Dear Octopus at The National Theatre. Lyttelton Stage

Dear Octopus is a play by Dodie Smith who also wrote 'I Capture the Castle' and more famously, co-wrote '101 Dalmatians'. It's a gentle comedy with melancholic undertones highlighting one family's life just before World War 2. I watched it at The National Theatre on Thursday 7 March 2024.

The family is gathered for the Golden Wedding Anniversary of the matriarch Dora (Lindsay Duncan) and her long-suffering, but long-loving husband, Charles. Dora is overseeing every detail of the anniversary weekend, and in doing so, we meet her staff (nanny, maid and companion), children and their progeny (it was refreshing to see young children playing a prominent role in a play). Their characters and personal stories unfold at a gentle pace as the weekend progresses and as each family member arrives. 

It feels more filmic in style due to the slower pace, and I did find it dragged a bit in places. Others around me didn't seem to feel that way so that might just be me! The pace is likely a deliberate choice to contrast with our current fast-paced life vs how it might have been back then (although that may just be a nostalgia-tinted lens). 

The morals and themes in the story are still relevant today, despite it being a period piece in many respects. Emotions are revealed, some intense and some but not all resolved. The ties that bind are loose, perhaps strained but still evident. 

It's a solid, ensemble piece where everyone gets their chance to shine. The set is stunning and the costumes really evoke the style of the era perfectly. 

I found the lighting challenging, though. It's deliberately low-lit which evokes the period well but can be a strain on the viewer's eyes, especially when that's using LEDs (and there's no choice on that these days), Even a smidge more light might relieve that and I'd be interested in research about lighting levels in theatre and eyestrain but that's a conversation for another day. 

It's not the best thing I've seen at The National in the last few months, but it's definitely worth a watch. Think of it like a middle-class version of Brideshead Revisited, scaled down to a large family home on a single weekend rather than a stately home over a period of years. 

I came away feeling rather wistful but also sated having seen something completely different to my usual TV or theatre viewing.

More information about the production including cast and creatives and a photo gallery: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/dear-octopus/ 

National Theatre to trial 6.30pm start times

I think this is a great idea. The National Theatre is trialling an earlier start time for selected performances - initially on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'm all for it as it means you either get home earlier or can catch the train home if you live further afield, or there's time to go for dinner afterwards. It also allows the cast, stage management and front-of-house teams to get home a bit earlier. Seems like a win-win to me.

I love everything the National Theatre does - I don't think there's a play I've seen there that I didn't like, and some have been downright fantastic and have well-deserved their transfers to the West End and national tours. Admittedly, I'm biased. I was at youth theatre with Rufus Norris back in the 1980s and I feel immense joy knowing what he has achieved in his time at the National Theatre - he completes his tenure in 2025. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing a new play, Nye, early next year starring Michael Sheen which is about Nye Bevin and the birth of what is now the NHS.

A top tip for getting cheaper tickets to plays at the National - every Friday at 1pm, they release a limited number of tickets for shows the following week for just £10. It's called Friday Rush. More info here and set yourself a reminder in your calendar.

More about the trial of early show times over at WhatsOnStage.

The Snail House at Hampstead Theatre

I managed to bag a discounted ticket for press night for The Snail House at Hampstead Theatre. I'd heard good things about the play by Richard Eyre. It's about Sir Neil Marriott, a public health advisor who was knighted for his work during the pandemic. The setting is him hosting a birthday party for his family and staff. The celebration takes place in his son's former school, and we see intergenerational conflicts arise regarding politics, class and climate change. We also meet Florence, a member of the catering staff, who was previously wronged by Sir Neil, and this creates a powerful and unsettling dynamic within the family.

It's a good play and very realistically presented. The topical dialogue shows complex family relationships and a generation divide. The acting is strong, and I liked the style of the piece. However, it wasn't quite as dramatic as I thought it was going to be in the second act. I was still gripped throughout, so I recommend it as worth seeing.

A note about the theatre - Hampstead Theatre is a lovely theatre with a spacious cafe and two stages. The main house is on the ground and first floors and the studio is on the lower level. Worth noting that Row M at the back of the stalls is weird. The seat is not raised so you'll likely find a head blocking your view completely. The row behind (the very back row) has raised seating and gives a much better view.

Antigone at Regent's Park Theatre

Antigone by Inua Ellams at Regents Park Open Air Theatre was tremendous tonight. It was really powerful storytelling - modern, fresh, thrilling, poetic, topical and dramatic. The writer, Inua Ellams, takes the bones of  Sophocles' original play and sets Antigone and her siblings' story in modern-day England. In doing so, he shines a light on the plight of our minority communities, how our political system can be manipulated, and how power can corrupt. 

The play uses poetry, music and movement to tell the story in between powerful dialogue between the various characters who are often at loggerheads yet manage to avoid EastEnders style shoutiness. I found it both moving and thought-provoking. This one will stay with me for some time yet. There's a lot to process. 

Recommended. Find out more about the production here.

And we managed to dodge the rain too! (I can also recommend the veggie burger and chips which I enjoyed there before the show - tasty and a decent price.)

101 Dalmations at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

A fun night out in a gorgeous setting. It's my first visit to Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and it doesn't disappoint.

Excellent singing and choreography from everyone. The story has some clever tweaks to it to accommodate modern sensibilities. The whole cast is fab and the staging makes full use of the space available.

The puppetry is very good indeed and I liked the way they had puppeteers and actors protraying Perdi and Pongo. It was skillfully done. It was also delightful to see a young cast on stage playing some of the pups. 

Cruella is brilliantly evil and her two nephews are great fun. This is a light-hearted show that also manages to shed light on topical issues like celebrity, influencer culture, and even homelessness. It's a family show by design, but there's plenty in there for adults too. 

There are great views from every seat and the seats are comfy too even though they're outside. There are several restaurant choices on site too which are not hideously expensive and a huge bar. 

Recommended.

More information about the show including photos and audio tracks https://openairtheatre.com/production/101-dalmatians

Cast

Cruella De Vil - Kate Fleetwood

Casper - Johnny Weldon

Jasper - George Bukhari

Danielle - Karen Fishwick

Dominic - Eric Stroud

Creatives

Director - Timothy Sheader

Musical Director - Tarek Merchant

Book - Johnny Knight

Stage Adaptation - Zinnie Harris

Music & Lyrics - Douglas Hodge

Harpy at Malvern Festival Theatre

Performance seen on 16 October 2021 at Malvern Festival Theatres, main house.

I may be out of London, and we may still be in the middle of a pandemic, but theatre still lives on. Harpy is a one-woman play by Philip Meeks, directed by Abigail Anderson and starring Su Pollard. 

This is very much a departure from Peggy, Su Pollard's flighty Hi-De-Hi character many of us know and love. Birdie is not liked by her neighbours and is the so-called harpy from the title. She is an obsessive hoarder living on an estate in South West London near Crystal Palace and Streatham facing mental health issues, loneliness and battles with neighbours and those trying to help her. Inevitably, her neighbours are critical of the hoarding behaviour but don't understand her rationale and her need to hold on to these memories and stories that she associates with each item, no matter how humble the object.

The play is bittersweet and has both dramatic and comedic moments and it was really lovely to see Su Pollard in a meatier role and she is most definitely up to the task. The set works extremely well too. The play tackles themes of mental health, grief, isolation and how we deal with those who are deemed different in a gritty, realistic way. The story is both credible and poignant.

Clearly, many of Ms Pollard's fans were in the audience the night I went and she got a standing ovation. It was a very strong performance, and one that will remain with me for a long time, I'm sure.

Why Theatre is Important

 

Theatre skills don’t just get you a job in the theatre. The things we learn through theatre can be applied to so many different career paths.

This #NCW2021, we've got free resources to help you in whichever direction you’re looking to travel https://t.co/XUalfty73p

— The Old Vic (@oldvictheatre) March 1, 2021 

I just spotted this tweet from The Old Vic and it resonates so much with me. If I had a daughter, Mrs Worthington, I'd be putting her on the stage for sure - maybe not for a lifelong career but to learn all the skills critical for a career in business that you probably won't learn at school or university.

Grease by the Swan Youth Theatre, Worcester. Publicity shot.

I joined my local youth theatre in Worcester when I was 14 and stayed for 7 years. A friend of mine was joining and she suggested I come along too. I ended up loving it even more than she did and became totally committed to the group. We had a meeting every week where we either did improvisation and role-playing or we were rehearsing for our next show. We typically did one major show a year in the main theatre as part of the summer festival and a few other smaller studio productions during the rest of the year. We also had the opportunity to audition for roles in the main theatre productions too as and when they came up. I was lucky enough to be in a few of those including The Wizard of Oz and Once a Catholic, both directed by Tony Award winner, John Doyle. I also worked with Rufus Norris and Lawrence Boswell, amongst others, who went on to do great things in the theatre. But that's beside the point. I wouldn't be who I am today without those years spent in youth theatre working with professionals and learning by doing and by example.

Thinking back to our weekly SYT meetings, the thing I remember most is all the role-playing we did. We called it improvisation but it wasn't comic improvisation as we've come to know from shows like Whose Line is it Anyway. We were put into groups and given a theme or a scenario to imagine and to create our own scene from it. We got to play other people. We got to walk a little in someone else's shoes and imagine lives and experiences very different from our own. And a major part of this was being able to think on your feet and respond quickly to whatever was thrown at you in the scene, or being able to improvise your way out of a mistake. I don't remember there being any fear about doing these scenes. It all seemed completely normal to me and it was about collaborative effort and not about one person's ego. We were free to experiment.

That collaborative effort, and learning to tune into one another, is an essential part of teamwork to this day. I think that's one of the things I miss the most about my time in youth theatre. That sense of all being in it together and having one goal of getting the show off the ground is exhilarating and brings a team together like nothing else I know. Of course, we fought and argued at times. Who doesn't? But the camaraderie and support we had back then were amazing. And it's not that dissimilar to the great vibes you can get in a start-up business. The energy is catching if you get the team and the goals right. 

I learned all my entrepreneurial skills in youth theatre. I see being an entrepreneur as someone who makes something of nothing - creates a business from the seed of an idea. And that describes what we did. Our youth theatre director would have an idea of a show and we'd pull together to make it happen. We had a head start in that we had professional directors and crew to work with. And we had access to a space in which to put on our shows but we never had much of a budget so you quickly learn to muck in and to make things happen - costumes, backstage, on stage, lighting, front of house, dressing - we did all of it. We had to market and sell the tickets too so getting PR coverage in the local press was important. after all, when you have a 300 seat theatre to fill for 5 nights, that's a lot of tickets to sell. I remember for one show, a bunch of us dressed up in costumes from Godspell and joined the carnival handing out flyers. We really shouldn't have been there, but we got away with it with sheer chutzpah. And you need a bit of chutzpah when you're starting out in business.

In doing all of this, I also absorbed (it was more osmosis than learning I think) how to put on a show so it's not a great surprise that I've ended up hosting and running events as a large part of what I do. It's a great way to connect people, to bring them together. And it's an opportunity for learning. I also learned stage techniques too - to speak well, to not be afraid of speaking in front of an audience, to think about lighting and staging, to listen for cues, to improvise, teamwork, to take direction, to think on my feet and lots more besides.

So yes, I think experience in theatre, especially as a teenager, is terrifically important whether or not you end up having a career in theatre. As someone quite famous once said, "All the world's a stage and the men and women merely players". I think he may have had a point.

Originally published on Musings of a Mobile Marketer