The Entertainer, Old Vic – Review

THE PLAY
You know that sometimes you notice in the programme that a play is going to last nearly three hours, and it makes you worry if you’ll survive – because a lot of plays don’t get going until the second half? Well, “The Entertainer” at the Old Vic Theatre is not one of those plays. In fact, as soon as Billy Rice (John Normington) entered the stage, singing and talking to himself in a hilariously sarcastic manner, I got the feeling I was really going to enjoy myself over the next few hours. I wasn’t wrong.

I’ve watched “My Family” on and off for years. I remember watching “The Darling Buds of May” every Saturday for the longest time when I was a kid. Seeing Robert Lindsay and Pam Ferris playing Archie and Phoebe Rice was a delight. Pam Ferris as Archie’s alcoholic wife Phoebe, dealing with her husband’s shameless cheating and her father-in-law’s constant sarcastic discontent makes you feel for her over and over. She’s always the centre of Archie’s (bad) jokes when he’s dying on the stage in front of forever decreasing audiences – as well as having not-so-subtle digs at her at home.

Archie practically lives off his father’s reputation – for being the last great musichall entertainers – and hasn’t had any major success in all the years he’s been an entertainer. The only thing he’s achieved is debt, sarcasm, deep-rooted cynicism and being self-proclaimed “dead behind these eyes”. He appears to behave the way he does with his wife because he still feels guilty after his first wife caught him in bed with Phoebe and died shortly after.

Doing a bad comedy act in a convincing manner with zero irony takes a man confident in his own ability. Robert Lindsay had us all in stitches as he did one bad and inappropriate joke after another, following a number of dodgy self-penned songs with added dance-routines and juggling Laurence Olivier’s cane. Yet, even though he claimed to feel nothing and care about nothing – it’s clear that he does. There’s something in his eyes, something that comes out towards the end of the play, that gives you the idea that maybe it’s just wishful thinking.

John Normington as Archie’s father made me giggle from his perfect sarcastic timing alone. He delivered his spewing, understated lines in such a delightful manner that I looked forward to every single one. David Dawson as Archie and Phoebe’s son Frank was trying to make peace when things got out of hand, lending his singing voice to distract the others from the burning issues, but not even he manages to keep his frustration under wraps when it all boils down to it.

Emma Cunniffe as Archie’s daughter Jean, by his first wife, started out telling her family that she was just taking a weekend out of the city to visit them. It soon enough became clear that she had been suffering for having a brain and wanting to have a career on her own instead of accepting her man’s offer to be a housewife and wallflower. Throughout the play she was told again and again that she’s different from the rest of the Rices, the only one with a hope for the future they said. Emma has got a great way of conveying Jean’s growing frustration as she learns more and more secrets about her – to be fair – screwed up family.

Keeping in mind this was the first preview night, I thought they did remarkably well. This truly has all the makings of an amazing production. There were only a couple of minor glitches – Pam and Robert forgot their lines once each, and needed the aid of the prompter. Sometimes this kind of thing can ruin a play, but not tonight. Both actors recovered smoothly, and acknowledged their little mistakes with such charm, the audience warmed to them even more.

All that taken into consideration, I was incredibly impressed. The ending was just spectacularly understated and a perfect wrap of a fantastic production. Give these guys a couple of days, and it will be flawless. I would be surprised if this doesn’t extend beyond the end of May – as scheduled – and into the summer.

AFTER
It’s not every day you get to hang around the same space as Robert Lindsay, Pam Ferris and Kevin Spacey. Simultaneously. It’s like being a kid in a chocolatefactory. Or a journalist in a celebrityfactory. I thought long and hard whether I should go up to Robert Lindsay and say something. He stood right behind me for the longest time, yet I couldn’t bring myself to bother him. After being on the stage for practically three hours, he could probably use at least a break and a drink first.

Eventually – when he was on his own – I made my way, wearily, in his direction. He willingly made eyecontact, I decided to go for it and told him I thought his performance was fantastic – which was nothing short of the truth. He said it was always nerve wrenching to do the first performance in front of an audience, and added that this had been ‘an odd one’. I can only guess he was referring to a certain someone in the audience shouting out – during his comedyshow – “I know where you live!” I found Robert to be very approachable, humble and genuine. We parted as he blew me a quick kiss.

Later I caught up with David Dawson as he passed me on the stairs, and he was equally sweet when I informed him that I was indeed impressed with his performance. I was going to add that I remembered him from “Richard II” (Old Vic – 2005), but didn’t want to hold him up unnecessarily.

I hadn’t expected to see Kevin Spacey – again – as he’s supposed to be in America filming “21″/getting ready for “A Moon For The Misbegotten” on Broadway, but it was nonetheless a pleasant surprise. I found myself wanting to wish him luck on the transfer of the critically acclaimed play – but figured he would probably survive without my well-wishing. After all, a Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best Actor In A Play for his role in “Moon” speaks for itself.

Catch “The Entertainer” at the Old Vic from 23rd February until 19th May.

Star Performance: Robert Lindsay – review