King Lear (RSC) @ The New London Theatre
December 17, 2007
Trevor Nunn’s King Lear has been a thorn in my side for several months now. I saw it very early on in its initial run in Stratford and loved it, as my review clearly showed. Since then, however, the production has had a very strange reception. Frances Barber suffered an accident, causing the press night …
Much Ado About Nothing (National Theatre) @ The Olivier
December 16, 2007
The National’s decision to put on a new Much Ado about Nothing as their main house show over the Christmas period seems to be a slightly odd one, coming so soon after Marianne Elliott’s hugely successful production for the RSC which is still garnering award nominations. Clearly, however, Nicholas Hytner felt there was still something …
Othello (Donmar) @ The Donmar Warehouse
Much has been made in the press of Michael Grandage’s new production of Othello for the Donmar, mostly to do with the selling-on price of tickets. Reportedly, tickets have been changing hands for £1200, making this officially the hottest ticket in London. The question is, is it really worth it? Well, of course it’s not, …
The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Institute Players) @ The Shakespeare Institute
December 9, 2007
This is, without a doubt, the best value for money I have ever had for a play. Five pounds, which included three and a half glasses of wine. I can only hope professional companies take note… The main charm of the Shakespeare Institute Players’ production of The Taming of the Shrew is the informal and …
Edward II (CAPITAL) @ The CAPITAL Centre
December 6, 2007
With all the interest in Shakespeare’s history plays at the moment, it is perhaps surprising that Marlowe’s precursor to the cycles, Edward II, hasn’t received more attention. Julia Ihnatowicz’s new production for the CAPITAL Centre, redresses this, visually echoing the RSC’s Histories Cycle to create an effective prologue that draws clear links with Shakespeare’s works …
Invisible Bonfires (Rough Magyck) @ Warwick Arts Centre
November 6, 2007
I’ve accused productions and theatre companies of many things before now, but never before of being lazy. Unfortunately, that’s the crime Forkbeard Fantasy appear to have committed in their latest production, Invisible Bonfires . Some months back I reviewed their production Rough Magyck at the Complete Works Festival, a wonderfully bizarre site-specific piece investigating the …
Press Gazette
November 1, 2007
A few weeks ago I contributed to an article about the role of blogging in arts journalism for a newspaper called Press Gazette. The article came out this week, and can be found at this link I am really glad that the blog’s leading to things like this, and I hope there will be more …
Henry V (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
The final hurdle! The RSC Histories project is finally trundling to an end with the opening of Henry V, the eighth and final production in the sequence. It’s hard not to have high expectations. Despite a couple of blips (particularly 1 Henry IV) the project has been a resounding success, the ensemble producing some wonderful …
The Spirit of Agincourt
October 19, 2007
Any rugby fans out there? If so, and if you were watching the ITV coverage of the England vs. France world cup semi-final, you would have caught a little bit of Shakespeare in the build-up! Some bright spark at the RSC realised that millions would be watching, and that an England vs. France battle on …
Love’s Labour’s Lost @ Shakespeare’s Globe
October 8, 2007
I’m starting to come round to the idea that there is no place for comedy quite like Shakespeare’s Globe. While many critics have a good many negative things to say about the Globe audiences, there is no denying the spirit and atmosphere of the place. A production is almost immediately rendered ten times funnier than …
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