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 reviews of John Peter
March 8, 2009
One of the problems of occasionally buying the Sunday Times is that I’m forced to read the reviews of theatre critic John Peter. Now, admittedly Peter only gets about 100 words for his Sunday Times reviews, but that shouldn’t prevent them from rising above the senseless rubbish he writes, informed by prejudices and ideas of …
The Wonderful Donmar
February 12, 2009
I’d like to take a moment to tell the world how wonderful the Donmar Warehouse are. Owing to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, I missed their current production of Twelfth Night in London, a production I had booked front-row seats for on the first day of sales at not-inconsiderable cost. However, despite it being in no …
Running times
February 6, 2009
While investigating the RSC’s new production of Othello (which I’m seeing tonight), I flicked onto the RSC site and saw that the running time for the production is three and a half hours. I won’t lie to you – my heart sank. I’ve realised that, over the last year or so, I’ve become far more …
January
January 28, 2009
Not only is January an inherently miserable month because of the weather and the fact that it involves returning to normal life after Christmas, but my schedule has been depressingly theatre-free this month, hence the quietness on the blog. Sorry! This weekend, though, I’m back to it with a vengeance. Expect, over February and March, …
Much Ado in Coventry
January 19, 2009
WUDS are doing another production of Much Ado about Nothing this term. I say another; only people who’ve been at Warwick four or five years will remember the last one, which was performed in the Arts Centre studio. I remember that production for the prominence it gave to Margaret, whose dilemma regarding the plot to …
Top Ten of 2008
December 31, 2008
Happy new year! As 2009 dawns, here’s a look back at my theatregoing in 2008, via my top ten productions. Without further ado: 10. The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare’s Globe, August) A close call between this and the Globe’s other standout production, Timon of Athens. While the inventive Timon flagged in its second act, …
2009
December 16, 2008
To offset the rather negative tone of the last few posts, I thought I’d just post some of the things I’m really looking forward to next year, partly to remind myself but also so I can officially start getting excited about the new year! Coming up: All’s Well that Ends Well: directed by Marianne Elliott …
Twelfth Night vs. National Rail
December 13, 2008
Right now, at the time of writing, I should be fifty minutes into the Donmar Warehouse’s acclaimed new production of Twelfth Night, watching Derek Jacobi, Ron Cook et al. put my favourite comedy through its paces. However, I’m instead in my study. Why? RAIN! That’s right, yet again Britain is taken completely by surprise when …
The Hamlet Drama
December 10, 2008
Sigh. Only a few months ago, I barely bothered to review the RSC’s Hamlet as, frankly, I was bored of the blanket coverage of the play even before I’d seen it. And since then, there’s been no let up. There was the drama about the skull, then the drama when the skull was removed, and …
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