Peter Kirwan
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Romeo and Juliet @ Shakespeare’s Globe
May 14, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/annualtheatreseason/romeojuliet/ The desire to cast Romeo and Juliet as young as possible is deep-ingrained in theatre directors. In Dominic Dromgoole’s new production for Shakespeare’s Globe, for example, the actors playing Juliet, Benvolio and Tybalt all make their professional stage debut. It’s an ongoing risk: the potential gains in youth and energy …
Compulsion @ ITV1
May 5, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.itv.com/PressCentre/Presspacks/Compulsion/default.html This one almost slipped under the wire. Last night, ITV premiered a new one-off drama called Compulsion, heavily based on Middleton and Rowley’s The Changeling and starring Ray Winstone and Parminder Nagra. The actual "Changeling" subplot is completely removed in order to focus on the main relationship between Anjika (Nagra, …
The Winter’s Tale (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
May 4, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whatson/7291.aspx The new RSC ensemble is now officially up and running in Stratford, with The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It both playing in rep at the Courtyard. At the moment I’m curious to see whether the new ensemble format will prove as rich as the old; where the Histories …
The Tempest in Adaptation @ The CAPITAL Centre Studio
May 1, 2009
Writing about web page http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/pagestage/ Shakespeare Page-to-Stage-to-Page is a specialist module for English undergraduate finalists, concerned with Shakespearean performance and with a particular concern for adaptation and reviewing. As part of the class, the students work on a practical project, highlights of which opened the CAPITAL Centre’s New Work Festival today. The small audience were …
‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (WUDS) @ Warwick Arts Centre Studio
Writing about web page http://www.wuds.co.uk/ Warwick University Drama Society’s new production of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore promised a "noir sheen", and a sheen was duly delivered. Femme fatale? Check, in Maria Askew’s seductive Hippolita. Moody hard men lighting cigarettes under dim street lighting? Check, as Jack Churchill’s skinheaded Grimaldi (referencing the later noir of …
Coming up
April 30, 2009
I’ve had a couple of quiet theatregoing weeks, but it all kicks off again tonight. First, to Warwick Arts Centre for WUDS’ new production of ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. I’ve read the play, but never seen any Ford live, so very much looking forward to this. Tomorrow it’s a double bill – an academic …
The Bardathon as Experiment
April 25, 2009
I’ve been prompted recently to think in a little more detail about what The Bardathon actually IS. Why do I write? Who is it for? What is it ultimately trying to do? And so on. The blog is now three years old (my first review, of Nancy Meckler’s Romeo and Juliet, dates back to April …
The Lost Interpretations of Hamlet @ The CAPITAL Centre
April 22, 2009
Writing about web page go.warwick.ac.uk/capital/teaching_and_learning/projects/thehamletproject It’s a shame that my PhD doesn’t (at the moment, anyway) include any performative elements; I can imagine it being uniquely exciting to have your thesis shaped by theatrical experimentation and events. Last night saw PhD researcher and CAPITAL artist-in-residence Tom Cornford’s first public presentation of the Hamlet Project’s rehearsal …
Othello (Northern Broadsides) @ The Belgrade Theatre
April 8, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.northern-broadsides.co.uk/PAGES/currentproduction.htm Othello publicity art The new Northern Broadsides production of Othello has caused something of a stir this year, with countless articles and interviews devoted to the novelty of one of Britain’s most beloved comedians, Lenny Henry CBE, jumping in at the deep end with his first theatrical Shakespearean role. Broadsides …
Antony & Cleopatra (SATTF) @ The Tobacco Factory
April 2, 2009
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory have followed a similar format for most of their ten seasons to date, putting on two classic plays a year, one after the other. This tenth anniversary season, though, marks the first time that they have tried to link their two productions into a cohesive whole, with the same ensemble …
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