Pharaoh's number 2

Saw this on Saturday evening. Very very impressed.

It's a beautiful, poignant and honest piece. To be honest, I wasn't all that familiar with it. I knew a couple of the songs and the basic premise, but that was about it..

It's been very well cast. And what makes it all the more moving is that these are very much individual characters, each with their own life and personality, trying to survive in this tempestuous business, and we get to see that. It takes something to be able to carry off a spoken monologue on the Palladium stage, but Gary Wood pulls it off. As does Victoria Hamilton-Barritt with Nothing. You were drawn into the lyrics.

Scarlett Strallen as good a usual- so disciplined and tight in her dancing. And I can see why Leigh Zimmerman has been nominated; I wanted Sheila to succeed. John Partridge surprised me - I;d only ever seen him in my local panto. The way we suddenly see his human side is v touching indeed.

The choreography is thrilling. And the lighting design is one of the best I've seen. It manages to transform the space instantly, adding depth to the work. The moments of inner thought are afforded a fantasy feel, before suddenly being brought back to the cold exposing light of reality.

I suggest him because he played Churchill in Three Days in May last year at Trafalgar Studio 1. I didn't see it, but he certainly looked the part on the publicity material- http://www.kenwright...dex.php?id=1234

Susan Stroman will direct the UK premiere of The Scottsboro Boys this October at the Young Vic.

I've seen several full houses in the main house; Sweeney, Singin', Kiss Me Kate, The Music Man..... all musicals. The plays don't sell as well in there. The Minerva is rarely not full.

Lots of tickets have barcodes already, the ATG ones certainly do. They're just never used....

Front row stalls, £10

Saw this yesterday from the front row- excellent view, though it should be for £60. And you need to be close for this one. I'd say it was worth it though, for this is a v strong production of what is a highly enjoyable, yet hugely affecting play. Rowan Atkinson manages to pretty much shake off Mr Bean despite the character of St John Quartermaine being not all too different; a pathetic bachelor, but with a warm heart who always means well. Oh, and in an old suit and tie. Occasionally Bean crept in when it came to monosyllabic lines: "what?" being an example. But really it's a beautifully judged performance, making the ending all the more tragic, even though it's something so insignificant in general terms.

But it's by no means Atkinson's show. The whole cast are as strong as he is and because of Gray's writing and the depth of the performances, these characters have been fully developed. Will Keen is outstanding as the part-time (though workaholic) teacher who is clearly the outsider in the staff room. He's a social failure, struggling to make do in life. This job is his life line, whereas for St John, this job is his home, his family. Felicity Montagu charts a woman's breakdown, and the filtration of private life into work life brilliantly, and Louise Ford brings a fresh, youthfulness - a different generation to the rest of the staff - in a highly detailed performance. And Malcom Sinclair, Conleth Hill and Matthew Cottle are all as good, if not better, than usual.

But though I make it sound like 2 1/2 hours of misery, it's not. Gray's script is incredibly witty, and sets up some great - almost farcical at times - situations. But here's my only qualm with the play. We get these plot points, but we never find out how they're resolved. The curtain falls, and rises again and we're 10 months later. Gray keeps you hanging as to what will happen, but he never drops you, which gets a bit aggravating. But I think the play should be taken more as an observation on life, a study of characters. And in that sense, this could hardly be bettered.

I'm all excited- apparently there are going to be real live corgis in this!!!

Fab cast for this, including Mariah Gale and Jamie Parker, directed by Polly Findlay.

Just a pity about the Menier's pricing. They do airline-style pricing, but the trouble is the cheap early-booking price is not that cheap at £27.50.

Joe Hill-Gibbins (YV's The Changeling etc) will direct the ever-brilliant John Heffernan in the title role of Marlowe's Edward II in the Olivier later this year. Presumably part of the £12 Travelex Season.

Further details on this production, and Hytner's plans for 2013 and beyond, should be out today in the annual NT press conference.

The trouble is they can't transfer it to London because of the rights; Cameron Mackintosh owns the London rights to My Fair Lady, so no matter where it goes within the M25, he has to agree even if it's not one of his theatres or someone else is producing it. This is how I understand it, anyway.

Katherine Parkinson is in it- brilliant in Absent Friends and Season's Greetings, as well as The IT Crowd. Booked for it when it went on sale, on a bit of a whim, and v pleased I did now!

Having missed this, I'm glad I don't have to wait long to see Michelle Terry on stage; she's been cast in Before the Party at the Almeida.

Pilate: Tim McMullan. NT's Cherry Orchard, Old Vic's Flea in Her Ear amongst others.

This was very impressive, as well as incredibly mystifying. I didn't get most of it; sometimes I felt the staging a bit confusing, and at nearly 3hrs30 it's too long, but there were so many stunning moments I didn't mind too much. The horse made from chairs, the flying, the crumbling house, integrating of live video- technically dazzling. And simple stuff like the tram, or Jesus with a few canes. All powerful visuals. Paul Rhys superb: totally inhabits both parts, and Susan Lynch as Margarita excellent. But it's really an ensemble piece; so many parts. And such a mix of styles- direct address to the audience with microphones, the interaction with the front row,  puppetry... you'd think they would feel out of place, but they don't really.

Yes, the 3 latecomers annoying, though I couldn't smell the picnic!

A little gem of a production. Bleak, devastating, but funny throughout. And v well cast- great to see 3 actors, who I've enjoyed in bigger productions, in such a small space. For a 3 week run, they've spent quite a lot of money on it. The set is beautifully textured, solid wooden floor etc. A couple of lines in the new version jarred with me; "just desserts" for example. But other than that, I was rather impressed. A good end to 2012.