Tag Archives: Simon Vail

THE GREAT GATSBY

★★★

Theatre Royal Windsor

THE GREAT GATSBY at the Theatre Royal Windsor

★★★

“Fans of F Scott Fitzgerald and afficionados of ‘The Great Gatsby’ will not be disappointed”

‘On Air’ productions have become a popular staple of Theatre Royal, Windsor over the past few years, with their adaptations of classics read in an authentic studio setting, The style is that of a vintage radio drama, complete with live sound effects, replicating the medium that reached its height in the 1930s and 1940s. The atmosphere is authentically recreated for the latest production of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, “The Great Gatsby”, even if we are a bit unsure of which decade of the twentieth century we are entering. The (uncredited) set design is a gorgeous period concoction, more H G Wells than the Jazz Age, onto which the cast assemble as though stumbling out of one of Jay Gatsby’s all-nighters on Long Island.

Foley Artist (Martin Carroll) urges the ensemble to take their positions at the microphones while the Greenwich Time Signal counts down with its pips and the ‘On Air’ sign flickers. There is little, if any, preamble except for a few bars of Sophie Burke’s ragtime soundtrack at the piano. It is a shame as a hint of the dynamics between the cast and crew ‘off air’ would have lifted the show from its resemblance to a rehearsed reading, albeit a faithful and accomplished retelling of the story. Roy Marsden’s staging coasts in a no man’s land where not enough visual concessions are made for a theatre audience.

We all know the story, narrated from the point of view of Nick Carraway – Gatsby’s neighbour during the summer of 1922 – told in the first person. George Banks takes on the mantle to steer us through the narrative. A calm and articulate presence, Banks shifts from the role of narrator to that of his character within the action but makes no alteration in his delivery between the two. With the exception of Carley Stenson’s rich voiced Daisy Buchanan and Charlie Clements’ imposing Tom Buchanan, the rest of the cast double up. Eva O’Hara is a delightfully tipsy, party-loving Lucille but slightly flat as cheating, celebrity golfer Jordan Baker. Holly Smith successfully conveys Myrtle Wilson’s frustrated social status with her musical Bronx twang, cutting to a crisp RP for her minor cameos. Forgive me for any discrepancies as the programme credits don’t necessarily match what is unfolding onstage.

Barnaby Tobias, in the ‘great’ eponymous role appears to be a late replacement, but he has the strongest grasp of characterisation, peeling away the often-misplaced enigma that is Gatsby, to reveal the fast-talking, jittery awkwardness of a man out of his depth. Doubling as garage owner George Wilson he matches Smith’s ability to switch dialect on a dime.

Much of the playing space is given over to the collection of devices at Carroll’s disposal for the live soundscape. Like the overall theatrical concept, it is underused, and like the overall production, tricks have been missed and temptations for innovation have been resisted. We are left with the nagging question of the purpose of the exercise, especially with a story so iconic and recognised. It does, however, work well as a nostalgia piece but even then, it spurns the opportunity for experimentation that the breakthrough in radio drama originally offered nearly a century ago. There is a laziness that runs through, underlined by the dayglo highlighted markings incongruously splashed on the actors’ scripts. Weakening the sense of period it also heightens the feeling that we are guests at a reading.

Fans of F Scott Fitzgerald and afficionados of ‘The Great Gatsby’ will not be disappointed. Marsden’s adaptation is lovingly faithful to the book, but on the page only, which is where it remains in this interpretation, not quite making the journey to the stage in the style Jay Gatsby would have liked to arrive in.

 


THE GREAT GATSBY at the Theatre Royal Windsor

Reviewed on 12th February 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Simon Vail

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

ALONE TOGETHER | ★★★★ | August 2023
BLOOD BROTHERS | ★★★★★ | January 2022
THE CHERRY ORCHARD | ★★★★ | October 2021

THE GREAT GATSBY

THE GREAT GATSBY

Click here to see our Recommended Shows page

 

The Lady in the Van

★★★½

Theatre Royal Windsor

The Lady in the Van

The Lady in the Van

Theatre Royal Windsor

Reviewed – 27th October 2020

★★★½

 

“From the very first scene it’s plain just how wonderful Bennett’s writing is”

 

For its latest Covid-secure performance since reopening, Theatre Royal Windsor is this week staging Alan Bennett’s ‘The Lady in the Van’ which is presented by a cast of eight, reading from scripts behind microphones on stands. This forms part of their four latest ‘Windsor on Air’ shows.

The opening night crowd was good, with rigorous precautions ensuring their saftey.

‘She came for three weeks – she stayed for 15 years’. This film tagline describes Alan Bennett’s real life relationship with an elderly ex-convent novitiate and bag lady who took up residence in a mimosa-painted van on his front garden. Miss Shepherd was a less than fragrant woman of mystery, who increasingly came to dominate his existence up to her death in 1989.

The playwright (who is himself an actor) appears twice as a character in this piece, which was first published in prose the year of Miss Shepherd’s death. That Bennett is a ‘national treasure’ is entirely a truism, but the line deservedly reflects his droll way with words and his huge success with ‘The Lady’ and others including ‘The History Boys’, ‘Talking Heads’, ‘The Madness of King George III’ and ‘Habeas Corpus’.

It must be daunting for any performer who is asked to walk in the footsteps of either Bennett or another treasure, Dame Maggie Smith, who portrayed Miss Shepherd so memorably in the 2015 film. David Horovitch is the younger Alan – a name that “has as much flavour as a pebble”. He has some nice interplay with his older self who is writing the piece for us. RADA trained Matthew Cottle gives an uncannily good impersonation and both have accent and delivery just right. Jenny Seagrove did not reference Dame Maggie, but gave her own tremulous voiced and feisty interpretation of the part.

From the very first scene it’s plain just how wonderful Bennett’s writing is. But in this radio studio style performance, with the cast glued to microphone stands and their scripts, it all starts to get just a little bit samey by the end of the first half. The sparkling dry quips seem to pepper almost every speech, and I felt that on this particular opening night, the ensemble weren’t quite gelling as they should.

Things get better after the interval when some of the mystery about Miss Shepherd is revealed. Martin Carroll does sterling service as the Foley man (sound effects artist). Other cast members – Sara Crowe, Ashley D Gayle, Elizabeth Counsell (a memorable Mam) and Alan Howell all have their moments in the story. Roy Marsden directs this pleasant entertainment.

 

Reviewed by David Woodward

Photography by Simon Vail

 


The Lady in the Van

Theatre Royal Windsor until 31st October

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
The Trials Of Oscar Wilde | ★★★★ | March 2019
Octopus Soup! | ★★½ | April 2019
The Mousetrap | ★★★★ | October 2019
The Nutcracker | ★★★★ | November 2019
What’s In A Name? | ★★★★ | November 2019
Ten Times Table | ★★★★ | January 2020
Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story | ★★★★ | February 2020
The Last Temptation Of Boris Johnson | ★★★½ | February 2020
The Black Veil | ★★★ | March 2020
Love Letters | ★★★★ | October 2020

 

Click here to see our most recent reviews