Synopsis
Set against the backdrop of post-war Britain, John Osborneʼs modern classic conjures the seedy glamour of the old music halls for an explosive examination of public masks and private torment.
Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer
2016 Directed by Benjamin Caron, Rob Ashford
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Alternative Titles
Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company - The Entertainer, 大娱乐家
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Theatrical
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UK
Releases by Country
UK
27 Oct 2016
- Theatrical
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The late John Hurt was to play the title role in Kenneth Branagh’s stage revival of The Entertainer, and one wonders what that production would have been like. Branagh, slavishly copying Laurence Olivier from adapting Shakespeare to the big screen to playing him in My Week With Marilyn to tackling the title role here, is good but not great as Archie Rice, a fading music hall Star. Branagh is too talented a performer to be truly bad, but while his moments of anger land, the loneliness and desperation are never conveyed. The play, written during Britain’s post-WWII decline and commenting directly on it, could be timely in 2016, as the fires of Brexit were stoked (gosh, has it been so long coming?), but this is never capitalised upon. It makes for a frustrating watch, of unrealised potential, a disappointing misfire with moments of greatness.
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Watched this performance live at the Garrick. 5 years later it still haunts my heart