The Honest Man’s Fortune @ Canterbury Christ Church University
May 9, 2011
I’ve remarked before now on a show I’ve been involved in behind the scenes, but never before on something in which I’ve acted. I use "acting" in the loosest possible sense, and the less said about my board-treading the better, but it was a pleasure this weekend to be involved in a staged reading of …
Macbeth (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
April 29, 2011
The first new production in the re-opened and redesigned RST is also the opening salvo of the RSC’s fiftieth birthday celebration season. Artistic Director Michael Boyd christens the new space with a production very much in keeping with his principles – no celebrity names but a lead actor, Jonathan Slinger, who made his name coming …
Cardenio (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre, Stratford–upon–Avon
April 24, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/cardenio/ "Shakespeare’s ‘Lost Play’ Re-Imagined" runs the tag-line to this, the first full-scale new production in the Swan Theatre since its re-opening. The absence of John Fletcher (let alone Lewis Theobald) from this tag is perhaps inevitable given the RSC’s priorities, although both are fully credited within the wider publicity material. …
Bond (Taiwan BangZi Opera) @ The Hyatt Regency, Bellevue
April 11, 2011
You’ll notice that Bellevue is off my normal reviewing route. While attending the annual meeting of the Shakespeare Association of America just outside Seattle this week, I took the opportunity to catch a special performance by the extremely prestigious Taiwan Banzi Opera Company of Bond, its retelling of The Merchant of Venice. The scheduling of …
The Rape of Lucrece (RSC Studio) @ The Swan Theatre
April 2, 2011
The Rape of Lucrece was last staged at the Swan in 2006, as part of the Complete Works Festival. That production, directed by Greg Doran, was a relatively traditional reading of the poem, featuring five actors standing in a line with books in hand, each taking one of the poem’s “parts” and sharing narration. It …
The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory) @ The Tobacco Factory
March 31, 2011
Writing about web page http://sattf.org.uk/index.php?id=165 The Comedy of Errors is one of those few plays that fail to disappoint onstage. It’s inherently funny, fast, short and complex, and it’s hard to remove the basic entertainment value from it. However, the slew of Comedies I’ve seen over the last few years have shared what is, perhaps, …
The Tempest (Little Angel Theatre/RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
March 18, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/tempest/ What a treat to be back in the Swan. I haven’t been inside my favourite Stratford theatre since The Penelopiad back in 2007, and it’s wonderful to see it looking (on the inside, at any rate) exactly as it did before the closure, albeit with more comfortable seats. The first …
Hamlet The Clown Prince (The Company Theatre) @ Warwick Arts Centre Theatre
March 17, 2011
Writing about web page http://warwickartscentre.co.uk/events/theatre/hamlet-the-clown-prince This was my third Hamlet in a year with a running time under two hours, which is a trend I’m hugely appreciative of. This time it was a rare UK performance for Mumbai’s Company Theatre, with its brilliant and hugely entertaining take on the play through the medium of clowning. …
Antonio’s Revenge (Edward’s Boys) @ King Edward VI Grammar School
March 11, 2011
Perry Mills and his boys are fast becoming the stuff of legend. A cut above your average drama society, Edward’s Boys are currently ploughing their way through the dramatic canon of the early modern childrens’ companies. Obscure plays by Lyly, Middleton, Marston and others, originally written to be performed at the indoor playhouses by specially-trained …
The Tempest (Cheek by Jowl/Chekhov International Drama Festival) @ Warwick Arts Centre
March 3, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.cheekbyjowl.com/the_tempest.php The Russians are back. Cheek by Jowl’s Russian wing have previously brought us wonderful versions of Twelfth Night, Three Sisters and Boris Gudonov, and a return to Shakespeare was extremely welcome. It’s a pleasure to report that the ensemble once again proved that there’s plenty of fresh insight to be …
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