Tonight, her one-woman show Fleabag which inspired the wildly irreverent TV series is performed at the National Theatre and being screened live to cinemas across the country and internationally. Screen 6 at the Manchester Odeon is packed and there’s standing room only. There’s an unfamiliar buzz that suggests something special. Something dangerous is about to take place.

Directed by Vicky Jones we’re treated to a sparse stage with only a red cushioned chair at its centre. Phoebe races on stage and is immediately ‘in character’. She’s out of breath. Flustered and hot. She wears a knitted deep-red jumper, black jeans and black patent shoes. She communicates with an off-screen narrator – it’s immediately apparent it’s a job interview. Those of you who have seen the series will be familiar with the killer push-line and pay-off of this sketch. For those who haven’t, the routine works equally well, if not better.

This is a surprisingly physical performance for a one-woman show where the only prop is a chair. Phoebe contorts her face. Her body and our minds as she journeys through her hyper-sexualised and deeply self-conscious world. For Phoebe her inner monologue is laid bare, what you see is what you get. And what you get is a slice of Sex in the City, Men Behaving Badly and Miranda all rolled into one – on steroids.

No, she doesn’t swear. But she’s very comfortable discussing threesomes. One assumes this topic would have been thought too risqué for the BBC, but Phoebe, armed with her clipped English accent ‘gets away with it’.

Each vignette covered during the 90-minute performance is carefully and successfully acted out with Phoebe providing accents and the bodily quirks for both the men and the women. Amidst the humour one searches for an understanding of what drives her character, what’s her motivation in life? She owns a failing guinea-pig themed café where customer orders are bought from local supermarkets and microwaved. She’s envious of her sister who’s firstly a professional success; secondly very organised and thirdly has much bigger breasts – inherited from their mother. I’m not sure we are any closer to understanding what drives her but then this is possibly a reflection of real-life. People can’t necessarily (nor should they always) be labelled or compartmentalised.

Phoebe’s sexual frankness both in what she does and more importantly that we’re invited to listen in to, is a revelation; and it confirms that the one-woman show was packed with dark comedy and plot twists that were ripe for use in a television sitcom.

At the end of the performance Phoebe takes several bows, basking a knowing and telling glory. The applause comes genuinely from London and Manchester – this ‘woman of the hour’ really has made a dangerous and electrifying connection with her audience.

Fleabag was screened at Manchester Odeon as part of National Theatre Live on 12 September 2019. Fleabag is produced by DryWrite, Soho Theatre and Annapurna Theatre. The production runs at Wyndham’s Theatre, London from 20 August – 14 September 2019.

Read Margaret Atwood Live Review.

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In Margaret Atwood Live, the author takes to the stage for an hour and 50 minutes to discuss her latest book, ‘The Testaments’ a sequel to her popular Handmaid’s Tale, first published in 1985 and now an Emmy Award-winning television series.

A cultural phenomenon, Margaret’s handmaids have become a symbol of women’s rights and a protest against misogyny and oppression. And in this sequel, she picks up the story 15-years after Offred stepped into the unknown, answering questions readers have asked for decades, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.  

The evening is divided into distinct sections: a documentary short; book readings (by Ann Dowd, Sally Hawkins and Lily James); an interview Q&A session (with Samira Ahmed) and a poem read by Atwood herself.

Host, Samira Ahmed neatly threads together each of the constituent parts. Her enthusiasm when introducing both Margaret and the documentary, scheduled for release in November of this year, is palpable. The documentary is a snapshot biography of the now 79-year-old author. We’re shown still photos of Margaret taken throughout her life, while a narrator tells of her life-long interest in words and stories – by the age of seven she’d written her first novel, and an illustrated one to boot! In her own self-deprecating manner Margaret proclaims, ‘It wasn’t very good’, but this sign posted the prodigious talent to come.

Book readings follow – the first was by Ann Dowd who reprises the part (from the audio book) of ominous Aunt Lydia who survives the first novel and is one of three narrators in The Testaments. Book-in-hand, Dowd stands on a stage and reads an extract, her Testament, providing an insight into the character she’s become.

When Margaret and Samira take to the stage (the former in the now trademark blue, green and purple colours of the new book; and the latter in black) it’s explained that this sequel to the original exists to explore the influence of power and the abuse of power. Specifically, how those who are excluded from power can rise and eventually wield it. The example used is that of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a butcher who rose to become Chief Minister to Henry VIII. In Margaret’s dystopia it’s women who are excluded but Aunt Lydia, like Cromwell, is able to succeed. Her achievements are however won at the detriment of others – the others include women. It’s explained that this is a common motif of totalitarian societies first destroy the liberals then expunge those that pose a thread to your power base.

Samira’s teasing investigative style trod a fine line – on the one hand identifying the major themes addressed in the novel without triggering the ‘spoilers’ the audience clearly wanted answers to. e.g. what became of Offred? What exactly is Agnes’ and Daisy’ lineage?

Margaret has a calm, knowing tone when she shares her anecdotes. She is quick to signpost the fact that one of the inspirations for The Handmaids Tale was reading George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World. The issue here is each of these stories is told from a male perspective. In her words, she wanted to flip this convention and place women centre stage. Women exist. They have a voice. They also have frailties and dimensions. For the disbelieving reader she underscores her writing by convincingly stating that everything that’s happened in her world of Gilead has happened somewhere and to someone in reality.

Margaret is driven and inspired by words but not in the way some authors are. She recoils at the idea that they should introspectively exist for their own sake. Words should serve a purpose and that purpose should be a call to action. The Handmaids Tale was released in the 80’s as a response to the abuses of power that were wending their way through society during that period. When asked why that Testaments hadn’t been written earlier, she talks about an optimism in the 90’s that suggested that society was progressing. Then 9/11 happened. The Financial Crisis hit and uppermost on her list – the climate emergency. Margaret’s a genuine environmentalist. She believes when climate emergencies are triggered and go unchecked resources become scarce. This leads to societal tensions. In these circumstances women and children invariably suffer most. The Testaments is her wake-up call to these events.    

The second readings follow shortly afterwards. Special guests, Sally Hawkins and Lily James read the testaments of the books two other narrators. Two teenagers: Daisy who was rescued from Gilead and who’s living in Toronto and Agnes who grew up in Gilead and has never known any other form of truth. Margaret confirms that each narrator provides a distinct viewpoint of their ‘near future’ and their actions and life experiences are the engine for this chapter of the journey. We the audience are tantalisingly left wondering what really did happen to Offred and whether both or either Agnes or Daisy could be her daughter. Their ages tie up. The time-line between the two stories tie-up. However, Margaret demands we come to our own conclusions.

The evening ends with Margaret reading her poem ‘Spelling’ – “A word after a word after a word is power”. She explains that often her poetry is the springboard for what later becomes a fully-fledged novel. Overall this was a well-structured and well-paced evening, delicately balancing literary, geopolitical, social and environmental issues in an engaging manner.   

Margaret Atwood Live in Cinemas was screened at the Lowry Vue Cinema on 10 September 2019. Margaret Atwood Live on Stage tour is coming to The Lowry, Salford Quays on 27 October 2019. For full tour details visit www.margaretatwoodlive.com

Who Cares? Matt Woodhead shines a light on the hidden lives of young carers.

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The Lehman Trilogy, screened courtesy of National Theatre Live at Home Manchester, is one of several plays broadcasting as part of the NT Live’s tenth birthday celebrations. Having never watched a play remotely before, I wasn’t entirely sure how to behave or what to expect. Very quickly those concerns (like do you clap at curtain up?) are set aside as this example of ‘theatre at its best’ casts its spell on the audience. The play is just shy of four hours in length. It has two intervals, which as it’s live is a break for those watching in cinemas too.

The play charts the private trajectory of the family behind the investment banking company, Lehman Brothers. Originally dramatised for radio by Stefano Massini, here it’s adapted for the stage by Ben Power and captures the essence of the rise of Western Capitalism; the American Dream and the intergenerational complications of the immigrant experience. Starting in 1844, the play seamlessly guides you through the American assimilation of the three Lehman brothers: Henry (Simon Russell Beale), Emanuel (Ben Miles), and Mayer (Adam Godley) – German Jews who arrive in Montgomery Alabama from Bavaria.

The brothers are, in short, penniless and gauche but endeavour to start a simple fabric business selling clothes locally. Their desire for greater wealth sees them manoeuvre themselves to becoming ‘middlemen’, essentially forgoing the rigours of manufacture or production and instead buying the raw cotton from plantation owners and selling at a profit. One plantation, two plantations … 24 plantations. The efficacy of what they do is never directly discussed, instead the focus is on the brother’s single-minded ingenuity and religious devotion to wealth creation.              

The Lehman Brother’s story is told through narration and not through the tradition of dialogue – this takes a while to adjust to but works well as the rhythmic pace of the script both educates, as well as, enthrals you as the brother’s story progresses. The story follows the brothers, their sons and grandsons with Russell Beale, Miles, and Godley skilfully playing all the characters, male and female, young and old. With each turn you believe in and recognise each persona. The actors are dressed from head to toe in black (undertaker-like) suites; white shirts and the occasional prop (glasses) or a finely crafted accent – this is enough to draw you in. The piano accompaniment, provided by Candida Caldicot, feels almost like a fourth performer, with each note and bar signifying the passage of time, love, death or humour so deftly you almost forget this is a live performance.

The epic scale of the tale remarkably covers three centuries and sign posts how historic events shape and affect each generation of the Lehmans, examples include the American Civil War, the Wall Street crash, culminating in the most recent financial crash of 2008, which finally saw off the bank as an independent and active entity. At each key juncture the Lehmans turn their hands to cotton selling, railway investment and later stock market investment, film, public relations and sharing trading. With each move society becomes more abstracted from the source of its wealth and the means of production. The goal is to instil a new doctrine in society – ‘buying’ is ‘winning’; buying is ‘survival’. People should no longer buy out of need – they should buy to become winners. Buy to survive; and The Lehman Brothers Bank provides the money. The oxygen.

The Lehman Trilogy is wilfully directed by Academy Award-winner, Sam Mendes who makes a welcome return to theatre. The staging is a projected backdrop ahead of which a glass frame is positioned. The frame rotates when required to add to the tension and hysteria. The back projection transports the audience from plantations in Alabama to city offices in Wall Street, all of which works. Strewn across floor of the glass frame are grey cardboard boxes. These are used efficiently and become stairs, carriages and seats. No inch of the stage is wasted yet every inch is minimalist.

As each generation of Lehman Brothers becomes more American and loses more of the thread that links them to their Jewish Bavarian roots the company also transforms. While the end of Lehman Brothers’ journey is known to us, the personalities behind the company are less known. The Lehman Trilogy doesn’t seek to pass judgement, choosing instead to shine a light on a family story that’s weaved into, and influenced, how we live today.

The NT Live Screening of The Lehman Trilogy was at Home Manchester on 25 July 2019. Future NT Live Screenings at Home include Fleabag on 12 September 2019 and Hansard on 7 November 2019.

The Lehman Trilogy is at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End until 31 August 2019.

Vue Manchester Printworks is running encore presentations of The Lehman Trilogy on 14 August and 3 September 2019. Encore presentations are when the live footage from the broadcast packaged and shared, unedited, with cinemas for repeat encore screening.

Nathaniel Hall contracted HIV when he lost his virginity aged 16. Fifteen years on he’s written a play, ‘First Time’ about his experience. Read our interview with him.

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