CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp London London Review
Birdland


"I kind of sometimes think that I am cancer." — Paul
Birdland
Yolanda Kettle as Nicola and Andrew Scott as Paul (Photo: Richard Hubert-Smith)
Simon Stephen's latest play Birdland is a study of a rock singer whose music career is at its height. Paul (Andrew Scott) can have anything he wants, from a fresh, perfectly ripe peach in a Moscow hotel to hiring a helicopter to screwing any girl. Everyone knows his name and his music. Paul is on the closing performances of his sold out world tour and about to go back to England.

When his best friend and band mate Johnny (Alex Price) talks about trusting his girlfriend Marnie (Yolanda Kettle), Paul sees only a challenge to seduce Marnie and destroy any illusions Johnny may have. What seems to offend Paul is Johnny's closeness to Marnie. He says to Johnny, "Fuck her up the arse. Come on her back. Leave." It's a powerful statement as to how jaded Paul's life has become as he cynically destroys any chance of happiness his friend might have with this girl.

Paul is manipulating people now for entertainment but he is also aware of how destructive he has become but doesn't seem able to stop it. Visiting Marnie's parents in Paris, Paul plays mind games with them and lies to both them and Johnny.

Andrew Scott's performance is mesmerising as the toxic rock star. Dressed in a turquoise shiny leather jacket, his black hair slicked back, he looks the part. He is cold and detached from the emotion, like an onlooker, not engaging emotionally like a form of autism. While the play may expose the shallowness of his personality, there is no doubt that his cruelty is born out of his fear of finding himself alone. He plays with people, confusing them, contradictory, twisting what he has said like offering to get a fan a hotel room instead of sleeping on a friend's sofa and then denying this. Although he is despicable, Scott's rock singer is also compelling.

Ian MacNeil's set is a shiny square proscenium with a dark surround. The final scene sees the stage flooded, oozing with a thick black liquid which taints everything it touches.

The cast play many different roles, apart from Alex Price and Andrew Scott, and I especially liked Daniel Cerqueira as the father, the fixer, the fan and two other roles.

The title Birdland is a tribute to Patti Smith's song of the same name. Simon Stephens has given us a provocative play about the vacuity of celebrity and wealth with an outstanding performance from Andrew Scott who is both malevolent and vulnerable.



Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe, E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country.
Birdland
Written by Simon Stephens
Directed by Carrie Cracknell

Starring: Andrew Scott
With: Alex Price, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Charlotte Randle, Yolanda Kettle, Daniel Cerqueira
Set designed by Ian MacNeil
Costume designed by Holly Waddington
Composer and Sound: Tom Mills
Lighting: Neil Austin
Running time: One hour 50 minutes without an interval
Box Office: 020 7565 5000
Booking at the Royal Court to 29th May 2014
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 9th April 2014 performance at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS (Tube: Sloane Square)

REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of Birdland
  • I disagree with the review of Birdland
  • The review made me eager to see Birdland
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2014, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com