Kate Mulley

A friend and playwright (and frequent theatre companion) said to me recently that plays were like love interests: that they could live up to expectations, or be absolutely great on paper, but just not a good fit, or just disappoint. So in that vein, I offer the plays that I was looking forward to, but ultimately didn’t pay off.¹

Don John by Kneehigh. This adaptation of Don Giovanni set in 1978 London fell flat from the very beginning. I’ve loved other work by Kneehigh that I’ve seen because their innovative use of movement and song and whimsy have meshed nicely. Don John felt like it was trying too hard to be a Kneehigh show and not hard enough to entertain the audience. I’ve since read reviews that seem to applaud the ennui, but, personally, I don’t buy it.

The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow. This was one of those hits that I’d heard about but hadn’t seen. A four person show based on Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. There were moments of inspired comedy and it’s a good way to laugh at English stereotypes (a favorite pastime of mine), but my father and I both came out of it wondering what exactly the fuss was all about.

¹This list is shorter than my recent highlights. And reflects a small proportion of the plays I see, which means I’m either easily pleased, or very discerning about what I see. I’m inclined to think it’s the latter.

I’m currently in my last two months living in London and I’ve made it my priority to see as much theatre as possible before I go. While I have done this to a certain extent for the past 2 and a half years, there’s more urgency to my bookings right now. There’s also a bit more incentive because I get any theatre tickets reimbursed until the end of the month, thanks to my delightful job at NHB.

Highlights of the past few months include:

Edward Gant’s Amazing Feats of Loneliness by Anthony Neilson at the Soho Theatre, produced by Headlong. I personally love Anthony Nielson’s work. I think he’s inventive and silly and poignant and this play was no exception. I even had a dream last night that was directly inspired by it!

Spring Awakening transferred from the Lyric Hammersmith to the Novello. I didn’t love this as much as I hoped to, but as a new musical I think it’s inventive and fun. Definitely worth a look if you’re in London (or if it happens to be on tour near you in the States).

A Little Night Music transferred from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the Garrick Theatre. I’ve seen two Sondheim musicals that have transferred from the Chocolate Factory to the West End and both have been excellently done. Everything in it was gorgeous (except for the crazy man sitting in front of me who talked throughout the interval and said Sondheim musicals needed surtitles…)

Burnt by the Sun by Peter Flannery from the screenplay by Nikita Mikhalkov and Rustam Ibragimbekov at the National Theatre. I read this before I saw it and thought it was excellent, like a Chekhov play about Stalin’s Russia. And the production itself was well-acted and very engaging. I’m hoping to see the film next.

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