Oddly enough, for the second night in a row there was a technical issue that halted the start of the play- in this case the platform that’s supposed to rise out of the centre of the stage as the play starts, simply didn’t rise- leaving the stage manager and a couple of the crew standing on stage looking stressed and speaking veryveryveryfast into their headsets…

Luckily however when the play did actually start it was MORE than worth the wait. The main characters are barristers who discuss their clients in the first person in a slightly derogatory and judging manner – I’m not a lawyer, but it struck a familiar note! The ‘victim’ whose social status contrasts sharply with theirs is tragic and sadly the whole thing is rather believable. Ben Chaplin is simply superb, clearly on a roll following the recent BBC drama ‘Apple Tree Yard’.

Overall: absolutely worth seeing if you like gritty realistic drama. And interesting lampshades

Yet another play that drew me in by virtue of its star-studded cast. Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal and Charlotte Ritchie, not to mention Lily Cole (yes, I know, I was puzzled too) all directed by Simon Callow?!! How could it go wrong??

Well, in my eyes, mostly, it didn’t. The play is a twist on Moliere’s ‘The Misanthrope’, and while most critics panned it for not even remotely having the depth and breadth of the original, I am happy to put my hands up and say I’m no Moliere expert. So for me, the geeky word jokes were a joy, as were the one-liners (‘I’m a man of no convictions. At least I think I am’). The only thing that wasn’t explained with enough plausibility for my liking is why on earth Lily Cole’s leggy, supermodel beauty would be interested in going after Bird’s bookish, nerdy academic type.

Overall: an entertaining (albeit slightly unbelievable) play pulled off by a talented cast.

National Theatre productions are generally always a bit different and interesting. So a modern Twelfth Night was no great surprise. A female Malvolio (Malvolia), though, was an entirely different matter…

Tamsin Greig, always a favourite of mine, played the role, here modernised into a housekeeper rather than the usual manservant of Olivia. There were plenty of other quirky touches too, including fancy suits, sports cars and a set based around a gleaming white staircase.

I don’t always love modernised Shakespeare (I’m a bit of a traditionalist really) but this production did a really great job and Tamsin Greig made the part of Malvolia truly her own.

Overall: very good modern Shakespeare handled masterfully by a superb cast