Richard III @ Nottingham Playhouse
November 7, 2013
Nottingham Playhouse is advertising its new production of Richard III as the ‘first major staging’ since the discovery of the historical king’s body under that now-infamous car park in Leicester. While this seems a little ungenerous in its implications about Bristol’s Tobacco Factory, the joy of this production will be the chance to see the …
The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged [Revised] (Reduced Shakespeare Company) @ Nottingham Playhouse
November 4, 2013
It would be churlish to react with academic indignation to The Complete Works of Shakespeare Abridged. The Reduced Shakespeare Company has existed for longer than I’ve been alive, and the Complete Works itself for twenty-six years. While the show may continue to present itself as a radical overturning of Shakespearean/British snobbery and a riotous romp …
Richard II (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
October 30, 2013
As a statement of intent, Gregory Doran’s launch to his tenure as RSC Artistic Director is perfectly judged. Richard II is the most ‘Doranish’ production one could imagine, from the gorgeously conceived lighting design to the sensitive treatment of male-male relationships, from the meticulous attention to detail in the tiniest roles to the playful but …
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Michael Grandage Company) @ The Noel Coward Theatre
October 28, 2013
Michael Grandage is an excellent director, particularly of actors. His Othello at the Donmar some years back provided what may prove to be a definitive Othello in Chiwitel Ejiofor, and his Lear starring Derek Jacobi in the same venue found rare intimacy in the play against a stark backdrop of boards. Yet as Grandage leaves …
Bussy D’Ambois (The Owle Schreame) @ St Giles-in-the-Fields Church
The Owle Schreame ‘Cannibal Valour’ residency at St Giles-in-the-Fields Church in London is one of the most exciting events in early modern performance this year. Beginning with a rare outing for George Chapman’s Bussy D’Ambois, the company are going on to give (presumably) world premieres of Thomas Nabbes’s The Unfortunate Mother and James Shirley’s Honoria and …
Collaborative Plays by Shakespeare & Others
October 13, 2013
Following today’s piece in The Observer, discussion will no doubt be starting about the claims being made by the new edition entitled Collaborative Plays by William Shakespeare and Others. The article, which highlights the claim of Shakespeare’s ‘fingerprints’ being ‘found’, conflates the actual research done with the normal media-friendly subheadings designed to catch an audience, …
The Winter’s Tale (Sheffield Theatres) @ The Crucible
October 8, 2013
I’ll confess to my heart sinking somewhat as the cast of Paul Miller’s new Winter’s Tale emerged onto a bare thrust stage in Edwardian suits and European royal military uniforms. Almost as much as Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale seems to me to have become stuck in an era that doesn’t seem to me to …
Othello (National Theatre) @ NT Live
September 27, 2013
When digging out my ticket for the NT Live screening of Othello at Nottingham’s Broadway, I had to go into my archived email from four months ago. Booking for these screenings has become even more competitive, and as I tweeted afterwards I was disappointed to see so few young people in the audience. The extreme …
Dido, Queen of Carthage (Edward’s Boys) @ Christ Church Banqueting Hall, Oxford
September 22, 2013
If Gager’s Dido was accompanied by roast belly of pork and a house red, it seemed appropriate that Marlowe’s more playful take on the Dido story was served up alongside a posh version of cream and jelly. Perry Mills took on an intimidatingly huge room with a production that refused to shy away from the …
Dido (EDOX) @ Christ Church Banqueting Hall, Oxford
On June 12th 1583, William Gager’s Latin play Dido was performed in the main banqueting hall of Christ Church College in honour of the Polish ambassador. On September 21st 2013, the play was once more performed in the same venue, again with the Polish (deputy) ambassador in attendance, in a new English translation by Elizabeth Sandis. …
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