Another classic play beamed live to cinemas last night. This was a memorable experience. For the first time I wondered if it was actually better to see a theatrical production on the big screen. I admit you lose the "live" element of being in the theatre but this is compensated by the closeness of the actors on a screen. You just don't see the expressions on their faces so clearly half way back in the stalls. These days the use of cameras has taken the cinema experience to a new level. We watched from the back of the stage as well as the front and sides.
I left home twenty minutes before the start time of 7 pm and was home just after 9.15. Car parking outside the cinema for £1 and I booked a superior seat for £15. This had a view and legroom you never get in a theatre. So there are compensations. Maybe this is the end of trips into London to see a play. I will still go locally to the theatre, and to Oxford and Stratford. But the opportunity to see classic plays I have never seen before is wonderful. It was such a shame The Duchess of Malfi from the Globe Theatre was the same night as book club. Next up is Tom Stoppard's new play The Hard Problem in April.
Onto the Young Vic's production of A View from the Bridge. I didn't know the story and was surprised to find it could have been a few episodes of a superior soap opera. But the writing is so good and the acting and direction top drawer, and I do like family dramas. Apparently the Dutch director Ivo Van Hove has reinvented the play, but I have nothing with which to compare. Mark Strong is brilliant in the lead as Eddie and Phoebe Fox superb as his niece. More surprising was how good was Nicola Walker as Eddie's wife, she being famous in our house for playing Ruth Evershed in seven series of Spooks. She must have been good for the series to keep her so long.
Finally the music is from the Kyrie in Faure's Requiem. This brings it a haunting quality to what was a very enjoyable evening.
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