The House of Bernarda Alba (Lyttelton National Theatre, London)
Shortly after writing “The House of Bernarda Alba” in 1936, the Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca was shot by fascist militiamen as a homosexual and a suspected communist.
In doing so, they simultaneously silenced the best Spanish writer of the 20th century and ensured that his final play would be seen as a monument against them.
The drama has now been revived at the National Theater, with Harriet Walter starring as the forbidding matriarch Bernarda Alba, who rules her five adult daughters like a prison warden.
It is a merciless allegory of political, sexual and psychological oppression, embodying the social conflicts of the time in the quintet of sisters restlessly imprisoned in the house of the title.
Each of them has a fantasy of getting their hands on the village nobleman Don Pepe, who is engaged to the eldest of Angustia (the always captivating Rosalind Eleazar).
However, don’t hope for the colors and castanets of the Iberian Peninsula. Rebecca Freckram’s production, designed by Merle Hensel, instead sets the play in a transparent, toothpaste-tinted dollhouse arranged over three floors as a monastery, prison or mental institution. Make your choice.
The drama has now been revived at the National Theater with Harriet Walter in the lead role as the forbidding matriarch Bernarda Alba
Since all the women wear black (with the exception of the youngest, who, in a moment of courageous defiance, puts on a light green dress), color and music are essentially excluded as the family mourns the death of their father for eight years. The only standout item is a brown rifle that hangs on the dining room wall and acts as a signature spoiler.
The big unanswered question, however, is: What does it all mean today? There is a danger that it will be reduced to a modern liberal cautionary tale.
And on the other hand, what should we make of the claim that women become desperate and crazy without men? Perhaps because she was one of the writers of the global TV hit Succession, Alice Birch’s very free version of the play coarsens the poetry of Lorca’s lyrics by peppering them with unnecessary F-words.
Even Walter’s champion Bernarda Alba isn’t immune: “I’m constantly fighting for people to become decent, but the goat will always go to the damn mountains.”
Although such low-key obscenities sully their immaculate home and undermine their high status, Walter (who also appeared on Succession as Logan Roy’s ex-wife and mother of Kendall, Shiv and Roman) is impressively standoffish.
With her parchment skin lined like an Ordnance Survey map, she initially appears distant, dry and cruel.
Color and music are fundamentally excluded as the family mourns their father for eight years
As things begin to unravel, we see the pain behind her stoic mask. And she must pay for ignoring the warnings of her peasant housekeeper (Thusitha Jayasundera) – the only character authorized to speak truth to power.
Eleazar’s Angustias is also notable in a well-rounded cast – he’s approaching 40 and has never been kissed – combining frightening mental fragility with worrying bursts of ferocity.
And as the youngest, Adela, Isis Hainsworth’s wish to be mistreated by Pepe is memorably and forcefully fulfilled through the locked gates of the family compound. James McHugh’s steamy Pepe is not normally seen on stage, but he also haunts the proceedings as a silently cavorting dancer, symbolizing forbidden desire.
This is not a play that ends well for anyone. As great as it is, the conclusion is as shocking as the barbaric execution of its author. Don’t expect winter joy.
Happy crazy Pan takes the stage with a gold crocodile!
Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Lyric Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, London)
Message of great joy! Misfit Theatre, the stage anarchists behind the plays that “go wrong”, are in the West End for Christmas.
Her Peter Pan is an exquisitely choreographed slapstick parody.
They pretend to be brave amateurs and manage it like experienced professionals. All the JM Barrie ingredients are there, with Oliver Reed look-alike Harry Kershaw leading the mayhem as the show’s fictional director, who also plays Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, who end up resenting the cast and audience.
While Adam Meggido’s manic production always flirts with catastrophe, it survives its figurative walk across the plank – and even the dangers of a skateboarding crocodile
Her Peter Pan is an exquisitely choreographed slapstick parody. They pretend to be brave amateurs and manage it like experienced professionals
Equally brilliant is Matthew Howell as a giant Newfoundland dog who gets stuck in the cat flap, while Greg Tannahill as Peter Pan falls into the landscape on overhead wires, spinning like a dysfunctional satellite.
Full of action from start to finish, the series’ narrator (Jean-Luke Worrell) is harassed by his rolling throne, which refuses to move and discards him.
So much can go wrong on this wild adventure that there is definitely a risk of serious injury. But while Adam Meggido’s manic production always flirts with catastrophe, it survives its figurative walk over the plank – and even the dangers of a skateboarding crocodile.
A real blast for young and old, ensuring that once again you really can’t go wrong with Misfit.
Odyssey: A Heroic Pantomime (Jermyn Street Theatre, London)
By Veronica Lee
What a wordplay delight: a clever mix of Greek mythology and pantomime as writer/director John Savournin tells the odyssey in panto form.
His witty script is full of groans – he must have robbed a Christmas candy factory – while David Eaton’s music and lyrics are intricate and equally funny (“Here on Mount Olympus/We can hear the whimpers”).
What a wordplay delight: a clever mix of Greek mythology and pantomime as writer/director John Savournin tells the odyssey in panto form
The superb cast of five – Amy J Payne, Meriel Cunningham, Rosie Strobel, Emily Cairns and Tamoy Phipps – play multiple roles and sing beautifully while giving their all in high-energy performances that only occasionally dip.
This is a wonderfully well-made show that doesn’t require any prior knowledge of the Odyssey – which can actually be helpful, as Mr. Savournin delves into other myths and inserts them into his own story, which gets crazier by the minute (there is one pig-loving people). Monster and a Constipated Trojan Horse) while paying loving homage to pantomime tropes including audience participation. Have fun.
But kudos to Theater Royal Stratford East, who canceled Jack And The Beanstalk’s press appearance at the last minute for “technical reasons”.
Luckily, someone has found the magic beans and you can see Nikhil Singh Rai as Jack in this traditional panto until January 6th.