Love In Idleness and Lettice and Lovage - Menier

Well, we finally saw Lettice and Lovage and it has to go top of my list of this year's crapness.  I won't go on too much as it's, mercifully, finishing tomorrow; just maybe give a few thoughts and fun facts.
Firstly I have to get the subject of Felicity out of the way.  She was far worse than comments up thread had led me to believe.  Seriously awful.  What was she doing with her voice?  Growling one minute, an octave up the next.  Now I know this was written for Saint Maggie.  But why would someone, 30 odd years later, deliver every line in the way Maggie would do so?  You really didn't have to have seen the 1988 version to hear Maggie's intonation throughout.  I mean, didn't Judi very simply say "a handbag" so as not to risk any comparison whatsoever to Dame Edith's "haannnndbaaaaaag?"
Surely that's the way to go?  Totally different.  And to say she was overacting would be an insult to Christopher Biggins.  Finally, Theatreboard rules denote that I cannot make personal comments about her.  I wonder if that would run to her plastic surgeon?

The production itself was soulless.  Disjointed.  Everyone coming along, saying their bit with no cohesion.  Miss Lipman was good - her timing and facial expressions fabulous.  I would love to see her again in something else.

It's taken me all night to work this out, but the lovely lady next to me, who'd spent 3 hours on a coach to get there, thought she was going to see a stage version of Rosemary and Thyme.  Bless.

We were in the front row.  For those who don't know the Choco Factory that is about 2 feet from the action.  Before the interval Maureen Lipman is sitting on a chair centre stage with a beige mac hung on the back.  Slowly, oh so slowly, a massive spider appeared on one shoulder of the mac and began to saunter across to the other side.  It disappeared out of view shortly after but we beat a very hasty retreat at the interval.  We hope Miss Lipman didn't notice both of us jumping in unison, then casting a terrified glance between ourselves as the creature emerged - we were directly in front of her but there's no way she would have been able to see what had made us twitch so.

Finally, no one has been paying attention.  I didn't know until last night that 'ache' is the medieval name for parsley.  (It's actually ache de chien before anyone has a go, but that's just what was in the script.) Well, it made me chortle.  Not much else did.  Disappointing.

Actually, that was fine. No prompts and not too much stuttering. It was just the way in which they were delivered that was annoying. On paper I was so excited about this too. Shame.

Brilliant!  Now if she did that last night I have no idea!  But it does remind me of a *cough* friend who jumped so far ahead in an amateur production of Brush With a Body (or something-or-other) that the murdered person was still on stage happily quaffing g&ts, listening to everyone else talking about them being dead.....

Not so much for me my friend who was furiously trying to scrabble back 40 pages so she could actually commit the dirty deed on the gin-soaked heiress....