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)
THE THUNDERBOLT
By Arthur Wing Pinero
Playing now until 2
October
The
Thunderbolt is quite a long play – two acts, starting at 7.45 and not
over until about 10.30 – but it mostly doesn’t feel like that. The exception
is a slightly windy end to the first act with a denouement that had been
telegraphed pretty much throughout the first hour.
Nevertheless,
it doesn’t feel too long (that one exception aside), and that is due to
the quality of the cast and some imaginative direction from Sam Walters, which
helps move things – and furniture – along and around quite quickly.
There’s
a big cast here and the smallish space of the in-the-round Orange Tree
sometimes feels a bit crowded, but there are always good things going on in
terms of the acting. Orange Tree regular David Antrobus
(as the lawyer, Mr Denyer) is always crisp and effective, even when
the focus is elsewhere, and Julie Teal (Louisa) gives some wonderful profile
poses to demonstrate her high-minded disgust of certain individuals’
behaviour. Female lead Grainne Keenan (Helen Thornhill) attracts our sympathy in an effortless manner
and always shows the right amount of moral certitude.
The
play itself, an Edwardian examination of greed, by Arthur Wing Pinero, shows
how much of Victorian and Edwardian values still abide with us today. This plot
could quite comfortably have provided a storyline for Emmerdale
or Coronation Street, and it has the right balance of indulgent humour and
self-deceit for either.
When
the Mortimore’s long-estranged brother dies,
the problem is of course, who should have the money. The family could do with
it, it’s true, to support their flagging
businesses but the presence of the brother’s illegitimate daughter
(living in Paris, where she is training to be an artist) complicates the issue,
as does the apparent absence of a will.
The
fact that the brother’s considerable fortune has been amassed through the
making of beer, hardly seems to trouble the family’s temperance leanings,
and one by one they all reveal themselves to be hypocritical and self-seeking.
Even the more acceptable Thaddeus, the music teacher who has married beneath
him, is in the end revealed as having been only too prone to the kind of
temptation that has been offered.
The
weak link in all of this is Thaddeus’ wife Phyllis, whom Natalie Ogle
takes on with some spirit, but the continual wonder is how this weak and
ineffectual woman, perpetually downtrodden by the family, could by her own
dramatic action actually become the catalyst for the momentous events that
follow.
This
is a very competent play, lovingly performed, rather than a startlingly
brilliant one. Nevertheless, it is worth its airing, and the moments when
hypocrisy is illuminated are sometimes wonderfully amusing. Above all, as a masterclass in performance, it is certainly worth its
revival here.
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
Reviews
by Brigid Rennell for Theatreworld Internet Magazine
THE
QUEEN’S THEATRE,
Hornchurch
Essex
BOX
OFFICE: 01708 443333
(easily
reached on the District Line)
REVIEWER NEEDED TO COVER THIS VENUE
ON A REGULAR BASIS - please contact the Editor by e-mail:
GPowner@aol.com
For more details or individual advice/help - email: GPowner@aol.com