THE
ARTS
4200 Theatres 2 – Royal Court, National, Milton Keynes
At Imperial, although we went to productions at most West End theatres, including the Mermaid (which was a very intimate theatre and at that time, under Bernard Miles, was adventurous in its choice of plays), the theatre we supported most was the Royal Court. Under the artistic direction of George Devine, this was then at the leading edge of modern theatre. The theatre building itself was, though, anything but ideal. The tube trains constantly rumbled underneath it and, when the gents toilets at the back of the stalls flushed, they drowned out the actors. The problem was that when they rebuilt it the cost was so high that they had to switch to more popular fare. George resigned in protest (and soon after committed suicide) as did we; though I must admit the arrival of Sarah was the main reason.
By the late1970s, when our children were old enough, we started going to the (Royal) National Theatre. Although there were many critics of its concrete brutalism, I thought it was a superb entertainment complex. The main auditorium, the Olivier, is vast; and the open thrust stage is enormous – though we only ever saw one play which made full use of its three dimensional revolve (which allows sets to be changed below the stage and then brought up to take their place above). The Littleton is a conventional proscenium stage, but the stage is even larger – so that it can take three carts, each the size of the largest West End stage, for rapid set changes. The most spectacular use of this we saw was in Tom Stoppard’s ‘On the Razzle’, where the set was switched in a matter of seconds from a full scale 19th century department store to a row of full size houses without even a full blackout. Our favourite stage, though, was the Cottesloe, down in the basement, with a separate entrance. This was very intimate, with just a couple of hundred seats; but the National still deployed its international stars there. The best example was Bill Bryden’s production of a ‘Midsummer Nights Dream’ – which included Jack Shepherd as Puck and Susan Fleetwood as Titania - which later transferred to the Olivier. Everyone sat on cushions on the floor, and in our case on the stage, with the fairies abseiling down on us from above. The star, Paul Scofield, almost fell over Pat every time he made an entrance. In the wedding scene we were all given candles, which provided the lighting for it. Perhaps the main benefit of the National, which receives massive government support, is that it does everything as it should be done – and, not least, there is a director who sits at the back every evening to make certain standards do not slip.
These days we go to the Milton Keynes Theatre, which is very different. It is set up as a touring theatre, so it can attract the shows on tour after the West End. It can seat 1,400, so it is a very large theatre, but the configuration can change (with the 40 ton ceiling moving up and down) from musicals to plays (where the upper circle is cut off). Particularly effective is its concert hall configuration; where the auditorium roof is all the way up and the stage has a roof and sides fitted to reflect the sound out to the audience. The foyer is very spectacular, with the various levels (with their bars) suspended around the core of the auditorium – much like the decks of a ship – where everyone parades at the interval. It has an incredibly loyal clientele, with more than 80% bums on seats, and this attracts the best shows. Best of all, from leaving our seat in the theatre to settling down in front of the television takes us just seven minutes!
We have been, once, to the Globe Theatre. It is an excellent idea, after all it was the baby of Sam Wanamaker who is one of my heroes, and it certainly does give you a feel of how Shakespeare was originally presented. However, surrounded by American tourists there for the experience, I felt it should be seen as part of the heritage industry rather than of the arts!
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