Fiennes points
Sir: Sheridan Morley has made several notable errors of fact in his review of Ivanov (Arts, 1 March). Perhaps though he never saw this play himself but sent an unreliable underling as deputy; after all he demotes the Almeida to 'fringe'. First, I have it on rock-solid information that the Almeida has seating for 300 which is twice as many as he stated. Second, Ralph Fiennes has never won an Oscar yet. His first nomination was for Obersturm- fuhrer Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. His second nomination is for his part as Count La zlo de Almasy in The English Patient and it is far from certain that he will win the Oscar for this as the competition is particu- larly strong in this category. Third, in Ivanov, Act II Scene 1; the three character actors that he applauds for their hilarious, vodka-swilling performance do not play cards as well. At least they never did on the two occasions that I have seen this play. The last point I wish to make is that this production could only go to a longer West End or a Broadway season with another
actor taking over from Ralph Fiennes as Ivanov. Naturally enough, he can only put up with a £200 per week salary for a limited period of a few weeks before answering the call and commitment to better paid work. I am sure that nearly all the actors in this really excellent David Hare/Jonathan Kent production could be forgiven for harbour- ing the same instincts. In this respect the intransigence of the unions would not be `lunatic' if they were to insist on a better basic rate of pay for actors.
Sheridan Morley has a fine reputation as a theatre critic. It is a pity that he has been so inaccurate in this review.
Mark Fiennes
29 Therapia Road, London SE22
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