Skip to main content

Review of I Have Been Here Before at The Playhouse Theatre, Northampton

I had my very first experience with J. B. Priestley in September this year with the smart and stylish BBC production of An Inspector Calls. Therefore I was greatly looking forward to seeing the Playhouse Theatre's production of Priestley's play I Have Been Here Before. There is a surprising similarity with An Inspector Calls mysterious Inspector and this plays Dr Gortler, both arrive unexpected and have a dramatic effect on every other single member of the audience.

Playing Gortler is Graham Follett, with the same solid German accent he confidently had in The Dame Of Sark. I commented in my review of that, how much of a star he was with the controlled but very softly delivered nature of his lines. In this he was once again the same, pulling the strings of all the other characters via Priestley's fascinating script, but delicately.

Follett's portrayal actually sets the pattern for everyone in this production as it all feels one of the more naturalistic plays I have seen. While much perhaps comes through the words of Priestley in just writing lines that ordinary folk would say, there is also a lovely style to all the actors in this production. This is very evident in Tony Janney as Sam Shipley and Maggie Holland as Sally Pratt, the two inn keepers that you could very imagine being real people as you stepped off the moors to try and find a bed for the night. Whether you have Maggie Holland putting on the posh telephone voice for potential customers, or Tony Janney delivering his lines in such a tremendously calm approach you think he might fall asleep at any moment, you can't help but think for a bit, these are just real people going about their business.

The three other characters and the recipient of Gortler's plans are the medically resting teacher Oliver Farrant (Shaun Milligan), and husband and wife Walter Ormund (Victor Guse) and Janet Ormund (Juliet O'Connor). Their lives weave together to create the eventual and surprisingly fast developing final acts. It is perhaps a little bit too fast and contrived at times and maye doesn't quite have the payoff that An Inspector Calls has, but the path there is exceptional.

Shaun Milligan is clear and crisp in his portrayal of the well spoken teacher, who while resting finds himself in the middle of an unexpected turn of events. It was great to see Juliet O'Connor for a fourth time, but more importantly for me the first in a predominantly serious role. As before she was very good value, although I will say that I have enjoyed her comedic performances much more. Finally Victor Guse is a tremendously solid presence, happily knocking back the alcohol but holding it like no other Shipley has perhaps seen, but still staying with it to witness his life unravel over just two days.

Production is once again lovely in the glorious compact Playhouse with the most wonderful set from Mark Mortimer. Magnificently evoking in such a small space the welcoming sitting room of the thirties guest house. The single set play allows great concentration on this and also allows director Corinna Leeder to keep everything moving seamlessly. I particularly loved the simple act changes and menacing clock music between them. That part between act one and two was so simple but so very effective.

So again a lovely little production from the Playhouse and very well received from the appreciative audience. Going to the Playhouse always feels unlike any other in Northampton, in that you feel you are attending a little production in a quaint little village somewhere. I really do enjoy seeing what they have to offer and I look forward to the 2016 season with relish.

Performance reviewed: Friday 4th December, 2015

I Have Been Here Before continues at the Playhouse Theatre, Northampton until Saturday 5th September, 2015. For full details visit their website at http://www.theplayhousetheatre.net/


Popular posts from this blog

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...

Review of Bat Out Of Hell - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre

Bat Out of Hell - The Musical was first realised as a stage musical back in 2017, opening at the Manchester Opera House. Since then, it has achieved significant international success. Now, as part of a new UK tour, it has returned to Milton Keynes Theatre, which it previously visited in 2022 during its global tour. The storyline of Bat Out of Hell , written by Jim Steinman, draws on the story of Peter Pan as a basis and evolves it within a dystopian world, where a group of teenagers known as The Lost live forever at the age of 18. This plot is both flimsy and initially confusing; however, within the music of Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman, it finds a rough-around-the-edges polish that allows this weakness to shine through and succeed. At the centre of this group of teenagers is Strat, who, following an unexpected encounter, falls under the spell of Raven. Within this, a megalomaniac lurks, as all dystopian worlds require. This maniac is Falco, the father of Raven and Sloane's husband....

Review of The Rocky Horror Show at Milton Keynes Theatre

Richard O’Brien’s anarchic, surreal, and often incomprehensible musical, The Rocky Horror Show , has captivated audiences for over fifty years now. With this new tour, it feels as fresh and unpredictable as if it had just emerged from O’Brien's vivid imagination yesterday. While another review might seem unnecessary given the countless dressed-up fans who fill every theatre it visits, let’s go ahead and write one anyway. The Rocky Horror Show follows the adventures of Brad and Janet, a newly engaged couple. On a dark and stormy November evening, they run into car trouble and seek refuge at a mysterious castle reminiscent of Frankenstein’s. There, they encounter the eccentric handyman Riff-Raff, the outrageous scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, and a host of other bizarre characters. What unfolds is a science fiction B-movie narrative that is at times coherent and at other times bewildering — yet somehow, that doesn’t seem to matter. I first saw The Rocky Horror Show in 2019 and exper...