Sunday 9 October 2016


I like Anne-Marie Duff - heavens, for once in my life I'd booked weeks in advance - but her new play Oil at the Almeida is a bit of a mess.



It opens in 1889 on a grim Cornish farmstead that seems to have been modelled on Van Gogh's Potato Eaters, with a dash of Cold Comfort Farm thrown in for good measure. Not that anybody will be able to see anything nasty in the woodshed because these Starkadders are still dysfunctioning by candlelight -  when, as you can see, even the miserable Potato Eaters (1885) have embraced paraffin lamps that I'm pretty sure have been around for decades. Heigh ho ... well, you can see why pregnant Anne-Marie wants out when the Esso Blue man calls and turns on the lights. Before we know it, she's time-travelling through decades of squandered fossil fuel and global politics - until finally she and her daughter end up in a dystopian near-future where the lights have been switched off, they can't afford the leccy, and the Esso Blue man calls again but this time he's selling something nuclear. Oh, it's all very well-meaning - and there's a good dollop of Guardian feminism along the way - but sitting there for 2hours 40 mins felt like being hectored by an intense adolescent eco-warrior. Seemed like quite a few in the seats near me voted with their feet after the interval - and they didn't miss much, because with every time-change the play gets progressively less engaging. But I still like Anne-Marie Duff so I'll be generous and give it 6/10. When you've only paid £10 for a seat - and the Almeida's restricted view seats aren't all that restricted - well, that's less than a cinema ticket, so who's complaining?

4 comments:

sunt_lacrimae_rerum said...

Thank you for this review. I've long appreciated the versatility of Duff as an actress. I love her quirky face and the way she makes even small roles memorable. I first recall her playing Georgiana Longstaffe in in Trollopes "The Way We Live Now" and she really stood out.

mary said...

The first time I remember her was in The Magdalene Sisters - and do you remember her on television as Margot Fonteyn, which was remarkable for a non-dancer? I was keen to see her on stage, but this play was a bit of a let-down.

Cosy Books said...

Proving there's something for everyone. The play doesn't sound like my cup of tea but I completely agree - well worth the price to see Anne Marie Duff.

mary said...

Had misgivings about the play even as I booked, Darlene - but then I remembered Chimerica, which I decided wasn't my thing, until it opened to 5* reviews and I couldn't get a (much more expensive) ticket when it transferred to the West End. So on the whole, if it's on at the Almeida, it's always a worth a try.