Friday, March 29

Tag: Lucy Bailey

And Then There Were None – The Alexandra
West Midlands

And Then There Were None – The Alexandra

When first I read “And Then There Were”, a novel sensibly shorn of its original title, I closed the final page convinced that no one for a thousand pounds could work out how the murder was done. The explanation was so profoundly improbable and bizarrely unlikely as to warrant a well-deserved grunt and a huff and a sigh of incredulity from this reader. However, despite my lowly opinion, the book has found its place as a (if not “the”) best-selling crime novel of all time. Quite a claim in such a packed genre with everyone from Richard Osman to Alan Titchmarsh having a crack. We love murders! We love detectives - be they little old ladies, vain Belgians or high-functioning sociopaths in deerstalkers. This tome by the indisputable monarch of murder, Agatha Christie, (Dame of the British Empi...
Much Ado About Nothing – The Globe Theatre
London

Much Ado About Nothing – The Globe Theatre

Shakespeare's Globe has started their summer 2022 season with a cracking production of the ever popular Much Ado About Nothing.  Lucy Bailey's production maintains Shakespeare's traditional Italian villa setting but updates it to 1945.  The production is fast moving, very funny and extremely comprehensible while retaining all the essential elements of the original text. Joanna Parker' s design conjures the exterior of an Italian villa with grassy banks and ivy-covered walls.  The updating to 1945 provides the opportunity for some gorgeous period costumes supervised by Caroline Hughes and contemporary music played beautifully by an ensemble of five accordion players who moved around the stage accompanying the action. Director Lucy Bailey makes extremely good use of the...
Witness for the Prosecution – County Hall
London

Witness for the Prosecution – County Hall

A handsome husband; a beautiful, mysterious, foreign wife; a wealthy older woman, now dead; a disgruntled housekeeper. Absolutely classic ingredients for an enjoyable whodunnit, and last night’s performance was up there with the best. From the opening minutes, which were some of the most dramatic I’ve seen in a long time, you know that this production is something special. The lighting, the choreography, the pounding background music and cries of anguish – everything about this production delivers punchy blows to the senses, taking your breath away and pulling you to the edge of your seat. Even the scene changes are slick and stylised, pure poetry in motion with not a beat missed. The Chamber at London County Hall provides the perfect setting for this Agatha Christie masterpiece...
Witness For the Prosecution – London County Hall
London

Witness For the Prosecution – London County Hall

‘Witness For the Prosecution’ started its life as a short story called ‘Traitor Hands’.  Agatha Christie herself thought the story wasn’t anything special, but her theatre producer Peter Saunders, thought he could develop the story into a courtroom drama for the stage.  Christie challenged him to adapt the story into a play and he took her up on it.  She dismissed his attempt but went ahead and wrote her own version which became one of her greatest achievements as a dramatist.  The play received its West End debut at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1953 and the following year opened on Broadway. The setting at the London County Hall could not be bettered for its authenticity.  The courtroom feel, fits perfectly with the play’s location at the Old Bailey, where the...
OLEANNA – West End transfer and tour for David Mamet’s provocative play
NEWS

OLEANNA – West End transfer and tour for David Mamet’s provocative play

Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Jonathan Church Productions’ critically acclaimed production of David Mamet’s highly provocative drama Oleanna, directed by Lucy Bailey, will tour the UK this Summer from 8th June, visiting Cambridge, Bath, Southampton and Malvern, before transferring to the West End’s Arts Theatre, London from 21st July to 23rd October 2021. The production will star Rosie Sheehy as Carol and Jonathan Slinger as John, reprising their roles from its sell-out run at Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio last December. When Oleanna opened nearly thirty years ago, it caused uproar amongst audiences from New York to London. Set on an American campus, a seemingly innocuous conversation between a college professor and his female student warps into a nightmare which threaten...