Review: THE HOTEL PLAYS

THE HOTEL PLAYS (Langham Hotel)

Verdict: Suite idea
Rating:

Three Tennessee Williams playlets, with all set in hotel rooms, are being performed at a central London hotel, the Langham (opposite the BBC).
This is a neat little effort. Each scene lasts less than half an hour and is staged in a  different bedroom suite.
The audience is limited to about 30 (it is surprising how many you can squeeze on to benches in a small room) but there are three ‘sittings’ a night.
Playwright Williams had a thing about hotels — he even died in one. Hotels capture a certain transient glamour, a suggestion of the flaky rendezvous. Yet intimate. Sitting in these rooms, watching actors play characters in their night clothes, one feels almost voyeuristic.
The Pink Bedroom features an adulterous couple having an argument. She (Helen George) is in a pink nightie. He (Gyuri Sarossy) has come from his bickering wife, only to find yet more grief. He becomes oppressed by the pinkness of the room. Does she want him to stay or is she playing emotional games?


In Green Eyes we have another couple (Gethin Anthony and Aisling Loftus — she was recently in TV’s Mr Selfridge). They address each other as newlyweds. Is there trouble in their marriage? Or are they playing out a fantasy? Strong acting in both these first two plays.
The third little drama features a retired actress (Carol MacReady) being bullied by two bad hats.
This interesting project has been part-funded by the Arts Council. You would have thought the swanky Langham might have taken care of any subsidy required, given the kudos. I bet the bar makes a few bob from the pre and after-show boozers, too.