Rope

Almeida Theatre

14th January 2010

Chosen by: Richard

Comments

[Richard]

Not including the joint choices this is the 50th play we've seen! Happy anniversary London Theatre Club!

[Nick]

So of the 50+ plays was this the best? Hmmm... No, not the best but it was pretty good, probably somewhere just above mid table - maybe a Fulham or Blackburn.
Rope is a story of two brothers who murder an acquaintance simply for sport and then go on to have a party where the guests are unaware that they are in the presence of a dead body. In some ways it reminds me of that other great cinematic masterpiece ‘Weekend at Bernies’, but the similarity ends there. This is really a very dark, sinister tale. Even more so as I read afterward that it’s based on a true story.
The play seem to be set in the 20’s or 30’s and has some very funny scenes of the posh party guests constantly glugging ‘Gin and It’ and laughing uproariously. I liked the way that one of the guests apologised for coming ‘dressed’ because he was in full tails! Entertaining and well written, the actor who played Rupert Cadell was particularly good. The finale was a bit strange though…why did the dead man have to emerge from the trunk at the end like a magic trick? It was weird and didn’t fit at all. Made me think they had some money left over and decided to blow the budget on some props?

[Nick Baxter]

Restricted seating pah! – didn’t bother us at all so good choice Richard for getting us some bargain seats. My view wasn’t restricted at all and Richard’s spot wasn’t even that distracting – well done everyone for not mentioning it.
Fifty theatre club trips over and on to the next half century. And I've even worked out how to put a photo on comments - get me the IT guru.

[Richard]

I wanna photo on my account. I'm gonna get one too.

[Richard]

BTW, I loved this play. I will write a review once I've sorted my photo out.

[RichardDavidson]

Still can't work out how to add a photo. Nick, how did you do it?

[RichardDavidson]

Oh, that's how you do it....

[RichardDavidson]

As well as this being the 50th play it is also the one that has attracted the most comments (thanks to me).
Great venue, great story, great play.
The story of two men (brothers?) who murder a fellow student to prove to themselves that they could commit the perfect, motiveless murder.
The play centres around the evening of the murder when the two men host a dinner party for the victim's father, aunt and some other carefully-selected guests. They eat and drink off the top of a chest holding the body.
The problem for the brothers, as Rupert (by far the play's most fabulous character) deduces, is their inability not to show off, not to push it a little too far. They couldn't resist teasing the dinner guests.
Some really great acting and a lovely script which had me smiling throughout.
I love the Almeida - I know we always say it but it is such a smart, stylish theatre. Good meal at the Seafood Fish and Chip shop beforehand and great that Alice has finally taken over from me as the London Theatre Club's youngest member....

[Melanie]

Richard, aren't you in fact the oldest member?

I remember that I liked this. It was clever and funny. But it was a bit weird when the body came out of the chest at the end, like Nick said. I think I wanted them to get away with it. I don't recall why. Did they get away with it? I can't remember now.

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