Review
Softly, softly starts the Palace
season with not so much pulling out all the stops to make an
impact as pulling out old Stoppard to ease audiences into
the autumn season. The only innovative thing about the
opening show is that it is the first time the two one act
plays, Dogg's Hamlet and The Real Inspector
Hound, have been billed together. For the occasion,
the Palace has chosen Roger Smith's sure hand at directing
and casting, and invited Martin Sutherland to design. Both
prove an excellent choice. If you must have dated Stoppard,
it could hardly be better done, but I for one left the
performances, excellent though they were, feeling that time
and space could have been devoted to something a little more
scintillating, a spicier appetiser to wake up our theatrical
tastebuds at the start of the season.
Dogg's Hamlet is a writer's indulgence, a clever play
with words and Shakespeare, which is mildly amusing and
excellently executed by the company. Whereas you initially
wonder if the idea of inventing a kind of language smacks a
bit of The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome, the
ultimate peak of the playlet, a furiously fast rendition of
Hamlet, is extremely dextrous and very funny.
The Real Inspector Hound initially irritates even as
a spoof, because the genre has been overdone. The send-up of
the Agatha Christie-type thriller is no longer news. Having
said that, both Stoppard and the company deserve even fuller
marks for carrying the performance off to a highly
entertaining crescendo. Stoppard plonks two theatre critics
into a box in a country house theatre in deepest Essex
(despite the elegant design this initially conjures up
parallels with the two old codgers in a box in The
Muppet Show). As the show unfolds in over-done
whodunit (this is parody, ha, ha) fashion, the two critics
become involved in the real and imagined plot and all ends
surprisingly surprising. Much credit for this happy outcome
of something you wanted to yawn about must be given to Roger
Smith and the company who treat the play with enthusiasm and
skill. James Quinn and Trevor Bannister are our excellent
guides to the happenings as the critics Moon and Birdboot.
Diana Bishop is the parody maid so many aim to achieve
without ever really succeeding. Watch this. Richard Gibson
is a glib suspect and caddish womaniser, without over-
playing his part, and Elaine Pyke and Patricia Quinn keep
their balance on the tightrope as slightly giddy females.
Terence Longdon and Bob Goody, as wheelchair-bound Magnus
and Inspector Hound add weight to the credible end of the
play and performance. Stoppard fans will enjoy, the rest of
us will be amused but also leave the theatre feeling we
expected more of a kick to start off the Palace season.
