Profile for mscarlyon

I'm not uninamimously supporting Hannah Waddingham for Desiree, just that the logic is indisputable that whoever plays it *can* be 40, and that this is believable and as intended in the London production.

I think judging it on a photograph is quite simply not acceptable or appropriate! If anyone has *seen* her play this role and still thinks she is playing "35", speak now. I think she is believably 40, hence my previous posts.

Age 40 is where Trevor Nunn's places his Desiree in London. Unless you have seen Hannah Waddingham's performance and feel it is not so (and I believe it is a performance that is very believably 40), there is no reason to place it at "35". But it is very clearly not "late 40s" or "50" and I cover this in my earlier post.

I think it's a little naive to suggest that a modern audience can't *relate* to an early 20th century European drama (read Scandinavian, and thus Ibsen etc), and to accommodate to a woman of 40 at the time of "A Little Night Music". Many will easily sympathise with Desiree's situation and certainly not all of today's 40 year olds have recently-created families.

As far as I am aware, all Fredrik says in Act 2 is that he failed to sit through most of her performances during their time tog

There are numerous indications within the book that support the choice of a 40 year old Desiree. Anne describes her as "ravishingly beautiful", a comment that could only have occurred to a girl of 18 as recognition of a true sexual rival. You could argue that a woman of 50, however beautiful, could never seem a rival to a teenager.

Desiree has the supreme confidence of a woman still in her physical prime to reveal her naked body to Fredrik, the love of her life, within minutes of their

best12bars, I appreciate that you are not a fan of Trevor Nunn, but have you actually seen the London production? It doesn't seem fair to make such harsh judgements upon it, and its director, if you are basing your opinions just on hearsay and what have mostly been good reviews. Many, many people have found it an exquisite interpretation of a masterpiece, Stephen Sondheim included.

If you have seen it, fair enough. I'd be much more interested in hearing your views about the production,