Beautiful Thing, Arts Theatre

Date: April 26, 2013

Present: Nic, Pierre-Yves, Luuk, Kauser, Sandra, Carole, Nicola DL, Barbara (guesting for Gill)

Dinner: Pre-theatre at SUDA, Thai Cafe, Covent Garden

A charming, feel good play, with a happy ending that was not always foreseeable for those who hadn't seen the film or play before.  Suranne Jones (Corrie fame) played the Mum with energy and clear enjoyment.  However, there was something lacking, something ambiguous about her love for her son albeit they were obviously a more functional familial unit than that of her son's love interest and his unseen but violent and homophobic father (whose off stage presence created the tension felt by those unfamiliar with the story).  It was the relationship and blossoming romance between the two boys that really charmed us: warm, gentle and charmingly and humorously portrayed.  

We left smiling and singing Mama Cass songs, which was in stark contrast to how I left Peter and Alice on the same street the night before.  And how it must have delighted the cabbie!

Peter and Alice, Noel Coward Theatre

Present: Nic, Helen, Kate

Date: April 25, 2013

With Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw starring, we had high expectations and we weren't disappointed.  Some initial reviews were shaky.  Yes, it was a bit of a slow grower but, once it warmed it up, it grew and grew.  It was a treat to see two such accomplished actors at work.  Their interactions were natural, their conversation real - sometimes interrupting or speaking over each other.  They both could represent pain and joy vividly, even in their recollections.  There was a sense that Alice loved being inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, whilst for Peter, being forever Peter Pan seemed to have brought nothing but heartache - I don't know how true that is.  Unfamiliar with the life of Peter Llewellyn Davies, Ben Whishaw reduced me to tears (both inside the theatre and out, when Kate asked what had made me cry) as he relived his time in the trenches and we learned how his story ends.  And throughout there was a sense of discomfort from what we know of the ambiguous relationships both of the writers - Carroll and Barrie - had with their young inspirations "Alice" and "Peter".

A brilliant and bargain night's theatre!