#adonis siddique

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ABDUL + SIBLINGS East is East, 2021 | National Theatre

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I’m sure late seeing these. Oh well.

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Assad's Instagram Story | 02.01.2024

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can you hear me screaming

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More shots of Withnail and I coming out of The Birmingham Rep

This time we even get a glimpse of Uncle Monty. Source: @theatre_weekly on IG

All the shots already released in prev post (X)

The cast:

“Robert Sheehan plays Withnail, Adonis Siddique plays Marwood and Malcolm Sinclair plays Uncle Monty. The cast is completed by Adam Young (Danny), Israel J Fredericks (Presuming Ed), Morgan Philpott (Wanker/Jake the Poacher), Matt Devitt (Farmer/Colonel & Band), Adam Sopp (Geezer/Policeman, Band & Musical Director), Sooz Kempner (Miss Blenehassitt/Policewoman & Band).” Source (X)

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Wasted Talent

WITHNAIL AND I The REP, Birmingham, Tuesday 14th May 2024 Bruce Robinson’s film from 1987, which he wrote and directed, quite rightfully became a cult classic, with its depiction of decadence and squalor at the end of the 1960s.  Now, Robinson adapts his own screenplay for the stage, bringing to my mind two initial questions: Will the fans be satisfied?  Will newcomers get it? First and…

[literarylondonhq]

Requests 2 - Withnail and I, Madness and Australia!

Adonis Siddique and Robert Sheehan in Withnail and I at Birmingham Rep. Photo: Manuel Harlan Nick Hennegan presents the second instalment of his Resonance 104.4fm request show, Literary London, featuring the music from the cult film Withnail and I, now a theatre show at Birmingham Rep in Brum – he was spotted in Soho with the Mom of Madness lead singer, Suggs – and a request for a moody version…

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Another review has come in. This time from The Spectator (X)

Headed for the canon: Withnail and I, at the Birmingham Rep, reviewed

Some of the more interesting bits:

“The balance between Adonis Siddique’s Marwood and Robert Sheehan’s Withnail is richer than in the film.”

The reviewer also predicts that this theatre adaptation will become part of the canon of theatre’s great film adaptations, expanding on this with:

“The journey has only just started with this version, which may become part of the permanent repertoire along with Abigail’s Party and Educating Rita. The only drawback is the absence of decent roles for women. An all-female production can’t be far off.”

It was recently asked if a theatre-going virgin to the Withnail & I story should see the film before attending the play. Here, have an answer:

“The production would have thrilled diehard fans. As for newcomers, they would probably have been better to start with the film.”

And a final pro tip from The Spectator’s Lloyd Evans:

“If anyone wants more of Withnail, they should read Robinson’s screenplay whose stage directions are as good as the dialogue.”

[firstpersonnarrator]

Review: Robert Sheehan in Withnail & I

Dynamically staged and energetically performed adaptation

Source: TheStage .co.uk (X)

“Adonis Siddique and Robert Sheehan share a sweet, bickering energy, their obvious affection for each other taking the sting out of their constant arguments… Sheehan infuses sozzled, self-loathing aristo Withnail’s every iconic line with bumptious theatricality. All plummy-voiced deliveries and huge, arm-flailing gestures, he is self-consciously funny, putting on a flamboyant act to shock or amuse onlookers.”

“Relating the misadventures that befall a pair of luridly alcoholic struggling actors during a wet weekend in the Lake District, Bruce Robinson’s brutal black comedy Withnail and I quickly became a cult hit after its 1987 release. Wallowing more in nostalgia than drug and drink-induced dissipation, this cheerful stage version – adapted by Robinson and directed by Sean Foley – follows the original beat for beat. All the most quotable moments are intact, frequently drawing cheers from the clued-in audience. But it all feels safe and somehow sanitised, lacking the scuzzy charm and reckless momentum of the film.

“Stepping into iconic roles originated by Paul McGann and Richard E Grant, Adonis Siddique and Robert Sheehan share a sweet, bickering energy, their obvious affection for each other taking the sting out of their constant arguments. As Marwood (the story’s unreliable narrator and the ‘I’ of the title), Siddique is gentle, wary and sometimes intensely paranoid, visibly uncomfortable in his own skin. Opposite him, Sheehan infuses sozzled, self-loathing aristo Withnail’s every iconic line with bumptious theatricality. All plummy-voiced deliveries and huge, arm-flailing gestures, he is self-consciously funny, putting on a flamboyant act to shock or amuse onlookers.

“Malcolm Sinclair handles the role of Withnail’s wealthy gay uncle Monty with delicacy, convincingly reframing the character as desperately lonely rather than as an overt homophobic stereotype. His aggressive pursuit of Marwood is played off as a farcical, faintly sad misunderstanding, rather than the act of a sexual predator.

“Foley’s staging is vigorous and inventive, smoothing off the story’s rougher edges with a high-tempo pacing and a fun, flippant tone. Every scene ends on a familiar punchline, and the talented actor-musician ensemble inject even more energy with live accompaniment, breaking into driving Hendrix riffs and groovy snatches of the Doors and the Kinks.

“Much of the production’s dynamism comes from Alice Power’s extraordinary set, which shifts between locations with breathtaking speed, from seedy pubs to a mouldering Camden bedsit to a Penrith tearoom. At one point, Power even smuggles in a battered old Jaguar, making precise use of sliding screens to conceal the quickest of these changes, while props and furniture glide through hidden doors. Seamlessly integrated video and lighting from Akhila Krishnan and Jessica Hung Han Yun respectively paint winding country roads and miserable London tower blocks, while psychedelic effects ripple across the walls in queasy tones of velvety purple and lime green.

“It all rattles by at breezy pace, and although the play lacks the acidity and bite of the film, this remains an entertaining, satisfyingly skewed sitcom packed with eminently quotable lines that will linger in your head like an unshakeable hangover.”

[firstpersonnarrator]

More positive reviews come rolling in: The Arts Desk (X)

Withnail and I, Birmingham Rep review - Bruce Robinson’s 1987 film makes for a theatrical hit

“Robert Sheehan’s portrayal of Withnail was an absolute scream – and certainly no shallow imitation of Richard E Grant’s performance.”

Rehearsal image: @therepbirmingham IG

“All-in-all, this production of Withnail and I was a triumph and the standing ovation that the cast received was certainly well deserved. Indeed, the show proved to be far from the mistake that it could have been but a real celebration of British theatre in front of a packed audience.”

Full review (X)

Let’s put our cards firmly on the table here. I am a big fan of Bruce Robinson’s cinematic masterpiece about two out-of-work actors who live in Camden Town in 1969 and escape to the countryside for some rejuvenation, and must have seen it multiple times since it was released onto the big screen 37 years or so ago. Clearly, I’m not the only one, for Withnail and I has since achieved serious cult status – to the extent that it’s something of a surprise that it’s never been the focus of a dodgy Hollywood make-over or even been turned into a rock opera by the likes of Ben Elton.

Therefore, it was with some trepidation that I approached the initial run of a live theatre version of this classic comedy at Birmingham’s Rep. However, the fact that it had been adapted for the stage by Robinson himself and was to be directed by the great Sean Foley did offer significant hope. That said, there were still two major aspects about the production that gave a degree of concern: who was going to be cast as the self-absorbed and over-confident, yet cowardly Withnail and how was the predatory Uncle Monty and his unwanted sexual fixation on Adonis Siddique’s Marwood going to be portrayed? After all, mainstream attitudes towards the LGBT+ community have shifted considerably since the film first appeared in the late 1980s, when the Thatcher Government was still doing its damnedest to demonise gay men and lesbians with their Section 28 legislation.

I need not have worried. As Robert Sheehan’s portrayal of Withnail was an absolute scream – and certainly no shallow imitation of Richard E Grant’s performance that launched his film career and created an enduring source of comedy banter, if not a minor character-focused cult. Malcolm Sinclair’s Uncle Monty was similarly a fresh creation and considerably less flamboyant than Richard Griffith’s cinematic portrayal of the part. If anything, Sheehan was significantly more camp than Sinclair in this version.

Of course, the eminently quotable lines from the film’s script were all in order, with many fan boys and girls in the audience mouthing them as they were spoken by the actors. The infamous “We want the finest wines available to humanity. We want them here and we want them now!” even got its own cheer from a good proportion of those in the house.

While the original film has quite a small cast and all the characters, including Danny the Dealer and the imposing Presuming Ed, were represented without having to amalgamate any roles, reproducing various scenes – such as strolling or staggering over the bleak Northern countryside to and from the Crow pub – just wasn’t possible on the Rep’s stage. However, Alice Power’s excellent set – which often consisted of translucent screens and projections – more than made up for the limitations posed by an indoor theatre. Similarly, punctuating the show with a live band covering “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, “Sunshine of your Love” and other tunes of the time, resplendent in hippy garb and fronted by the energetic Sooz Kempner, was a genius move.

All-in-all, this production of Withnail and I was a triumph and the standing ovation that the cast received was certainly well deserved. Indeed, the show proved to be far from the mistake that it could have been but a real celebration of British theatre in front of a packed audience.

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The Guardian’s review of Withnail & I is in! (X)

“Robert Sheehan as Withnail earns shrieks of approval…”

Downtrodden Duo Return to Demand Some More Booze — The Guardian

“Sheehan makes a loose-limbed Withnail, lost in a haze of boozy entitlement, while Siddique is amusingly timid as Marwood, the grammar-school boy out of his depth.”

Rehearsal image @therepbirmingham on IG

“At some point after its general release, Withnail and I became a staple of drunken student nights in. With its eminently quotable lines and air of stoned dilapidation – a kind of 60s answer to The Young Ones – it snowballed into a cult hit, making a star of Richard E Grant and propelling Paul McGann on the road to Doctor Who.

“It means sections of the audience in the Birmingham Rep treat Sean Foley’s slick and energetic production like a tribute act, less a piece of theatre than a collection of favourite one-liners and iconic images. Robert Sheehan as Withnail earns shrieks of approval just for saying, “We want the finest wines available to humanity.” Robinson’s script, which he has adapted himself, has a pleasing aphoristic quality but it is not exactly Oscar Wilde.

“It is the same when Sheehan enters wearing that voluminous great coat and when he and Adonis Siddique as Marwood – the “I” of the title – take to the road in a real-life Jaguar Mk2. No fault of the show, but it is as if it exists to enable fans of the film to relive a shared moment.

“Yet if copycat adaptations are your thing, Withnail and I is as good a candidate as any. Telling the story of two aspiring actors and their accidental holiday in Penrith, the film has a small number of characters, each distinctly drawn, and a similarly small number of scenes, all of which are carried by the strength of the acting. That makes for a smooth transition to the stage. Much of Robinson’s script is word-for-word the same and, if anything, Marwood’s movie voiceovers sit more comfortably as direct audience address.”