Wrong. Linda is a terrific play. That's not going to change. As it shortens and tightens over coming days and the brilliant Noma Dumezweni inhabits the role fully, it will rock. I'm not sure what the older blokes in the audience will make of it though, because it's about the way women over the age of 50 become invisible while men in the same age group are gifted compensation a-plenty: as their virility declines, their professional status and riches continue to increase and that's as good as three-times-a-night for many. Next to me, a sleek posh bloke told his hair-banded blond wife in her late forties, that he'd slept through the second half. I wept for her future. And I remembered an agony aunt once telling me that sex between the over-fifties was like trying to push a marshmallow through a letterbox. I don't know why this came to me at the end of this very funny, very real, and very painful play. Does sex rear it's head in Linda? Yes, but like the cobra, only to kill.
To be honest, I'd no idea Cattrall was Linda when I bought my ticket. It was the writer that drew me in. Penelope Skinner's last play at the Royal Court Upstairs, The Village Bike, was utterly glorious - the tale of a pregnant woman turned nymphomaniac by the build up of hormones. Here Skinner as elegantly skewers the plight of women whose hormones are on neutral. Linda has lived the dream: she's had it all. She's had it all because she's done it all: raised a family, run a home, supported a self-obsessed husband, and grown a career. But as her looks fade so, very unfairly, does her star. Despite her success, the boss who once adored her now leapfrogs a young girl into power with the same aplomb he once leapfrogged her. At home, her husband lives on his ibook and their troubled teens blame her for all their ills. It's all a bit too much.
In conclusion: The complexities in Skinner's script ensure that male stereotypes are interrogated as quickly as they are set up and events don't all happen as you might expect. The cast is terrific and Es Devlin's stunning set - part office, part home, part cosmetics counter - is extraordinary, a bit like Damien Hirst's old Pharmacy building in 3D. Ladies, grab a ticket.
References
Linda, Royal Court, Tickets
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London SW3. Run ends January 9
References
Linda, Royal Court, Tickets
Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, London SW3. Run ends January 9
I was there for a birthday outing with two friends. We thought the play was fantastic and the cast too - except that is - Norma playing Linda. We were so disappointed. Not only did she carry the script the whole way through reading from it (maybe we would have forgiven that) except that her performance was stiff and emotionally flat -it turned a fantastic play into a disappointment. we were not offered free anything at the introduction and had we known we would have availed ourselves of it. This should not have run with the lead actor completely unrehearsed - because she only had five days, as she was not an understudy but had been brought in at the last minute. We did ask for a refund or an exchange for another play but this was refused. We felt sorry for the rest of the cast, who without exception were very good. I am sure the writer was equally disappointed - and yes the set too was amazing - but our enjoyment of the overall production was compromised.
ReplyDeleteI believe K Cattrall realised it was a terrible production and walked out. I wished I'd walked out after the first five minutes. It's never going to be a success as the play isn't that great and the direction is lacking. The storm scene was hilariously hammy. Having to sit through a play with someone READING every word of the script was unbearable. Receiving an email from the Royal court thanking us for our understanding was presumptuous and irritating. I am not exaggerating when I say that this was THE worst evening at the theatre that I have ever had. If you have a ticket I suggest you stay at home and have an early night.
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