REVIEW: A CRITICAL STAGE by Gareth Armstrong at Theatre at the Tabard 31 May - 17 June 2023

‘Spotlighting a colourful, cloistered and closeted life, this entertaining production crackles with intelligence.’ ★★★ ½

While dictators dominated the political stage in the 1930s and 1940s, others roamed the cultural terrain (and yes, there was one, even during the Second World War), James Agate, diarist, writer and august theatre critic of the Sunday Times between 1923 - 1947, who has now been largely forgotten. This production of ‘A Critical Stage’, reanimates this dogmatic character whose unflinching pronouncements could seriously impact the success of a production, not to mention damage reputations and bruise egos. Agate knew what he liked and once decided, would not be swayed otherwise, insisting "my first impressions...are never wrong."

The Agate we meet, played at full thespian throttle by former NHS Consultant, Jeremy Booth, is multifaceted and complex. A belligerent, cantankerous, pompous curmudgeon, he is selfish and demanding of those closest to him but his heart melts at his landlady's sickly young son, who he declares a "true innocent." His loyal assistant, Leo is an Austrian Jewish refugee and traumatised, talented musician is wittily captured by David Acton with a whinnying Eastern European accent that is almost musical. The dutiful, diplomatic 'house boy' played by Sam Hill cares for his master's every need and fluffs over every indiscretion. His 'sapphic' actress friend meanwhile, Gwen elegantly performed by Barbara Wilshere, attempts a withering dressing down of Agate after he criticises her work in a review. But he's an unyielding old sod, "my mind is not a bed to be made and unmade."

The ensemble cast do a sterling job of bringing to life this dead critic and the duality and complexity of his existence and approach to both work and play. What we get from this production (that you won't find in the anodyne Wikipedia entry) is the extent of Agate's colourful, cloistered and closeted life. Living as a queer man when it was illegal (there was a brief marriage to a French lesbian actress) brought danger to nocturnal encounters and Agate enjoyed his life to the full, seeming to revel in danger and risk. It's fascinating to see this play during the Philip Scholfield/ ITV furore because a key part of the narrative is what happens when private lives clash with public personas and institutional expectations.

This production, assiduously researched during lockdown by Gareth Armstrong (who wrote and directed) crackles with intelligence and entertainment. It illuminates a larger than life character across two weeks in 1942 from his single room in Holborn while bombs fall on the city and a number of dramatic events coalesce. Running at an hour and fifty minutes with an interval, the first half passes in a flash. The second half is more laboured. You hope for rising action and a dramatic climax but instead there are numerous, ponderous monologues which slow everything down. So, while it could be shorter, there's no denying the quality of the research, writing and performances. The atmospheric set and character/era-framing costumes also deserve a mention. This period piece is not only a must for theatre buffs who will love all the name checks and references, it is also an opportunity to experience the vibrant theatre space in the beautiful Tabard Pub in West London's Turnham Green. One can't help but wonder what Agate himself would have made of the show. Something of a failed artist in his own life, it seems a fitting tribute that art is returned to him in death.

Photo credit: Charles Flint

A CRITICAL STAGE by Gareth Armstrong at Theatre at the Tabard 31 May - 17 June 2023

Box office https://tabard.org.uk/whats-on/a-critical-stage/

Cast:

Jeremy Booth as James

Barbara Wilshere as Gwen

David Acton as Leo

Sam Hill as Smike

Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf