Traveling to Richmond was straightforward enough on newly renationalised South Western Railways from Raynes Park to Richmond though nationalisation appears to mean fewer train carriages presumably to save costs.
Mrs maytrees and I decided to travel early to have lunch before walking to the theatre for the play. Rather than attend a cafe or restaurant near to The Orange Tree we walked away from the theatre to a Pret cafe where mrs maytrees often meets a friend with whom she goes shopping. The Pret unlike the cafes close to the theatre, was not full and we had a leisurely lunch together during which youngest sister joined us,
The theatre was full when the play commenced, with not a single untaken seat that I could see.
The play directed by Amelia Sears was excellent. We were seated upstairs in the tiny theatre which was fun.
Dan Rebelleto a South London dramatist and academic reports that:
"In some respects, the play ...(is) ... extremely personal. After a decade of being dismissed for the supposed emotional repression of his plays, and sly implications of his own sexual dishonesty, this is a play that speaks to the expressive emotional intensity of what is unsaid. At one point Lydia declares 'Oh damn the English!' Sometimes I think that their bad form doesn't just lie in revealing their emotions, it's in having any at all'.
"...In Praise of Love is developed well beyond its source material and it deliberately complicates our judgments about the characters..."
One of the national newspapers, The Times as I recollect gave the production three *s. A little stingy I thought, as our view was that the production, which enrapped our concentration for around three hours, was interesting as well as absorbing.
A 4* production in my view.
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