King John (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
August 31, 2006
I’d be lying to say that this is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. When Nos do Morro were invited to do a play in the Complete Works Festival, the only two left were ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ and ‘King John’- and to them, there wasn’t even a choice to make. So, the RSC quite …
Henry VIII (AandBC) @ Holy Trinity Church
August 29, 2006
I arrived at Holy Trinity Church tonight and was stopped by a passer–by who asked me if they regularly put on plays at the church, to which I replied that it was a one–off for AandBC, the visiting company. This gent was quite disapproving of the use of a church for theatre, and I do …
Nos do Morro/ Gallery 37 Post–show talk @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 28, 2006
Just a few extra notes about the post–show talk from yesterday’s performance. Much of the start of the talk was devoted to the two groups telling each other how much they meant to each other. While admittedly a little cringy in places, it was actually quite moving, particularly listening to how the city kids from …
The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Nos do Morro/Gallery 37) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 27, 2006
I’d been looking forward to this play as one of the more unusual productions– a Brazillian community theatre group, Nos do Morro, joining forces with a Birmingham urban youth project, Gallery 37. It was certainly very good– a young and energetic cast really put their hearts and souls into it. The large Chorus became walls …
The Film Festival
August 21, 2006
I’m not in Stratford today, which is starting to seem like a relatively rare occurrence! I thought I’d quickly mention another aspect of the Complete Works Festival that ended yesterday- The Film Festival. A huge outdoor screen has been set up in Stratford for the last three weekends, showing six Shakespeare films as an nod …
Henry VI Part III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 20, 2006
It’s been a busy week for me in Stratford- ‘2 Henry VI’ and ‘Capulets and Montagues’ on Wednesday, long public transport nightmare trip on Friday, ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ yesterday and today, my second viewing of ‘3 Henry VI’. I’m quite glad I decided to see the Henries individually as well as the whole day event- …
Top Ten Performances
Just as some fun before I go to sleep, thinking about my favourite ten individual performances of the festival so far. In order, then, that I saw them in….. Harriet Walter as Cleopatra There’s always something wonderful about seeing one of the genuine greats, and Harriet Walter gave an absolutely rivetting performance as the Egyptian …
Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare Theatre Company) @ The Swan Theatre
August 19, 2006
I always try to read a selection of professional reviews of the shows I’ve seen- partly for interest, partly because they sometimes bring to light things I hadn’t noticed and partly because they sometimes give a good platform for argument. One of the most respected of these critics is Michael Billington, the Guardian theatre critic, …
A rant about public transport
Sigh I’ve had a terrible night. I was meant to be seeing ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ tonight, along with a pre–show talk by the director beforehand. Instead, this happened. You would have thought that English public transport would be equipped to deal with bad weather, but no. A combination of intense rain, flooding, a lightning strike …
Capulets & Montagues (CAPITAL Centre) @ The Dell
August 16, 2006
Although my project is mainly concerned with the main performances of the Complete Works Festival, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that there’s a lot more going on in Stratford than what’s in the theatres. While no–one could possibly go to all of the talks, discussions, workshops and sideshows that are happening, it’s really interesting …
Find, follow, join us
Recent Comments