Tonight:
9°c
NEW: Some fares could fall by more than a third when Oyster is extended to every national rail station in London, it has emerged
More...
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Fiona Mountford's rating
Reader rating
Lovers: Robert Lindsay (Onassis) and Elizabeth McGovern (Jackie Kennedy)
A resurgent Chichester wraps up its festival season with Martin Sherman’s meaty new bio-drama of Aristotle Onassis, a piece that is less digestible than it should be.
Aristo couldn’t be accused of taking itself lightly. Hefty concepts abound: it’s based on Peter Evans’s book Nemesis and the idea of hubris presses ever more persistently as Onassis nears his death. Sherman is keen to have us see the supporting characters, arranged in a taverna-esque setting, as the helpless chorus in a Greek tragedy, yet at times when they reminded me of the local colour in Mamma Mia! Meryl Streep cartwheeling in dungarees would provide some welcome relief.
Taking the death of JFK as his starting point, Sherman concentrates on the 12 years from 1963. During this time, Onassis callously shunned Maria Callas in favour of Jackie Kennedy and came to view himself as the fulcrum upon which many world events turned. Several key figures, not least Bobby Kennedy, whom Onassis loathed, are namechecked rather than introduced, occasionally making things frustratingly hard to follow.
Everyone in Nancy Meckler’s production is saddled with a cumbersome Euro-accent except Elizabeth McGovern, whose breathy tones seem more Marilyn than Jackie. Diana Quick’s Callas has the thankless task of wafting on intermittently in floaty robes looking more and more like Medea. Robert Lindsay grandstands superbly as the mercurial megalomaniac who views people as commodities to be traded, even if he and Sherman never properly grapple with what propelled him from the poverty of post-Second World War Smyrna to the rich lists.Until 11 October (01243 781312).
Katrina Lindsay’s design is a work of real beauty, conjuring up the soft blues and whites of Greek island light. A proscenium-type frame to the stage offers Lorna Heavey’s clever video projections, where spider diagrams of Onassis’s tangled webs of international contacts are displayed as his right-hand man Costa (Julius D’Silva) attempts to unravel them. Aristo isn’t the best but it’ s an ambitious finale nonetheless.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
This was a most wonderfully performed play. Robert Lindsay's acting was superb. He certainly deserves some sort of award for his performance. A very difficult play to perform which requires much energy. All the cast deserve much praise. Understand that 'Aristo' will be coming to a theatre in London. We will certainly want to see it again. Can you please tell me when the play will be in London and which theatre please?
- Wendy Salter, Sarratt. Hertfordshire. United Kingdom
