J & I went to yesterday's matinee. We are always worried when we go to the theatre because we are more often than not underwhelmed. Not this time. Funny lines, great actors and some social commentary thrown in- a very good first play for writer Stephen Beresford. A dysfunctional family on the edge of disintegration. Perhaps not quite Checkov but definitely more laughs. J could see a touch of Noel Coward's 'Hay Fever' we'd seen at Theatre on Lake in the Lake District last year.
The ever wonderful
Julie Walters plays the dying hippy mother - master of comic timing. I've loved her in her TV and movie roles and I want to see more of her theatre work. Just look at her - all that warmth, humianity and full of life energy she brings to all her roles.
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| Julie Walter in Last of the Hauffmans |
Rory Kinnear plays her wastral gay son beautifully. - great contolled performance that makes you laugh and love him. He deserves all the awards he gets and I will certainly see plays he is in from now just because I know I will see a great performance - yes I know I have been slow catching on. I didn't know he was the son of a comic actor I loced in old movies but had never known his name or of the work he did outside films, and I didn't know he had died when he was 54 in a horse riding accident when Rory was 10.
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| Rory Kinnear in Last of the Hauffmans |
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| Rory's father Roy Kinnear |
Article on Rory talking about his father: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3670797/Rory-Kinnear-becoming-an-actor-was-a-way-of-getting-to-know-my-father-better.html
Helen McCory plays the angry daughter with her own 15 year daughter problems (daughter played
Isabella Laughland by who I am sure we'll see lot more of in the future), with great passion. Because I was up in the circle, I didn't recognise her from all her TV roles. Not suprising as she can make herself look very different - just look her up on google images. Looked fabulous in her tight jeans and the beautiful black velvet baggy trousers with wonderful white baggy chiffon blouse. She is married to who had the lead role in the great US series Homeland which is one of the few that I will probably watch a second series of. They live here in LA while he works there.
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| Helen Mcrory, on the left, looking half her age in Last of the Hauffmans with Isabella Laughland who plays her daugher. |
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| Helen Mcrory with her usual powerful look seen in many a good TV drama. |
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| Helen Mcrory with her husband Damien Lewis, both having that perfect LA look. |
Matthew Marsh plays the devious?(I missed whether he gets the house) doctor with the usual flair I am used to seeing in his many TV roles yet here I saw more fun and funny side that he doesn't often get to play on TV.
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| Matthew Marsh in Last of the Haussmans |
Taron Egerton plays his first professional stage role after graduating from RADA this summer. It's a difficult role with little dialogue for ages, having to be slightly creepy, menacing and innocent all at the same time for the first half of the play, which he manages to carry off.
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| Taron Egerton in Last of the Haussmans |
I'm sue any play with the wonderful Julie Walters in it, has to be great. Lucky you, I have never seen her perform.
ReplyDeleteYou really brought forth a few memories with the post and the great Roy Kinnear, I loved him. I remember when he died, such a silly way to go. He had great comic timing. He always layer the same character I guess, but then a lot of comics did/do I guess. He was never going to get the girl, he was the perfect fall guy. This is the first American thing that I have seen Damien Lewis in and liked.
Wasn't Homeland an amazing series? I saw it about a month ago on DVD. We sat and watched as many episodes as we could over a few evenings. We are now keenly awaiting the new series, which I read today is more about Brodie and the CIA woman's relationship.