Looking back in gratitude

It was exactly 50 years ago last night that John Osborne's now legendary play burst on to the Royal Court stage and blasted British drama out of its hidebound complacency. A commemorative evening was the very least that Jimmy Porter and co deserved, and their old alma mater duly obliged in some style.

First up was a punchy lecture by David Hare, whose aim was to recover Osborne's reputation from the latterday naysayers. Yet the most eagerly awaited offering was, rightly, the script-in-hand performance of three lengthy excerpts from the play, with the sort of cast that the West End would drool over.

David Tennant, everybody's favourite Doctor, has played Porter before and it showed. Lean and with a hunted, haunted look, he weaved with dangerous, pent-up, compelling energy between the familiar ironing board and armchairs.

It is no discredit to them to say that Anne-Marie Duff (Alison) and Helen McCrory (Helena) could not quite rival this. Tennant should be extracted from the Tardis and forced to reprise the role.

Interwoven with Tennant's ferocity were various recollections of LBIA's genesis and the critical mauling it received until Kenneth Tynan rode in and saved the day.

Damien Lewis read from Osborne's 1956 diaries with engaging insouciance, while Simon Day and Nicholas Le Prevost, as Court directors Tony Richardson and George Devine, appeared increasingly bemused by the phenomenon they had, perhaps unwittingly, created. It was, as it should have been, a long look back in gratitude.

Royal Court Theatre 50: A Tribute To Look Back In Anger