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by Sharnaz Shahid
They’re currently starring in American Buffalo on London’s West End. And Damian Lewis and his co-star John Goodman took a break from their intense theatre schedule to enjoy a fun afternoon out at the races, attending the opening day of Royal Ascot in Berkshire on Tuesday.
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After shocking fans with his radical new moustachioed look, Damian Lewis took to the stage for his West End play American Buffalo‘s opening night on Monday.
And his wife of eight years, Helen McCrory, was there to cheer him on as he wowed the audience with his lead turn opposite John Goodman and Tom Sturridge at London’s Wyndham Theatre.
Once the curtains were closed on the star-studded night, the couple were seen lovingly linking arms as they made their way to the nearby National Cafe to kick off celebrations.
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It would be mean, cheap and generally a bit dickish to say that Damian Lewis’s big post-‘Homeland’, post-‘Wolf Hall’ return to the London stage is overshadowed by some comedy facial hair. Nonetheless: if you think the above photo of his moustache is a bit on the distracting side then seriously, you should see the thing live.
David Mamet’s classic 1975 play ‘American Buffalo’ is a three hander, and in Daniel Evans’s enjoyable but busy production, Lewis, rising Brit talent Tom Sturridge, and old American hand John Goodman each sort of do their own thing to entertaining if not entirely cohesive effect.
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by HENRY HITCHINGS – Evening Standard – April 28, 2015
Facing off: John Goodman, Damian Lewis and Tom Sturridge (back) command the stage (Picture: Johan Persson)
David Mamet’s breakthrough play, which dates from 1975, puts male relationships under the microscope and is a gift to actors.
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By Lucy Brooks – Culture Whisper – April 28, 2015
American Buffalo cast, photo by Johan Persson
American Buffalo is typical David Mamet: a taut three-hander that’s all talk. The dynamic between the have-a-go-hustlers is testosterone-heavy, meaty and littered with expletives. Action is sparse and the characters are dissatisfied outliers of the American Dream.
This revival brings the shabby clutter of a Chicago junk shop to London with loving attention to detail and the stylish touch of assorted Americana suspended from above, penning in a claustrophobic stage. Within this shop interior we see the rhythms of everyday life, full of gripes over money lost in poker and what to eat for breakfast. But when the titular American Buffalo, a 24-karat bullion coin minted in 2006 by the US government, gives a chance to make a quick buck, a convoluted plan emerges, warps and collapses.
John Goodman, superbly cast as long-suffering shopkeeper Don, negates a contradictory mixture of self-seeking ambition, caution and sympathy as he is persuaded to evolve his petty criminal plans and replace the dopey sidekick Bobby with smooth-talking Teach. His expressiveness ekes out the comedy between the lines, and as the only American on stage, Goodman’s natural cadence makes Mamet’s script feel the most vivid.
Already under the spotlight thanks to a starring role in Far From the Madding Crowd, Tom Sturridge as Bobby holds his own on stage, keeping the spacey slur just subtle enough to leave us guessing over his sobriety. And while there is plenty of humour, there is nothing parodic about his portrayal of a recently recovering addict; vulnerability and pathos stay close to the surface.
But Damian Lewis stole the show. Oozing seventies sleaze with a flared burgundy suit, handlebar ‘tache and sideburns, he masters the gift of the gab. As the charismatic but usurping Teach he had not just the characters but the audience eating out his hand. And for all the flashiness, Lewis also reveals underlying insecurities. All the insidious self-promotion and confidence in talking down others is offset by a deep discontentment, conveyed in a rare moment of wordlessness and flash of frenzied action.
Continue reading Review: American Buffalo Four Stars – April 28, 2015
