Having failed to get in to see Present Laughter at the Old Vic for a second viewing last summer, I booked instead to see the NT Live Encore film showing of the production in my local (very upmarket) school theatre.
I was afraid beforehand that my recollection of how wonderful the production had been was exaggerated and also that, without the immediacy of being in the theatre – and the fact that this was not even ‘live’ now, because the show closed months ago – the performances would not be as sparkling. Fortunately, my fears were misplaced, and apart from the slightly annoying introduction which preceded the production, it was another excellent evening. Importantly, my husband laughed a lot and enjoyed it too – so I didn’t feel I was indulging myself too much.
And Andrew Scott! Every bit as amazing this time round. With his fame still increasing with each award season, I wonder how his experience of playing Garry Essendine reflects his current real life.
In fact, it was Present Laughter, in the front row at the Old Vic for one of the previews in June 2019, that set me off on my quest to see as much theatre as I can, now that I have the freedom to book at the last minute or shop around for cheap deals.
And it has also been my sporadic obsession with Andrew Scott (and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) which has led me to discover various directors, films, podcasts and theatres – so hurrah for that (despite my obvious concern about distractions in my previous blog-post from when I attended the live production. My short review of Present Laughter from that time is here.)