LOOK BACK IN ANGER Taken from The Stage Written by Jeremy Brien Performance at Theatre Royal, Bath Published August 23th 2006 Peter Hall certainly has a good eye for an evocative anniversary. Last year in Bath, his company served up a triumphant jubilee production of Beckett’s timeless masterwork Waiting for Godot. This summer it is a revival, also 50 years on, of John Osborne’s equally seminal work. The big question mark, of course, is whether the play that slammed shut all those French windows of traditional British drawing room theatre still carries its landmark qualities half a century on. It would indeed be amazing if Osborne had remained as universal as Beckett, yet there remains a plethora of evidence in this compelling version of his authentic impact. The structure may seem rather dated now but there is no doubting Jimmy Porter’s (that is John Osborne’s) outpouring of heartfelt anguish at the state of both the nation and his own troubled mind. The impressive Richard Coyle builds Osborne’s anti-hero into a potent mix of fifties rebel with a cause and 21st century tortured soul, with a series of genuinely moving set speeches about everything he sees as wrong in conventional society. Coyle apart, some of the most sympathetic scenes are between Mary Stockley’s weary yet noble Alison and Richard Harrington’s understanding ‘friend caught in the middle’ Cliff. Rachael Stirling makes Helena’s volte face from Porter-hater to Porter-lover totally believable, while Ronald Pickup, as Alison’s colonial father, benefits along with the rest of the cast from composer Terry Davies’ superimposed soundtrack. BACK TO MAIN REVIEWS PAGE Copyright © 2001-2005 RICHARDCOYLE.COM All Rights Reserved