Skip to main content

Review of Speed The Plow at The Playhouse Theatre, London

Ever since the announcement of Speed The Plow and its stage débutante star and wild child Lindsay Lohan, the internet and press were as wild as her with comments about the likely disaster than the production was to become. I saw comments ranging from her not knowing lines, to her walking away from the show and the comment that her understudy was likely to perform more than her. I have no interest in naysayers generally and would rather form an opinion myself really and have not kept tabs on her commenter's much since the début.

However a whole paragraph on Miss Lohan from me is ironic really as I didn't attend Speed The Plow to see her as I was here for the opportunity to see Richard Schiff on stage. The West Wing is probably my favourite TV series and I was never going to miss a chance to see Toby Ziegler in action live. He is not a disappointment for me and issues forth David Mamet's wordy script in all the fast paced manner I am familiar with from the aforementioned television series.

The play itself at the start for me was really too fast paced. The curtain was up, the lights snapped on revealing Robert Innes Hopkins' crisp and clear office room set and Schiff (as newly promoted head of production Bobby Gould) and Nigel Lindsay (Gould's associate, Charlie Fox) were wording each other nineteen to the dozen. For a few minutes, coupled with the American accents, it was too much. Then thankfully for whatever reason, the mists cleared and I started to know what the hell was happening.

Schiff and Lindsay are good in their quick repartee and perform Mamet's grim portrayal of the film industry well together and their conversations quickly become even more seedy after the arrival of Lohan's "temporary secretary" Karen. Its hard to tell where Lohan's character lies in the play at first. Bringing in the drinks and standing between the two old gents just looking pretty, and on departure from the stage, its clear where the two gents see her in their crude bet. Any more story would be a spoiler, but  it clearly becomes evident that all characters are relevant here, and maybe have hidden agendas?

All performances are fine and everyone now has all their lines in order, although we are well down the run now, so this would be expected. Lohan is no car crash like many predicted and for a first stage performance, personally I think it is rather good. Both the elder statesmen are as you would expect very good and more than satisfy. My own personal gripe really is with the play itself, while it is undoubtedly witty and very clever (perhaps even knowing itself to be so), it is not entirely endearing. Having said all that though, I enjoyed it, albeit far from my favourite of the year.

«««

Performance viewed: Wednesday 19th November, 2014 at the Playhouse Theatre, London.

Speed The Plow continues at the Playhouse Theatre, London until 29th November, 2014. Details can be found at http://www.playhousetheatrelondon.com/speed-the-plow/

Popular posts from this blog

Review of The Jolly Christmas Postman at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The Northampton Royal and Derngate have a tradition of producing a family play in the Royal Theatre alongside a spectacular pantomime in the Derngate, offering a more subtle Christmas treat for a family audience. However, this calendar staple has been missing since 2019, when the fine Pippi Longstocking graced the Royal stage and an unmentionable virus reared its head. Based on this triumphant return this year in the guise of The Jolly Christmas Postman , it has been heartily missed. Adam Peck has truly lovingly adapted  The Jolly Christmas Postman  for the stage from the original story by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. From the beginning, this is a proper cracker of theatre entertainment that captivates an occasionally distractable audience of all ages. The story follows the adventures of a friendly postman beset by an influx of mail on Christmas Eve and his adventures with an assortment of Fairy-Tale characters. What is, in essence, a kid's show aimed primarily at young children ...

Review of Cinderella at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Over the last few years, the annual Royal & Derngate pantomime has been produced by Evolution Productions and from the pen of Paul Hendy. It is safe to say they have been crackers, bringing everything you expect and more from traditional pantomime. This year, they are all back, this time with their take on the very traditional story of Cinderella . So, does the magic dust fall once again successfully on the stage of the Derngate? The answer is yes, as Evolution and Hendy prove they have found the magic formula to create another successful pantomime for Derngate. There are moments this year, though, where it is too clever for its own good, with some exceptionally good jokes lost to the panto audience (yes, I got the Hacker joke, but the tumbleweed reaction suggested it didn't hit the audience present). Cast-wise, it is a solid and assured collection of performers who don't always hit the mark. Joanne Clifton, as the Fairy, is a perfect fit for panto with her infectious smile...

Review of Never Let Me Go at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005  Never Let Me Go is a slightly difficult novel to categorise at times, but most call it a science-fiction speculative piece. With some limited spoilers for those unfamiliar with the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted work, Ishiguro paints a world where people, clones, are created for the benefit of medical science, destined to become donors to rid the world of deaths from solvable diseases for the rich. It is a powerful piece and while it had a successful film version back in 2010, could a stage version, now running at Royal & Derngate, work similarly? The answer to that is yes, and perhaps even better than the film version. The intimate world of the theatre feels like a stronger location for the story to unfold, bringing the piece straight to the audience with no potential interruption or break to the tale. We learn of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's (the main protagonists) fixed life through their eyes and live their life for the long, but never dr...