The Dresser: CFT

We were of gallivanting again last night after the three of us had something to eat at our home first. Our friend Anthony was joining us again since he always seems to enjoy a theatre evening, being a leisure time thespian himself with involvement in A Worthing Am-Dram group The Worthing Musical Theatre.

Anthony drove us to Chichester where careful if questionable plans for the departure after the play always takes place, so that we can dart off without a hold up. Where as most people try to park as close to the theatre as they can, we do the opposite but then we are all athletes of course.

It is hard to believe, that with a life time of theatre going, after being weaned on Worthing Repertory Company as a child where my mum was an usherette; that I have never before seen the play we went to last night especially since it is such a well known play. It was the first night of The Dresser, staring Ken Stott and Reese Shearsmith.

There were war time songs playing as we found out seats, well I say found our seats but we have been to the Chichester Festival theatre so many times that we know the seat lay out as well as the ushers, and in fact on this occasion we were in the three seats directly behind the seats we had on our last visit for the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The set for The Dresser was an excellent revolving arrangement, where the cast could walk from the dressing room as it revolved through a corridor in toward the wings of the play’s stage and the stage itself. It worked brilliantly. The whole impression being of one of the London theatres that had seen better days, and was not likely to be restored during the war time bombing.

Reese Shearsmith was perfect as the totally taken for granted, yet heavily depended upon ‘Dresser’ to the grand old Shakespearean actor played superbly by Ken Stott, baggy underwear and all, clinging on for dear life to his reputation.

It is wonder to me that the actors who specialise in playing the Shakespeare great character leads don’t all go the same way with so many whole plays living in theirs heads their entire lives. King Lear is the part that the old star is playing at the time set in this play, a slave to his art and his faithful dresser a slave to his master in his devotion.

A while ago I went to see Frank Langella at the Minerva in Chichester playing that tragic King Lear role. I let my husband off sometimes and don’t always drag him along to everything that I want to see.