James Salter

A new Tennant moves in at the RSC

It can’t be often that visitors to the local chippie in Stratford-Upon-Avon are confronted by a Dalek when they pop in for their cod and chips with a side order of mushy peas. That, however, is exactly what currently greets them in jump-on-the-bandwagon style poster form. If only Doctor Who were around to rescue them.

Pause for a moment, young friend: what luck! For the tenth incumbent is in town, but not in his sci-fi geek-friendly Timelord guise. David Tennant has more lofty aspirations for his Bard-birthplace visit as he tackles the lead role in the RSC’s new production of Hamlet, playing at the Courtyard Theatre until November when it transfers to London.

I was lucky enough to win my battle against the legions of Cybermen frantically calling the box office or logging on to the RSC website when public booking opened last November, and was able to secure myself a ticket to the first preview performance last night. A bargain at £8 I feel, especially considering the £200+ they’re going for on eBay at the moment. (I wouldn’t bother bidding by the way, since you’re unlikely to get in with them). Admittedly I was right up with the/in the gods, but that proved not to be too bad a place at all. For example, I bet you didn’t know Patrick Stewart is going bald! Oh yes, he’s got a huge bald spot coming on!

You heard right, sci-fi geeks: two alien-battling turns for the price of one. Patrick Stewart is playing the nasty old rogue Claudius alongside Tennant. But that’s not where the special offers end, because when you cast Stewart in a role he ends up with two, becoming the Ghost of King Hamlet with the aid of some quick costume changes and a crafty helmet.

But it’s not just spacemen. The cast is full of faces you’ll be pretty sure you’ve seen somewhere before, and a few you’ll definitely recognise from various other theatre productions, films and TV shows.

Even despite having the right famous Patrick Stewart in the cast, most of the focus was inevitibly on David Tennant last night. So how was his performance? Well, he was pretty damn good, taking his portrayal of Hamlet at the beginning of the play as a bit of a hapless young lad still dressed in his funeral attire, transforming him into a man hardened by anguish and touched by death at the end. Yep, sounds a bit boring. But the great thing was it wasn’t. While not going over the top or being too similar to the good Doctor, Tennant managed to inject enough energy and jolly japes to give some great laughs.

Laughs were a common theme throughout the three and a half (or more like four) hour performance. Oliver Ford Davies had some brilliantly comedic moments as the slightly senile Polonius, although the pauses as his mind wandered off did get a little more tedious than amusing when they started to occur every other line. Relief comes when Hamlet shoots him … accidentally of course. Aside from the pausing, he delivers some lines in cracking style.

The award for surprising line delivery has to go to David Tennant though. He managed to get past the overly infamous “To be, or not to be” and oft-misquoted “alas poor Yorick” with no hint of cheese. There were a few gasps from the audience (which strong rumour suggests included the PM Mr Gordon Brown himself) with the emphasis placed on the first syllable of “countryside matters” as he attempts to lay his head in Ophelia’s lap. The loudest gasp seemed to come from a young lad about half way back in the front stalls, clearly shocked that The Doctor would know such a naughty word.

Don’t get me wrong: Tennant’s performance was top notch, but not the best of the night. And no, even though Shakespeare is his gig, even Patrick Stewart was outshone. Penny Downie, playing Gertrude, won it for me. Her balance of central character yet keeping in the background made her stand out all the more. Absolutely fantastic.

The production design is centred around the concept of a mirrored world, with the stage built out of a highly reflective floor and giant obilisquesque (if that’s not a word then it should be) partially transparent mirrors forming the backdrop. And chandeliers. Six of them, no less. And very whizzy they are too. In fact, the whole thing is whizzy and looks a lot better than the building site which the RSC has turned much of the Stratford riverside into as they embark on their major tinkering (or rather complete transformation of) the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres.

Not only one of the best RSC productions I’ve seen to date (which isn’t many, which isn’t nearly enough) but one of the best productions of Shakespeare I’ve seen, the 2008 version of Hamlet comes highly recommended from me. Ignore the haters - they’ve been eloquently dealt with elsewhere - this is top stuff and most of the audience seem to agree.

Aside from the performance itself, my personal highlight was popping into the pub next door afterwards and seeing most of the cast turn up for their private end-of-first-preview-night party. David Tennant may not have appeared before we left (probably because he’d have been mobbed), but we got a Patrick Stewart walk-past and I got a smile from Penny Downie.

The Page Turner (La Tourneuse De Pages)

First of this season of films at my local Film Society last night was The Page Turner. It’s a French film telling the story of Melanie Prouvost, a girl who moves in to a family home to look after a young boy whilst his father is away on business.

It quickly turns out that Melanie shares an interest in piano playing with Ariane, the mother of the household who happens to be a gifted classical pianist. Ariane invites Melanie to become her page turner at an important concert but, unbeknown to her, she has met Melanie previously and has dangerously placed her vulnerable self in the hands of someone who could wreck both her marriage and her career.

In places The Page Turner is gripping, with director Denis Dercourt rarely opting for the obvious. The build to the inevitable climax is, however, at times a little plodding but the peak itself is a masterpiece in understated drama. A decent start to the new film season.

A Mighty Heart

A Mighty Heart is the film version of Mariane Pearl’s account of the events surrounding her husband’s death. Many people will remember following the story of Daniel Pearl on the news. He was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped in Karachi and eventually beheaded.

Michael Winterbottom’s direction relies on flashbacks to fill in the backstory, but fails to ever set the film solidly in the context of the wider political atmosphere in Pakistan and between Pakistan and the US at the time. Due to the focus on Mariane, we as viewers never see the kidnappers or the story from Daniel’s side after he has been taken.

Of course, concentrating on the kidnapping would turn this into an action thriller, which is not what the film is trying to be. Instead it works as a sensitive telling of the endurance and hard work of the team aiming to return Daniel safely home.

Unfortunately, despite some fantastic acting from Angelina Jolie, the film doesn’t work. The story just isn’t engaging (however much it should be) and the constant backtracking only makes for a confusing track to follow. Disappointing.

Knocked Up

I went to see Knocked Up last night, without many expectations above it being a bit of a girly flick (I wanted to see Rush Hour 3, but that’ll have to be another time now). How wrong was I?!

Knocked Up revolves around a girl and a bloke who meet in a club one night and end up sleeping together. Eight weeks later, the bloke gets a phone call from the girl … she’s pregnant. Not wanting to be a total arse, the guy decides they should try and make a go of it. Cue all the getting-to-know-you absurdities, misunderstandings and associated goings on and you pretty much have the rest of the movie.

It may be a little coarse for some tastes, but the balance between chick-flick romance and gross-out movie fart jokes is about right to make it bearable for both sexes. As with most of these kinds of film, a lot of the story is predictable but nevertheless entertaining. The rest of the audience last night certainly enjoyed it too.

Globus

Some potentially interesting new music is on the horizon in the form of Globus, a group of writers, musicians and producers whose work is normally heard in movie trailers and soundtracks.

I caught an advert for them by chance earlier in the week on one of the 24-hour music video TV stations and have just had a look to find out a bit more about them.

Apparently their album, released at the end of this month, features “the rousing, propulsive style usually only heard in the cinema but fused with contemporary and world music rhythms and styles”.

From the preview tracks on their myspace page the album could definitely be something worth a dash to HMV (10% discount card in hand as always).

And you thought this post would be about GRID Computing. Shame on you.

Lampoons!

National Lampoon’s Vacation is a great movie starring the Griswold family who, funnily enough, are going on holiday. After a rather harrowing journey and two deaths on the way, they finally arrive at WallyWorld theme park only to find it shut.

Of course, nobody would be stupid enough to make that kind of error in real life. It’s simple enough to check with a theme park they’ll actually be open before you drive all the way there. Especially if you’re taking a bus load of school kids on a four hour trip to the park.

Or maybe not. Doh!