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Theatre

REVIEW: Harlequinade, Garrick Theatre ★★★★★

24 Oct 15 – 13 Jan 16, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM

Zoë Wanamaker shines in a revival of Terrence Rattigan's comedy as part of the Plays at the Garrick Theatre season.

By Lucy Brooks on 10/11/2015

4 CW readers are interested
Zoe Wanamaker, Harlequinade - photo by Johan Persson
Zoe Wanamaker, Harlequinade - photo by Johan Persson
REVIEW: Harlequinade, Garrick Theatre 3 REVIEW: Harlequinade, Garrick Theatre Lucy Brooks
Kenneth Branagh's Harlequinade, Garrick Theatre review: Culture Whisper says ★★★★★
In a spot of navel-gazing, Kenneth Branagh and his company have put on Terrence Rattigan's 1948 farce about a theatre company putting on Romeo and Juliet and The Winter's Tale. This Rattigan revival is part of a year long programme, Plays at the Garrick, in which the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company will produce both Romeo and Juliet and The Winter's Tale.

Dramatising backstage chaos, Harlequinade sees family skeletons coming out of the closet and scuppering opening night.


The play, as you might imagine, is full of luvvie-in jokes - but it's a great deal of fun. Wanamaker is the grand-dame of this production; commanding the stage, she's a thrill to watch. It's rare to see an actor have such an effect on an audience. Wanamaker also gives a bone-rattling performance in Rattigan's a one-woman show, All on her Own, as a drunk widow whose life is in smithereens. It's not hard to see why she's won two Oliviers.

Branagh himself fit the part of vain ageing actor, Arthur Gosport, to perfection, suspecting correctly that he's too old to play Romeo.

Make no mistake; is is a play put on by actors, for actors: a self-reflective theatre inside joke that celebrates the farcical comedy and satire for which playwright Terrence Rattigan is renowned. But it's a frothy piece of fun that softens the heavy blows of Winter's Tale and Romeo and Juliet.

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recommendations


What REVIEW: Harlequinade, Garrick Theatre
Where Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HH | MAP
Nearest tube Leicester Square (underground)
When 24 Oct 15 – 13 Jan 16, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM
Price £15 - £95
Website Click here to book via Branagh Theatre



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  • click for more theatre
    recommendations

  • KENNETH BRANAGH THEATRE COMPANY

    The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company will be resident at the Garrick Theatre for a year from October 2015, with a creative team including director Sean Foley, choreographer/director Rob Ashford, set designer Christopher Oram and casting director Lucy Bevan.

    PLAYS AT THE GARRICK

    23 years after his first troupe, Renaissance Theatre, disbanded, Kenneth Branagh's season, called Plays at the Garrick, shows a dramatic return to the London stage. Having previously vocalised interest in The Old Vic Theatre (run by fellow actor Kevin Spacey), Branagh was held back by his film-making commitments. Now he is following in the footsteps of Michael Grandage, whose 2014 season at the Noel Coward Theatre was a smash hit success, and Jamie Lloyd, who is matching this success in his second season at Trafalgar Studios. 

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Revival

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Plays at the Garrick

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