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An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
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Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Henry Hitchings's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Marianne Elliott.
Cast: Oliver Ford Davies, Janet Henfrey, Clare Higgins, Conleth Hill, Sioned Jones, Elliot Levey, Brendan O'Hea, George Rainsford, Michaelle Terry, Michael Thomas
Description: Shakespeare's play of sexism and snobbery sees the lowly Helena trying to prove herself in an attempt to marry Bertram, directed by Marianne Eliott. Starring Clare Higgins, George Rainsford and Brendan O'Hea.
Trains: Tube/BR: Waterloo 
Phone: 0207452 3000
Website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=1541
Gorgeous production: All's Well that Ends Well
The Shakespeare scholar Laurie Maguire recently described All’s Well That Ends Well as a “version of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus”, and certainly this enigmatic drama — neither a romantic comedy nor a straightforward morality play — offers a trenchant view of relations between the sexes. Its men and women seem to speak subtly different languages. But the play also has striking things to say about deception, authority, inheritance and, most teasingly, the nature of honour.
In Marianne Elliott’s gorgeous production the textures of this layered and awkward work are fully explored. Helena (Michelle Terry, delightful) is the orphaned daughter of a doctor, who cures the ailing French king (the reliable Oliver Ford Davies) and is repaid with marriage to the man of her dreams, Count Bertram, who is distinctly unhappy about the match. Forced into it, Bertram soon slinks off to the wars in Italy with his ludicrous sidekick Parolles, intent on proving his manliness. He will only accept Helena, he says, if she gets the ring from his finger and bears his child.
What follows is predictable: a clunky scheme of redemption, which we realise will humble Bertram and allow Helena to win his attentions. But Elliott’s poetic rendering makes the thinness of Shakespeare’s plot seem irrelevant. Instead the play becomes a coruscating hybrid of fairy tale and morally ambiguous mystery.
Central to this are Rae Smith’s ravishing set — which combines the angular Gothic of Tim Burton with (in the second half) some alluringly spangled topiary — and the witty projections designed by Gemma Carrington and Jon Driscoll.
The performances are uniformly excellent. Conleth Hill’s Parolles, a mix of pirate and pub bore, is funny yet also moving, while George Rainsford’s Bertram, who when we first see him appears to be auditioning for a part in a fourth instalment of The Matrix, oscillates between boy band chic and a nicely measured queasiness. Clare Higgins, as Helena’s champion the Countess of Rossillion, is authoritative, and there are smart turns in smaller roles by Michael Thomas and Elliot Levey.
The play itself has undeniable limitations. We are to understand, for instance, that Helena travels from France to Spain via Italy — one of Shakespeare’s more egregious bits of wonky geography. Worse, the opening scenes are laboured, and the text, though its meanings are deftly pointed here, has few beauties and many knots.
But this is a rewarding production of one of the playwright’s less appreciated works. Of the cast, Michelle Terry impresses most, bringing real freshness to what Samuel Taylor Coleridge thought was Shakespeare’s “loveliest” character, and Marianne Elliott’s direction has a clarity not far short of visionary.
Until 11 July. 020 7452 3000.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Who'd have thought this play could be so superb? I hope the televisation gets a DVD release, as I for one would have no hesitation in seeing it again. I have to add to the above that Brendan O'Hea's wonderful performance added a powerful undertone of menace to the complexly adult plot.
- Jeremy, Honolulu
I thought Clare Higgins was wonderful. She came across as a well meaning parent who thinks she knows what's best for her son but would have done better not to get involved in his love life. The end of the play was done in a very clever way, avoiding a sickly "happy ever after" finale which would have been hard to swallow and leaving the audience wondering whether the title of the play was meant to be ironic. Overall the acting, the set and the music were so good that we were swept along in spite of the shortcomings of the play itself.
- Sarah, Alresford, Hampshire
It was a very good evening's entertainment and interesting to see how a Latin influenced playwright like Shakespeare came out when viewed through a Gothic prism. I thought Clare Higgins was the best actor in the play actually, along with George Rainsford. She was convincingly maternal and her frustration and disappointment in her son must surely strike a cord in the hearts of many parents of teenagers! And yet also quite regal. Michelle Terry as Helena was a little bit shouty...
- Jennifer, London UK
An impressive, imaginative production . . . . shows what a woman director do when she concentrates on the text rather
than trying to ram feminism down the audience's throats. Even
a `problem play` like Alls Well proves to be far more entertaining and profound, than something like the vastly overrated,( and therefore unnecessary ) revival of Cloud Nine ( Caryl Churchill) which I saw at the Almeida last year. Well done
Marianne Elliott, and why not do the other contender for Love's Labours Won . . . The Taming of the Shrew . . . I reckon Petruchio deserves all the plaudits Helena gets for successfully dealing with a potential partner's immaturity.
- John Cooper, UK
Agree with Paul Wallingham.
Great night's entertainment but large reservations about Clare Higgins who lacked the presence which is essential for the Countess
- Tony O Dálaigh, Dublin Ireland
This production is a revalation. There was not one cast performance which fell below the standard which one expects at the National Theatre. My wife felt that it was worth going to see it just for the sight of George Rainsford with his shirt off!! It was an evening to remember for al the right reasons.
- Tony Russell-Jones, Worcester, UK
Marianne Elliott is clearly one of the few directors who are fearless of the large stages of the National - she commands the Olivier stage with a thrilling, witty and moving production of All's Well with undoubted authoritative style panache. And clearly her long-term collaborator Rae Smith is part of the overall genius with a thoroughly stunning design. I missed the finesse of Paule Constable in the lighting as Peter Mumford's lighting didn't always make the most of the delicious design. The production glides through seemlessly and there is never a sense of it being 3 hours long or difficult. Conleth Hill at the heart of the play continues to prove he is one of our great humorous actors with real depth. George Rainsford was equally commanding with Oliver Ford Davies totally assured. I was disappointed by Claire Higgins who it felt was in a slightly different play by her heightened mannerism and clipped shrill delivery and Michelle Terry, although charming, could benefit from the John Barton school of Shakespeare. The set pieces were slick and witty, making for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Highly recommended by this punter!
- Paul Wallingham, London, UK
