Entertaining Mr Sloane

• Bern

  • Location: Dover
  31 January 2009     19:3714421
  #1       report
  We have just been to see Entertaining Mr Sloane at the Trafalgar. It was Pants!! It was obviously not going to get any better so we left in the interval. A funny, slightly dirty, drily witty play ruined by over-acting and poor performances. A shame, as all the actors (Imelda Staunton and the not-fat not-Welsh one from Gavin and Stacey) have good TV and film reputations, but they are so not stage actors!!! So different to the Stoppard we saw a couple of weeks ago, which was fabulous - clever and absorbing and layered and well presented and acted and played. Loved that one!!! Anyone else got any reviews?!
• Brian Dixon

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 23 Sep 2008
  • Posts: 23,940
  31 January 2009     20:1414426
  #2       report
  thats i dont bother going to these things,at least if they are on the telly you can either turn over or turn of at no cost.
• howard mcsweeney1

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 62,352
  31 January 2009     20:3514427
  #3       report
  i have seen that joe orton play so many times in repertory and in the old play for today slot on the box.
  
  
  wonderfully acted each time.
  
  
  you must have just been just unlucky bern, on the tv one, the great beryl reid played the female lead.
• Bern

  • Location: Dover
  31 January 2009     21:4214439
  #4       report
  Beryl Reid was a hard act to follow - she was superb. Great Play, great history, but pants production at the Trafalgar!! Maybe I was unlucky, but I have to say - I love the play - but I really felt the action tonight was not the result of an early blip in the production, but that the actors are simply not stage material. Great in their own medium but not on the stage.
• howard mcsweeney1

  • Location: Dover
  • Registered: 12 Mar 2008
  • Posts: 62,352
  31 January 2009     22:3914445
  #5       report
  such a pity that mr orton left his mortal coil so young, his plays were hilarious and always had a message behind them.
  my favourite was "loot".
  his plays seemed to have one underlying thing(in my opinion), the squeaky clean type will get stuffed, whilst the toerag will always flourish.
  
  i am sure that the "black adder christmas carol" took this on board