MargoMusing

The last in Kenneth Branagh's season of plays at the Garrick is John Osborne's 'The Entertainer' , and I went to see it at the weekend.

I booked it some time ago, as originally, John Hurt was due to appear, but sadly he had to withdraw for health reasons, which was a disappointment.

However, the cast still included Branagh (Archie Rice) Greta Scacchi (Phoebe Rice) Gawn Granger (Billy Rice) and Sophie McShera (Jean Rice)

It's not a play I am familiar with, so I went in with a completely open mind.

And left a little disappointed - the play (for those unfamiliar with it) it set during the Suez crisis, with Britain's place in the world declining, and features Branagh as Archie Rice, fading and failing music hall entertainer and womaniser - I felt Branagh was more convincing as the music hall artiste than in conveying the despair and failure of Rice in his private life, and felt that Sophie McShera as his daughter Jean, visiting following her split from her fiance after attending a protest in Trafalgar square, made a somewhat unconvincing rebel.

Gawn Granger as Rice's father was very strong, as was Greta Scacchi as Rice's long-suffering wife, but over all I felt it it was weaker than some of the other productions in the season, and didn't quite achieve the sort of quiet desperation which a  lot of the script seem to require.

I wanted to enjoy it a lot more than I actually enjoyed it!

At the end of November I had a further trip to London, to see the RSC Henry V at the Barbican, and the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company All on her own' / Harliquinade double-bill at the Garrick theatre.

Both were very good.

The Henry V is part of the 'Great Cycle of Kings', directed by Gregory Doran, - Richard II, Henry IV parts I and II, and Henry V.

I saw Richard II (with David Tennant) in Stratford, in November 2013,and then saw Henry IV Pt. I as a live broadcast, and Henry IV Pt. II at Bath, last November, so when I saw that the RSC was reuniting the same cast and performing the pays at the Barbican in London I decided that I would go and fill in the gap, and see the last of the 4.

I enjoyed it a lot. It's pretty much uncut, and Hassell was a convincingly tough and aggressive Henry, and while I am not a fan of Shakespeare's 'comic' Scots / Welsh / Irish Captains, their scenes were done well.

I also found it interesting to be back at the Barbican and to see the contrast between the huge and ornate 'Hamlet' set, and the sparse Henry V one!

I then had the pleasure of meeting up with a friend for a meal and catch up, before heading to the Garrick theatre to see the first of the plays in Kenneth Branagh's company's run (I have ticket for a couple of the others, for next year)

It was a Terence Rattigan double bill - 'All on her Own', a monologue, performed by Zoë Wanamaker, as a widow returning home after a party, a  little the worse for wear, and starting a conversation with her late husband. Poignant and superbly performed.

The second half of the double bill was 'Harlquinade', which is utterly hilarious. I never realised what a talent for comedy Branagh had!

The play is set during a dress rehearsal of 'Romeo and Juliet' in 1946, and features Branagh as Arthur Gosport, an ageing actor-manager who, with his wife is touring the provinces as part of a government scheme to bring culture to the masses.

Both he and his wife, (Miranda Raison) are both utterly absorbed in the play, oblivious to their stage manager's attempts to tell them he will to be continuing the tour, and  the implications of the arrival of young Mrs Palmer and her baby... not to mention issues of bigamy, and farcical misunderstandings.

Hadley Fraser has a slight slight as the First Halberdier, and the whole thing is laugh-out-loud funny. There's something highly entertaining about watching very good actors pretending to be not-so-good actors.

It was a lot of fun.

And then on Sunday, before I went home, I got to meet up with a relative I haven't seen for ages which was great.