Saturday 3rd September 2016 and a change of venue for me today. Visiting the New Theatre in Cardiff to watch No Man’s Land, a play by Harold Pinter, starring Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian Mckellen along with Welsh actor Owen Teale and Damien Molony. It’s not very often you get two massively huge theatre stars in the same show and in Cardiff as well, what an honour for the New Theatre to host these famous names. 

I don’t see many plays, I’m mostly musicals and opera, but I need to broaden my horizons, and of course a once in a lifetime opportunity to see two amazing actors in action together, live on the same stage. Just looking at the programme you realise just how much the two sirs have achieved in their lives, with a full page of credits for each of them. So awe inspiring just to be in the same building. And a delightful treat for myself as well.

And so to the show from the start we have Ian Mckellen and Patrick Stewart onstage for the whole first half of the act, with Ian literally talking for most of it, a really impressive vocabulary, and diction. Also to keep the flow going for so long with apparent ease, showing just how much talent there is to behold. Patrick is pretty quiet for that section but still has the ability to act believably drunk throughout. The introduction of Damien and Owen provide a different path that the play takes from that point until the end of act one. A brilliant piece of literary theatre brought to life by four amazing actors. True talent shining throughout.

So on to act two which begins with Ian and Owen in the study, a really funny section with Owen looking like Ray from life on Mars, a little like him to. Moving to a scene with  Patrick entering and reminiscing about the past with dalience a with Ian’s wife. A really impressive second act with Patrick taking up the mantle of main speaker, at least for half the act. With Ian finishing off the dialect with amazing ease. A truly fantastic play with comic undertones throughout. A true masterclass of acting Skills brought to life by a fabulous cast. I have to say I could not fault any of it, and would say that I was totally engrossed throughout. For my first Harold Pinter play I really enjoyed the whole performance. A lot of it was of course down to the brilliant cast assembled on stage (which I’ve aluded to already), just brilliant absolutely brilliant,made my day and just cannot believe what I’ve seen. Never be able to forget this as long as I have breath in my body.