The Children's Hour, Comedy Theatre, London

The Comedy Theatre

The Comedy Theatre in Leicester square is traditional in look, with tiered red velour seating facing the large, open stage. The set served the play well, while only one room was on show a door along the back wall and tall set showed it to be a much larger setting. Also, set change was done with the characters still on stage, by people in period dress, and this was done without interrupting the performance. While it looks nice, however, the seating is quite claustrophobic and there is of course the age old problem of ‘that big head in front’.

I was drawn to the production itself somewhat superficially by Keira Knightley, who alongside Elisabeth Moss as Martha Dobie are a pair subject to a childish accusation with dire consequences. The lie in question is of lesbianism. It is set in 1930s New England, at a time when this was only just emerging as an issue, and the play draws attention to an aspect of prejudice not normally touched on. It was interesting, if not a little scary to see the characters reactions- controlled disgust, showing how far the world has come. It was written by Lillian Hellman and first played in 1934, when the issue was so controversial it was banned in England and various American states.

The cast was quite large, being set in a school, there were a number of pupils, two teachers, an aunt, a fiancé, a grandmother, a housemaid and a very minor character of vegetable man. All performed quite well, and apart from Keira Knightley during scenes of shouting, the American accents were impressively solid. A moment of excitement came when I recognised one of the schoolgirls- omg its Panda from Skins! (Lisa Blackwell).

Bryony Hannah who played Mary Tilford was the star for me. She was only in the 1^st half but she commanded every scene she was in. Yes, her character was infuriating and as her cruel lie escalated I physically wanted to get on stage and slap her, but this was the mark of fine acting. She was never still, rolling around the stage, climbing on furniture. Her control of the other characters was amazing, especially over her friends..she stabbed one with a pencil before demanding her money. She looked impressively young considering she is actually 26 and was working alongside teen actors. She is an unknown actress, but can only go on to do great things, because she was really fantastic.

The cast. Hannah in pyjamas 2nd from right

And Keira. Firstly she was so skinny! Secondly, her acting was..as it always is. Quite good, starting as a haughty female, just like Elizabeth Bennett or The Duchess or in fact. But by the end of act 2 she was in hysterics, crawling about the floor (Her friend had just committed suicide though).  I thought she was going to as well, leaving us on a dour note, but the end was quite ambiguous.

The beginning was quite low, the action mainly being in the second act. Afterwards I felt emotionally drained, but I did really enjoy it. I would recommend it (although the tickets are quite expensive). The couple in front of me did leave at the interval though so it’s clearly not for everyone. If you don’t fancy a trip to the theatre then watch the film, The Loudest Whisper, a 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn. 

O!thello

‘I am not what I am’, the classic line spoken by Iago in Act 1 of ‘Othello’, for me sums up this particular theatre experience. Having studied the play at school I was sceptical as to how much I’d enjoy it, school having sucked the joy out of the play with its meticulous dissection and necessary quote learning. Shakespeare is often very long and requires focused attention or the plot will become lost among the babble of Jacobean English language. So I was shocked at how much I enjoyed the performance.

Baron’s Court Theatre is a very small venue, seating up to about 90 people, in a basement location. Being situated below a pub did have its drawbacks, as we could sometimes hear people walking around the floor above. Also, there was not a lot of legroom and it got rather hot, the combination of many bodies and theatre lighting leading to my cheeky snack of chocolate fingers unfortunately melting in the pocket of my coat, and I noticed one audience member with her head between her legs attempting to avoid a fainting fit. However, this did not detract from the play, performed by newly formed theatre company ‘Swivel’, which seemed to be mainly young actors- definitely not a bad point that they were all attractive.

First impressions were perhaps not all that good. The set design seemed a little confused, with traditional wooden furniture mixed with swivelling office chairs. Also, it was a modern dress production, and some choices, like Desdemona’s hair in her first scene were just a bit odd. On the issue of Desdemona, played by Devon Lang Wilton, she is actually Australian, and the accent sticks out compared to rest of the cast- especially her British father. However, her bouncy and enthusiastic acting, which starts of as a bit annoying, actually becomes a real benefit, making the play easier to understand and very modern. Her literary husband, Othello, played by El Razzougui , also has an accent, although seems more appropriate, considering Othello was a moor, a rare aspect of Venetian Society at that time. However, the acting of Razzaougi seemed a bit one sided- he was either shouting or crying with little in between.

But the majority of the play was excellent. There were genuine moments of humour, like the synchronised movements of the soldiers, and one scene where all the male characters are drinking and basically behaving like it’s a lad’s night out. Also the fight scene following the drinking scene was choreographed brilliantly, with the audience emitting nervous laughter as punches and kicks went flying, turning to slight panic when knives were revealed.

One thing I will say is this is not to play to take your very Conservative granny to. One scene involves a bare chest, and when Iago (Tom Fava) and Emilia (Jennifer Shakesby) kiss, things get a bit heated, and the same thing happens with Cassio (Tom Stanley) and Bianca (Gemma Barrett). But for the most of us, this just adds to the entertainment value.

For me, the star of the play was undoubtedly Tom Fava as Iago. He played his part as the villain very well, and the sense of malice can be felt by the audience. He also interjects humour and delivers some brilliant asides and monologues. Actually, all the actors seemed very enthusiastic and made this play a really good night out. It’s being performed until February 20^th, so go! You can even have a meal/drink in the pub upstairs before. This is an excellent production of one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, and I especially advise this for anyone who saw Hamlet at the National Theatre with Rory Kinnear- another brilliant modern dress production.