Tag Archives: Alistair Whatley

Writer: Hattie Naylor adapted from the book by Sarah Waters Director: Alastair Whatley Reviewer: Richard Maguire Without a doubt, The Night Watch is one of Sarah Waters’ finest novels. Meticulously researched, it follows the lives of a group of people, including four lesbians, over the Second World War. But instead of starting in 1939, Waters begins her book in 1947. ...

Writer: Rachel Wagstaff from the book by Sebastian Faulks Directors: Alistair Whatley and Charlotte Peters Reviewer: James Garrington Birdsong as a novel is something of an epic. It stretches to over 500 pages, covering a period of many years and several generations. Compressing all of this into a two-hour stage play would seem to be an enormous challenge, and Rachel Wagstaff has succeeded ...

Writer: Sebastian Faulks Adapation: Rachel Wagstaff                       Directors: Alistair Whatley/Charlotte Peters Reviewer: Dawn Smallwood Birdsong first opened in London’s West End in 2010 to much acclaim and subsequently, went on a UK tour from 2013-15.  Birdsong is currently embarking on another tour during 2018 and is stopping at many venues including York’s Theatre Royal. Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong (1993) is adapted for ...

Writer: William Nicholson Director: Alastair Whatley Reviewer:Kelyn Luther Shadowlands, adapted for film in 1993 starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, is based on C.S Lewis’ (Stephen Boxer) relationship with Joy Gresham (Amanda Ryan), an intellectual woman 17 years younger. When she becomes terminally ill, Lewis’ firm ideals of the purpose of suffering and the nature of God are challenged. The ...

Writer: Terence Rattigan Director: Justin Audibert Reviewer: Claire Hayes Terence Rattigan’s resurgence as a frequently performed playwright continues with this brand new touring revival of Flare Path from the Original Theatre Company and Birdsong Productions. Rattigan fell out of favour in the latter decades of the 20th Century, overtaken by a post-war generation of angry young men creating kitchen sink ...

Writer: Sebastian Faulkes Director: Alistair Whatley Reviewer: Vicki Goodwin   When discussing the idea of bringing Birdsong to the stage, novelist Sebastian Faulkes described creating his iconic story with “no thought for dramatic or cinematic adaptation.” Indeed, the very idea of tackling such a huge novel would seem a daunting task to many. As countless centenary commemorations take place across ...

Writer: Sebastian Faulks Adaptor: Rachel Wagstaff Director: Alistair Whatley Reviewer: Luke Walker [rating: 4] With the centenary of the outbreak of the ‘Great War’ approaching, Sebastian Faulks’s highly acclaimed 1993 novel, Birdsong, about the horrors of trench warfare may well have resurgence in the bookshops throughout the country. It is at least a decade since I read and it remains ...

Writer: Jerome K. Jerome Director/Adaptor: Craig Gilbert Reviewer: Georgina Newman [rating:4.5]   Director and adaptor Craig Gilbert has struck gold here – this is a masterly adaptation of Jerome K Jerome’s 1889 episodic novel, Three Men in a Boat, with a performance by The Original Theatre Company that is well co-ordinated, uproariously funny, and evidently very well-rehearsed. The setup is ...