My theatre club attended The Last Confession at the Theatre Royal, Harmarket, on Wednesday evening, and, to a man, gave it the thumbs-up. No-one will be surprised to hear that David Suchet, playing the would-be Pope, was brilliant, but he was backed by an outstanding supporting case, led by Michael Jayston (he of Nicholas in Nicholas and Alexander, for real film buffs). We popped in to see David after the show (he and I went to the same school, although he was several years after me), to discover that he's about to disappear, in order to film another 10 episodes of Poirot, by which time he will have covered every story Agatha Christie wrote. I remember the last time I visited him in his dressing room, after his appearance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - he was so exhausted that he could hardly speak, and he told me he'd had to cancel matinees as he couldn't manage the intensity of the part twice in one day. There are only two performances left of The Last Confession, so if you want to see it - then ring the box office now. We're unlikely to see David on the West End stage again for some considerable time.
1 Comments:
I commend that speaker to The House; very-accurate observations.
As the self-styled, 'Meanest Man in the World' I regularly 'parachute' into London on a dirt-cheap overnight coach, get a last-second theatre ticket to an acclaimed show and travel back to the West Coast of Scotland that same night.
I actually saw the play on September 13th; it was fantastically acted, and slyly explores faith & doctrine in the context of a thriller.
I wanted to thank Mr Suchet for his amazing performance at Stage Door, but - frankly - lacked the confidence.
However, 30 mins later, (while I scoffed a particularly awful burger beside Trafalgar Square), 'Poirot' walked past,(understandably drained) and there was a brief chance to give him some well-deserved praise...........
ps
As a cinema usher in Glasgow, I once coincidently met his neighbours, who said he was a fantastic guy, and touchingly defended his (actually very convincing) role in the thriller, 'Executive Decition' by saying, "Well...the film was entertaining nonsense.....but it paid for his swimming pool".
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