Kate Mulley

Last week I was asked to write a piece for Upstart Theatre in London. I have had two such requests from across the pond in the past few weeks and it’s nice to think that I can still maintain my theatrical network over there. Thank god for the internet! This most recent one is a response to “When was the last time you were told you were beautiful?” I had been thinking about it for a few days because I couldn’t remember . I was told it was ok to write something fictional, but hadn’t gotten around to it until today (my first day off in awhile). Of course, this being New York, in the past week I’ve been told I was beautiful by men on the street twice. Maybe they knew I had this monologue to write!

There was something bleak about wracking my brain trying to remember the last time someone told me I was beautiful. Especially when it’s the word specifically that you’re trying to remember. I’ve always been a confessional writer, but I tend to draw my writing from scenarios rather than specific words. Occasionally I will borrow an exact phrase that I’ve heard from someone or overheard in passing, but to sit down and remember the last time I was told I was beautiful was an exercise in memory and also in memory fabrication. If I couldn’t remember a specific example, could I try to insert something into a scenario to make it a dramatic and viable? In this case I didn’t have to do that, but in my more fictionalized work, I do that all the time. Fleshing out the potential in situations to create more engaging scenes. Something that’s always a good thing when I’m writing, but has it’s pluses and minuses in real life.

Am in my final month in London and looking forward to what should be some good plays that I booked months in advance.

Sunday is Madame de Sade, which has gotten terrible reviews, but stars Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike, so it’s hard to say no to. And tickets were only £10.

After a week in Eastern Europe (Vienna, Ljubljana and Split!), I’m seeing Waiting for Godot with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. How could I not see this when I’m here? Two stage and screen legends in a classic play I’ve never seen staged. Whoever came up with this idea was clearly very very savvy.

And my final week is Tom Stoppard week. I’ll see his translation of The Cherry Orchard, as performed by the Bridge Project on Monday the 25th and the revival of Arcadia on Thursday the 28th. I actually had the good fortune to meet Sir Tom over the weekend in the Madrid airport. He was absolutely lovely, asked me about my writing and upcoming play and wished me luck with everything. I tried to play it cool, but am still floating a little bit. How often do you get to meet your idol and talk about yourself? Not very

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.