The other night I went to see Michael Frayn's early (1975) play Alphabetical Order at the Hampstead Theatre. I'd never heard of it before, though I know and like some of Frayn's other stuff, so I didn't really know what to expect, and I enjoyed it very much.
It's based in the cuttings library of a provincial newspaper, which dates it straight away, because I would imagine such archives are kept digitally these days - and there are also a few political references that place it in the 1970s - but it didn't actually feel dated in terms of the theme, the characters and so on.
I thought the set was effective, particularly the transformation during the interval from chaotic mess to organised sterility. The acting was very good - Imogen Stubbs was the only one of the actors I already knew, and she was great, but I particularly liked Jonathan Guy Lewis as John (and it turns out that I have seen him before, because he was in Soldier, Soldier, which I used to watch religiously, but I don't remember him at all).
I guess the theme of the play is the tension between order and freedom. I got the impression that Frayn is rather coming down on the side of freedom - efficient, organising Lesley is the least sympathetic character, seeming to ride roughshod over the lives and feelings of the others - but he does show that it's not quite as simple as that. Lesley recognises that her organisation is 'compulsion', and the chaos of the first half is not entirely positive - they rather seem to be stuck in a rut. Maybe that's just my instinct for tidiness biasing me, though!
I'd never been to the Hampstead Theatre before, and I was impressed. The current theatre was only built in 2003, and it's very well designed, both in the theatre itself and in the other areas, with a lovely outside area at the back. It's a small space, and we felt very close to the action, but it didn't seem cramped at all. And the staff were very friendly when we arrived with precisely 1 minute to spare, having missed the train from Richmond.
It's based in the cuttings library of a provincial newspaper, which dates it straight away, because I would imagine such archives are kept digitally these days - and there are also a few political references that place it in the 1970s - but it didn't actually feel dated in terms of the theme, the characters and so on.
I thought the set was effective, particularly the transformation during the interval from chaotic mess to organised sterility. The acting was very good - Imogen Stubbs was the only one of the actors I already knew, and she was great, but I particularly liked Jonathan Guy Lewis as John (and it turns out that I have seen him before, because he was in Soldier, Soldier, which I used to watch religiously, but I don't remember him at all).
I guess the theme of the play is the tension between order and freedom. I got the impression that Frayn is rather coming down on the side of freedom - efficient, organising Lesley is the least sympathetic character, seeming to ride roughshod over the lives and feelings of the others - but he does show that it's not quite as simple as that. Lesley recognises that her organisation is 'compulsion', and the chaos of the first half is not entirely positive - they rather seem to be stuck in a rut. Maybe that's just my instinct for tidiness biasing me, though!
I'd never been to the Hampstead Theatre before, and I was impressed. The current theatre was only built in 2003, and it's very well designed, both in the theatre itself and in the other areas, with a lovely outside area at the back. It's a small space, and we felt very close to the action, but it didn't seem cramped at all. And the staff were very friendly when we arrived with precisely 1 minute to spare, having missed the train from Richmond.
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