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I have known Martin Crimp’s Attempts On Her Life from the playtext for a long time – it’s one of those scripts I re-read a lot. However, I was still unprepared for Katie Mitchell & the cast’s (as the directing credit says in the programme) production of the play at the National last night. P and I were bowled over by it. True, not everyone liked it – a very few walked out – but it’s a spectacular, thought-provoking show. I didn’t connect for the first couple of scenarios – there’s a lot coming at you and it takes time to adjust – but then it started to work for me. There’s a real joy in seeing the work being created before your very eyes. The use of cameras and screens adds a whole new layer to the piece. I wish now that I’d seen Mitchell’s Waves when it was on.
We watched it from the circle – it’s good from up there – you get a real overview of the piece and the screens loom large. I’m going to try and catch it from the stalls later in the run – I suspect it’ll be very different.
UPDATE: David Eldridge and Andrew Field write about Attempts … They liked it.
So three excellent, very different shows in three days. I should retire while I’m ahead (although I notice we have April tickets for Fin Kennedy‘s How To Disappear Completely and Never Be Found at The Crucible in Sheffield on the metaphorical sideboard – more to look forward to)
Currently Reading: Are You There, Crocodile? by Michael Pennington. Not, as it turns out, the Steve Irwin story but concerned with the life and work of Anton Chekhov. Which is a relief.
Baudrillard: Dave Windass on him here.
Lance Woodman 
