Two great productions

Wednesday, 19th December 2007

Delighted to see rave reviews (here, here and here) for Nicholas Hytner’s Much Ado at the National, which I saw in preview last week. Simon Russell Beale is utterly brilliant and hilarious as Benedick, letting us see, and believe in, the touchingly poignant and endearing character below the absurdity; Zoe Wanamaker is a splendid Beatrice, again showing us the vulnerability below the feistiness; both bring a luminous intelligence to their roles; the rest of the cast is excellent.

This is the second terrific play I’ve seen in London in the past week. The day before it finished its run, I managed to catch The Arsonists at the Royal Court. This stunning production by director Ramin Gray, a mesmeric and chilling illustration of the mindset by which people bring about their own destruction through convincing themselves that those who wish to kill them must be appeased, was all the more remarkable -- given its pointed application to today’s global conflict -- for being put on in the very heart of metropolitan intelligentsiaville.

There’s life yet in the British psyche.

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Paul

December 19th, 2007 3:56pm

I read "Biedermann und die Brandstifter" (The Arsonists) for German A-Level. I bet nobody reads it for A-Level these days.

Behind the arras

December 19th, 2007 4:49pm

Absolutely delighted to see one of my few journalistic heroes is a huge fan of one of my few acting heroes. Simon Russell Beale is superb and is one of the few things to cheer about this Christmas. Keep up the good work, Melanie, you really are tireless with the breadth and attention to detail of what you do on this blog. It is one of my must-reads every day.

H Green

December 27th, 2007 6:19pm

ttended the opening night which left the usual luvvie crowd rather gobsmacked.

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Melanie Phillips is a Daily Mail columnist. She also writes for the Jewish Chronicle and is a panellist on BBC Radio Four's Moral Maze. Her most recent book is 'The World Turned Upside Down: The Global Battle over God, Truth and Power', published by Encounter.

For a complete set of Melanie's articles click here