La Bete
Three phenomenal stars. The director of God of Carnage, Boeing-Boeing and The Norman Conquests. The most ferociously funny comedy event of the year.
Why see La Bete?
American playwright David Hirson's rollicking 1991 play, La Bête, is a comic tour de force about Elomire (David Hyde Pierce), a high-minded classical dramatist who loves only the theatre, and Valere (Mark Rylance), a low-brow street clown who loves only himself.
When the fickle princess (Joanna Lumley) decides she’s grown weary of Elomire's royal theatre troupe, he and Valere are left fighting for survival as art squares off with ego in a literary showdown for the ages.
La Bête will star Tony and Olivier Award winner Mark Rylance (Jerusalem, Boeing-Boeing), Tony and Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce (Dr Niles Crane in Frasier) and BAFTA Award winner Joanna Lumley (Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous) and will be directed by the multi award-winning Matthew Warchus (The Norman Conquests, God of Carnage, Boeing-Boeing).
Key Information
Audience
La Bête is suitable for audiences aged 12 and upwards.
Run Time
1 hour 45 minutes.
Dates
Finished 23 Aug 2010
Cast
Mark Rylance as Valere
David Hyde Pierce as Elomire
Joanna Lumley as Princess Conti
David Hyde Pierce as Elomire
Joanna Lumley as Princess Conti
Creative
Director: Matthew Warchus
Author: David Dirson
Author: David Dirson
Reviews
Customer reviews
14 reviews, average rating: (3.6 Stars)
Me
Hilarious
This clever play did not disappoint. Mark Rylance's long monologue was delivered with genius. Every word was carefully spoken. The other actors' faces were an absolute picture as they had to listen to him with no chance to interrupt. Anyone who books this just to see Joanna Lumley will be disappointed because she doesn't appear until quite near the end. But I had done my research and knew what to expect before I booked. Likewise, anyone who can't last 1 hour and 45 minutes without a fag or toilet break will also be disappointed. For most people, the lack of an interval was a positive point. ... Read more
Anonymous
A tour de force from Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance's spectacular performance lights up this witty and erudite parable about the cultural clash between highbrow intellectuals and mediocre clowning. The play is set in 18th century France (and was actually written almost 20 years ago), but that conflict is even more marked today in an age of reality TV where mediocrity rules (almost) all. Too long? Nonsense. It's a little under two hours from start to finish. Rylance is simply phenomenal. His opening speech, a preening, self-obsessed monologue, lasts an incredible 30 minutes, and is truly brilliant throughout, its wit heightened by Hirson's deliciously clever rhymes. Lumley too is excellent, better than you might expect from an actress best known for television comedy. However, Hyde Pierce, here playing the outraged straight man to Rylance's buffoon, has comparatively little to do beyond expressing his anger and frustration. That might disappoint anyone who's come looking for a live performance of Niles Crane. ... Read more
Anonymous
Feast of words; comedy that doesn't pander!
La Bete with David Hyde Pierce, Mark Rylance, and Joanna Lumley
is a theatrical tour de force, a comedy that asks something of
the audience and rewards its rapt attention. Each of the players
brings something to the table: outsize comic bombast and
incredible verbal recall from Rylance; hauteur and a sexual
frisson absent from the original production from Lumley, and
incredulous integrity from Hyde Pierce. The script, in rhyming
couplets, sets the stakes ever higher for a the comic payoff--
then delivers.
The play, like any other, is not immune to criticism. The lack of
change in one of the central characters, for instance, rules out
much psychological complexity. But on the whole, the evening
was as delightful as it was unusual. Bravo and more, please! ... Read more
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