For Tues 19th March 1 pm performance 2013
Today I had the pleasure of attending a performance of
Driving Miss Daisy at the Theatre Royal. Having never seen any rendition of the
story before, I was not entirely sure what to expect. I did know the basic
storyline; an African American driving around a grumpy old lady called Daisy. I
chose to see the play based on the cast, and it is true what they say, it doesn’t
matter what the play is; if you have a good cast anything can be a hit.
In this case; the play and the cast were superb.
Put simply, I loved it. Being a history buff I enjoyed how the story moved through the major events happening in the background but didn’t encroach in anyway on the story. I liked the tastefulness of the story, given the era it was set it did not have to be so. James Earl Jones in the role of Hoke Coleburn was brilliant. His actions coupled with his facial expressions brought the character to life and made the smallest quip hilarious. Angela Lansbury played the leading lady as Miss Daisy. She was perfect and I since found out she is 87 years old, a magnanimous performance. Although I have seen her in many roles and recognise her voice instantly, she played the part so perfectly that I forgot I was watching people perform a show, they both owned their characters and I doubt I will ever see two such fine actors on the stage together again. Boyd Caines played Daisy’s son Boolie. I have not seen much of his work before, but found him to be a great actor that played his character excellently and rather amusingly too.
The set was your basic play setting, and that was all it needed, a good script and a great cast don’t need any modern extras. I did enjoy the small part of the stage rotating, and the chair moving back and forth was adorable. As much as I admire them for smoking on stage, they might need to get a less stinky brand or better ventilation. It smelt like one of those nicotine free cigarettes actors smoke, which smell worse than the real ones. A few of the elderly people coughed a bit when the smell hit them.
The costumes were well suited, only Hoke maintained the same costume throughout, with slight changes. The others changed and the clothes suited the era being portrayed.
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Source of picture
The venue itself was one I had never been to before. It was easy to find and the main show room was well designed with good sound quality around the room and decent visibility, however it could use better ventilation in that room. The venue has far too many stairs. Most of the audience were elderly and there was no lift at all. It was fine for me and some of the other young ones there, but it could do with a lift or escalator for the more infirmed.
The show concluded with a standing ovation as well it should, it was certainly deserving of one, and it is so nice to sit in an audience where the applause keeps going after the actors have left the stage. It seems to be a rarity these days.
A must see before it’s gone.
In this case; the play and the cast were superb.
Put simply, I loved it. Being a history buff I enjoyed how the story moved through the major events happening in the background but didn’t encroach in anyway on the story. I liked the tastefulness of the story, given the era it was set it did not have to be so. James Earl Jones in the role of Hoke Coleburn was brilliant. His actions coupled with his facial expressions brought the character to life and made the smallest quip hilarious. Angela Lansbury played the leading lady as Miss Daisy. She was perfect and I since found out she is 87 years old, a magnanimous performance. Although I have seen her in many roles and recognise her voice instantly, she played the part so perfectly that I forgot I was watching people perform a show, they both owned their characters and I doubt I will ever see two such fine actors on the stage together again. Boyd Caines played Daisy’s son Boolie. I have not seen much of his work before, but found him to be a great actor that played his character excellently and rather amusingly too.
The set was your basic play setting, and that was all it needed, a good script and a great cast don’t need any modern extras. I did enjoy the small part of the stage rotating, and the chair moving back and forth was adorable. As much as I admire them for smoking on stage, they might need to get a less stinky brand or better ventilation. It smelt like one of those nicotine free cigarettes actors smoke, which smell worse than the real ones. A few of the elderly people coughed a bit when the smell hit them.
The costumes were well suited, only Hoke maintained the same costume throughout, with slight changes. The others changed and the clothes suited the era being portrayed.
The venue itself was one I had never been to before. It was easy to find and the main show room was well designed with good sound quality around the room and decent visibility, however it could use better ventilation in that room. The venue has far too many stairs. Most of the audience were elderly and there was no lift at all. It was fine for me and some of the other young ones there, but it could do with a lift or escalator for the more infirmed.
The show concluded with a standing ovation as well it should, it was certainly deserving of one, and it is so nice to sit in an audience where the applause keeps going after the actors have left the stage. It seems to be a rarity these days.
A must see before it’s gone.
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