It’s not just the pop charts and Hollywood - star power counts on the stage too. When it premiered in the West End over a decade ago, Quartet was the first of Ronald Harwood’s plays to get such an auspicious launch in quite some time and I’m sure that's partly because of its structure: at heart, it's a showpiece for stars. This is a play that will have a real magnetic draw for theatrical fandom and luvvie lovers.
The story tells of four aging singers in a retirement home and their interactions in the months leading up to a residents’ gala performance. Each of the four gets their fair share of spotlight, and the roles are tailor-made for famous faces. And as with the original production, so it is at the Playhouse this week: every character is being essayed by a marquee name – Timothy West, Michael Jayston, Gwen Taylor or Susannah York.
So, did it just turn it into a “stardom” competition? Not at all. Indeed, the actors all seemed to be heading in the same direction and with the same noble intent of trying to blend and create a cogent experience. Unfortunately, there were some disappointing moments and occasional slackening in the suspension of disbelief. It was clearly important to cast shining stars in the play, though it was disappointing to realise they couldn’t all pull their weight. Most of them were very pleasing, but the best standard of performance did not apply right across the board.
Structurally, the play is very accomplished, and Harwood’s story-telling is intricate and precise. As well as the unfolding present, there’s some quantity of back story to be delivered, and this never felt obstructive or forced. The play is very much about the here and now versus the bygone, and it is crucial that both co-exist on stage, the former forever casting shadows of the latter.
The play closes with a genuine climax, achieved through a few tricks and twists of stagecraft. Ultimately, and despite the big ending, things may not have felt as emotionally complete as I had hoped and there are definitely no answers in Quartet, but it does at least ask the right questions.
The story tells of four aging singers in a retirement home and their interactions in the months leading up to a residents’ gala performance. Each of the four gets their fair share of spotlight, and the roles are tailor-made for famous faces. And as with the original production, so it is at the Playhouse this week: every character is being essayed by a marquee name – Timothy West, Michael Jayston, Gwen Taylor or Susannah York.
So, did it just turn it into a “stardom” competition? Not at all. Indeed, the actors all seemed to be heading in the same direction and with the same noble intent of trying to blend and create a cogent experience. Unfortunately, there were some disappointing moments and occasional slackening in the suspension of disbelief. It was clearly important to cast shining stars in the play, though it was disappointing to realise they couldn’t all pull their weight. Most of them were very pleasing, but the best standard of performance did not apply right across the board.
Structurally, the play is very accomplished, and Harwood’s story-telling is intricate and precise. As well as the unfolding present, there’s some quantity of back story to be delivered, and this never felt obstructive or forced. The play is very much about the here and now versus the bygone, and it is crucial that both co-exist on stage, the former forever casting shadows of the latter.
The play closes with a genuine climax, achieved through a few tricks and twists of stagecraft. Ultimately, and despite the big ending, things may not have felt as emotionally complete as I had hoped and there are definitely no answers in Quartet, but it does at least ask the right questions.