Over There, Royal Court | reviews, news & interviews
Over There, Royal Court
Over There, Royal Court
Brilliant!
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Why do writers end up parodying themselves? The late Harold Pinter was a case in point: in the 1950s and 1960s, his voice was fresh, his pauses enigmatic and his style delivered the shock of the new. In the 1970s, he played imaginative games with theatre form; in the 1980s, he discovered politics. By the 1990s, his new plays seemed to be parodies of his own style. The dialogues were too Pinteresque, the pauses risible, the form contrived.
Why do writers end up parodying themselves? The late Harold Pinter was a case in point: in the 1950s and 1960s, his voice was fresh, his pauses enigmatic and his style delivered the shock of the new. In the 1970s, he played imaginative games with theatre form; in the 1980s, he discovered politics. By the 1990s, his new plays seemed to be parodies of his own style. The dialogues were too Pinteresque, the pauses risible, the form contrived.
more Theatre
Harry Clarke, Ambassadors Theatre review - an entertaining curio
Billy Crudup essays multiple characters as a fake Englishman abroad
Uncle Vanya, Orange Tree Theatre review - Chekhov served up choice
Trevor Nunn, age 84, makes a blinding return to form
For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy, Garrick Theatre review - exhilarating, moving show makes West End return
Ryan Calais Cameron brilliantly uses storytelling, music and verse
The Lonely Londoners, Jermyn Street Theatre review - evocative portrait of the migrant experience
Roy Williams and Ebenezer Bamgboye skilfully bring Sam Selvon's novel to the stage
The Duchess of Malfi, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - the good end badly, but act best
Francesca Mills' protagonist is the vivacious, truthful heart of this fascinating production
Standing at the Sky's Edge, Gillian Lynne Theatre review - heartwarming Sheffield musical arrives in the West End
Olivier Award-winning musical offers a celebration of community and a stirring exploration of a brutalist building's history
Cruel Intentions, The Other Palace review - uneasy vibes, hit tunes and sparkling staging
Jukebox musical gets toes tapping, but the thrill of transgression ain't what it used to be
The Human Body, Donmar Warehouse review - Keeley Hawes and Jack Davenport excel in an intriguing staging
Lucy Kirkwood’s latest mixes the birth of the NHS with a Brief Encounter-ish romance
Nachtland, Young Vic review - German black comedy brings uneasy humour and discomfiting relevance
Something to laugh at and plenty to think about in a tonally inconsistent 90 minutes
Cable Street, Southwark Playhouse review - engaging new musical in an impressive staging
The rise of fascism in the 1930s East End is given a human face
Out of Season, Hampstead Theatre review - banter as bullying
New comedy about masculinity and music is predictable and clumsy
Shifters, Bush Theatre review - love will tear us apart again
New play about love and memory is exquisitely written and beautifully acted
Add comment