GO WEST, to the South of the Thames and see National Anthems! continued By Steve Rudd

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For two actors and one actress to talk and talk and talk for two hours solid, as they do in this play, is extraordinary (how do they learn and remember their lines?!), and because Spacey has such a gloriously magnetic performance there is never any room for a dull time.

Kevin Spacey's performance was entrancing to the point that around thirty people patiently waited outside The Old Vic's stage door straight after the show in hope of meeting the man and getting a personally-endorsed photo or autograph to cherish. So I, along with them, waited for an hour and a half in the freezing cold... but for nothing. He apparently nipped out of the other side-of-theatre exit when nobody was looking. Still, consolation came in the form of Steven Weber who happily signed autographs on leaving the building, appearing rather over-awed at the response he received. In fairness, both himself and Mary Stuart Masterson also put in truly superb performances c with both of them making their London stage debuts.

A couple of us waited right until all the theatre's lights were out just to make sure that Spacey wasn't really hanging around to make a late escape, but he really had gone home. So, I headed off back along The Cut, and little more than half a mile from the theatre I happened to look in the window of a restaurant that I was passing, and who should be there eating dinner? No, not Kevin Spacey... but Jeremy Irons! Well, I'm 99% certain that it was the Brideshead Revisited star, but I thought better than to parade into the restaurant to make doubly sure. When a man has got to eat, he has got to eat.

Anyway, I was worn out. And when a man has got to sleep, no-one can stop him. For more information about shows playing at The Old Vic, please check out www.oldvictheatre.com

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