Richard III (RADA) @ The Swan Theatre
September 8, 2006
The third Youth production, and the most ambitious so far- today saw RADA take on Shakespeare’s second-longest play with a cast of eleven and a 1 hr 45 minute running time, along with projections, recorded sound effects and lighting cues. There was one major reason why this wasn’t very good- the editing of the text …
Much Ado About Nothing (Bristol Old Vic) @ The Swan Theatre
September 5, 2006
Not the phenomenal and sold-out RSC ‘Much Ado’ with Tamsin Greig and Joseph Millson- this was another of the youth productions, this time by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Again only an hour and a quarter long, and omitting characters such as Antonio and Ursula, this was a very quick-paced ‘Much Ado’ that tackled …
All’s Well That Ends Well (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) @ The Swan theatre
September 4, 2006
This was the first of the Young People’s Shakespeare series, of which there are five over the next fortnight- one off performances, heavily cut, each done by a different UK drama school. It’s a harsh deal for ‘All’s Well’ to only get an hour and fifteen minutes single performance when it’s a relatively little-performed play …
Troilus and Cressida (RSC/Edinburgh International Festival) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
September 2, 2006
Firstly, thanks to the Edinburgh International Festival, there is a whole website of production photographs for this play, far too many to show here- you can see more at http://www.eif.co.uk/galleries/tandc2/?PHPSESSID=4c62742405b330dd95ccaedd678327a8 . This was, as you can tell from the pictures, a production that aspired to the epic. From the pre-recorded and lavish music to the …
King John (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
August 31, 2006
I’d be lying to say that this is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. When Nos do Morro were invited to do a play in the Complete Works Festival, the only two left were ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ and ‘King John’- and to them, there wasn’t even a choice to make. So, the RSC quite …
Henry VIII (AandBC) @ Holy Trinity Church
August 29, 2006
I arrived at Holy Trinity Church tonight and was stopped by a passer–by who asked me if they regularly put on plays at the church, to which I replied that it was a one–off for AandBC, the visiting company. This gent was quite disapproving of the use of a church for theatre, and I do …
The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Nos do Morro/Gallery 37) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 27, 2006
I’d been looking forward to this play as one of the more unusual productions– a Brazillian community theatre group, Nos do Morro, joining forces with a Birmingham urban youth project, Gallery 37. It was certainly very good– a young and energetic cast really put their hearts and souls into it. The large Chorus became walls …
Henry VI Part III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 20, 2006
It’s been a busy week for me in Stratford- ‘2 Henry VI’ and ‘Capulets and Montagues’ on Wednesday, long public transport nightmare trip on Friday, ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ yesterday and today, my second viewing of ‘3 Henry VI’. I’m quite glad I decided to see the Henries individually as well as the whole day event- …
Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare Theatre Company) @ The Swan Theatre
August 19, 2006
I always try to read a selection of professional reviews of the shows I’ve seen- partly for interest, partly because they sometimes bring to light things I hadn’t noticed and partly because they sometimes give a good platform for argument. One of the most respected of these critics is Michael Billington, the Guardian theatre critic, …
Capulets & Montagues (CAPITAL Centre) @ The Dell
August 16, 2006
Although my project is mainly concerned with the main performances of the Complete Works Festival, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that there’s a lot more going on in Stratford than what’s in the theatres. While no–one could possibly go to all of the talks, discussions, workshops and sideshows that are happening, it’s really interesting …
Find, follow, join us
