This was the only episode in the current series of Alan Yentob's "imagine..." that caught my attention. The Telegraph gave the programme five stars. Obviously there was quite a lot about Tom Stoppard's latest (and most personal) play Leopoldstadt. But it was his back catalogue that was of more interest to me.
His breakthrough play (of which we had clips from various productions) was one of my three favourites of all time: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. (of course they are). It premiered in a church hall before going to the Edinburgh Festival. It wasn't well received at first, but the top theatre critic Kenneth Tynan of the Observer was thrilled and it went on to be a big hit at The National Theatre and everywhere. I saw it at the Oxford Playhouse on 24th May 2005, performed by English Touring Theatre.
Far superior, and in my view the best production, was by the National Theatre starring Daniel Radcliffe and Joshua McGuire that was shown live in cinemas - see my post of 21st April 2017. I much preferred it to the film version that won the Golden Lion at Venice that starred Gary Oldman and Tim Roth, with Richard Dreyfuss as The Player. Not a patch on David Haig. I'm glad the clips included bits from Hamlet in juxtaposition with our two hero's. Throwing up Shakespeare's language against that of modern day is superb.
After Rsencrantz disappears at the very end, it is left to Guildenstern to utter his immortal last line: "Rosen-? Guil-? Well, we'll know better next time. Now you see me, now you-".
There was a rush through many of Stoppard's plays that followed this success. I went to see Arcadia at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre (review 5th March 2015), The Real Thing at the Oxford Playhouse (review 28th June 2012) and the wonderful Rock and Roll at the Duke of Yorks theatre on the 1st August way back in 2006. That cast included Rufus Sewell, Brian Cox, Sinead Cusack, Anthony Calf and Alice Eve. It's such a shame that there are so few of his other plays that are performed, I would jump at the chance to see Travesties, Jumpers, Night and Day etc.
The programme also reminded us that Stoppard is such a great screenwriter. From Shakespeare in Love (on record), Enigma, and collaboration with Steven Spielberg on films such as Empire of the Sun, The programme returns to Leopoldstadt at the end, and we hear about Stoppard's Jewish roots, and his extended family murdered by the Nazis. Fleeing Czechoslovakia and settling in England, Stoppard rates his life as an extremely lucky one. It is us who are lucky to have him.
No comments:
Post a Comment