What did you think of the show?
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theatreguys 
Monica and Robin
When We Were Married.
As soon as Mrs Northrop took to the stage it set it up for the rest of the play, which was hilarious. All the characters are beautifully drawn and well acted which made for a very successful production, well done Tim Sheader. Donmar has done it again.
As always good to see you both, Mike and Fredo and hope all goes well for your final day tomorrow Fredo.
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When We Are Married
What a joyous evening at The Donmar . This very funny play lifted our spirits before Christmas.Thank you Fredo & Mike also hoping all goes well for today.
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When We Are Married
This was a wonderful Christmas treat. Thank you, Fredo. The witty text was brought thoroughly to life by an excellent cast.
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When we are married
I love this play. Of course it starts with a great text , with humorous dialogue and great characters. Priestley’s ear for dialogue really captures the expressions of his native Yorkshire. Then Tim Sheader brings the play to life on a very smart Donmar stage. All the cast are wonderful. I really don’t want to single one out from a real ensemble performance. With the outside world such a worrying place this production brought real escapist joy and a special Christmas treat. A bonus was seeing old friends on the coach and having Fredo with us on the journey home.
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When We Are Married
What a treat was in store for us! Thought it would be and I was right. From start to finish every member of this great cast made it such an enjoyable performance and, once again, the intimacy of the Donmar made me feel as I was there in the room with them! Thanks Fredo and Mike.
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When we were married
What a delightful show entertaining from start to finish with lots of laughs along the way yet another successful theatre trip thanks Fredo & Myke
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When we are Married
A lovely evening’s entertainment with a great cast, including many favourites such as Siobhan Finneran, Sophie Thompson and Ron Cook. But I recognised the handsome John Hodgkinson from having taken over from SR Beale as Titus Andronicus earlier at Hampstead, earlier in the year. An actor with immense stage presence. New to us were Janice Connolly as the hilarious Mrs Northrop; her musical contributions put everyone into a merry mood. But the whole cast played together well – and at speed since the director, Tim Shead, kept things going at a fair old pace. Ron Cook is almost the star of the show, who can keep his comic timing and knockabout business with ease, can sometimes hint at sadness beneath the surface of his character. He is immaculate. The plot, of course, is as silly as was Fallen Angels, but who cares. It was the acting and direction that gave such pleasure. BUT do we believe that the couples will now remain happy ever after? I particularly doubt the future of poor Annie and the truly dreadful Albert, and the future of Herbert with the very funny but shrewish Clara. Will those who need to make amends for past behaviour change their spots so quickly?
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When we are married
Excellent script and fantastic cast. The interaction and story telling between the couples was so good and it made for a very enjoyable evening. It was also so good to see you both.
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Fallen Angels
What spiffing fun! We enjoyed every minute of this play. Such a fabulous cast, the costumes, the set and the maid – how wonderful was she! As I didn’t know the play too well, I did suspect we may never see Maurice, but he finally made his entrance and we were treated to a silly, but fabulous ending.
Thanks Guys, for an evening of sublime entertainment.
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Fallen Angels
On a dismal night this was ideal entertainment; one can discard any discussion of the play. It’s a piece of froth – but what froth. Champagne has fizz and this gorgeous production produced a lot of that. The set and costumes (and hair) were a treat. As someone once said “everybody ought to have a maid” and the show opens with such a creature, the delectable Saunders merrily played by Sarah Twomey, who continued to provide hilarity for scene change antics on top of her actual role in the play. I did NOT buy a programme but the picture of Ms Twomey on the Menier website looks nothing like the actor we saw (any comments?) The play is almost a two-hander with the divine Janie Dee and Alexandra Glbreath working everything up into giddy climaxes, especially the inebriated supper. They both delivered a hilarious display of comic timing, and Dee, especially, moves round the stage looking gorgeous in her lovely costumes. The men, poor souls, have nothing much to do beyond waiting in the wings. A hoot of an evening, I’d say.
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Fallen Angels
Over one hundred years old and standing the test of time. What a production; the beautifully written hilarious and perceptive script was faultlessly delivered with energy and great comic timing in a well staged production. A hugely entertaining night out with such talented actors.
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Fallen Angels
What an experience! At one stage, I was beginning to think that I was watching a foetal version of Waiting for Godot, but then the Godot turned up, bow tie and all, and that was that. The pleasures of the evening lay less in the tissue-thin story-line than in the stunning performances and the very smart Wodehouse-inspired production. Absolutely immaculate, from the handsome set, the entertaining costumes, to the actors’ energy, pitch-perfect timing and vivid characterisations. Not exactly cutting-edge British dramatic writing for today’s audiences perhaps, but a superb example of how to take comedy seriously.
Garth
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Fallen Angels
Christopher Luscome’s production of this Noel Coward play was perfectly set in an art deco 1920’s flat complete with baby grand piano. Julia and Jane, beautifully dressed for that period and the best of friends for many years, began to see the cracks in their marriages and lusted after a long lost beau, Maurice. Becoming increasingly inebriated over dinner, served by perfect in every way, Saunders (what couldn’t she do? Fluent French, pianist, singer, dancer), they imagined being with Maurice. It was a light hearted, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable play with plenty to laugh about. Those who missed it, missed a treat! Great to see Fredo and Mike too, thank you both.
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The Spy Who Came in From The Cold.
We thoroughly enjoyed the play. Think you have to suspend disbelief in practical reality and enjoy the play the way it was staged which was cleverly done and then it became interesting entertainment. It was well presented with a slick cast though Robin did wonder how they could stage it? Worked well in the round and do like the theatre.
I also fancy seeing the Richard Burton film though I believe Elizbeth Taylor visited the rehearsals a lot as Claire Bloom was in it which of course R.B and her had a fling?!
How wonderful it is seeing all these different productions which of course is down to Fredo and Mike. Thank you both for giving us these opportunities.
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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Keith and I really enjoyed this, particularly Keith, even though he knew the ending.
He wondered how they would enact climbing the wall when suddenly the wall came up from the floor!
I really like the theatre, enjoying the difference of being ‘in the round’.
The actors gave their all and were excellent in a quite complex storyline.
Thank you Fredo and Mike yet again for providing us with another excellent opportunity.
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THe Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Thoroughly enjoyed last night’s spy mystery” The Spy that came in from the cold” First half not so easy to hear and follow but second half much better with a surprise ending. Loved the theatre, Soho Place(in the round), not been there before but sadly bad design meant it took a long time to exit!!!
Marian C
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The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Another interesting evening at the theatre. We both enjoyed this production particularly John .The wheeling and dealing of the upper echelons was chilling especially as their spies were just expendable . The minimalist setting worked well and the Berlin Wall coming unexpectedly through the floor was unexpected .Shall not add any spoilers but I was very fearful in one particular scene .
Thank you again Fredo and Mike for your encouraging us to see such a variety of theatre. Lovely to see you last night
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The Spy who came in from the Cold
I have never read any books by John le Carr’e, and have never really been a fan of this genre. It always seemed a bit “Boy’s Own, ripping yarns” to me. I often wonder what sort of information spies pass on, and with all the “turning” and “double agent” stuff going on is the information worth all the trouble or would it all have “come out in the wash” anyway? My view of spies is the same as my view of politicians. What is the point of them?
However, pushing all of that cynicism to one side, I thoroughly enjoyed the production. Superb performances from the cast, with Rory Keenan’s portrayal as Alec Leamas verging on mesmerising. The minimal staging, and excellent mood lighting created quite a tense, almost sinister atmosphere.
People have described the first act as a little slow. Yes it was. But I felt that was right, as it served to give the audience time to absorb the farrago of lies and treachery that was unfolding.
The second act, by comparison, simply flew by, as theories and expectations formed during the first act were either confirmed or shattered.
Overall, an extremely enjoyable evening at a unique venue. I would describe the Soho Place as the Donmar Warehouse on steroids. Can’t give higher praise than that!
Thanks Fredo and Mike for another great night out. There was just something missing during the coach journeys. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was!
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The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Well-deserved plaudits to the extensive cast, all of whom gave us precision-drilled and committed performances. Many of them undertook more than one role. Few escaped the chore of wheeling on to the stage from all four corners a succession of drinks-trollies, tables, chairs, tea trays, mattresses and other items aimed at scene-painting/scene-shifting for the in-the-round presentation. Call me crotchety, but the succession of micro-scenes and the associated to-ings and fro-ings was a tad irritating. Likewise, in-the-round requires that the actors are ceaselessly circling each other in an effort to be fair to the audience. This fragmented format maybe was unavoidable, given the tortuous plot. To be fair, the staging worked better in the second half – where a very convincing bit of water-boarding, the tribunal scene and the dynamic Berlin Wall livened things up no end.
The Le Carré industry has over the decades drawn our attention to the human frailties associated with the defence of the realm and I suppose that now, at a time when spying is once again hitting the media headlines, it’s good to be reminded of what it can entail.
Garth
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The Spy who etc
I have to admit that I’ve never read a Le Carre novel. However, given the ubiquity of his fictional creations, I don’t need to have read the books to know that they represent the secretive and dangerous world of British spies during the Cold War as Britain’s influence and power declined after WWII and the Suez Crisis. Most of Le Carre’s anti-heroes are dedicated, hard working patriots who’ve worked their way up within a system run by the old boy public school network, just like many of us. Unlike us, they’ve also been trained in how to kill an assailant with their bare hands…… Is it a surprise that the books are so ubiquitous?
I’ve enjoyed film and TV adaptations of Le Carre’s work so welcomed the opportunity to see The Spy on stage. At first, with the in the round staging and the cast coming and going during many, many short scenes, I found it difficult to engage with the action. Rory Keening was a sympathetic protagonist (see above) as Leamas but his unlikely affair with his beautiful and completely smitten younger colleague strained my credibility. The introduction of George Smiley, Le Carre’s most famous creation, was more effective as he manipulated events and acted as Leamas’s sort of spirit guide (not that any spy worth his salt would admit to such a thing).
After the interval, we reached the nub of the story with Leamas subject to convincingly staged torture and trial by his counterparts and the authorities in East Berlin. The mood was dark and threatening and, as the labyrinthine plot was gradually revealed (no spoilers here), I was gripped. So much so, that I might seek out the film, starring Richard Burton and made in 1965, and watch it while sipping a glass of whisky and toasting Alec Leamas.
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