Monday 27 August 2012

The Last of the Haussmans (22/08/2012)

In a change to the regularly scheduled pictures, here's a 290 word review of Last of The Haussmans @ The National Theatre. Enjoy!




Matinees of plays you’ve been waiting for for a long time are very often disappointing in twofold. One, you’ve been waiting a long time to see it, and so have built your hopes up for an exciting and entertaining play, and two, matinees can be more flat in energy than a performance on a day where there’s only one show.
However, even discounting that, I was less than impressed with Last of the Haussmans. A play with an interesting premise, I found that it lacked in more places than it tickled, and it was a bitter sort of taste that was left floating around, possibly with all the alcohol that littered the stage.
With a saving grace in Rory Kinnear, who, as far as I was concerned, held the entire thing together by regularly – and deservedly – stealing the show with brilliantly timed one liners and a beautiful relationship with physical comedy and a can of beer, I must confess the other big names let themselves down. Helen McRory had her moments of light, but there weren’t enough of them, and Julie Walters’ character was either underwritten or underplayed, I’m not sure which.
The set, however, was utterly beautiful, and the use of the revolve in the Lyttleton was almost as gorgeous as the hanging dreamcatchers and patchwork colours of the 1960s which made up some kind of background to the story. Though only enough, I think, for some riotous shouting and a bit of misplaced music.
Not the best production I’ve seen at the National, I have to say. But I wasn’t tempted to walk out, simply because I hoped it would get better.

Runs through October 11th 2012
Not the best, nowhere near.