Peter Kirwan
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King Lear : The Movie
June 27, 2008
Any new film version of a Shakespeare play is always welcome, but this announcement from the Guardian sounds particularly interesting: The Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins is to play King Lear in a new film version of the Shakespeare tragedy, it was confirmed today. The film will feature Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts and Keira Knightley as …
Romeo and Juliet (Globe Touring) @ Coventry Cathedral
It had to happen in a week of open-air theatre. The sun shone gloriously on Monday for Warwick Student Arts Festival’s The Tempest, Shakespeare’s Globe cast a cool shadow over the midday Midsummer Night’s Dream audience on Tuesday and Footsbarn’s tent protected the crowds on Tocil Fields from the elements on Wednesday. It couldn’t last. …
A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Shakespeare’s Globe
June 25, 2008
It’s quite frustrating, on an afternoon when you know you’re going to have to leave a performance five minutes early, when the show begins with a five minute drum duet between two competing musicians. However, this was very much my fault rather than the Globe’s – I had squeezed this production in immediately before a …
The Tempest (Warwick Students’ Art Festival) @ University of Warwick Piazza
June 24, 2008
This pared-down version of The Tempest was the first of two Shakespeare production in the 2008 Warwick Student Arts Festival. Its novel setting, in the mock classical amphitheatre of the University of Warwick’s Piazza, combined with a sunny Monday afternoon to create a festive atmosphere for what was essentially an exhibition piece, Shakespeare for Shakespeare’s …
Macbeth (WUDS) @ Warwick Arts Centre
June 22, 2008
Warwick University Drama Society’s new studio production of Macbeth was an ambitious endeavour, both technically and conceptually. The stage was dominated by a huge static-filled screen at the rear, while the space itself was filled with black flats and five hanging banners with the names of Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, Duncan and Malcolm running from ceiling …
The Revenger’s Tragedy @ Manchester Royal Exchange
June 12, 2008
There are advantages and disadvantages to seeing two productions of the same play in close proximity to each other. The main advantage, to my mind, is the opportunity to see multiple interpretations of the same text and thereby learn more about the actual text itself, to see through the reading of an individual director to the …
Antony Sher and John Kani in The Tempest
June 9, 2008
Hugely exciting press release from the RSC today! For those who don’t have time to follow links, the RSC are collaborating with the Baxter Theatre company on a new production of The Tempest starring Anthony Sher as Prospero and John Kani as Caliban. It’s opening at the Baxter’s home in South Africa then transferring to …
The Revenger’s Tragedy @ The National Theatre
June 4, 2008
The 2008 Middleton Renaissance is underway with two new productions of The Revenger’s Tragedy opening simultaneously at opposite ends of the country. The professional critics saw the Manchester production first, but I’m working the other way round, last night catching the National’s new interpretation. The National went to great lengths to emphasise and jazz up Middleton’s …
King Lear @ Shakespeare’s Globe
June 2, 2008
Putting on a tragedy at the Globe is a substantial challenge. The space, open to the elements and with much of the audience standing only feet away from the actors, invites laughter and participation rather than sober reflection or sadness. It is testament to the strengths of Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole and his team, then, …
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