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Theatre: The Iceman Cometh

Dominic Cavendish
Friday 19 June 1998 00:02 BST
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Theatre Dominic Cavendish

Howard Davies's monumental production of The Iceman Cometh transfers from the Almeida to the West End today for a further 44 performances. Eugene O'Neill's tragi-comic portrait of a godforsaken saloon bar populated by an addled, pipe-dreaming crew could easily be static and overblown. But the four hours fly by thanks to Kevin Spacey's (below) unmissable performance as the turncoat boozer, Hickey.

Old Vic, Waterloo Rd, London SE1 (0171-494 5460) 7pm

It's almost your last chance to catch Trevor Nunn's masterful account of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. Ian McKellen triumphs as the medical officer who turns his beloved spa town against him by pointing out that the waters it depends on for tourism are polluted. He manages to retain our sympathy even as he transforms the character from scatty eccentric to embattled misanthrope, hunted by a baying mob.

Olivier, National Theatre, London SE1 (0171-452 3000) 7.15pm

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