypsy
      • Hairspray, The Musical
      • Half A Sixpence
      • Hamilton
      • Hamlet – Cumberbatch
      • Hamlet – Globe 2014
      • Hamlet – Maxine Peake
      • Hamlet – NT 2010
      • Hamlet – RSC 2016
      • Hamlet RSC 2013
      • Hamlet- Almeida / BBC 2017
      • Hamlet- Young Vic 2011
      • Hangmen
      • Harlequinade / All On Her Own
      • Harlequinade / All On Her Own – review
      • Hay Fever
      • Hecuba
      • Hedda Gabler
      • Hedda Tesman
      • Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 RSC
      • Henry V – 2018
      • Henry V – Jude Law
      • Henry V – RSC 2015
      • Henry VI – Rebellion
      • Henry VI – Wars of The Roses
      • Henry VI: Three plays
      • Hobson’s Choice
      • Hogarth’s Progress
      • Home
      • Home, I’m Darling
      • Hysteria
      • Imogen (Cymbeline) – Globe 2016
      • Importance of Being Earnest 2010
      • Importance of Being Earnest – Suchet, 2015
      • Importance of Being Earnest – Watermill
      • Importance of Being Earnest 2014
      • Importance of Being Earnest- 2018
      • Inala
      • Institute
      • Into The Hoods – Remixed
      • Ivanov
      • Jack Absolute Flies Again
      • Jeeves and Wooster
      • Jerusalem
      • Jerusalem – 2018
      • Jitney
      • John Gabriel Borkman
      • Julius Caesar – Globe 2014
      • Julius Caesar – RSC 2012
      • Julius Caesar – RSC 2017
      • Ka
      • King Charles III
      • King John – Globe 2015
      • King John – Rose, 2016
      • King John – RSC 2019
      • King Lear Frank Langella
      • King Lear – Antony Sher, RSC 2016
      • King Lear – Barrie Rutter
      • King Lear – David Haig
      • King Lear – Globe 2017
      • King Lear – McKellen 2017
      • King Lear – Russell-Beale
      • Kiss Me Kate
      • Kunene and The King
      • La Bête
      • Lady Windermere’s Fan
      • Leopoldstadt
      • Life of Galileo
      • Little Shop of Horrors
      • Local Hero
      • Long Day’s Journey Into Night
      • Love
      • Love For Love
      • Love’s Labour’s Lost
      • Love’s Labour’s Lost – 2018
      • Love’s Labour’s Lost- 2016
      • Love’s Labour’s Won
      • Love’s Sacrifice
      • Love, Love, Love
      • Macbeth – Globe 2016
      • Macbeth – McAvoy 2013
      • Macbeth – National Theatre 2018
      • Macbeth – Tara Arts
      • Macbeth – Young Vic
      • Macbeth RSC 2018
      • Macbeth, RSC 2011
      • Macbeth, Watermill 2019
      • Macbeth- Chichester 2019
      • Macbeth- Wanamaker 2018
      • Mack & Mabel
      • Malory Towers
      • Man and Superman
      • Mary Poppins
      • Me and My Girl
      • Measure for Measure – Globe 2015
      • Measure for Measure – Young Vic
      • Measure for Measure RSC 2012
      • Measure For Measure- RSC 2019
      • Medea NT live
      • Miss Julie / Black Comedy
      • Miss Littlewood
      • Mojo
      • Monsieur Popular
      • Mrs Warren’s Profession
      • Much Ado About Nothing – Globe 2014
      • Much Ado About Nothing – Globe 2017
      • Much Ado About Nothing – NT 2022
      • Much Ado About Nothing – Old Vic 2013
      • Much Ado About Nothing – Rose 2018
      • Much Ado About Nothing – RSC 2014
      • Much Ado About Nothing- Northern Broadsides
      • Much Ado About Nothing- RSC 2016
      • Much Ado About Nothing- RSC 2022
      • Much Ado About Nothing- Wyndhams 2011
      • Murder On The Orient Express (stage)
      • Murder, Margaret and Me
      • My Brilliant Friend (play)
      • My Night With Reg
      • Neighbourhood Watch
      • Nell Gwynn
      • Nice Fish
      • No Man’s Land
      • Noises Off
      • Obsession
      • Oklahoma! – Chichester
      • Once
      • One Man, Two Guvnors
      • Othello – Globe 2018
      • Othello – RSC 2015
      • Othello NT 2013
      • Othello- ETT 2018
      • Othello- Wanamaker 2017
      • Othello- Watermill 2022
      • Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour
      • Our Man in Havana (musical)
      • People
      • People Like Us
      • Pericles
      • Peter & The Starcatcher
      • Peter and Alice
      • Peter Gynt
      • Peter Pan (pantomime)
      • Peter Pan Goes Wrong
      • Photograph 51
      • Pitcairn
      • Plastic
      • Platonov
      • Playing Cards 1: Spades
      • Plenty
      • POSH
      • Present Laughter – Chichester 2018
      • Present Laughter – Old Vic 2019
      • Present Laughter- Bath 2003
      • Present Laughter- Bath 2016
      • Pressure
      • Private Lives
      • Privates On Parade
      • Punishment Without Revenge
      • Punk Rock
      • Pygmalion
      • Quatermaine’s Terms
      • Queen Anne
      • Quiz – James Graham
      • Racing Demon
      • Ralegh: The Treason Trial
      • Relative Values
      • Richard II – Globe
      • Richard II – RSC
      • Richard III – Almeida
      • Richard III – Apollo 2012
      • Richard III – Freeman
      • Richard III – RSC 2012
      • Richard III – RSC 2022
      • Richard III – Spacey, 2011
      • Robin Hood (panto)
      • Romantics Anonymous
      • Romeo & Juliet – Globe 2017
      • Romeo & Juliet – RSC 2018
      • Romeo & Juliet 2014 – Box Clever
      • Romeo & Juliet, Headlong 2012
      • Romeo & Juliet- Branagh 2016
      • Romeo and Juliet – NT, 2021
      • Romeo and Juliet- Globe 2015
      • Romeo and Juliet: Tobacco Factory
      • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
      • Ross
      • Rules for Living
      • Salomé – RSC
      • Same Time, Next Year
      • School nativities
      • Secondary Cause of Death
      • Separate Tables
      • Shakespeare in Love
      • She Stoops To Conquer – Bath 2015
      • She Stoops to Conquer – Rain or Shine
      • Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads
      • Skylight
      • Slava’s Snowshow
      • Snow in Midsummer
      • South Pacific
      • Spring Awakening
      • Stepping Out
      • Strife
      • Swan Lake
      • Sweet Bird of Youth
      • Switzerland
      • Tamburlaine
      • Tangomotion
      • Tartuffe- RSC
      • The Alchemist – RSC
      • The Argument
      • The Beauty Queen of Leenane
      • The Beauty Queen of Leenane – 2021
      • The Beaux Stratagem
      • The Birthday Party
      • The Book of Mormon
      • The Broken Heart
      • The Canterbury Tales
      • The Captive Queen
      • The Caretaker
      • The Chalk Garden
      • The Changeling
      • The City Madam
      • The Constant Wife
      • The Country
      • The Country Girls
      • The Country Wife
      • The Cripple of Inishmaan
      • The Crucible, NT 2022
      • The Crucible, Old Vic 2014
      • The Deep Blue Sea – 2019
      • The Deep Blue Sea-NT live, 2016
      • The Doctor
      • The Dresser
      • The Duchess of Malfi – 2012
      • The Duchess of Malfi – 2014
      • The Duchess of Malfi – RSC 2108
      • The Entertainer
      • The Famous Five: A New Musical
      • The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich
      • The Ferryman (Acts 2 & 3)
      • The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk
      • The Four Seasons: A Reimagining
      • The Game of Love and Chance
      • The Ghost Train
      • The Height of The Storm
      • The Homecoming
      • The Hot House
      • The Hypochondriac
      • The Hypocrite
      • The Jew of Malta
      • The Knight of The Burning Pestle
      • The Ladykillers
      • The Lie
      • The Lieutenant of Inishmore- 2018
      • The Lieutenant of Inishmore-2001
      • The Lock In
      • The Lock In Christmas Carol
      • The Magistrate – NT Live
      • The Magna Carta Plays
      • The Man In The White Suit
      • The Merchant of Venice – Almeida
      • The Merchant of Venice – Globe
      • The Merchant of Venice – RSC
      • The Merry Wives – Northern Broadsides
      • The Merry Wives of Windsor – Globe 2019
      • The Merry Wives of Windsor – RSC 2012
      • The Merry Wives of Windsor- RSC 2018
      • The Misanthrope ETT
      • The Miser
      • The Narcissist
      • The Nightingales
      • The Norman Conquests
        • Living Together
        • Round & Round The Garden
        • Table Manners
      • The Odyssey
      • The Painkiller (2016)
      • The Play That Goes Wrong
      • The Play What I Wrote
      • The Price
      • The Provoked Wife
      • The Recruiting Officer
      • The Rehearsal
      • The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
      • The Rivals
      • The Roaring Girl
      • The Rover
      • The Ruling Class
      • The School for Scandal
      • The Seagull
      • The Seagull- Chichester
      • The Seven Year Itch
      • The Shoemaker’s Holiday
      • The Silver Tassie
      • The Southbury Child
      • The Spire
      • The Storm
      • The Syndicate
      • The Taming of The Shrew – RSC 2012
      • The Taming of The Shrew – RSC 2019
      • The Taming of The Shrew- Globe 2016
      • The Taxidermist’s Daughter
      • The Tempest – Bath Ustinov
      • The Tempest RSC 2012
      • The Tempest RSC 2016
      • The Tempest- Wanamaker
      • The Truth
      • The Two Noble Kinsmen- 2018
      • The Two Noble Kinsmen- RSC
      • The Unfriend
      • The Upstart Crow
      • The Wars of The Roses
        • Edward IV
        • Henry VI
        • Richard III
      • The Watsons
      • The Way of The World
      • The Weir
      • The Whale
      • The White Devil – Globe
      • The White Devil – RSC
      • The Winter’s Tale – Branagh
      • The Winter’s Tale – Cheek by Jowl
      • The Winter’s Tale – Globe 2018
      • The Winter’s Tale – RSC 2013
      • The Winter’s Tale – RSC 2021
      • The Winter’s Tale- Wanamaker
      • The Witch of Edmonton
      • There and Back Again – An Odyssey
      • Thérèse Raquin
      • This Happy Breed
      • This Is My Family
      • Timon of Athens
      • Timon of Athens – RSC
      • Titus Andronicus – RSC 2017
      • Titus Andronicus- Globe 2014
      • Totem
      • Travels With My Aunt (musical)
      • Travesties
      • Tristan and Yseult 2017
      • Troilus & Cressida RSC 2018
      • True West
      • Twelfth Night – Apollo 2012
      • Twelfth Night – Globe 2017
      • Twelfth Night – Globe, 2021
      • Twelfth Night – NT 2017
      • Twelfth Night – RSC 2017
      • Twelfth Night – Watermill
      • Twelfth Night – Young Vic
      • Twelfth Night RSC 2012
      • Twelfth Night- ETT 2014
      • Two Gentlemen of Verona – 2016
      • Two Gentlemen of Verona – RSC
      • Two Gentlemen of Verona- 2013
      • Uncle Vanya (Hare)
      • Uncle Vanya (McPherson)
      • Venice Preserved
      • Vice Versa
      • Volpone
      • Vulcan 7
      • Watership Down
      • Way Upstream
      • What The Butler Saw
      • While The Sun Shines
      • Wolf Hall
      • Woman in Mind
      • Women On The Verge of A Nervous Breakdown
      • wonder.land
      • Worst Wedding Ever
      • Woyzeck
      • Yerma (2017)
      • Young Chekhov Season
      • Young Marx
    • video
      • A Weekend Away, A Week By The Sea
        • Sections: Weekend Away / By the Sea
      • Dennis Cook: A history
      • Drama, dialogue and video
      • Teaching with video: techniques
      • Video: non-authentic
      • Video: on location
      • Video: Peter Viney Interview
      • Video: What happened?

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