76. Rocket to the Moon - Lyttleton, National Theatre

Though it has ended up being rather overshadowed in my memory by the large number of marvellous plays around at the moment, I rather loved Rocket to the Moon – it was gentle, slightly old fashioned and, in the end, a little forgettable – but it was also crammed full of superb acting.


Joseph Millson continues to be a favourite of mine, with warm, interesting and nuanced performances. His anguish at the end was superbly set against the controlled, suppressed performance that it followed – in fact every moment of emotion that Cleo drew from him was a wonder to watch and gave their relationship an air of magic. I could watch him forever. He was well matched by Jessica Raine as Cleo Singer, who captured all the beautiful, joyful details of what is a really exceptional role. I was quite as smitten as all the men in the cast.

I missed Keeley Hawes, who was indisposed (I’ve not had much luck with leading ladies recently as Eve Best and Joanne Riding also cancelled our engagements), though here I certainly didn’t feel like I’d lost out as her understudy, Rendah Heywood, was wonderful as Belle. I was impressed by her subtly powerful performance and the hints of her hidden vulnerability. In fact it was a strong cast all round, with ASebastian Armesto emerging as another favourite performance.

And it is this collection of fantastic performances that I will remember. The play was entertaining, emotional and clever. The set, costumes and lighting did what it needed to and didn’t detract from the performances but didn’t necessarily impress either (though I was charmed by the old fashioned dentist posters). But none of that matters because the actors on their own simply sparkled.