In rush. MUST get on with some work. Oh my....I�m trying to work here too but all I�m really able to do right now is think about 3DOR and you know who...still three days to Saturday!! Ladies, tell me I�m not dreaming.

Elena: You are not dreaming you lucky girl.... I cannot believe that the board is up to 1500 again.

Whew! Reading the last dozen or so posts was a bit of a roller coaster ride. What the audience and fans think is important, but IMO unfortunately so are the critics. (Bethan)....but I just don't like or trust the London theatre critics. The NY Times said recently that London critics have a long history of trashing American plays, so be prepared. The gentleman above was rather polite about it; others may not be. So long as they like Colin!! (Bethan) I loved the description of his mum...very, very sweet looking, white hair in a bun, and beautiful eye. And his dad has dimples. I confess I've wondered about from which parent Colin got his features--sounds like both! (SusanMc)Bethan, I too thought about trying to cook up a plausible business trip excuse I think we may need to form a subgroup called "happily married droolers whose husbands wouldn't or don't understand." Perhaps we can all share alibis and excuses! As tiring as subterfuge becomes, I couldn't begin to think of a way to explain all this, and my husband's a great guy.

Just back from LA, I should be taking care of my suitcase and getting life back in order, instead, I�m trying to catch up here (heehee). I decided to post first and read later since some of you might be packing as we write. Thanks for links, and reviews which I look forward to reading. (Eileen), I think we may need to form a subgroup called "happily married droolers whose husbands wouldn't or don't understand." Perhaps we can all share alibis and excuses! As tiring as subterfuge becomes, I couldn't begin to think of a way to explain all this, and my husband's a great guy. I agree, but, if I were living in the UK, (Bethan take note), I would have made something up, lied, cheated, etc. etc. and would have attended the play, especially with all your drool friends arriving from the US: you are still in time. Remember, I created a whole Perugino tour of Umbria just to visit Citta delle Pieve and visit the church where they married (my husband never knew). Try, �You know dear, Heide, my third cousin twice removed who lives in what was, our most important colonial (colinial), cit .� Ladies, we do expect to have a virtual reality experience from your information, remember no tidbit is too small to recount. I too would love a program, there will probably be lots of men dropping theirs (jealous of course). I think Colin would love the flowers, actors love their dressing rooms to be filled with appreciative tokens (it sometimes counter balances the critics). Make sure you also sign www.colinfirth.com and invite him to join us in chat sometime. Go to it and bon voyage.

Wonderful review in the Evening Standard. My hands are shaking so I will just post this and then compose myself for a long type. Please excuse typos, there will probably be plenty.

Evening Standard 3.3.99 "The time, the place, the man" by Nicholas de Jongh Decades after J B Priestley used the theatre to play poignant and significant games with time, Richard Greenberg creates most arresting variations on Priestley's original theme. The third act of Priestley's Time and the Conways achieved unusual pathos, since linear chronology had been defied and the audiences had already seen what would happen to the characters' high hopes. But Greenberg's Three Days of Rainsimply begins in New York, 1995, and then retreats 30 years. The challenging idea s to demonstrate how biology may give a helping hand to destiny, how the sins or rather our parents' traits and decisions may playshaping parts in our lives. The first act, with its flippant wit, has an eye to the past. Colin Firth's Walker, son of the mildly famous but rich architect, Ned, returns out of the blue having missed his father's funeral, to face the recriminating music that time plays in the wake of an important death. Since Walker's married sister , Nan, meets him in a house that Ned built with his partner,Theo, and Theo's son, Pip, is on hand, the play looks all too neatly set up for pained reminiscing. Robin LeFevre's cannily understated production, which I saw at a preview, tantalises with its air of tight-fisted tensions. The concealed truth is about to be forced into the open. When the play concertinas back to 1960's and the two men play their fathers, with Elizabeth McGovern's Nan completing the emotional treangle as her own mother, you come to understand how the sexual and emotional patterns of the next generation have been set. The force of Colin Firth's remarkable acting transcends the mere erotic appeal that on television made him the fantasy play-thing of so many women. He portrays two men who loiter on the fringes of life, brooding over how to find the key to happiness. Firth's valiantly worn dejection always rings true. Dowdily dressed in despondency, an almost thread-bare charm and a long, grey-green pull-over as Walker, and then in the role of his bespectacled, stammering and introverted father, the less brilliant arch tect, Firth illuminates both men's difficence and pain. Miss McGovern wears a vibrant sexiness, but remains enigmatically buttoned up. David Morrissey's Pip most powefully shows how we may speak the most painful home truths in the mildest tones. *********** There is a photograph of EMcG and CF under the caption "Transcending T V's erotic appeal: Colin Firth, with E.McG in 3DOR" *********** So he did break a leg;-) But I notice that this review was written after seeing the review.

That last sentence should say "written after the preview"

The force of Colin Firth's remarkable acting transcends the mere erotic appeal that on television made him the fantasy play-thing of so many women. Can't you just read that line over and over? You da man, Nick!! Allison, thanks for sharing!! Completely off topic, from the school of history repeating itself... Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon announce they expect a baby in fall. So what? The two appear in 'Cruel Intentions,' an modernized version of 'Valmont' where he plays Valmont and she Tourvil(sp?). Sound familiar? There must be something about that story.

A nit, but programmes cost UKStg2 ($3.30) and up these days. Once paid for, unlikely to be discarded or knowingly left behind. A free credits sheet is usually available, though.

Thanks Allison. It is so good to read positive reviews, I hope it is the first of many. I still want to know if he does it with an American accent. I would gladly pay for the program if Heide or Karen would be so kind as to pick one up for me.

Just back from LA.....en route to UK... Thanks Allison for the wonderful review in the Telegraph. Don't you love....the force of Firth's remarkable acting transcends the erotic appeal on television But hey, it ain't all bad to have erotic appeal and good acting.... obviously written by a man!! But at last his acting is gaining recognition. ****** Just want to add that Saturday's performance would be enhanced if all of our Drool friends were there with us. I shall pick up as many programs as I can stuff in my big bag. And Ben...don't be concerned ..I am sure we will blend in beautifully with the all British audience :-)

Another good review in The Independent, good for the play and good for Colin, with picture, I will type it out later but I just wanted you all to know. Thank goodness The Evening Standard critic went to the Preview Allison, from what I hear that was his best night so Chloe could still have a valid point about last night, still that is forgotten,everyone can have an off night, looking forward to Saturday and I agree about the flowers, which I too think he would appreciate, a thankyou for a wonderful perfo mance! Hello Evelyn, look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

The review can be found at: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/business/top_direct.html Haven't found anything at The Times or the Telegraph yet. :( However, there is an article at the Electronic Telegraph about Fay Weldon's new P&P series, where she reverses the roles. There is a picture of JE and CF accompanying. Moon, will be happy to pick up a program for you. You too, Marcia!! Eileen: Saw Reese Witherspoon last night though exactly the same thing, but I think she plays the Cecile character. Buffy the Vampire Slayer plays Madame Merteuil!

OOH! Great reviews, I'm SO pleased for him. No wonder your hands were shaking, Allison. Ann, I don't think Chloe said Colin was "very, very nervous" just that she "thought" he may have been nervous (I took a printout because I wanted to read the comments about his mum and dad).I actually thought her comments were okay, it was more a case that she wasn't over keen on the play itself. I'm quite hopeful now that the reviews will be good, and certainly OK. Thank you Nick de Jongh.

I'm so glad for those reviews! I admit I felt scared I'd be acutely embarrassed for Colin in front of Antonio. I think I could handle it if he weren't there. Now I'm feeling much relieved :-)

I've read the play and I'm afraid I don't like it much. The comment that it's a bit pointless is exactly how I felt about it. Indifferent. It doesn't prove anything, it doesn't shatter you with any disovery... At the same time, it is a fair showcase for acting skills. So I'm not surprised if the play is not received enthusiastically. But I do hope the actors are - especially CF.

I agree with you, Arami. I was somewhat disappointed in the play, and when I told Antonio the story he said, Is that what we're going to see? Not much point in it.

Arami, and Marcia,when you get here - Eileen and I are in Chat, join us!

Thanks, Allison. I�m so glad about that beautiful review after the shock this morning. (Arami)I've read the play and I'm afraid I don't like it much. The comment that it's a bit pointless is exactly how I felt about it Yes, it seems a bit pointless, a lot of text but not so much content really. That�s why it is a tough play to do well, you have to work hard to put some life and meaning into it and not make the audience yawn. I must say that Colin has guts, he could�ve chosen something much easier to return to the theater stages with......or maybe he couldn�t have, I guess he�ll never do anything in the easiest or the most obvious way.

I'm curious to see how they work out all those interrupted sentences... I know what some Portuguese actors would do, and it wouldn't be good :-(

What great reviews!! Thanks for posting them, it is a huge relief , we know he is brilliant but we want everyone else to as well. I checked out HELLO and to my utter relief (again) he is not on show!! TIMEOUT is also not doing its promised review this week either. DRAT. Bethan, I won't tell you WHO leads their theatre ad!!

BTW Jana it is you I am trying to e-mail. jcjc. I have had no luck ever since we knew you were coming!

Gi, just missed you in chat. Eileen is there and I am talking to mysself. It is unfortunate we cannot rig up some sort of sound to announce the arrival of someone new.

(Karen)Saw Reese Witherspoon last night though exactly the same thing, but I think she plays the Cecile character Really? Thought I read in 'Entertainment Weekly' that she played Tourvil. ?? Still, its a noteworthy coincidence! Don't think Michelle got off with what's his name (drawing yet another blank) in 'Dangerous Liaisons?' Yuck! BTW, 'EW' dissed A&E's Scarlet Pimpernel--especially EMcG. Said she played her role with "a nothing European accent" or words to that effect. To all you ladies jetting to London tomorrow (and now, Evelyn)--have a safe trip and a simply *wonderful* time :-) .

Sorry Bethan, perhaps I did let my imagination run away with me but she did say his accent wavered and the timing wasn't great, so I was a bit concerned but that was last night, tonight is tonight.. Here is The Independent Reveiw or at least the bits that concern CF (it is a long review), you will probably find the full review on Murph's site in due course:- WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE PAST, DADDY? "For the siblings, this comes as something of an end, but for the playwright Richard Greenberg it is a cunningly constructed beginning. This, the last in the Donmar's American season, is an often fascinating study of the legacy of two architects whose family home is a world-renowned landmark and the centre of an emotional whirlpool for their children".........."The sibling rivalries of the well-layered characters are deftly established as Nan meets up with neurotic Walker for the reading of the Will"......The director, Robin Lefevre, coaxes witty, beautifully modulated performance from his cast, all of whom resist the temptation to signal too heavily what we know of their older selves. The rivalry between the men is captivatingly done and the climactic seduction scene is exquisitely played by a wonderfully gauche, stammering Firth - all spectacles and hunched shoulders - and febrile, skittish McGovern - a young Katharine Hepburn and early Blanche Dubois - yet even they cannot stave off the curiously flat denouement." He didn't like the end, another paragraph to come. This is just the best bits but I am really looking forward to the seduction scene, didn't know about that! There is also a photo of Colin with EMcG & DM in character as W,N &P. A review should be in The Times tomorrow and The Telegraph Friday and Lizza is keeping an eye on The Guardian, then we must watch out for the Sunday papers. I will bring the paper cuttings with me on Saturday, perhaps Karen will be able to use them.

Lizza, I checked out "Hello" this lunchtime....and he's not there! Great relief. He's just not a "Hello" spread type! Moon, You're quite right....I really wish I'd invented a long lost aunt from Brazil who was paying a fleeting visit to London! Believe me, I did run through several scenarios, but chickened out. I did ask the guy at the Box office if there was any chancee that the play would tranfer for a longer run, and he said "Don't quote me (which I am doing!) and this is only conjecture, but it might." I don't think it will...CF specifically mentioned only wanting a short run, and he does seem to have other projects n the offing. So I shall kick myself, and live vicariously! Oh, and Allison, great to hear that the Times has the "House Full" sign by the ad for 3DOR. Amazing how popular EMcG is! :-) This in itself denotes success...not many shows sellout before the reviews. There were even seats available for Nicole Kidman until Charles Spencer (D Telegraph) wrote his "theatrical Viagra" review, and then, guess what, everyone (male) wanted tickets! But 3DOR sold out...despite the Telegraph's comment that CF was " as sexy as a breezeblock"!

(I took a printout because I wanted to read the comments about his mum and dad) As a fellow mother hen and incurable romantic, I would love to see that printout. Any chance? Or has your drooling reduced the paper to mush? I have been thinking about how proud his parents must be all day. This has, I have to say, interfered with my work somewhat:-)

SEDUCTION scene?!!! I'm kicking myself, KICK, KICK, KICK!! And I'm e-mailing the BBC again to suggest a Performance adaptation of 3DOR with the original cast. I'm sure EMcG's partner is Head of Drama.

Oh you are so funny Bethan, are you sure you haven'y got some shopping to do in the West End, and just happen to pass the Donmar.

--Bethan--Did you get your play? ANYTHING??? --TO ALL LONDONGOERS: How DARE you have even a shadow of a doubt that you will have a wonderful and memorable experience and that you will see the best live theatre of your life (up to now, anyway!) Because you will. HAVE A BALL, ALL!!!--KJArt

This has, I have to say, interfered with my work somewhat:-) Work, what's work? My family are all out at various places for the evening, and I was so pleased to see them go! Allison, if you email me your address I'll send you a copy of the printout. I hope I'm not hi-jacking your conversation with Chloe here, Ann, but I was so fascinated to read about the press night, and about his parents. I just find it tremendously endearing that he has such a nice and supportive family and that he's obviously so close to them. Quotes (family) His mum and dad were in the front row with his brother and sister. His mum looked really very sweet, white hair in a bun, quite bookish to look at, but WOW, I know where Colin gets his eyes from. He has his dad's shaped face and dimples though..like old Col they use their hands a lot, moving their fingers etc..I suppose it shows they were nervous. After the play there was a reception in the upstairs bar and Colin did make a five minutes appearance with his parents, before scuttling off. No sign of Livia. I can say, most definitely and explicitly, Colin looked gorgeous.

Have I read the script this badly? If there�s a seduction, it has escaped my notice, must be somewhere between the lines. Hmmmmmm. It must be the moment when �The rain is louder now...Lina: "Look, it�s started again!"....A downpour.....?!

Remember, most of Colin's best acting is in the absence of dialog.....

Karen, Yes, I've got it! With all this excitement I forgot to check! Many, many thanks for your perseverence. I'll just chop down a tree and start printing! BTW, my netaddress e-mail address seems to be fine again (fingers crossed), so I'm reverting back.

I shouldn't really be here, ironing up to the ceiling but just wanted you to know that I have found another excellent review this time on the internet at Theatreworld Internet Magazine www.members.aol.com/mouseu and you may have to scrool down to the reviews - small theatres outside the west end. If any of you can't find it I will type it out when I have done the ironing!!! Yes Livia, I thought it wazs lovely that his whole family should be there, obviously a close knit family and supportive.

Sorry gave you the wrong address for Theatreworld Internet Magazine, should be:-members.aol.com/mouseuk/stage/index.htm

I've seen a production of the play and I've read the play both before and after having seen it, there is a lot more to it than these critics are catching. They have even gotten little facts wrong in their reviews. In that respect, they have the same problem that Walker has with his father. When someone said that the play seemed to be "overly ambitious," I knew from that point they hadn't understood it. It succeeds very well at what it is attempting to do IMO. Re: a Seduction scene. Probably viewed more from the standpoint of Lina seducing Ned, but both of them do a very subtle dance around each other. I found the play to be very funny and freighted with meaning. I expect that not all the jokes (pop culture refs too) will translate well. That being said, I am very much looking forward to Colin in that role. It is the type that he can really sink his teeth into.

I'd like to remind some of you that if you give a site's complete address, not forgetting the http:// part, you give the rest of us a link we can hop into directly.Thanks!

Gi, I'm afraid I don't know how to post a link, sorry.

Ann, this is how I do it. Either from my Bookmarks or from the location bar of your browser, hilight the URL you want to post then hit control+C. Toggle (tab and alt buttons) over to the Board you want to post it on, get your cursor where you want to put the URL then hit control+V. It should have http:// in front of it. If so, it will be a hot link and we can all use it.

let's see if this works. adding http://www to what you posted I get http://www.aol.com/mouseuk/stage/index.htm

It worked but there is still something wrong since it said the URL was no longer on AOL or something was wrong with it. try again without the WWW http://aol.com/mouseuk/stage/index.htm

Same problem, dear. Check that URL again and give it another try. I got the same page whether or not I used the www.

Hi droolers, I managed to get in at long last. Seems like I caused quite a stir with my comments last night. I really didn';t mean to put anyone off the play, it was just that I am sure what with the press there and everything the timing seemed a bit off because the actors were nervous. Colin's perf is good, don;t get me wrong espec in 2nd half as the father, I would just have rather he used his own UK accent, deep and resonant. He did give a huge dimpled grin when bowing at the end so he obviously felt O about the performance. I am sure it will be better as each performance progresses.

OK this is it: IT WORKS!!! http://members.aol.com/mouseuk/stage/index.htm

About Colin's family - his mum and dad looked really proud when we all applauded at the end. Jonathon sat further back in about row 4 but I couldn;t see Livia at all - perhaps she went to the first perf on the 1st. Also there in audience was Jane Horrocks, quite heavily pregnant, Ian Hart (Land and Freedom) and Emilia Fox (played Georgiana in P&P)

Hello Chloe, glad you made it and welcome. The reviews seem to be pretty good,thank goodness. Marcia, thanks for your help, will you try again for me and add members. before aol.com etc. Thanks.

Thankyou Marcia. I think Livia went to the Preview performances on Monday night, Chloe.

Yes the reviews do look good, which is great as I really do want the play to succeed for Colin. I am feeling pretty rotten now - maybe just too hard to please. I think I was expecting too much last night, what with being there and all and with the hope that he might appear at the end at the reception thing in the bar. Maybe the fact that he stayed such a short time coloured my view of it all a bit. As I say, it hasn't put me off him at all - actually enhanced it as like all of us he is only human. He does have an amasing stage presence - actually looks bigger than he seems on the screen

I suppose Livia doesn't want to go to every performance, and I don't blame her really, it would get a little dull after 10 or so times...Perhaps Colin and his parents went straight off home to Islington to sample some home pasta cooking Livia had prepared!

if anyone had problems finding it from the cover page, this will take you straight there http://members.aol.com/mouseuk/stage/off.htm#off west end theatres scroll down about 2/3 of the page.

Are there any more details about the people who met Colin backstage after the 1st perf of 3DoR?

If I succeed in getting backstage to meet CF on Thurs I'll report back here. I am going with a friend who had a couple of months' fling with David Morrissey a few years ago and so hopefully I can use this as a ruse to ask for an introduction to the man himself. I'll keep you posted on it...

(chloe)If I succeed in getting backstage to meet CF... We who are avionically impaired and cannot get to London are depending on your reports back to the homefront. Whether or not...but we'd all die of envy and joy for you if you did get to meet him. Either way, take notes and report back. We are depending on you! How fortunate you are in the selection of friends and in her selection of lovers! I hope they parted friends.

(Gi) Arami, and Marcia... Eileen and I are in Chat, join us! Errmmmmm... Thank you, madam, I rarely chat... ;-) (And missed your invitation by about two hours.) *** Brit Droolers, The Three Deers operate a scanner in the UK, but the press cutting service is not very efficient... anyone wishing to contribute to the media coverage for colinfirth.com, please let me know and I'll arrange contact. *** Chloe, please let us know exactly where the Donmar stage door is!

Is anybody alive out there and still awake? If you are going to 3DoR, may I suggest you take a small pair of binoculars (the ones the size of opera glasses). You'll be glad that you did, I think.

(Arami) anyone wishing to contribute to the media coverage for colinfirth.com, please let me know and I'll arrange contact. I'd be happy to support them in any way I can. Monitarily??? Other ? Let me know.

Lizza I tried emailing you too, but it says your addresses has fatal errors. Leaving tomorrow so will see you in London.

TO ALL OF THE LONDON GOERS: Have a wonderful and memorable experience. Ann, if the programmes cost please get me one and I will send you the money. I hope that everyone has a really great time. After those reveiws and great times with friends it would be impossible not to have a ball. Only extraordinaty circumstances are preventing me from going.

To echo Rita, all of you have a wonderful, wonderful time! :) I can't wait to hear all about your adventures- and Ann dear, I will also send you some $ to cover the cost of a program, just let me know how much they run. :) Thank You again, and again!

From the page that Ann discovered: (but only after my eyes recovered ;-)) DONMAR WAREHOUSE "THREE DAYS OF RAIN� Now playing at the Donmar Warehouse This play is the first by the American playwright Richard Greenberg to be staged in Britain. It is a play firmly set in New York looking at two generations of the same family, first in the 1990s and in the second act, looking back at the 1960s. There is some wonderful humour, all of it accessible to the English audience. Greenberg writes very lyrically, his prose is full of nostalgia and remembrance as his characters recall their past. In the first act, Walker, COLIN FIRTH reappears after a period of not communicating with his family. In the meantime he has missed his father's funeral and caused his sister, Nan, ELIZABETH McGOVERN no end of anxiety resulting in her hiring a private detective to find him. Walker is a lovely character, quirky, very slightly unhinged, albeit less severely than his now hospitalised mother, whom he describes as like one of Zelda Fitzgerald's less stable si ters! Walker and Nan's father was an architect and famous for designing a house which made the cover of Life magazine in the 1960s. The play opens in a flat in New York where Walker has discovered a journal written by his father hidden under a mattress. This discovery makes brother and sister rethink their own past and brings in its wake some new insights. The arrival of their father's talented partner's son, Pip, DAVID MORRISEY, a successful actor in television soap, completes the triangle. Go to see Colin Firth draped on the balcony in his agony like a statue by Rodin! Walker talks about the house, what it means to him, what it symbolises. His personality, whilst infuriating to live with, is endearing and Colin Firth gives the part a vulnerability but with some underlying humour. Elizabeth McGovern has an excellent range and adds real depth to the character. David Morrissey conveys all the shallowness of his character, Pip which is played on by Walker, who although highly strung is brighter but less successful and less fulfilled. The shocking aspect of the first act is hen their father leaves the (almost) award winning house not to his children but to his partner's son, Pip. This hurt engenders more hurt as Walker tries to cope with the news. In the second act, Firth plays the father, Ned and McGovern, the mother, Lina, with Morrisey as Theo, the partner. I am not sure that I fully understood the nuances of this act in respect of the building. So many plans seemed to get torn up that I had trouble deciding whether the ideas were all Theo's or whether Ned just perceived Theo as the more creative partner due to Ned's insecurity and lack of confidence. Let me know what you think! Lina and Ned come together, both brittle misfits who mistake someth ng else for love. Talking about his parents in the first act, Walker says that, as his father came from New York, he didn't realise that his mother was mad, he just put it down to being southern. The play ends quietly on a reflective note. I am sure that it will give me something to think about for days to come. TOM PIPER's set is minimalist in the 1990s and has lots of exact touches for the 1960s, the sweep of a internal metal staircase linking the two. The performances are really first rate and ROBIN LEFEVRE's direction is unstudied and deft. I will certainly make a point of any opportunity to see more of Richard G eenberg's work. Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge for Theatreworld Internet Magazine

Thanks fopr typing that out Renate. "Firth is superb", .....etc says Charles Spencer in today's Electric Telegraph, go to reviews. He was the one who blasted the last two productions. If I have time I will type it out later and will get The Daily Telegraph today ladies.

I too will send the cost of the program if there are any left. Have a great time

(Bethan)Allison, if you email me your address I'll send you a copy of the printout. Thank you. I shall E-mail you right away.

I would just like to remind you all to respect the privacy rule: if you relate reports from other places - such as the Firthlist - please make sure that you have the permission of the original posters. Hope you don't get me wrong, this reminder goes in particular to the newbies on these boards, who may not be aware of the existence of such a "privacy rule". Thank you all, it will help to keep the good relationships between the places.

(Bethan)Allison, if you email me your address I'll send you a copy of the printout. Thank you. I shall E-mail you right away.

Thanks fopr typing that out Renate. Not for that, Ann! I didn't type it, I just copied and inserted it :-). out, out, out italics!

From the Electronic Telegraph. The review in the Times is not so good about the play. I shall type it in if I have to but am just off to the Times website to see if i can steal it from there. Charles Spencer writes: THE other week, I viciously attacked the first two plays in the Donmar Warehouse's American Imports season, and suggested that when it comes to new dramatic writing, the Brits are now knocking the Americans into a cocked hat. I suspected then that I was offering a hostage to fortune and so it proves with the third and final play, Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain. It is a terrific piece - civilised, witty, touching and cunningly structured. It is also unashamedly middle-class, and one realises with a start just how rare adult, middle-class values are in new plays by young dramatists these days. Greenberg belongs to the urbane tradition of Albee, Stoppard and Hampton rather than the "trailer-park trash" school, and if he can maintain work of this standard, his future looks exceptionally bright. The play is driven by a strong plot involving an inheritance, and the action starts in New York in 1995, where Walker is meeting his sister Nan. They are the thirtysomething children of a hugely rich architect who died the previous year, and sensible, down-to-earth Nan (Elizabeth McGovern) is furious with her wired, neurotic brother (Colin Firth) because he went AWOL for months and didn't even attend the funeral. Walker has always resented his father Ned's refusal to talk, to open up emotionally, and this resentment increases when he discovers his father's journal of 35 years earlier, only to find that it consists of little more than a terse recitation of facts. We also learn that Nan and Walker's mother, Lina, is mentally unstable, and meet Pip (David Morrissey), a handsome actor who is the son of Ned's former partner, Theo. The dramatic crisis in act one comes when it is discovered that instead f bequeathing his most famous work, a beautiful "prism-like" house, to his children, Ned has actually left it to Pip. Why? In the second half we go back 35 years, to 1960, when Ned and Theo were first setting up as architects and working on the house that was to establish their fame and fortune. With a marvellously effective use of doubling, the same actors are cast as the parents of the characters they have just played in the first half. The device doesn't just offer a chance for a smashing cast to show off their versatility, it also sharply points up the tyrannies - and occasional mercies - of genetic inher tance. The play is full of surprises, for Greenberg's theme (it is one he shares with Stoppard) is just how easy it is for the present to misinterpret the past. Ned, for instance, couldn't be more wrong about his father's failure in emotion, as is shown by the lovely depiction of blossoming love between Ned and Lina during three days of torrential New York rain. But the play's time sequence is shatteringly sad. The drama ends in a glow of romance and hope. But that was in 1960. Having already followed the families to 1995, we are keenly aware of the faultlines in the relationships, and know just how quickly happiness soured. Firth is superb as both the screwed-up, bullying Walker, brilliantly suggesting the egomania of unhappiness, and as Walker's humble, painfully stammering father, a performance that goes straight to the viewer's heart. McGovern is especially fine as Lina, tremblingly caught betwen passion and panic, while as Pip, David Morrissey triumphantly proves that it is possible to make niceness dramatically interesting. It's a marvellously rewarding play, full of warm humour and sharp wit as well as sadness, and Robin Lefevre's attentive, beautifully acted production does it proud.

out!

"Firth is Superb" says Charles Spencer! Oh wow! I was really dreading his review. I'm SO-o-o pleased the reviews are good!!!!

Thank you for posting these reviews, they lift my heart. This is my last visit to Drool before The Trip. I'll see some of you in London, and talk to you all on my return. Three cheers fot Colin and for Drool!

From the Times: Grown-ups in wet nappies Three Days of Rain Donmar Warehouse, London WC2 Lucy Davies, the producer of the season that the Donmar is calling American Imports, says in the programme that she was "extremely inspired and excited" by the "huge and vibrant culture of seriously talented playwrights" she found on the other side of the water. Well, her third and final choice of American play justifies her claims better than her earlier two and, with Colin Firth, Elizabeth McGovern and David Morrissey each doubling the roles of parent and child, it has certainly attracted a thoroughly appealing cast. But she should still turn down those high-voltage verbs and adjectives a few notches. Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain is enjoyable but not too original. You can rely on the characters, Manhattanites all, to find ways of dressing up potentially flat lines in ways that are wryly amusing, often self-consciously literary but seldom psychologically revealing: "He looks at me and sees something from Ana�s Nin, just because I'm gloomy", that sort of thing. More to the point, the play involves that favourite American theme: the grown-up infant's obsession with his or her parents - and, particularly, the son's attempts to come to terms with a damaging father. When I was reviewing in New York in the 1980s, I christened such stuff "diaper drama", which irked my readers and was, I suppose, a patronising way to describe a genre that stretched from O'Neill through Miller's Death of a Salesman to Sam Shepard. But Greenberg's play - which begins with Firth's edgy, embittered Walker Janeway returning from a year in hiding just too late for the funeral of the architect father he remembers as a big, silent blank - is hardly on that exalted level. I liked its wit and its sensitivity, but I fear that it will pretty soon join a dozen other diaper dramas in my private oubliette. Act I presents us with the 1995 generation. Firth's Walker exudes tart self-pity. Morrissey overdoes the preening vanity of Pip, the actor son of Walker's father's partner and the man to whom Janeway Sr has controversially bequeathed his most famous building, and so has trouble convincing us of the modesty and decency that eventually characterise him. McGovern is effective enough as Walker's sister, a role that requires her to do little more than play the reconciler. They all make more of Act II, which takes us back to 1960, subverts Walker's theories about his father's inadequacies, and is, I suppose, a salutary reminder to kids not to categorise the old folk too glibly. I shall reveal little more, for Greenberg has some nice twists in the offing. But Firth is touchingly truthful as an earnest stutterer with little self-belief and a terror of children, and McGovern unpretentiously excellent as a woman whose instability will, we know, destroy her. This is an actress who does more with her smile than most others with a score of gestures. On opening night, those curled lips expressed vulnerability, sensuality, mischief, diffidence, bewilderment, pain - in short, did everything but convince me that Rain really was an inspiring, vibrant play. BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE

Thank you for posting these reviews, they lift my heart. This is my last visit to Drool before The Trip. I'll see some of you in London, and talk to you all on my return. Three cheers for Colin and for Drool!

Thanks a million for the reviews. So, he�s suberb, touchingly truthful....WE have always known it! I�m still at work, trying to do everything quick and then I�ll run to the airport to catch the plane to London. See-you!

(Gi)Thank you for posting these reviews, they lift my heart. And mine as well :-) They are mixed about the play but consistently excellent about Colin. You're going to see a hit, ladies! Call me picky but did anyone else take exception to this? More to the point, the play involves that favourite American theme: the grown-up infant's obsession with his or her parents - and, particularly, the son's attempts to come to terms with a damaging father. When I was reviewing in New York in the 1980s, I christened such stuff "diaper drama", which irked my readers and was, I suppose, a patronising way to describe a genre that stretched from O'Neill through Miller's Death of a Salesman to Sam Shepard...from the Times, Benedict Nightingale Oh, Benedict...bite me. We don't miss you. With love, from NY ;-P (Gi) Arami, and Marcia... Eileen and I are in Chat, join us! Errmmmmm... Thank you, madam, I rarely chat... ;-) Is that because you've not taken the trouble of practicing? ;-) I found lots of chat action yesterday. Any other stay-at-homes (as Marcia put it, avionically impaired--LOL) want to try to get together for a chat this weekend? We can drown our mutual sorrows at not being able to see Firth "draped on the balcony in his agony like a statue by Rodin!"

Here's the link for The Times' review: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk:80/news/pages/Times/frontpage.html?2047702

Have fun all you London-goers, will be thinking of you Saturday afternoon, while the spit is flying all over the place! Do bring back glorious reports and a lock of hair (albeit not from the balding spot;)); If anyone spots Nick Hornby, tell him that he has shattered my image of him! Oh and can someone stick Jonathan Firth in their carry on? Have fun all! :)

Ann, if you are able to get me a program please let me know the cost if there is one. I will gladly send you the money! Thanks! Have a great time everyone!!! :)

Yes, everyone bound for London have a wonderful time! Please send those reports at your earliest convenience. Hope you have a chance to meet Colin so he can see for himself his Internet fans are not a bad lot after all:-)

I have just seen the review in The Times and although I hate the heading "Grown-ups in wet nappies" (what does that mean), I was glad to see that there is a sub-heading "Colin Firth on stage" so Benedict whatsisname as least thinks as we do that it is Colin heading the cast and not E.McG. Wonderful reviews all round, now just the Guardians' tomorrow. Anyone who has said they would like programmes would you please email me with your addresses,thanks.

Thought you all might like to know that there is another online excellent review at the London Theatre Guide - On Line, can't do the link but this is the address http://www.londontheatre.co.uk brings you to the main page then click on news or reviews. (will get my son to explain about posting links when he comes home at the weekend) Allison I bet his time tomorrow you will be having butterflies in the stomach.

Well done, Ann, you have answered my query - the Guardian tomorrow. What about the Financial Times. They have good Arts Reviews. Our local but highly regarded paper may have a review as the Donmar is just about in its area. I shall let you know. I am having a lot of trouble accessing things on the Net. There is an on-line version of the FT but I am having all sorts of trouble accessing it. I NEED A NEW COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!! I would buy one but the trouble of deciding what and then setting it up; transfering files etc makes me weak. So, Renate: If I do not manage to get through to you, I am trying to E-mail you but the response time on I-name is sooooooo long. I am not sure if it is my ancient computer's problem or theirs but I am trying.

smopenr returned null Invalid fp passed to push_stdin()! Well I don't know how that ha ppend but I appear to have posted a link, the woman's a genius.

Allison I bet his time tomorrow you will be having butterflies in the stomach. Showed my husband the ES review and he thought it sounded great. Pity we do not take the Torygraph. He would have liked the comparison with Stoppard! Unfortunately, he is not feeling too well (heavy cold). I am dosing him up. We shall be going even if I have to carry him in!

If anyone is there tomorrow; if you see a 5'5" woman carrying a 6'1" man (lovely height) that will be me. You will know that it is me and not Livia by the fact that my husband's bald spot is a tiny bit larger:-)

Eileen I will be in chat with you this weekend. Bear in mind I am 5 hours behind you. When it is 5am here it is already 10am where you are!

God Speed, Bon Voyage, Good Speed, and swift journey full of Firthful thoughts. Dose up the husband (have any brandy?!) and get a nice wheelchair. They will let you sit right up front for the handicapped =^P I wish I could lurk at the first meeting eye-to-eye of the Droolies. That has to be what is causing the majority of the butterflies! Enjoy!!!

Great photo of Colin on stage in today's Times. He just looks absolutely gorgeous, no other word for it, in a sweater and dark trousers. Will send for scanning, although I'm sure I'm not the only one who has bought a copy! But you'll be seeing him in the flesh...and so very soon! I am delighted that he is getting such good reviews. There was a brief item on Radio 5 (Arts Review..What's on) about 3DOR "beautifully acted, with a memorable performance by Colin Firth" Yes!! I'll be thinking of all of you on Saturday! SNIFF!

Perhaps Bethan, as he is getting such wonderful reviews he may decide to go on stage more often and the next time you may be there.Have you by any chance heard from the BBC re adapting it for the small screen, an excellent idea I would have thought.

(Arami) anyone wishing to contribute to the media coverage for colinfirth.com, please let me know and I'll arrange contact. (MarciaH) I'd be happy to support them in any way I can. Monitarily??? Other ? Let me know. Bless you, Marcia! Any monetary contributions should be addressed to Terry directly! However, I was thinking more in terms of UK press cuttings and especially new pics for scanning... Dammit, one can't always get hold of every piece!!! (Eileen, re chat)Is that because you've not taken the trouble of practicing? Partly - but this time I'm again up to my eyeballs in an important job for an American publisher! Absolutely no time! I shouldn't even be here! So there! ;-P (Allison)the response time on I-name is sooooooo long. I am not sure if it is my ancient computer's problem or theirs but I am trying. As I said before, I have a reasonable service from them, so it's just possible that your computer is in need of upgrading.

Bethan - we've got the Times! What about Telegraph yesterday - was there any pic with that? Missed it!

We will think of the rest of you, and get you some goodies plus our memories and impressions by the bucketful!! See you in London everyone. Allison ,enjoy!!

I will have a spare Times Review, does anyone not going want me to send it to them? Marcia? Eileen?

BTW tomorrow's Guardian should be a cert. Another gorgeous b/w photo would be bliss.

Arami, I have yesterday's Independent review with photo of all three actors in character, weird angle but I know you can work wonders. If you would like me to I would be pleased to send it to you after the weekend, I am taking it up to London to show the ladies but after that you are welcome to it.

Thanks! As always, you are very generous, Ann! However, if your offer can be matched (and I think it probably can), then your cutting could be donated to our American friends. Watch this space!

--Bethan--Please e-mail me so I can find out what the Net considers your return address. Pleaseplease. --Arami--I'd like to get in touch in regard to American Media coverage. Not applicable at the moment (yet), but eventually very useful. (EX: I can get you a ton of stuff on SiL...I know!...old news!)

(LizzaJ)I will have a spare Times Review, does anyone not going want me to send it to them? Marcia? Eileen? I'd adore having it if Eileen does not. Thank you for asking. Are Heide and Karen on the ground yet? I wish someone had taken a laptop!!!

(Lizza)Allison ,enjoy!! Thanks, Lizza! I am actually looking forward to it. There was a time when I thought I would be feeling real butterflies but because of the good reviews, my husband is keen. I was dreading taking him to something mediocre and having to put up with his wisecracks about CF all evening. As it is, I am hoping he will be too absorbed by the play.

Perhaps Bethan, as he is getting such wonderful reviews he may decide to go on stage more often (Ann) I'm sure he will, and he'll be one of the few actors who can succeed on both stage and screen (film). It's surprising the number of British actors who have abandoned working in the theatre. And it's usually because of bad reviews...Alan Rickman got dreadful reviews for "Antony and Cleopatra", Liam Neeson's reviews for his recent return to the stage were quite derogatory (some of the audience left in the middle of the performance) and Ken Branagh said in a interview that he'll never act on stage again beca se it's so difficult to carry on after bad reviews! So I was really holding my breath for Colin...especially after the Telegraph article I thought which was very hostile. It's always the men who get the lambasting....the ladies seem to fare very well! Yes, Allison, I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy 3DOR now! I've got three copies of the Times (by mistake!), but none of the Independent. And there wasn't a photo in the Telegraph, unfortunately!