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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
The Homecoming, Young Vic Theatre review - Pinter's disturbing masterpiece is given a low-key revival
Unsettling investigation of patriarchal family and sexual relationships has uneven force
Dreaming and Drowning, Bush Theatre - dense and intense monologue about Black queer identity
Terrific showcase for writer-director Kwame Owusu and his performer
Infinite Life, National Theatre review - beguiling new comedy about a world of pain
Annie Baker delivers a richly satisfying piece about hungry women
£1 Thursdays, Finborough Theatre review - dazzling new play is as funny and smart as its two heroines
Seldom does one see a writer's vision so perfectly realised on stage
A Sherlock Carol, Marylebone Theatre review - merry, but mirthless
Seasonal Eng Lit mash-up returns with its festive message of forgiveness
Macbeth, The Depot, Liverpool review - Ralph Fiennes leads a conventional production in an unconventional space
Touring show lands first in Liverpool with a terrifying relevance
Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Lyric Theatre review - adult panto delivered as jolly chaos
Mischief Theatre’s sight gags are faultlessly timed, though the verbals need a trim
The House of Bernarda Alba, Lyttelton Theatre review - dazzling darkness
Harriet Walter is a toweringly monstrous matriarch in Lorca’s tale of cruelty and repression
Odyssey: A Heroic Pantomime, Charles Court Opera, Jermyn Street Theatre review - topsy-turvy Homer
Five heroic women and two instrumentalists go Hellenic, with panache
A Christmas Carol, The Old Vic review - older, wiser, and yet more moving
Christopher Eccleston is a Scrooge for the ages
The Witches, National Theatre review - fun and lively but where's the heart?
Roald Dahl adaptation is busy to a fault but lacks emotion
Oh What A Lovely War, Southwark Playhouse review - 60 years on, the old warhorse can still bare its teeth
Blackeyed Theatre's touring production has its pros and cons, but is never less than entertaining
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