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Theatre Reviews
A Life In The Theatre

DETAILS
Venue: Apollo Shaftsbury Ave W1V 7HD Tube: Picaddilly Circus Performances: Mon – Sat, 7.45pm Mats Thu & Sat 4:00 Duration: about 2 hours Price: UKP16-UKP40 To order tickets: Click here to order tickets for showings at Apollo (opened: 2 Feb 2005)

Reviews:

02/05 (Apollo Theatre, original cast)

A Life Past Television
In what seems like the making of strange bedfellows, Joshua Jackson and Patrick Stewart use A Life In The Theatre to throw back at the silly posturing of actors, and end up making themselves more respected ones, in the process.

Joshua Jackson stars as John, a theatrical hopeful who noses up to the prudent and longstanding professional Robert (Patrick Stewart) at one of their first rehearsals. What begins as an admirer/admired relationship behind the stage of a failing town theatre, turns into a lengthy dissection of theatrical theory, relationships and the switching of many roles both on and off stage. As shows and costumes change, John and Robert discuss their roles as actors - John growing into his thick performer skin and Robert slowly melting out of his.

The set is no more than a ratty couple walls and a few halogen lights - a stage on a stage - but as the curtains slide and lift, the boundary between the stage and the dressing room becomes delightfully blurred. More than a few catchy rolls of laughter filled the theatre as John and Robert discussed foibles, inspiration and unflattering reviews, and the charming sentiment only grew as the performance continued.

Most surprising in the production is the genuinely captivating force of Jackson and Stewart, individually. Stewart holds the stage like it's another appendage, gripping campy on-stage monologues and - of all things - incorporating mild physical humour. Jackson, in his ease and delightful brevity, is instantly recognised as a performer far beyond his years of flannel shirts and WB dramas.

A Life In The Theatre is both enchanting and wilful, forging new lives from the remains of burnt-out television stars and generating the winsome, phoenix-like birth that so many post-television hopefuls desire.

Megan M. Retka



Click here to order tickets for showings at Apollo (opened: 2 Feb 2005)