Peter Kirwan
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Henry IV Part 2 (RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon) @ The Broadway, Nottingham
June 19, 2014
There were over a hundred spare seats at the Broadway last night for the RSC’s live streaming of Henry IV Part 2. After years of being used to sold-out screenings of NT Live broadcasts, I can but speculate over the reasons for this.No doubt the time of year, the lack of a major film or …
Now: In The Wings on a World Stage @ The Broadway, Nottingham
June 9, 2014
Almost twenty years after Al Pacino had the odd idea of making a documentary about rehearsing a production of Richard III that never actually happened, and releasing Looking for Richard in cinemas, comes the second film about the processes and personalities behind a version of the play. Now follows an actual production, the Bridge Project’s …
The Duchess of Malfi (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ BBC4
May 25, 2014
In a new age of broadcast theatre where the prices for NT Live and Live from Stratford screenings are creeping up (and where the Globe’s own DVDs are still shockingly expensive), it is refreshing and welcome to see The Globe broadcasting its major production of The Duchess of Malfi for free on BBC4. This is, …
I, Malvolio (Tim Crouch) @ Curve
May 24, 2014
I, Malvolio is one of the bravest shows I have seen in some time. How many pieces of theatre invite two young children to come on stage to hold a rope and kick out a chair while the title character prepares to hang himself? Although it carried an age warning of 11+, Tim Crouch’s one-man …
Henry IV Part One (RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon) @ The Broadway Cinema, Nottingham
May 15, 2014
This was the first of the ‘Live From Stratford-upon-Avon’ events that I’ve attended, the live screenings from Stratford modelled on the NT Live series that will, hopefully, by 2020 see the complete works of Shakespeare broadcast internationally from the RSC’s main stage. If the RSC wishes to remain competitive in a new market then it’s …
Doctor Faustus (Lakeside/Nottingham New Theatre) @ Lakeside Arts Centre
May 13, 2014
Following last year’s Lysistrata, Nottingham New Theatre continues its collaboration with Lakeside Arts Centre on student productions with a professional spin. Martin Berry’s production, with an all-student cast and professional design and creative team, showcased the spectacular potential of the Lakeside space with a version of Marlowe’s Faustus that situated its protagonist at the centre …
King Lear (National Theatre/NT Live) @ The Broadway, Nottingham
May 2, 2014
This is the second time NT Live has broadcast a version of King Lear. The first, back in 2011, was the Donmar’s extraordinary pared-down version starring Derek Jacobi, drawing its power from the intimate, bare set and performances that utilised whispers to wonderful effect. By contrast, Sam Mendes’ new production for the Olivier was an …
Twelfth Night @ Liverpool Everyman
April 6, 2014
There was an awful moment in the closing night of the new Liverpool Everyman’s inaugural production of Twelfth Night, as Malvolio’s yellow stockings emerged, feet uppermost, through a trapdoor for an inverted prison sequence. The mechanism lifting the actor was misdirected, meaning that his feet pushed at the stage, which cracked and splintered before the …
The Massacre at Paris (The Dolphin’s Back) @ The Rose Playhouse, Bankside
March 23, 2014
At the end of yet another successful Read not Dead reading, over the wine and nibbles laid on by The Globe for the hardworking volunteer actors, coordinator James Wallace fell to chatting with some of the regulars. ‘You know’, mused James, ‘we’re all quite wonderful. We’ve collectively performed hundreds of the most obscure plays of …
The Knight of the Burning Pestle (Shakespeare’s Globe) @ The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
Last year, one of my most read blogs was my review of the Globe’s rehearsed reading of Francis Beaumont’s The Knight of the Burning Pestle as part of the Read not Dead series. That review did the rounds and even got quoted in the Globe’s annual review. What made that performance one of the finest …
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