The Blog

Oh dear I shall so miss “Borgen”.

No argument: Sidse Babette Knudsen as the Prime Minister in this series gives the best performance ever seen on TV.

Fact, inarguable. Not up for discussion.


Not even the amazing tutors at www.ellisjonescoach.co.uk can actually turn you into that good an actor! However we can set you on the way – and if you have the faintest interest in the craft and you haven’t seen this utterly compelling Danish series, then buy borrow or steal a box-set, and watch this woman go to work.

  

    Now, the press night isn’t till Monday, and I know I’ve had a go at the critics in these pages before, but it would be unfair of me to write a “crit” on the strength of a preview…HOWEVER, last night I went to the National Theatre with the latest lovely cohort of bright, sharp students from New York to see “The Captain of Kopernick“, starring Anthony Sher, directed by Adrian Noble, on the Olivier stage, with settings by Anthony Ward. 

Suffice to say we all found it a remarkable event, and pace a great central performance by Sir Anthony, I’m just going to slip in special mentions for two of the finest character actors at work in London today, Alan David and Anthony O’Donnell. I’ll be surprised if the critics don’t pick up on their performances, but just in case…

Alan David         Anthony O’Donnell

Which is, of course, the title of a great work by a poet mentioned a few blog-entries ago, who was….? Do try and keep up…

It came to me last midnight, as I huddled over my meagre fire and the frost stalked the silent marshes, and I worked steadily through my recordings of all the TV shows I’ve missed during the assembling of “Appetite”. I know it must get a bit irritating the way I witter on about grads from my time at RADA, but over a decade of helping steer the Gower St training gave my small bunch of dedicated colleagues and me a uniquely privileged perspective, and it’s a joy to see our ex-students cropping up all the time on the screen, on the stage and on the radio doing cracking work in great roles.

Sunday night clashes mean the Skybox has to be put to good use. On the BBC Matthew MacFadyen and David Dawson grapple with unspeakable villainy – and sometimes almost unspeakable lines – in the hairy-chested Victorian cop-drama “Ripper Street”, with the streets of Old Dublin pretending, not always entirely convincingly, to be the streets of Old London. But Matthew – a terrific MacHeath in my production of “The Beggar’s Opera” at the old Vanbrugh Theatre – is always so watchable, and endows Inspector Edmund Reid with such presence. The good inspector’s intense devotion to his virtuous wife is entirely understandable, finely played as she is by Amanda Hale, who was in our “A Chorus of Disapproval” playing one half of a slightly dotty elderly couple alongside Mr Tom Hiddleston.


Matthew and Amanda with Jerome Flynn in “Ripper Street”.

And over on ITV, there in “Mr Selfridge” is my Maggie from “Hobson’s Choice”, Kate Kelly – having gripped the nation’s attention for several years as the turbulent Becky in “Coronation St”, and held the stage superbly at the National Theatre – now positively shimmering with upper-class sexual chemistry as the edgy Lady Mae. And the handsome young waiter causing such a stir amongst the posh ladies is one of our boyos, an emerging star from Llanelli – Trystan Gravelle.

But to come back to my former colleagues at the Academy – hurray for Patricia Myers!!  As Registrar, Pat has kept the place going through all kinds of organisational and financial trauma – and through it all has remained a level-headed, good-humoured, forward-looking bastion of optimism for all her colleagues – and most importantly for generations of uniquely talented, and often uniquely vulnerable, students. So the OBE in the New Year’s Honours is long overdue, and utterly deserving.

To come back to “Appetite”. The presentation of this intriguing new play went brilliantly well, and was attended by an audience of professionals, most of whom stayed behind afterwards to drink wine and eat specially baked slices of dobas torta, an Eastern European Jewish cake delicacy, the recipe for which haunts the play. The conversation at the reception was lively and intense – it’s not every play-reading where such a high-octane cast presents a new script so throughly, with well-crafted staging, lights and sound.



Oona Chaplin as young Hana, with Miriam Margolyes as Malka

There were brilliant, insightful portrayals of the central characters by Tamsin, Miriam, Jason, Jemma, Oona and Charlie, with equally fine supporting work from Sue Sheridan, Ursula Mohan, Jemma Churchill, Mary Duddy and Lexi Sekuless, plus a remarkable performance from Julianna Zinkel, whom the sponsors had flown over specially from Philadelphia.

The event – directed by Andrew Visnevski – has stimulated a continuing buzz of interest. Watch this space.

So sorry to those of you who got in touch about the play presentation today and were disappointed not to get tickets. The venue is TINY – 80 seats – and we simply can’t fit any more in, because of fire regulations.

There’s a lot of “industry” interest in this play, so there’s a decent chance it will have a life beyond tomorrow, and be seen again in a more developed state – so watch this space! But please don’t come down to RADA if you don’t have a confirmed invite, because we just won’t be allowed to let you in!

A Very Happy 2013 to everyone!

Right now it’s eyes down to get everything sorted for Andrew Visnevski’s rehearsed presentation at 7 p.m. at the GBS Theatre on Thursday January 10th of



PLEASE NOTE EVERYONE: Admission to this is by invitation only – see below.

(If you scroll down a couple of entries there’s more about this)

Somehow, notwithstanding the festive holidays, we have assembled a remarkable cast. 

Two of the RADA graduates from my time, CHARLES AITKEN and OONA CHAPLIN will now be taking part, joining a distinguished company including TAMSIN GRIEG, MIRIAM MARGOLYES, JEMMA REDGRAVE and JASON ISAACS.

Tickets for this event are going to be very limited, and priority will be given to “industry” contacts who may be interested in further production opportunities for the play – which is of course the object of the exercise! Please email me here via ellis@ellisjonescoach.co.uk if you would like to come, and we’ll try to find you a seat – but be warned, there is already considerable interest and it’s a very small theatre. It’s a really intriguing play, with some cracking parts for women. 

Avernus, I hear you say. Avernus? What, who? Is it a car-hire firm, a dodgy international bank (is there any other kind?) or an even dodgier dating agency? That scornful harrumphing noise comes of course from those of you with a classical education – for dear friends, Avernus is a crater in Italy which was believed by the ancient Romans to be the entrance to the Underworld. There’s a reference to it in “Absolute Hell” – which for those of you who missed it, went extremely well thankyou for asking, and delivered a range of very tidy performances, much appreciated by what I’m told were larger than usual audiences at the Embassy Theatre. I had five demanding, fulfilling weeks working with some brilliant Central students, but now have slipped away from the gentle slopes of NW3, and am back in the Elysian Fields of E17, as the pre-Christmas sleet whips across the marshes.

It is, it seems a season of dark titles. Lois and I went to the last night of “Damned by Despair” at the National. Not, I would have said the most commercial of phrases to put on a poster – it hardly sparkles with the promise of Wodehousian wit, does it? I went because Bertie Carvel was in it – and was, it has to be said, extremely good, as were all the other actors. But it was a turgid, sluggish slice of Spanish 16th century religious drama, warmed over by Frank McGuinness. Very Catholic, very intense, relieved by odd moments of spectacle, such as Bertie being hung for mass murder and then hauled off up into the Olivier flies in a blaze of power-can lighting representing Glory and Salvation, because he’d repented. You see. Anyway, Bertie and the rest of the team were very philosophical in the green room afterwards, I think quite relieved that the NT management had taken the piece off ahead of schedule, owing to declining box-office. And now Bertie C is off to Broadway, to repeat his astonishing, Olivier-winning triumph as Miss Trunchbull in “Matilda” – so the very very best of luck on the Great White Way…..

To balance the export of London plays to New York, I’m now involved in importing one to London from Philadelphia. A very old friend, the New York producer Sean Hewitt and I have teamed up with my former RADA colleague Andrew Visnevski to create a rehearsed, staged reading of a play by Arden Kass.

It’s a fascinating story, and has been in development in America for a couple of years. In November Andrew joined the author for a set of workshops with some Philadelphia actors, and a neat, intriguing script has emerged. It’s set partly in Manhattan in the 1970s, partly in Prague in the 1930s, and partly during the war in the Terezin concentration camp. It has a number of strong parts for women.    In an early reading in New York Miriam Margolyes read the part of Malka, as she will in the London presentation, which is being supported by American sponsors. As of today she’s going to be joined by Tamsin Greig, Jemma Redgrave and Jason Isaacs – expect further casting to be announced over the next few days.

It’s going to be a one-off presentation at the GBS Theatre RADA on January 10th. If you’re a producer, director, an investor or are simply interested in new exciting theatre ventures and would like to come, contact me via ellis@ellisjonescoach.co.uk.

This could be quite an event.

I’m hoping that one or two of the RADA alumni might be able to join us. One who’s going to be too exhausted is Sally Hawkins. I went to see her and Rafe Spall in “Constellations” at the Duke of Yorks. In the tube on the way home a man sitting opposite my friend and I noticed we were looking at the programme -“I went to that” says he “I went because I’ve got a man-crush on Rafe Spall! It was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen…” Well both Rafe and Sally (on whom I’ve had a man-crush since she turned up as one of our students at RADA) are very fine, and it’s a gripping display of inspired storytelling, brilliantly directed. It closes on January 5th.