Theatrevoice archive, list of recordings 2005

Recordings from January 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 9

217 NEW YORK SPECIAL Philip Fisher talks to Greg Kotis, writer of the hit musical Urinetown and now Eat the Taste, at the Barrow Street Theater. “I think New York does and always will attract people who want to live the theatrical life.”Recording Date: 03-Jan-2005

218 PETER BROOK SPECIAL The world-famous director talks about bringing the love letters of Anton Chekhov and his wife Olga Knipper to the stage in a piece entitled Your Hand in Mine. Excerpt.  “It’s a very free theatre form in which you can no longer tell whether or not the actors are reading letters.”Play: Ta Main dans la MienneTheatre: Barbican Centre Recording Date: 15-Jan-2005

219 INTERVIEW: PETER BROOK (1/2) Dominic Cavendish talks to the legendary director in Paris about his religious trilogy, Le Grand Inquisiteur, La Mort de Krishna and Tierno Bokar. “Looking back I can only say that I’ve done my best to broaden what is permissible in the theatre.”Recording Date: 15-Jan-2005

220 INTERVIEW: PETER BROOK (2/2) The legendary director talks about the differences between the French and English theatre traditions, the simplicity of his style and his thoughts on turning 80. “When I read that ‘Peter Brook’s hallmark is simplicity’ my first reaction is ‘I must now go and do a musical’.”Recording Date: 15-Jan-2005

221 INTERVIEW: DAVID GRINDLEY Philip Fisher talks to the up-and-coming director about working on Dennis McIntyre’s National Anthems at the Old Vic with Kevin Spacey. “[Spacey] hasn’t done a play since The Iceman Cometh and he’s delighted to be back on the stage.”Play: National AnthemsTheatre: Old Vic Recording Date: 20-Jan-2005

222 KING LEAR Corin Redgrave’s RSC Lear, directed by Bill Alexander, divides David Benedict, Heather Neill and Charles Spencer. Rachel Halliburton hosts. “Every speech has a hand-gesture; there are endless vocal mannerisms; and it’s all so overplayed.”Play: King LearTheatre: Noel Coward Theatre Recording Date: 21-Jan-2005

223 MACBETH DOUBLE Simon Russell Beale at the Almeida; Danny Sapani at Wilton’s. David Benedict, Charles Spencer and Heather Neill compare and contrast. Rachel Halliburton hosts. “I have never seen a less tense, exciting Macbeth than this… I think it was close to a disgrace.”Play: MacbethTheatre: Almeida Theatre Recording Date: 21-Jan-2005

224 INTERVIEW: JOE PENHALL (1/2) As the Sheffield Crucible revives his Blue/Orange, the playwright discusses his controversial hit about mental health and racial identity. Aleks Sierz quizzes. “A lot of the people you see around on the streets in London have suffered from mental illness.”Recording Date: 31-Jan-2005

225 INTERVIEW: JOE PENHALL (2/2) The playwright talks to Aleks Sierz about his career as a whole and the divided reactions to his latest piece, Dumb Show, which is about tabloid journalism.“Some people found Dumb Show grubby and simplistic – that’s because it’s a grubby, simplistic subject.”Recording Date: 31-Jan-2005

Recordings from February 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 11

226 DON CARLOS David Benedict, Alastair Macaulay & Carole Woddis strongly disagree over the merits of Michael Grandage’s Schiller revival, transferring from Sheffield. Matt Wolf arbitrates. “I’m afraid I found superficial theatricality right through the production.”Play: Don CarlosTheatre: Gielgud Theatre Recording Date: 04-Feb-2005

227 WEST END REVIEW Whose Life is it Anyway? and A Life in the Theatre weighed up by David Benedict, Alastair Macaulay and Carole Woddis. Matt Wolf hosts. “I found her [Kim Cattrall] a charming, clever light comedy actress… but it needs to come from the gut.”Play: Whose Life is it Anyway?Theatre: Comedy Theatre Recording Date: 04-Feb-2005

228 BLACK VOICES: WRITING FROM REALITY (1/3) Major forum about black writing with Michael Buffong, Joan Carty, Angus Jackson, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Justice Williams and Roy Williams. Tyrone Huggins hosts at the Birmingham Rep. Recorded live. “When I was a young man, I defined my manhood by considering how much I knew about my culture.”Recording Date: 10-Feb-2005

229 BLACK VOICES: WRITING FROM REALITY (2/3) Michael Buffong, Joan Carty, Angus Jackson, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Justice Williams and Roy Williams discuss black theatre. Q&A. Tyrone Huggins hosts. Recorded live. “If I want to write about anything no one else is going to stop me.”Recording Date: 10-Feb-2005

230 BLACK VOICES: WRITING FROM REALITY (3/3) Michael Buffong, Joan Carty, Angus Jackson, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Justice Williams and Roy Williams discuss black creativity. Q&A. Tyrone Huggins hosts. Recorded live. “Is there a danger of falling out with your community in your writing?”Recording Date: 10-Feb-2005

231 DEBATE: CHILDREN’S THEATRE (1/3) A discussion with John Retallack, David Wood and Annie Wood. Heather Neill hosts. Recorded live. “I think we have to find a way to bring families, parents and teachers on a journey with us.”Recording Date: 11-Feb-2005

232 DEBATE: CHILDREN’S THEATRE (2/3) John Retallack, David Wood and Annie Wood continue the discussion. Heather Neill hosts. Recorded live. “We’re all doing this because we want to do it, not because we’re failures from adult theatre.”Recording Date: 11-Feb-2005

233 DEBATE: CHILDREN’S THEATRE (3/3) Q&A: John Retallack, David Wood and Annie Wood conclude their discussion. Heather Neill hosts. Recorded live. “There’s not a sufficiently engaged philosophy from the National Theatre about young people’s work.”Recording Date: 11-Feb-2005

234 INTERVIEW: DAVID GLASS The visual and physical theatre pioneer talks about his new work, Disembodied, and his mission to help dispossessed children around the world. “With the Lost Child Project, we facilitate young people in 22 countries to express their ideas.”Play: DisembodiedTheatre: Battersea Arts Centre Recording Date: 18-Feb-2005

235 OLIVIER AWARDS 2005 The TV cameras weren’t there to record the event, but David Benedict, Mark Shenton and Matt Wolf were. What did they make of it all? “There do seem to be a lot of question marks over these awards.”Recording Date: 25-Feb-2005

236 WEST END REVIEW National Anthems (Old Vic), A Dream Play (National) and Days of Wine and Roses (Donmar). Kate Bassett, David Benedict, Mark Shenton, Matt Wolf discuss. “Concerns over Kevin Spacey’s season probably are warranted in terms of choice of material.”Play: National AnthemsTheatre: Old Vic Recording Date: 28-Feb-2005

Recordings from March 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 9

237 INTERVIEW: PHILIP RIDLEY The controversial writer’s latest, Mercury Fur (Menier), has been described as the most shocking British play since Sarah Kane’s Blasted, and has been lambasted accordingly. He talks to Rachel Halliburton. “I’m being judged by people who really shouldn’t be judging this play… they are blinder than a bag-full of moles in a cellar.”Play: Mercury FurTheatre: Menier Chocolate Factory Recording Date: 04-Mar-2005

238 REPUTATIONS: EDWARD BOND (1/4) Academics Peter Billingham and Kate Katafiasz, director Chris Cooper and playwright Mark Ravenhill start assessing Bond’s work. Aleks Sierz chairs. “He is the greatest British dramatist since the war…”Recording Date: 11-Mar-2005

239 REPUTATIONS: EDWARD BOND (2/4) The panel – Peter Billingham, Chris Cooper, Kate Katafiasz, Mark Ravenhill – look at Bond’s stage violence. Aleks Sierz hosts. “Whether the person who writes the essays is the person who writes the plays is up for discussion.”Recording Date: 11-Mar-2005

240 REPUTATIONS: EDWARD BOND (3/4) Why is Bond so ignored in Britain? Peter Billingham, Chris Cooper, Kate Katafiaz and Mark Ravenhill discuss. Aleks Sierz hosts. “It’s awful isn’t it? Here is one of the foremost writers of the last 50 years and his work isn’t being staged.”Recording Date: 11-Mar-2005

241 REPUTATIONS: EDWARD BOND (4/4) Bond’s influence, plus Q&A time, with Peter Billingham, Chris Cooper, Kate Katafiasz and Mark Ravenhill. Aleks Sierz chairs. “I don’t think he’d see himself as withdrawing from the world – but needing to be on the margin.”Recording Date: 11-Mar-2005

242 INTERVIEW: MARK ROSENBLATT The director unveils The Last Waltz Season – Wedekind’s Musik, Hauptmann’s Rose Bernd and Schnitzler’s Professor Bernhardi at the Arcola. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. “I wanted to find plays that hadn’t been seen by three great writers and these three knew each other.”Recording Date: 17-Mar-2005

243 HEDDA GABLER Richard Eyre’s new treatment of the Ibsen classic at the Almeida starring Eve Best is assessed by David Benedict, Jane Edwardes and Charles Spencer. Heather Neill hosts. “Eve Best gives a really astonishing performance – she seems to get every aspect of the character.”Play: Hedda GablerTheatre: Almeida Theatre Recording Date: 18-Mar-2005

244 INSTITUTE OF IDEAS DEBATE: THE RIGHT TO BE OFFENSIVE (1/2) Dominic Cavendish, Nick Cohen, Johann Hari, Munira Mirza, Ben Payne and Rachel Wagstaff discuss the issues. Chair: Dolan Cummings. Excerpt. “Theatre justifies its position on the basis of being inclusive of communities… it’s difficult to be robust.”Recording Date: 30-Mar-2005

245 INSTITUTE OF IDEAS DEBATE: THE RIGHT TO BE OFFENSIVE (2/2) Dominic Cavendish, Nick Cohen, Johann Hari, Munira Mirza, Ben Payne and Rachel Wagstaff continue the discussion. Chair: Dolan Cummings. Excerpt. “The plays that have rejuvenated theatre have enraged and perplexed and appalled lots of people.”Recording Date: 30-Mar-2005

Recordings from April 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 11
246 INTERVIEW: YASMIN WHITTAKER-KHAN The author of Bells, which attracted controversy at its Birmingham Rep premiere, talks to Dominic Cavendish about the play. “I’m not trying to cushion anything – I write because I really enjoy delving into things in my mind.”Recording Date: 08-Apr-2005

247 REPUTATIONS: CARYL CHURCHILL (1/2) Linda Bassett, Graham Cowley, Deborah Findlay and Rick Fisher begin to pool some thoughts on Churchill plays and productions past. David Benedict chairs. Recorded live. “When we did Far Away in New York, the audiences were pretty baffled…”Recording Date: 08-Apr-2005

248 REPUTATIONS: CARYL CHURCHILL (2/2) Linda Bassett, Graham Cowley, Deborah Findlay and Rick Fisher continue to pool their thoughts on Churchill plays and productions past. David Benedict chairs. Recorded live. “When we were in rehearsal I really don’t remember her imposing her presence on what we did.”Recording Date: 08-Apr-2005

249 INSTITUTE OF IDEAS DEBATE: WHERE IS THE REAL OPPOSITION? (1/4) Van Badham, Dolan Cummings, David Edgar, Andrew Gilligan and Blake Morrison consider the proposition. Chair: Claire Fox. “The question is: What’s going on – is the theatre, is media, or is journalism the new opposition?”Recording Date: 14-Apr-2005

250 INSTITUTE OF IDEAS DEBATE: WHERE IS THE REAL OPPOSITION? (2/4) Van Badham, Dolan Cummings, David Edgar, Andrew Gilligan and Blake Morrison continue to think boldly aloud. Chair: Claire Fox. “The election is the worst time to talk about politics – the media slavishly follows the government agenda.”Recording Date: 14-Apr-2005

251 INSTITUTE OF IDEAS DEBATE: WHERE IS THE REAL OPPOSITION? (3/4) Van Badham, Dolan Cummings, David Edgar, Andrew Gilligan and Blake Morrison answer questions from the floor. Chair: Claire Fox. “There isn’t any sort of immigration issue now – it’s been totally invented.”Recording Date: 14-Apr-2005

252 INSTITUTE OF IDEAS DEBATE: WHERE IS THE REAL OPPOSITION? (4/4) Van Badham, Dolan Cummings, David Edgar, Andrew Gilligan and Blake Morrison voice their final thoughts. Chair: Claire Fox. “As political opposition has fallen away, the utopianism in art seems pointless.”Recording Date: 14-Apr-2005

253 INTERVIEW: SAM WALTERS The founding artistic director of the Orange Tree, London’s sole dedicated in-the-round theatre, talks to Philip Fisher about 33 years on the fringe. “We were part of what happened at the beginning of the 70s, this growth of small theatres in London.”Recording Date: 15-Apr-2005

254 DAVID GREIG DOUBLE Cosmonaut’s Last Message… (Donmar) and Pyrenees (Menier) are assessed by Heather Neill, Mark Shenton and Charles Spencer. David Benedict hosts. “What makes Greig interesting is that he’s got an attractive sensibility – very human and very quirky.”Play: PyreneesTheatre: Menier Chocolate Factory Recording Date: 15-Apr-2005

255 HECUBA David Benedict, Patrick Marmion and Charles Spencer bewail this new RSC version by Tony Harrison starring Vanessa Redgrave. Heather Neill presides. “I thought this production got disgracefully charitable reviews – this was a fiasco.”Play: HecubaTheatre: Noel Coward Theatre Recording Date: 15-Apr-2005

256 MASTERCLASS: NANCY MECKLER The artistic director of Shared Experience offers advice as part of the Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass series. Recorded live. Excerpt. “There weren’t many role models of women directors so I didn’t think people would take me seriously.” Recording Date: 22-Apr-2005

Recordings from May 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 16

257 ELECTION 2005 Ian Brown, artistic director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds assesses Labour’s record in relation to theatre and the arts and looks to the future. Dominic Cavendish quizzes. “What the Labour government did was get us moving forwards again. Now we’re sliding backwards.”Recording Date: 03-May-2005

258 ELECTION 2005 Simon Reade, artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, gives his verdict on Labour on the eve of the election, and argues for reform of the arts council. Dominic Cavendish quizzes.“What would be brilliant is for politicians just to back off completely from any cultural agenda.”Recording Date: 04-May-2005

259 THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Has Pinter’s 1958 drama of seaside menace stood the test of time? David Benedict, Jane Edwardes and Mark Shenton reflect. Heather Neill hosts. “I’m not sure that this play merits that much attention – for my money there are far better Pinter plays.”Play: The Birthday PartyTheatre: Duchess Theatre Recording Date: 06-May-2005

260 POLITICAL SHAKESPEARE Deborah Warner’s Julius Caesar (Barbican) and Nicholas Hytner’s Henry IV (National). David Benedict, Jane Edwardes and Heather Neill discuss them together. Dominic Cavendish hosts. “In both plays there’s illegal regime change and both have to cope with the consequences of that.”Recording Date: 06-May-2005

261 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY/BILLY ELLIOT Kate Bassett, Patrick Marmion and Matt Wolf assess two theatrical events that stand in the shadow of celluloid triumphs. Mark Shenton hosts. “Spacey is manic and ironic and deadpan and sardonic – all very funny but it’s never sexy.”Play: The Philadelphia StoryTheatre: Old Vic Recording Date: 13-May-2005

262 REPUTATIONS: MARTIN CRIMP (1/2) Lindsay Posner, Dan Rebellato, Auriol Smith and Anne Tipton begin their comprehensive survey of Crimp’s formidable dramatic output. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “As an actor playing it, it’s extremely demanding – Martin’s work – there’s a rhythm you cannot ignore.”Recording Date: 13-May-2005

263 REPUTATIONS: MARTIN CRIMP (2/2) Lindsay Posner, Dan Rebellato, Auriol Smith and Anne Tipton conclude their reflections on Crimp’s varied body of work. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “He’s working with an audience’s desire to put fragments together so there’s a productive tension.”Recording Date: 13-May-2005

264 RAISING THE BAR: RELEVANCE Opening the Theatre 2005 Conference sessions, Lyn Gardner, Guardian critic, challenges the notion that theatre is a dying art form. “The assumptions that theatre could once make about its audiences have broken down.” Recording Date: 19-May-2005

265 RAISING THE BAR: RENEWAL Charles Leadbetter, Senior Research Associate with the independent think-tank Demos, floats some provocative ideas about the future. “More partners, more audiences, more competition, more opportunity – how do you navigate that?”Recording Date: 19-May-2005

266 RAISING THE BAR: RELEVANCE Nicholas Hytner, artistic director of the National Theatre, asks whether theatre’s ever-evolving relevance could be better communicated. Kirsty Wark chairs. “Every element of the experience has to be as well looked after as what we do to entertain on stage.”Recording Date: 19-May-2005

267 RAISING THE BAR: RENEWAL Vicky Featherstone, new artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, asks whether it is possible to measure success. “As a director, I perfectly understand that the agents of renewal in the theatre are artists.”Recording Date: 19-May-2005

268 RAISING THE BAR: LEADERSHIP Michael Attenborough, artistic director of the Almeida, shares his thoughts on leadership for the Theatre 2005 Conference. “The point about leadership is to begin to imagine what could be, and then where we might go.”Recording Date: 20-May-2005

269 THEATRE OF BLOOD Jane Edwardes, Mark Shenton and Charles Spencer dissect the National’s remake of the 1973 MGM shocker about an actor who butchers his critics. Heather Neill hosts. “There were large chunks of this that simply weren’t funny enough.”Play: Theatre of Blood Theatre: National Theatre, Lyttelton Recording Date: 20-May-2005

270 DEATH OF A SALESMAN Robert Falls’ Tony-winning revival, starring Brian Dennehy, finally makes it to London. David Benedict, Jane Edwardes and Charles Spencer dissent on its virtues. Heather Neill hosts. “I’d always thought of Willy Loman as a little man – but Dennehy is gigantic in personality, and corporeally.”Play: Death of a SalesmanTheatre: LyricShaftesbury Recording Date: 20-May-2005

271 INTERNATIONAL THEATRE: BERLIN (1/2) Elyse Dodgson of the Royal Court talks to Alexander Menden, Peter Michalzik and Johanna Freiburg about German theatre. Recorded live. “In terms of experimental theatre, you lead the way, Germany has influenced our companies here.”Recording Date: 26-May-2005

272 INTERNATIONAL THEATRE: BERLIN (2/2) Elyse Dodgson talks to Alexander Menden, Peter Michalzik and Johanna Freiburg about German theatre. Recorded live. “There was this burst of energy from German playwrights, and that now seems to have faded.”Recording Date: 26-May-2005

Recordings from June 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 5

273 GUYS AND DOLLS Frank Loesser’s masterpiece revived by Michael Grandage; Kate Bassett, Patrick Marmion and Charles Spencer dissent with David Benedict. “The sets were really disappointing, and Ewan McGregor might just as well have not been there.”Play: Guys and DollsTheatre: Piccadilly Theatre Recording Date: 03-Jun-2005

274 NEIL LABUTE DOUBLE Some Girls (Gielgud) and This Is How It Goes (Donmar) reviewed by Kate Bassett, Patrick Marmion and Charles Spencer, who diverge. David Benedict hosts. “For the first time there’s some compassion in the writing here and not just for the women.”Play: Some GirlsTheatre: Gielgud Theatre Recording Date: 03-Jun-2005

275 REPUTATIONS: DAVID HARE (1/3) Michael Billington, Richard Boon, Sir Richard Eyre and Charles Spencer consider Hare’s status. Dominic Cavendish hosts. Recorded live. “Hare has the most extraordinary antennae for what is going on in the country at any one time.” Recording Date: 10-Jun-2005

276 REPUTATIONS: DAVID HARE (2/3) Michael Billington, Richard Boon, Sir Richard Eyre and Charles Spencer continue to consider Hare’s contribution to British theatre. Dominic Cavendish hosts. Recorded live. “There’s a very distinct music and syntax to his writing – and he’s an absolute master of dialectic.”Recording Date: 10-Jun-2005

277 REPUTATIONS: DAVID HARE (3/3) Q&A: Michael Billington, Richard Boon, Sir Richard Eyre and Charles Spencer conclude the session. Dominic Cavendish chairs. Recorded live. “He puts a lot of people’s backs up… and he’s extremely successful… so there’s a lot to hate.”Recording Date: 10-Jun-2005
Recordings from July 2005Total Number of Recordings from this month: 4

278 TALKBACK ON TERROR Rising playwright Dennis Kelly talks to Aleks Sierz about Osama the Hero and his new one, After the End, set in the wake of a terrorist nuclear strike. Expletives not deleted. “It’s very difficult from the political realities of the 1980s – you knew where you stood. Now we’re just confused.”Recording Date: 08-Jul-2005

279 TALKBACK ON TERROR Ian Brown, artistic director of the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds gives Dominic Cavendish his thoughts on homegrown extremism and the way forward for theatre. “I’m very fearful at the moment, the whole thing could just catch fire very easily round here.”Recording Date: 13-Jul-2005

280 TALKBACK ON TERROR The Anglo-Kuwaiti director and writer Sulayman al-Bassam talks to Dominic Cavendish about bringing a Middle Eastern slant to Shakespeare and confronting fanaticism. “We’ve got to expand our education process, and to continue to educate the eye of the citizen.”Recording Date: 14-Jul-2005

281 TALKBACK ON TERROR Mehmet Ergen, artistic director of the Arcola Theatre, Dalston, on creating theatre for a multicultural London in the wake of the 7/7 attacks. Dominic Cavendish asks the questions. “The war began and it’s here to stay… and while we’re doing theatre we simply can’t ignore it.”Recording Date: 15-Jul-2005

Recordings from August 2005Total Number of Recordings from this month: 1

282 EDINBURGH 2005: DAVID HARROWER Philip Fisher talks to the Scottish playwright a few days before his new one, Blackbird, opens at the International Festival. “I need to respond… not to terrorism but to a different feeling in the world, a different temperature.”Recording Date: 12-Aug-2005

Recordings from September 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 6

283 WEST END REVIEW The Philanthropist (Donmar), Romance (Almeida) and 2000 Years (National). David Benedict, Charles Spencer and Matt Wolf discuss all three. Mark Shenton hosts. “I just cannot believe that Romance was written by the same man who wrote Glengarry Glen Ross.”Recording Date: 16-Sep-2005

284 INTERVIEW: DANIEL KRAMER The rising young American director talks to Philip Fisher about reviving and reshaping Hair for the Iraq War era, at the Gate Theatre, Notting Hill, London. “Hair is unique – it’s not like doing Oklahoma! or The Woman in White. It’s abstract, it’s young.”Recording Date: 19-Sep-2005

285 INTERVIEW: EDWARD KEMP (1/2) The playwright and dramaturg talks to Dominic Cavendish about adapting Nathan the Wise (1779), now at Hampstead Theatre. “Faith is one of the issues that fascinates me most, it’s one of the itches I have to scratch.”Recording Date: 19-Sep-2005

286 INTERVIEW: EDWARD KEMP (2/2) The playwright and dramaturg continues to talk to Dominic Cavendish about adapting Gottold Ephraim Lessing’s Nathan the Wise. “It goes back to the debate about which is greater: Look Back in Anger or Waiting for Godot?”Recording Date: 19-Sep-2005

287 WEST END REVIEW Kate Bassett, David Benedict and Alastair Macaulay discuss Playing with Fire (National), Nathan the Wise (Hampstead) and Epitaph for George Dillon (Comedy Theatre). Heather Neill hosts. “Joseph Fiennes has got more self-conscious and that’s doing weird things to his stage presence.”Recording Date: 30-Sep-2005

288 SOAP BOX DEBATE: IS SHAKESPEARE A MILLSTONE AROUND THE NECK OF BRITISH CULTURE? Playwright Adriano Shaplin and journalist Miranda Sawyer v director Michael Boyd and playwright Kwame Kwei Armah. Rachel Halliburton hosts. Volume: loud. “We’re only now beginning to understand how much courage it took him to carve coherence from chaos.”Recording Date: 30-Sep-2005

Recordings from October 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 8

289 WEST END REVIEW Kate Bassett, Jane Edwardes and Heather Neill assess Shoot the Crow (Trafalgar Studios) and Richard II (Old Vic). David Benedict hosts. “There’s a problem at the heart of this production, and that – for me – is Kevin Spacey.”Recording Date: 14-Oct-2005

290 REPUTATIONS: HAROLD PINTER (1/3) At the end of his birthday week, a day after he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, Pinter’s work is critically assessed by Michael Billington, Dan Rebellato, Charles Spencer and Ian Smith. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “Pinter’s later work tends to get one metropolitan performance, then fall into a limbo, a no-man’s land.”Recording Date: 14-Oct-2005

291 REPUTATIONS: HAROLD PINTER (2/3) Michael Billington, Dan Rebellato, Charles Spencer and Ian Smith continue to discuss the playwright’s achievements. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “I have to say that most of the literary theoretical stuff written about Harold is rubbish.”Recording Date: 14-Oct-2005

292 REPUTATIONS: HAROLD PINTER (3/3) Michael Billington, Dan Rebellato, Ian Smith and Charles Spencer conclude their discussion. Q&A. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. Sound quality: variable. “I do think that to say that Pinter is the greatest playwright since Shakespeare is excessive.”Recording Date: 14-Oct-2005

293 ESSENTIAL SHAKESPEARE CD: Coriolanus (sample) Laurence Olivier as Coriolanus. From Act 3, Scene 3. Directed by Peter Hall, July 1959, Stratford-upon-Avon. [British Library]. “For you, the city, thus I turn my back. There is a world elsewhere.”Recording Date: 26-Oct-2005

294 ESSENTIAL SHAKESPEARE CD: Romeo and Juliet (sample) Ian McKellen as Romeo and Francesca Annis as Juliet. From Act 2, Scene 2. Directed by Trevor Nunn, August 1977, Aldwych. [British Library] “It is the East and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon.”Recording Date: 26-Oct-2005

295 ESSENTIAL SHAKESPEARE CD: Richard III (sample) Antony Sher as Gloucester and Penny Downie as Lady Anne. From Act 1, Scene 2. Directed by Bill Alexander, June 1985, Barbican. [British Library] “Villain, thou know’st no law of God nor man.”Recording Date: 26-Oct-2005

296 ESSENTIAL SHAKESPEARE CD: The Comedy of Errors (sample) Roger Rees as Antipholus and Michael Williams as Dromio. From Act 3, Scene 2. Directed by Trevor Nunn, August 1977, Aldwych. [British Library] “No longer from head to foot than from hip to hip: she is spherical, like a globe.”Recording Date: 26-Oct-2005
Recordings from November 2005Total Number of Recordings from this month: 9

297 WEST END REVIEW Schiller’s Mary Stuart (Apollo) and Sam Shepard’s The God of Hell (Donmar). David Benedict, John Nathan and Matt Wolf opine. Kate Bassett hosts. “The God of Hell? If you can imagine a hybrid of the Coen brothers and Pinter, that’s what it is.”Recording Date: 01-Nov-2005

298 WEST END REVIEW Ducktastic (Albery) and Heroes (Wyndham’s Theatre) contemplated by Kate Bassett, John Nathan and Matt Wolf. David Benedict hosts. “They [The Right Size] are celebrating and mocking magic and bad jokes at the same time.”Recording Date: 01-Nov-2005

299 WEST END REVIEW Otherwise Engaged/As You Desire Me. Heather Neill, Charles Spencer and Matt Wolf assess Simon Gray and Pirandello revivals. David Benedict hosts. “To say that it takes too limited a view of society would be like saying Restoration Comedy does.”Recording Date: 11-Nov-2005

300 WEST END REVIEW Pillars of the Community (Henrik Ibsen) and Paul (Howard Brenton), running at the National. David Benedict, Heather Neill and Charles Spencer discuss both. Matt Wolf hosts. “Paul begins absolutely orthodoxically – and then it suddenly gets really quite interesting.”Recording Date: 11-Nov-2005

301 THE RECEIPT Perrier Award-winner Will Adamsdale and sonic artist Chris Branch present an exclusive excerpt from their new show, running at London’s BAC. “A man loses his job and searches a city for the owner of a receipt. Is he a hero or a complete idiot?”Recording Date: 17-Nov-2005

302 INTERVIEW: ANNA MADELEY The actress, currently starring in Coram Boy at the National, talks about an extraordinary year and the challenges of cross-dressing to Philip Fisher. “It’s really quite funny being a boy with a crush on a girl – when you’re a girl.”Play: Coram BoyTheatre: National Theatre, Olivier Recording Date: 22-Nov-2005

303 REPUTATIONS: SARAH KANE Cleansed post-show discussion with directors Dominic Dromgoole and Sean Holmes, brother Simon Kane and academic Graham Saunders. Aleks Sierz hosts at the Arcola Theatre. Recorded live. Excerpt. “She was very much, and perhaps still is, perceived as this writer who just wrote gratuitous violence…”Recording Date: 22-Nov-2005

304 WEST END REVIEW Coram Boy (National) and Tom Murphy’s Alice Trilogy (Royal Court). Kate Bassett, Jane Edwardes and Heather Neill discuss. Mark Shenton hosts. “By the end of Coram Boy, there’s this wonderful transcendence because of Handel’s music.”Play: Coram BoyTheatre: National Theatre, Olivier Recording Date: 25-Nov-2005

305 OFF-WEST END REVIEW The Hypochondriac (Almeida) and The Emperor Jones (Gate) receive differing treatment at the hands of Kate Bassett, Jane Edwardes and Mark Shenton. Heather Neill hosts. “I thought the directing of The Hypochondriac was extremely uninspired at best and hopeless at its worst.”Play: The Emperor Jones Theatre: The Gate, Notting Hill Recording Date: 25-Nov-2005

Recordings from December 2005

Total Number of Recordings from this month: 7

306 ROYAL COURT SPECIAL (1/4) Aleks Sierz gets artistic directors Bill Gaskill, Max Stafford-Clark and Ian Rickson to look back and ponder the task of running Britain’s new writing powerhouse. Recorded live. “Regime change is always very healthy because you get new energy, and the Court is a narrative.”Recording Date: 01-Dec-2005

307 ROYAL COURT SPECIAL (2/4) Bill Gaskill, Max Stafford-Clark and Ian Rickson reflect on their experiences as artistic directors and on differing development processes. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “Dramatic changes were happening in women’s lives… and Caryl Churchill was a very important model.”Recording Date: 01-Dec-2005

308 ROYAL COURT SPECIAL (3/4) Bill Gaskill, Max Stafford-Clark and Ian Rickson field questions about the Court’s past, present, legacy and future. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “The Court places the writer at the centre in a way that no other theatre does. It’s worth fighting for.”Recording Date: 01-Dec-2005

309 ROYAL COURT SPECIAL (4/4) Bill Gaskill, Max Stafford-Clark and Ian Rickson conclude their insiders’ assessment of the Court’s 50-year success story. Aleks Sierz hosts. Recorded live. “We used to stay up all night and wait for the notices – as if we were on Broadway.”Recording Date: 01-Dec-2005

310 WEST END REVIEW Edward Scissorhands (Sadler’s Wells), Once in a Lifetime (National), and Sunday in the Park with George (Menier) discussed by David Benedict, Alastair Macaulay, Mark Shenton and Matt Wolf. “You think: Matthew Bourne does this so much better – why isn’t it as strong as it could be?”Recording Date: 16-Dec-2005

311 REVIEW OF THE YEAR 2005 David Benedict gets Jane Edwardes, Alastair Macaulay, Mark Shenton and Matt Wolf to nominate the highs and lows of the theatre year. “No secret ballots, no horse-trading just the unfettered passions of five of London’s finest.”Recording Date: 17-Dec-2005

312 NEW YORK SPECIALThe actor John Patrick Shanley, who’s currently wowing Broadway with Doubt, talks to Philip Fisher in New York about his work in film and his passion for theatre. “I was never particularly interested in Broadway as a venue, but when Doubt moved there it improved.”Recording Date: 31-Dec-2005