Old Vic in the round

We were extremely curious about the Old Vic’s new configuration before we attended this evening’s performance of Complicit. We hadn’t managed to get to the Norman Conquests, the major production for which the CQS space had been built, but we had followed the conversion on line as well as viewing the 360 presentation. The space is amazing, but we had booked seats on row G only to find ourselves in the second row – much closer than usual. Half the audience sits inside the proscenium arch in the newly created area, and, of course, exits and entrances can be made via any and all gangways. The architect’s comments can be read here.
If the space is amazing, the play isn’t. Even in Kevin Spacey’s capable hands, this play was far from satisfactory. David Suchet is a superb actor portraying the main protagonist’s lawyer, but his excellent performance is not supported by the lead – Richard Dreyfuss as the prize-winning journalist who is being pressured to reveal his sources in the interest of ‘national security’. Elizabeth McGovern plays this mans wife and gives a convincing performance. Although I admire other performances by Richard Dreyfuss, it seemed that he had been unable to learn the part as he appeared to be continually being prompted via his earpiece. Perhaps that is the weakness of the play; that part is just not convincing making it difficult to learn. The performance did not run smoothly, and it finished somewhat early – we were heading for Waterloo by 21.15 – so did we miss chunks of dialogue? If so it was a relief. What a shame, as we are usually greatly entertained by the performances at the Old Vic.