UK readers now make up 10% of this blog’s readership, compared to 50% US.  I at least find that interesting.  Those posts most commonly read by Brits are the theatre and arts reviews.  One of these, of Thin Toes, is now prominently featured on that show’s Facebook page.

Thanks for the attention ladies!

It does make me think that perhaps I should have said more about some of the shows I have seen.  In particular, A Prayer For My Daughter, at the Young Vic.  I mentioned the show, but never said what I thought of it.  I will correct that now.

The script for Prayer, by Thomas Babe, takes us back to a grubby police office in 1970’s New York.  Two detectives bring in a pair of suspects and try to get them to crack while agonizing events are unravelling outside the office and inside the characters.  This is a tense piece, and gives the audience little time to breathe.  The set is perfection; Fourth Of July, and the detritus is all around.  A well crafted soundscape and pitch-perfect lighting complete the illusion.  The peculiar space of the Young Vic studio space is used to its utmost here.

The performances?  Where to begin.  The program says “brings together some of the strongest acting talent.”  True, true.  I give a special nod to Colin Morgan for his performance as Jimmy Rosebud.  He is captivating and lets his character build from within over the length of the show, until he has the other characters, and the audience, completely roped in.  Then he explodes in a tour de force soliloquy in which the force of his blubbered monologue is even more daunting than the weapon he brandishes.  Keep your eye on this young man.

My dream show — How about Colin Morgan and Helen Millar in Mamet’s The Woods?  Hand out smelling salts in the lobby!