Caesar Must Die (dir. Paolo Taviani & Vittorio Taviani)
April 21, 2013
Italy’s official nomination for the 2013 Best Foreign Language Oscar is an extremely odd beast. Ostensibly a fly-on-the-wall documentary following a group of Italian prisoners putting on a production of Julius Caesar, the film is framed by the climax of the real production, as Salvatore Striano’s Brutus seeks a willing hand on whose sword to …
Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Joss Whedon) @ Shakespeare Association of America conference, Toronto
March 30, 2013
Joss Whedon introduced a special advance preview screening of his new movie of Much Ado about Nothing last night (alas, via pre-recorded video) with a tribute to the teachers and professors who had instilled him with a love of Shakespeare. In allowing the Shakespeare Association of America annual conference in Toronto to get an early …
Julius Caesar (RSC) on DVD
January 27, 2013
The acclaimed Julius Caesar directed by Gregory Doran for the RSC has already been discussed on this blog, but now, happily, the production has been released on DVD. Julius Caesar represents the exciting next phase in the RSC’s work with Illuminations, the production company that has already brought Greg’s Macbeth and Hamlet to DVD. For this …
The Hollow Crown: Henry V @ BBC2
July 23, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s91rf It remains to Thea Sharrock to steer the BBC’s Hollow Crown series to a dignified and lavish conclusion with Henry V, which brings Tom Hiddleston’s young king to worldly maturity and sees the return of most of the actors whose parts have transcended individual films (although not York/Aumerle nor, curiously, …
The Hollow Crown: 2 Henry IV @ BBC2
July 14, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s91qj Part Three of the BBC’s Hollow Crown series, again directed by Richard Eyre, concludes the Henry IV plays. Once again it is a lavish, visually rich, sensitively acted interpretation, with a great deal to recommend it. But where 1 Henry IV was full of life, variety, powerhouse acting and intelligent …
The Hollow Crown: 1 Henry IV @ BBC
July 8, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s91pm The second episode in the BBC’s Hollow Crown series offers a stand-alone, prudently cut version of Henry IV Part 1, and immediately it is clear that the central plays of the second tetralogy are in good hands with Richard Eyre. One of my complaints in my review of Rupert Goold’s …
The Hollow Crown: Richard II @ BBC HD
June 30, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00s90j1 The most exciting element of the BBC’s Shakespeare Unlocked is off to a storming start. Rupert Goold’s film of Richard II, divorced of the gimmickry and attention deficit lack of focus that characterises his stage work (sometimes to wonderful effect, sometimes disastrously) is a slick, subtle, well acted and creative …
The Duchess of Malfi (Stage on Screen) @ Greenwich Theatre [on DVD]
June 28, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.stageonscreen.com/the-duchess-of-malfi.php A much briefer review to accompany my earlier piece on Stage on Screen’s production of Doctor Faustus, this time of Elizabeth Freestone’s The Duchess of Malfi. Cross-cast with the same company’s Volpone, Freestone’s take on Malfi is more straightforward than either, treating the play as a chamber piece in a …
Julius Caesar (RSC/Illuminations) @ BBC4
June 25, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01k7lv5/Julius_Caesar/ I’ve not yet had a chance to see the RSC’s new production of Julius Caesar, directed by Gregory Doran and currently playing in Stratford. The concept behind the production is fascinating, if not without its problems – an all-black British cast, performing the play as set in an unnamed modern …
Doctor Faustus (Stage on Screen) @ Greenwich Theatre [on DVD]
June 24, 2012
Writing about web page http://www.stageonscreen.com/doctor-faustus.php The Stage on Screen project is a simple idea; so simple, perhaps, that one wonders why the market hasn’t already been cornered. Four productions of early canonical plays (Volpone, Dr Faustus, The Duchess of Malfi and The School for Scandal) were specially commissioned, directed by Elizabeth Freestone and performed to …
Find, follow, join us
