Two this week.
First, The Crucible at the National Theatre. I'd not seen it before so went with an open mind. It was an emotionally charged performance; not a moment of light relief. The young actors (playing the girls affected by the hysteria) were excellent, especially when providing the choral backdrop. Some of the adults were good but I felt that several delivered their lines rather than inhabiting their parts. Unfortunately, the actor playing Harris, the priest, reminded me too much of Father Ted to have the desired impact that the character should have done. Overall, maybe 7/10.
By contrast, Get Up, Stand Up ("the Bob Marley Musical") was a huge disappointment. It avoided the 'Mamma Mia' route of shoehorning a bunch of songs into an improbably narrative but failed dismally to tell the genuinely engaging story of Marley's life in a way that would be coherent to anyone who didn't already know it well. It was a shame as the vocal performances were excellent - in particular, a low-tempo interpretation of 'No Woman, No Cry' and a superb solo performance of 'Redemption Song' - but the overall feeling was of seeing a tribute band with a bit of acting thrown in for good measure. 2/10
