REVIEWS
INNER LONDON - OTHER THEATRES (easily accessible by Public Transport)
(Churchill Theatre, Bromley)
(Richmond Theatre)
(The Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond)
(Croydon - Warehouse Theatre, Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Concert Hall)
(Hackney Empire - occasional)
(Greenwich Theatre & Greenwich Playhouse)
(The Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch)
CHURCHILL
THEATRE
BROMLEY
BOX
OFFICE: 020 8460 6677
http://www.theambassadors.com/churchill/
Reviews
by Geoff Billingsley for Theatreworld Internet Magazine.
RICHMOND
THEATRE
The Green
Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1QJ
BOX
OFFICE: 0870 060 6651
http://www.theambassadors.com/richmond/
Reviews
by James Higgins for Theatreworld Internet Magazine Internet Magazine
THE
ORANGE TREE THEATRE
1 Clarence Street,
Richmond,
Surrey TW9 2SA
BOX
OFFICE 020 8940 3633
(Richmond Station is virtually across the
street)
Reviews by Michael Spring for
Theatreworld Internet Magazine
GREENWICH
THEATRE
Crooms Hill
London SE10
BOX
OFFICE: 020 8858 7755
(Greenwich
B.R. Station - 10 mins. from Charing Cross - 5 minutes walk to theatre)
Reviews
by Brigid Rennell for Theatreworld Internet Magazine
The Galleon Theatre Company Ltd
GREENWICH
PLAYHOUSE
Greenwich Station Forecourt
189 Greenwich High Road
London SE10, 8JA
BOX OFFICE: 020 8858 9256
E-Mail: BoxOffice@Galleontheatre.co.uk
Sell a Door presents
The
Philanderer by George Bernard Shaw
Now playing until 15th August
Tues - Sat @ 7:30; Sun @ 4pm
Tickets £12, £10 (concs)
Box Office
020 8858 9256
boxoffice@galleontheatre.co.uk
The Philanderer is an interesting choice for Sell a Door to bring
to the stage. In times where people are questioning their roles, where men are
no longer always the bread winner, where many families even lack a male figure
at all and where science and medicine makes so many leaps forward but is still
assaulted by many common ailments, the messages in this satire still ring true.
The questions proposed by Shaw seem even more pertinent now to me as they must
have a hundred years ago – are men by right the dominant sex and can we
trust the medical/scientific community beyond reproach?
We are introduced to our characters with a lilting and
light-hearted musical welcome setting the scene in a sitting room of the
period. The action is faced paced, the banter quick and the mood light. After a measured and slightly stumbling
start Michael Longhi settled into an appealing and
charismatic portrayal of Charteris well matched by
the controlled and calculated performance of Kelli White as Julia. This control
contrasts wonderfully with the madcap and hysterical(not
in the funny way) Grace (Sarine Sofar)
whose outrage and despair are almost too much to bear. Director Bart Williams
has well managed his cast to highlight the ways in which women manipulate and
use their wiles to get what they need. So what has changed today? Maybe men are
more aware. Maybe!
Special mention goes to Kirsty Lee
Turner as Sylvia. In a very strong production she stood out for me as perfectly
cast, well timed, impeccably costumed and wonderfully acted. I always like to
watch where the action and dialogue is not. It is often here that I see some
magical moments and Turner’s total engrossment in her role provided many
of these moments for me. As a very modern women her
character still stands the test of time and I’m sure I have met many
women these days who share her sentiments.
The subplot so deliciously played out between Paramour, a suitably
self obsessed, serious and absorbed Darren Munn and Craven (Marcus Taylor) in
which we question the progress of medicine over the wellbeing of the patient is
another conversation that is as poignant today as when Shaw penned this work.
The acceptance of diagnosis and course of treatment from those whom we should
trust is often highlighted as mistaken or narrow minded, especially in
today’s society where throwing a pill at it will cure all.
Adam Glass as Paige enables swift and precise scene changes. He is
well used by Williams in this way and is neither hidden nor unnecessary and in
fact sets well the tone for the upcoming action. His turn as the loud and
overbearing page in the Ibsen Club, like the melodramatics of Grace, is
bordering on the overdone but does fit with the entire tone of the play and the
juxtaposition of characters.
I really did enjoy this production. It was brilliantly cast,
fabulously costumed, intensely directed and superbly acted. What more could one
ask for? Highly recommended.
Reviews
by Brigid Rennell for Theatreworld Internet Magazine
THE
QUEEN’S THEATRE,
Hornchurch
Essex
BOX
OFFICE: 01708 443333
(easily
reached on the District Line)
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