Morning:
4°c
BBC accused of having a 'culture of secrecy' after it refused to reveal how much it pays its top presenters and stars
More...
Precious is a new-style weepie but one that is much more bracing than depressing
Precious
Theatre
Ian McKellen is captivating throughout. He delights in the play’s gallows humour, yet is also maudlin and poignant
Waiting for Godot
Theatre
Slight quibbles notwithstanding, this will set the West End’s stock riding high
Enron
Utterly, utterly brilliant. You really are in for a treat
Though 'Trilogy' has won rave reviews, I personally found myself exasperated after about an hour
We went on a quiet sunday evening and the food was excellent, but the experience let down by the service and ambiance
London,
Henry Hitchings's rating
Reader rating
Description: Mark Ravenhill's adaptation of Terry Pratchett's recent comedy adventure.
Times: Dec 9-12, 15-19, 21-23, 26, 28-30, Jan 1 & 2, 4 & 5, 15 & 16, 19 & 20, 26-28, 30, Feb 2, 4, 9, 11, 18-20, 22 & 23, Mar 12 & 13, 16, 23-27, 7.30pm, Jan 18, Feb 3, 10, Mar 15, Apr 15, 6pm, mats Dec 12, 17, 19, 22, 29 & 30, Jan 2, 5, 16, 20, 28, Feb 2, 4, 11, 20, 23, Mar 13, 25, 27, 2pm, Dec 13, Jan 3, 17, 31, Feb 21, Mar 14, 28, 2.30pm, ends Mar 28
Price: £10-£42.50
Trains: Tube/BR: Waterloo 
Phone: 0207452 3000
Website: www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=1541
Fabulously rich: the design of Nation is a highlight, but the dancing feels ungainly and the adaptation is glib and confusing
Terry Pratchett’s Nation is a novel for young readers, which brings the author’s characteristic wit to bear on some fundamental questions to do with faith and identity.
But while in Mark Ravenhill’s adaptation there are moments of spry comedy and gorgeous spectacle, there are also times when one feels as if one’s watching a hastily devised school play.
On the Pacific rim, in the second half of the 19th century, a young man called Mau returns to his people after a period spent in isolation. A storm disrupts his homeward journey. This storm also wrecks the boat carrying a teenage Briton to visit her father, a colonial administrator. She is washed up on Mau’s island, changes her name from Ermintrude to Daphne and, accompanied by a profanely talkative parrot, slowly goes native.
There are echoes of The Tempest, and of other classic desert island dramas — here a touch of Lord Of The Flies, there a nod to Robinson Crusoe. But the story is actually pretty slight, and its unfolding manages the unusual feat of being both glib and confusing.
The highlights of Melly Still’s production are the fabulously rich design she has created with Mark Friend, which incorporates Yvonne Stone’s sinister puppets, and dreamlike projections by Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington.
But other aspects are unsatisfactory. The dancing feels ungainly, and the Olivier’s revolve is overused. Adrian Sutton’s songs, instead of propelling the story or providing an interesting counterpoint, sound twee. When we’re treated to a burst of Handel, the weakness of the new tunes is uncomfortably emphasised.
The performances are wholehearted. As Mau, Gary Carr is muscular and engaging, while Emily Taaffe endows Daphne with presence, though she’s a touch strident. As the naughty parrot, Jason Thorpe is an enjoyable mosaic of mannerisms; he looks like Gary Rhodes but expresses himself more like
Bernard Manning.
This is no small point. Filtered through Ravenhill’s luridly playful consciousness, Nation is not really suitable for young children. Yet teenagers may feel patronised by it.
The play touches on big themes: imperial conceit, environmental apocalypse, the conflict between modern science and the seductions of religion and superstition. But these are handled with little sophistication and sometimes with a cloying worthiness. In the end it’s the five-star design that redeems a production rather short of moral and emotional heft.
Until 28 March. Information: 020 7452 3000.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
The evening I was there I was surrounded by teenagers, and none of them seemed to feel patronised; in fact, like me, they seemed to be enchanted by the show and totally involved in its various messages. Not such obviously big themes as War Horse and Coram Boy, but it still gave us a lot to think about. I'm now reading and enjoying the book.
- B Gray, Chelmsford, UK
