Rutherford and Son (The Nash)

I saw this on Friday and really liked it. Three hours all in, though they might trim a few minutes once into the run. Whatever, it's a good play, a fine production, and well worth anyone's time in a theatre seat.

Saw this last night, I agree it has similarities to An Inspector Calls, but in my opinion isn't quite as good. A dysfunctional Northern family are ruled over by Roger Allum, in very fine Captain Ahab form, lots of northern accents some better than others. Lots of "nays". The play was slow to start and I think could be trimmed. On the whole a good evening out that finished at about 10.20.

So, I had seat A19 in stalls. The stage comes forward at the start....the bit that juts out most stops just before my seat, with a small stool placed at the very edge of the stage. Damn, I think, this is going to be bad. A character sits on the stool near the start....I have to crane neck to see her and cannot see anything past her...I am now rather panicking that this is going to be awful....she moves, I try not to be anxious that she will return. Good news is the stool is only sat on once more (briefly) and it is not solid, so some of the play can be seen through the stool when needed, so it wasn’t as bad as I thought....

BUT HONESTLY DID THEY KNOW I HAD BOOKED THAT SEAT? WAS IT AN EVIL JOKE?

Apart from that all good, liked the play, actors great, husband enjoyed it.

I see Peggs also has this prime seat booked.....

Down to 2hrs 40 this evening.

In the main I enjoyed it but I'm a sucker for a 'It's grim up North' sort of play and it really does start (with hindsight) in Pythonesque cliche land. All the performances were great but Allam was exceptional and it did hang fire a bit when he wasn't on.

Excellent set with a great coup de theatre at the end.

Having seen this before in the relatively recent past (can't recall which production and where but probably the Northern Broadsides version with Barrie Rutter), I didn't think it worth my limited time to book again and so far that's sounding like the right decision. Great to have the opportunity if it's new to you or you wish to compare versions but not one for me to revisit yet, if ever.

Off-topic but lately there seem to have been several repeat productions of this type, eg the Arcola doing The Daughter In Law, which I'd seen in a really good version at the Orange Tree not long before; the Finborough is another theatre where I've seen plays subsequently soon produced elsewhere. Otherwise both plays would have been absolutely my sort of thing.

This is one of those shows that is 'interesting', which isn't really as damning with faint praise as it sounds. It held my interest (which surprised me as I've been sick for 4 days and almost decided to skip it), Roger Allam's performance was compelling and the staging was clever (dark, but clever).

As an American, I have no idea how accurate the Northern accents are, but if I'd been watching this on tv, I would have had closed captioning on! I just had to be satisfied with the gist of some of the speeches (although I did notice the National offers captioning glasses, which I might try in the future). And my ear did mostly attune after a while.

The theme reminded me of 'Girl From the North Country' (at the Old Vic a couple of years ago)... a dysfunctional family trapped in a bleak, unforgiving Northern landscape. One flawed family member who is the dominant emotional influence on the others. This had absolutely no moments of love or joy, however.

One question... did anyone else think it ended awfully abruptly? I was sure something else was going to happen. In fact... 

Another who left at the interval. I just found it deadly, deadly dull.

The rain was the best bit.

Went to see this last night and while it wasn't the best thing I'd ever seen at the National I thought it was worth seeing. Woman sitting next to me apologised after the interval for having fallen asleep (I hadn't even noticed) and explained that her friend had now left having had enough but had delegated her to stay and relate the ending. I think I enjoyed it a bit more than I would have had I not been surrounded that afternoon by teenage girls (my daughter and her friends) studying the suffrage movement for A Level History. I thought the review quoted in the programme about how a suffrage newspaper review had claimed it to be a "Suffrage" play was an interesting point.

I'm a bit biased towards Kerry Andrew's music (she teaches on a summer school for young composers - giving state school students the opportunity to get some expert tuition which may be a bit thin on the ground in their schools - which I am familiar with) but I did really enjoy it - and stayed around during the interval to hear it.

And does feature, of course, some really top notch acting which it was a delight to observe from those cheap - if uncomfortable - row D seats in the stalls.

Was there last night as well, surrounded by people who left at the interval (including eight people further to my left in the stalls). The good in this is REALLY good (Allam, of course, and also Mitchell and the excellent Joe Armstrong, who really is a dead ringer for his dad), the bad bewilderingly so: Susan Rogers has one scene in the second half that is so risibly performed that one wonders if Polly Findlay was even in the room when it was being rehearsed. Disappointed, too, in Troughton, who gives a shouty, external performance that really does in his scenes with Allam. The minute Mitchell comes in to go mano and mano with our leading man, you can see how it should be done. The climactic coup was fine but I was expecting something a lot more dramatic -- remember back in the day when everything Jonathan Kent directed would end with the set collapsing (his MEDEA, for one)? Now those were the days LOL !!

Also there last night and agree with a number of lonlad 's points, especially the scene with the visiting mother! I largely forgave Troughton because his character's upbringing left him unsure where he fitted in, and emotionally clumsy. The set was rather lovely I thought. Glad I went, although the longer second half lagged a bit.