25 April 2017. Doctor Atomic at the Barbican

John Adams conducted his opera about the making of the atomic bomb in 1945. Although, I thought it slightly overlong, the work conveyed for me excellently the terrible irrevocability of this act. It felt like the crossing of a line when man started to encroach on the territory of God.
The opera brought out well the tensions in the men who were responsible - some scientists concerned about what they were doing; others fascinated by the possibilities; and the military who were subject to the political pressures of having the bomb ready to support Truman in his talks at Posnan.
The principal singers were absolutely excellent, particularly Gerald Finley as Oppenheimer and Julia Bullock as his wife, Kitty. This was only ever a lightly staged production but all the principals conveyed their emotions expressively and I'm not sure any greater staging would be beneficial.
The only aspect I felt could have been developed further was the contrast between the men making their atom bomb and the females back home carrying on their domestic existence. This seemed the only point for referring to Oppenheimer's family but, to me, it felt a bit like an interlude from the main story of what the men were up to.

24 April 2017. The Exterminating Angel at ROH

This was a fantastic (in more than one sense of the word) evening. Thomas Ades conducted his adaptation of Bunuel's film about a group of bourgeoisie who return for dinner after attending an opera. They find themselves trapped by some mysterious force in their dining room. Days pass and neither can they leave nor the towns people enter. It all sounds ridiculous but it worked incredibly well with a wonderfully comic libretto by Tom Cairns, brilliant singing by the principals and a huge orchestra that spread into the Stalls Circle.
Like the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie, the event captured the self-absorbed stupidities of its subject-matter, teasing them for their concerns.
This was the opening night and I was glad to see the critics gave it five stars.

23 April 2017. Howard Hodgkin at the NPG

An interesting contrast to the Tate's Hockney. Hodgkin is, I think it fair to say, far less well known and this exhibition was by no means packed. His art is less accessible than Hockney's but for that reason is more interesting to me. He specialized in figurative work but usually executed his paintings from his memories of the subject, rather than having them sit in front of him. He thus laid down the emotional essence of the person and this led him to near abstraction. To be honest, I preferred the works with some reasonably recognizably human image but I very much liked the challenge he presented.

22 April 2017. Hockney at Tate Britain

This was my second visit to the Hockney retrospective. It presented very well his intellectual contribution with the first room devoted to his arguing over the nature of art and painting. I was also really struck by the room with his collaged photographs as well as that containing a four screen simultaneous presentation of the film of the same road in Yorkshire in each of the four seasons. The portraits are also very striking as are the paintings conveying his joy of the settings ( mainly California and Yorkshire) in which he has resided. It would be interesting to see how these stand the test of time and how they come to be viewed in the unfolding of art history. I feel torn between wondering whether these are just very lovely to look art or seeing them as an especially and unique capturing of their subject matter.

21 April 2017. Obsession at the Barbican

Under the direction of Ivo van Hove, this Toneelgroep Amsterdam production had an operatic quality to me. Starring Jude Law as the 'on-the-road' Gino who pitches up at a petrol station and restaurant run by Joseph and his much younger wife, Hanna. She is all frustration at her life, trapped in the middle of nowhere with a man she finds disinteresting. She hurriedly embarks on an affair with Gino, who commits effusively to her and murders Joseph. Now they are free. Naturally, enough, that i their undoing. Gino meets a gay man to tempt him back on the road and then a chorus girl comes along to throw herself at him. He complains of the same stultification at the petrol station that Hanna complained of earlier. It all ends unhappily.
The set was amazing with a huge truck engine that rose and descended spewing oil on the death scenes. However, it was odd that the actors were 'miked up' and delivered their lines, I felt, rather flatly. At the end the applause seemed rather subdued, maybe because the end was like coming out of an extended boxing match.
Critics seemed divided. The FT warmed to it; the Evening Standard didn't.

12 April 2017. Consent at the National Theatre.

This was an interesting evening, being reminded of what it can be like in one's thirties. Two couples are pitted against each other. First, there is Edward and Kitty who start on stage with a real baby which is their great pride. He is a defence barrister. Their friends, Jake and Rachel are also barristers, as is a mutual friend, Tim who is prosecutor in the rape case that Edward is defending. The other four try to set him up on a date with actress Zara but, at first, she decides the chemistry is missing.
The plots are firstly about their lives and secondly about the way the rape case is conducted. The victim - Gayle - arrives to find that the prosecutor and defence barrister are actually friends and the play presents us with the game-like nature of the adversarial system, where for example slurs once made stick in the mind of jurors.
Then there are the games of the couples themselves. First the marriage of Jake and Rachel gets into trouble; then it is Edward and Kitty's turn, with Zara losing Tim who, after all has become her new boyfriend, to Kitty - who finds it impossible to accept Edward's inability to say sorry.
This was an absorbing evening at the time. however, I'm not sure I came away with anything new - rather it is the excellent evocation of what I knew already that struck me about this play.

10 April 2017. Twelfth Night at the National

This arresting production opens with the shipwrecked Viola in a modern hospital bed and a car and motor bike coming on stage with Orsino's entourage. The whole complex story with Viola pretending to be a boy, named Cesario, was relatively easy to follow. However, the casting of a woman (Tamsin Greig) as Malvolio rather jarred for me - maybe because I had read synopses describing 'her' as a man. Likewise the fool, Feste was slightly hard to get used to as a woman.
Nonetheless, it was a great evening that won the delighted applause of the packed audience.

7 April 2017. Madama Butterfly at the ROH

The stand-out from this evening was the singing of Ermonela Jaho. A fantastic voice and great acting won her well-deserved adulation from the audience.

23 March 2017. A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Young Vic.

This was a rather extraordinary production with the action taking place on a muddy stage so that the Young Vic must face a hefty laundry bill after each performance.
I'm glad that I had briefed myself on the storyline beforehand, as it is fanciful and convoluted. However, armed with prior information, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

21 March 2017. triple Bill at the ROH

This excellent evening save the best until last, I felt. Although The Human Seasons and After the Rain were great, the new Crystal Pite piece - flight Pattern - really captured the audience.

20 March 2017. The Kid Stays in the Picture

I really liked this theatrical account of the life of Robert Evans. It was full of action and told a gripping tale of this man's ascent to the peak of Hollywood and marriage to Ali McGraw, only to be followed by bankruptcy and a second chance via his writing an autobiography, of which this play is an adaptation.

17 March 2017. lost without words at the National Theatre

This was, for me, a mildly entertaining hour of improvisation by a group of actors of a certain age. It all struck me as rather self-indulgent and I'm not sure what we were supposed to take away from it. It felt more like a passing of the time.