The Week UK 01Feb2020

28 ARTS

Thisnotoriouslytricky work bythe

Germancomposer KurtWeill isthe

mostambitiousand arguablythe

finest ofhis American period(1935-

50),said TimAshleyin The

Guardian.Asprawlingwork with

morethan30 named roles, and

based onanearlierplay byElmer

Rice,StreetScenedepicts24 hours

inthelives ofalargelyimmigrant

communityin atenement blockin

Manhattan’sLower East Side.Plot-

wise,thefocus is themurder of an

unfaithfulwife byaviolentalcoholic

husband.Musically, thepiece is hard

to classify and“at times uneven”.

Big operatic arias are juxtaposed

withBroadway numbers,and

“jazzcollideswith Rossini”: at

times youcan’t help feeling Weillhas

overreached himself. YetforallStreetScene’s limitations, Opera

North have “done itproud”.Stickwithit, anddirector Matthew

Eberhardt’sproduction emerges as “fine, engaging musictheatre,

beautifully done”.

Eberhardt hasindeed doneagreat job, agreedFionaMaddocks

in TheObserver. The stagingisclear; the“dramatic hierarchy of

characters laid outdeftly”. Andthe versatileOpera North

orchestra,persuasively conducted by Kurt WeillspecialistJames

Holmes, soundsjust athome inWeill’s “bluesy, operative

sonorities” as it does in Wagner or Mozart.Thesinging, too,

is first-rate,said George Hall in The Stage. GiselleAlle nis

“luminous”asthe desperate,carin gAnnaMaurrant;

RobertHayward,PaulGibsonand

AlexBanfield alsoexcelinkeyroles;

andseveralmembersoftheOpera

Northchorus seizetheirmomentsin

the limelight,givingfineindividual

performancesin a“focusedstaging”

thatmakes“the bestpossible case

forthe piece”.

IagreethatOperaNorthhas

donethisdifficultworkproud,said

RupertChristianseninThe Daily

Telegraph,butthatdoesnotmean

it ha sovercome the core problems

of the piece.Thescoreveers

awkwardly betweenthe idioms of

“Berlincabaret,Viennese operetta,

Broadway musicalandHollywood

B-picture”–andthere’snodramatic

drive or psychologicalinsight.

There’s nodenyingthat some

passages arelaboured and preachy, said Richard Morrison

in The Times. YetoverallIfoundStreetSceneacompelling,

energetic,and f ascinating piece. “I’d pay tosee it again.”

THEWEEK1February 2020

Drama

Stars reflect the overall quality of reviews and our own independent assessment (5 stars=don’t miss;1star=don’t bother)

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OHAN PERSSON; CLIVE BARDA

Theatre: Uncle Vanya

Harold Pinter Theatre, London SW1 (0844-871 7622). Until2May Running time: 2hrs 30mins ★★★★★

Thisravishingrevivalof“oneofthe

greatestplays”intheworldcanonis

amust-see,saidDominicMaxwellin

TheTimes.Itissuperblydirectedby

IanRickson;thedilapidatedcountry-

housesetdevisedbyRaeSmithisas

“beautifulandasstiflingasanOld

Master”;thefreshadaptationof

Chekhov’sscriptbyConor

McPhersonis“almostimpossibly

contemporaryinthewayitpacksso

muchlust,wit,rageandregret”into

itsbriskbutunhurriedrunningtime;

andeveryperformanceisfirst-rate,

“everycharacterfullyrealised”.

Vanyaisthequintessential

Chekhoviananti-hero–aperennial

underachieverfacinguptothe

disappointmentsofmiddleage,said

DominicCavendishinTheDaily

Telegraph.Andit’shardtothinkofbettercastingforthepart

thanTobyJones,whogivesabravuraperformance–anda

profoundlymovingone.Ihave seen angrier Vanyas–Roger

Allam,for example;and moremelancholyones(notably,Simon

Russell Beale). ButIdon’tthink I’veseenanyactorbetter catch

Vanya’s“tragicomicmixtureoffuryandfutility”.Nor isJones

theonlyone tomakehismarkon thisproduction. The cast is

a“store-house oftalent”.RichardArmitage,forexample,is

outstandingin the roleasthe“tree-hugging”doctor,Astrov.

YetforalltheundoubtedclassofJonesandArmitage,itisthe

women who “stealtheshow”,saidQuentin LettsinTheSunday

Times.AimeeLouWoodisquite

brilliantasVanya’sself-doubting

niece,Sonya–all“dolefulgawping”

atthedashingAstrov.However,

thevery“bestthing”aboutthis

productionisthe“ravishinglybored,

passionateandtender”performance

fromRosalindEleazarasYelena,

saidPatrickMarmionintheDaily

Mail.Lastyear,Eleazarstolethe

showfromMatthewBroderick

inTheStarryMessenger.Here,

shelightsupthestageastheyoung

wifeofanelderlyprofessor.It’sa

career-definingperformance,said

DemetriosMatheouinThe

HollywoodReporter,andjust

oneofthedelightsofa“brilliantly,

buoyantlyaccessibleproduction”

thatperfectlycapturestheessence

ofChekhov:thefunnieritgets,the“sadderandmorepainfulit

becomes”.It’sexhilaratingtheatre.

JonesandEleazar:first-rate

Opera North deliversacompelling and energetic production

The week’s other opening

The WelkinLyttelton,National Theatre, LondonSE1

(020-7452 3000). Until 23 May

Lucy Kirkwood’s play, set in rural Suffolk in 1759, is about a

young woman convicted of killingachild, who claims she’s

pregnant–aclaim that could save her from hanging. It’s full of

interesting colour, but ultimately isa“bit ofaslog” (Telegraph).

Opera: Street Scene

Leeds Grand Theatre from 12 February, then touring (operanorth.co.uk) Running time: 2hrs 45mins ★★★

Album of the week

Wire: Mind HivePink Flag £9.99

IfMind Hivewere thedebut fromahot new band, one suspects

that “what’s left of the music press would be doing their nut over

it”. This latest collection from the London rockers, pioneers of art

punk in the 1970s, feels “sinewy, stripped bank, precise and pop-

facing”, even on its roomiest, Eno-esque tracks (Guardian).