A great evening of live entertainment

I was fortunate enough to see the original Frost/Nixon stage production at the Donmar Theatre in London over a decade ago directed by Michael Grandage, former artistic director of Sheffield Theatres, with Hollywood actor Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost.
Daniel Rigby as David Frost and Jonathan Hyde as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon at the Crucible Theatre, SheffieldDaniel Rigby as David Frost and Jonathan Hyde as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Daniel Rigby as David Frost and Jonathan Hyde as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

While I thoroughly enjoyed it, the day was more memorable for having turned up early at the theatre in the pouring rain with my family to find the theatre still closed and subsequently having to take shelter in the small entrance doorway alongside two ladies, equally rain-drenched, one of who whom was the legendary Joan Baez.

The film version of the play featuring Langella and Sheen was hugely disappointing and so I was very interested to see if The Crucible could redeem Peter Morgan’s play in its original form.

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I’m somewhat bemused that the few reviews so far have fallen short of five stars out of five for director Kate Hewitt’s production is way superior to the Donmar, (and the film), in every department.

Jonathan Hyde is simply superb as ‘tricky Dickie’, (surely someone is going to nominate him for an award for this performance).

Daniel Rigby catches the Frost inflections perfectly without recourse to blatant impersonation, while the rest of the cast and crew ensure the whole thing gels to a level that outstrips anything London Theatre can produce. This isn’t the first time that Sheffield Theatres have done the region proud. Over the years we’ve had some marvellous productions, many critically unsung. Obviously the current bad weather is having an effect on attendances, but if you can get to see Frost/Nixon then give the TV or cinema a miss for a great evening’s live entertainment. Pure class.

Steve Pinder

North Anston, S25