On Tuesday evening, Olivia and I went to see a fabulous production of Noel Coward's Hay Fever at The Rose Theatre in Kingston which runs until 23rd October.
After a quick bowl of yummy noodles at Wagamama's, conveniently situated right next door to the theatre, we made our way in. This was the first time I had been to The Rose and I have to say what a lovely theatre it is. Opened in 2008 and modelled on the original Elizabeth Rose Theatre on London's Bankside, it features a circular auditorium which really draws the audience into the production and the pit area, where members of the audience can literally sit on cushions on the floor right in front of the stage for just £8, is something completely new to me.
It's hard to believe that Hay Fever originally opened back in 1925, some eighty five years ago, but it is just as fresh and funny today as it was way back then and both Olivia and I absolutely loved it.
In a nutshell, four guests arrive at a country house by the Thames, expecting a civilised weekend of polite conversation and illicit love affairs. But their hosts, the famous actress Judith Bliss, her novelist husband and their two grown-up children are eccentric bohemians and much confusion ensues leaving their poor guests desperate to flee back to London.
Nichola McAuliffe played her role as Judith Bliss, the overly dramatic, retired famous actress still craving drama and adoration, to perfection and what an absolutely delicious part that must be to play. I hadn't told Olivia much about the play, wanting to see her thirteen year old reaction but she loved it, likening the Judith Bliss character to Margot from The Good Life, videos of which Olivia watched endlessly when she was younger.
Given her love of drama and the theatre I was pretty sure she would enjoy it but it was still lovely to witness her enjoyment. The supporting cast were good and we loved Adrian Lukis' portrayal of the stiff and proper Richard Greatham and Katy Secombe's much put upon Clara, the housemaid. I also loved the set, in another life I would have definitely liked to have been involved in set design of some sort, it must be such fun tracking down just the right props and furnishings.
Olivia was really surprised not to see more people her own age there. Sadly I wasn't as it does seem that nowadays many people just tend to assume that young people are only interested in computer games, reality tv etc but in my own experience, the two are not mutually exclusive. Livvy loves the X Factor and The Simpsons as much as the next girl but she also loves the period dramas and old movies. When she was younger and we had lots of sleepovers, her friends would beg me to let them watch oldies like The Swiss Family Robinson, The Wizard of Oz and The Secret Garden time and time again.
Now she can't wait to see The Rose's forthcoming productions of George Orwell's 1984 and Twelfth Night and I'll see if I can persuade some other teenagers to join us this time :)
