V&A – Everything Is Better With Dragons

3^rd March 2013

Screening of ‘The Recruiting Officer’

On the afternoon of our visit to the V&A there was a screening of ‘The Recruiting Officer’ (1706, George Farquhar) in the Hoehhauser Auditorium. It was one of a series of plays recorded and screened as part of the V & A’s National Video Archive of Performance screening’s programme. This particular play was recorded at the Donmar Warehouse in 2012 and was directed by Josie Rourke.

Tobias Menzies plays Captain Plume, the rakish, lovelorn and somewhat misunderstood recruiting officer of the play’s title. He’s sent to Shrewsbury with his sergeant, Kite (Mackenzie Crook) to drum up a company of men. He’s in love with his benefactor’s daughter (Justice Balance – Gawn Grainger, Silvia – Nancy Carroll) but despairs of ever getting her.

Meanwhile, the captain’s friend Mr. Worthy (Nicholas Burns) is in love with Silvia’s cousin Melinda, who since inheriting £20,000 has become haughty and too high for him. Into this group comes Captain Brazen (Mark Gatiss) to cause a stir by courting Melinda.

With double-crossing servants, cross-dressing daughter’s, conniving sergeants, musical townsmen and jokes about syphilis the play amuses and yet still remains poignant as disputes are resolved and the men go off to war.

Firstly let me say that I had no expectations of this play. I went because it was the centre piece of our group’s plans for the day (we followed it up with a visit to The Queen’s Head, Kensington – nice food, bit expensive, very busy/noisy/small). I knew nothing about the plot, the playwright or the majority of the cast.

That all being said, I enjoyed it immensely and left with the intention of seeking out a copy of the play to read (which is exactly what I shall do, just as soon as I’ve got all the blog posts from last weekend online – Gutenberg Project here I come). The cast were all excellent, the comic scenes played perfectly and the more emotional scenes tugged at heartstrings (the woman two seats away from me cried and I couldn’t help singing along to ‘Over the Hills’). The 143 minutes passed quickly. Particular highlights were Mark Gatiss’s portrayal of Captain Brazen, witty and cheeky, passing his cane to an audience member during his ‘fight’ with Captain Plume, and Katheryn Drysdale’s ‘Lucy’ is very funny as she attempts to catch herself a captain and rise from Melinda’s maid to a Captain’s lady. All the cast were great. I really enjoyed the music that laced the play; it acted as a unifying force as the action moves away from the trials and tribulations of recruiting men for the war effort, to the complicated love lives of the characters and then back to war.

I would have loved to have seen it on stage, but the recording was excellent. There was a moment just before the interval where there was a technical problem, but that was quickly fixed and didn’t mar enjoyment of the screening overall. I would certainly like to be able to get a DVD of the recording, although I don’t think that they are available. The staff members at the auditorium were friendly and helpful, and engaged with and informed the audience in a cheerful manner.

The remaining screenings are

Butley by Simon Gray 10^th March
Tusk Tusk by Polly Stenham 17^th March
A View from The Bridge by Arthur Miller 24^th March

All start at 14:00 – see the V & A website for details

www.vam.ac.uk/whatson

Take a look at the V&A’s website, it’s quite interesting,

Bye for now,

Rose

Today we’re visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum. I’ve only had a couple of hours to wander around. Choices, choices, where to go first?

I chose to visit the exhibits from China, Japan, and Korea. The exhibits were well designed and artifacts well chosen to illustrate the periods and cultures highlighted. I especially loved the textiles on display.

Next I visited the 3rd floor with the religious silverware and stained glass. This was fascinating. And busy.

After a detour through one of the small shops dotted about the Museum (I only bought 1 book – honestly) I visited the fashion exhibit.

All through the museum there are areas to explore and study.

There is a pleasant garden in the centre of the museum with a large water feature in which paddling is allowed but clothes mustn’t be removed. It’s probably a relaxing place to sit in the summer but in March it’s far too chilly, although we did briefly consider a paddle.

I wish I had had more time; I could have done with an entire day to see everything.

The Museum was fairly busy but didn’t feel crowded. The staff were friendly, even when inspecting my bag. The suggested donation of £3 is more than fair considering the size and quality of the Museum and its exhibits. The shops are a bit expensive though.

I didn’t eat in the Cafe but other members of my group have given me there opinion on the Cafe: it’s too bloody expensive. Nice but ‘too gourmet for my tastes’ according to one. And another said ‘I nearly fainted at the price of a can of coke’. Another said that their ham and cheese baguette had mustard in and it wasn’t mentioned on the menu.

So that’s my review of the V & A Museum.