Tonight I took the Tall Lady to the theatre.  The Shaw is an off-West End Theatre located between Euston and St Pancras stations.  Its a  400 seat one level semi-circular affair, obviously a renovation on what was once a corporate/lecture hall/conference type venue.  They seem to be hosting short run high class cabaret/one person show affairs (Elaine Stritch, Ute Lemper, Chita Rivera), in between somewhat questionable material (Boy George, Gloria Gaynor, Amateur productions of The Marriage of Figaro).  At the moment they are hosting ‘Golda’s Balcony’, a 2003 play by William Gibson in which a single actress (Tovah Feldshuh created the role on Broadway [and did almost 500 performances!] and is appearing in the London Run) portrays Israeli Prime-Minister Golda Meir (and half the cabinet!) looking back on the Yom Kippur war of 1973, the near destruction of Israel, and the nuclear war which was almost started.

 

From what I’ve read. Gibson first wrote a piece called ‘Golda’ in 1977, a multi-character piece with one actor per part, with Anne Bancroft as Meir.  Unsatisfied, he tackled it again, reconceiving it as a one-woman show.  Given it had a 500 performance run at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway, one can assume it was a wise decision.  

The set is a cheap looking series of ancient (temple?) walls with Hebraic writing, and a screen onto which relevant images and footage can be projected.  Feldshuh playes Meir at all stages of her life, in essentially one costume. It is a magical performance and each of the various accolades and awards thrown in Feldshuh’s direction is utterly deserved.  The writing is careful without sounding clinical.  It jumps deftly from timeframe to timeframe without sounding forced.

One thing the Tall Lady and I noticed was what at first appeared to people talking incessantly and loudly.  THEN we realised it was the sound/lighting operator and the stage manager who are above the audience (why?) and VERY AUDIBLE.  In a one woman show with lots of quiet moments this seems like a potentially disastrous geographical choice.  Regardless, the audience received Feldshuh with a standing ovation and repeated curtain calls. I will be seeing the Press Night  again on Tuesday (did I mention I am promoting the show?) and on Wednesday I expect to read a seriesof raves.  At least I hope to.  Too often in London do I see strong work be punished by the critics for being what they are.  In my book you don’t pour scorn on a blue wall for being blue.  But what do I know, I’m just someone who loves theatre and goes to each event wanting it to be good, unlike some London critics who thrill at the chance to write those scathing  diatribes which can effectively end careers.  If I ever become one of those critics, I want one of you to hit me upside the head…