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(Not) Getting smaller
Well, the reviews for Smaller are in (theatre of course doesn’t even exist outside of London, according to the media) – and it’s not good news. People don’t like it. The kindest has been three stars out of five; the cruelest one star. The FT gave it two stars but savaged it, starting with the line: “As dismal evenings in the theatre go, Smaller is not offensive – merely slow, obvious and banal.” The general feeling is that the writer – TV soap author Carmel Morgan – has extended a particularly traumatic episode into a full play. It left quite a few critics depressed – “remorselessly bleak” said The Telegraph. And yet, as ever, everyone praises Kathy Burke as director. It…
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Shepard’s delight
The Quare Fellow has opened and is in the middle of its run. It’s got positive reviews in the FT, The Guardian and The Stage. Meanwhile, Kathy’s next play has been announced. She’ll be directing the European premiere of Sam Shepard’s The God Of Hell at the Donmar Warehouse, Covent Garden, between 20 October and 3 December. The black comedy, described by Shepard as “a take-off on Republican fascism”, follows dairy farmers Frank and Emma, who led an uneventful life until a mysterious man starts hiding in their basement and a government official knocks at their door. Sam Shepard has written 45 plays (11 of which have won Obie Awards) including True West, Fool for Love and A Lie of the Mind (Donmar)…
