Arcadia @ The Library Theatre @ The Lowry

And so to The Lowry, for Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. It was great to see The Library Theatre's first production since its temporary relocation: putting it politely, the basement space in the Central Library was getting so tired and unfit for purpose, it was beginning to make the company look a bit amateurish. Last time I saw something there (Tom's Midnight Garden, I think), the set looked so flimsy, my heart was in my mouth every time a door slammed shut.

I'm writing a story for The Stage about the move, so you'll excuse me if I don't go into too much detail as yet. I'll link when they publish. But the idea is thus: three productions a year at The Lowry until 2014, when hopefully LTC will move into the Theatre Royal on Peter Street, which has been operating as an amusingly cheesy nightclub for years (I went there when it was Discotheque Royale, and just about survived). I hope the move comes off, although I can't help but think a completely new space - like The Lowry - might end up being cheaper and better. Refurbishing and running Victorian buildings is never easy.

Anyway, the relocation to The Lowry throws up one other issue - greater expectations. Next week, after all, Arcadia is in the same building as The National Theatre On Tour's version of Alan Bennett's The Habit Of Art. Not everyone in Chris Honer's production was up to the task, but those that were - particularly Charlie Anson as Septimus Hodge - suggest that The Library's focus should be on unearthing exciting new acting talent in the next four years.

Here's the review.

The Stage / Reviews / Arcadia

Hamlet @ The Crucible

Reviewing Hamlet for The Stage last night, I was struck by how theatre has succumbed to the cult of celebrity as much as any other creative medium. It's great that John Simm is playing Hamlet, and he plays one of Shakespeare's finest characters well enough to suggest that he may well have a long career as a classical actor ahead of him. But how many people were at The Crucible specifically because it was John Simm in the lead role? Aye, there's the rub.

An up and coming star from RSC would have been, probably, just as impressive. Indeed, when David Tennant was forced to pull out of the first weeks of Hamlet in London last year, his understudy received fantastic notices. But still people wanted their money back. They wanted to see Dr Who.

Which is a shame. After all, the play's the thing. And we lose something of its power if its famous face becomes the attraction rather than the power of the words. Anyway, enjoy the review, below.

The Stage / Reviews / Hamlet

Not another Booker Prize Shortlist piece

It's a strange fact of publishing that the books shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize receive far more column inches than those which sell millions more copies. It's something I mused upon here. Odd that there should be such a disconnect between the books widely read and the books which are critically acclaimed.

Odd because it's not quite the same in other creative disciplines. Poker Face by Lady Gaga (last year's biggest selling single in the UK) is generally recognised as a brilliant, inventive song. This summer's must-see, most popular film - Inception - was also garlanded with praise by the critics.

Perhaps it's because literary fiction is quite literally a different genre to the multimillion selling epics Ken Follett writes - like comparing classical with rock'n'roll. And only rarely (on the Mercury Prize shortlist) do classical and rock'n'roll end up competing with one another. Last time they did, the late composer Nicholas Maw was up against Badly Drawn Boy. No, um, prizes for guessing who won that one.

Having said all that... linked below are my thoughts on that Booker shortlist. Andrea Levy is the only author on this shortlist who can say she's truly a popular author as well - and for that reason she is a rarity, and I hope she doesn't win. Because surely the Booker Prize's true function is to shine a light on excellence that might otherwise go widely un-noticed. Tom McCarthy's C is by no means a rollicking story. Piecing the narrative together is hard work. But like a record which suddenly reveals its glories ten or 20 listens in, it's worth it because he aims for something completely original. OK, so that also makes it maddening. But it's the ambition which is so important if we're not to stumble into an age of bland, repetitive art.

Although admittedly, last week McCarthy said "all art is repetition". True. But then, he also said "if the novel is a car, then the engine is poetry". I rather like that.

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Arts & Life
13 Sep 2010