A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
August 20, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/dream/ It is traditional to frame the main action of A Midsummer Night’s Dream within a particularly threatening Athens, allowing the comedy to stand in contrast to the formality and danger of the court. Nancy Meckler’s new production for the RSC was no exception. Theseus (Jo Stone-Fewings) was a London mob …
The Globe Mysteries @ Shakespeare’s Globe
August 16, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/on-stage/the-globe-mysteries The Bardathon is going medieval on its readers this week. On Friday I’ll be seeing Everyman performed over Shakespeare’s grave in Holy Trinity Church, and this afternoon, on a whim, I took a break from referencing in the British Library to catch the Globe’s new production of Tony Harrison’s Mysteries …
Something to get excited about
August 12, 2011
Cheek by Jowl are doing ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. This is a very good thing. http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/33195/cheek-by-jowl-to-stage-tis-pity-shes-a
The Two Noble Kinsmen (Just Enough) @ The Dell, Stratford–upon–Avon
August 7, 2011
Writing about web page http://justenoughtheatre.wordpress.com/the-two-noble-kinsmen/ Another landmark! A little over five years ago, I saw an excellent rehearsed reading of The Two Noble Kinsmen at the Swan. Since then, I’ve been waiting for a chance to see a full production. It’s the last of the plays in the universally-accepted thirty-eight that I’d not seen a …
Titus Andronicus (Action To The Word) @ C+1, Edinburgh
August 5, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.actiontotheword.com/shows.php After having seen some 250-odd performances of plays and adaptations of plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, I hit something of a landmark last night – my first English-language production of Titus Andronicus, the last play in the established canon which I’d only seen in translation. Coincidentally, this was also …
Cardenio [The Second Maiden’s Tragedy] (Aporia Theatre) @ The Dell, Stratford–upon–Avon
July 31, 2011
Writing about web page http://aporiatheatre.com/Aporia%20Theatre%20Website_files/PreviousProductions.htm I must get the complaints out of the way first. Publicity materials for Aporia Theatre’s dates at the Dell in Stratford-upon-Avon announced that the company would be performing "Cardenio by Shakespeare – Fletcher – Middleton: The Alternative Text." I repeat the title used by the company; but, as I knew …
Doctor Faustus @ Shakespeare’s Globe
July 18, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/on-stage/doctor-faustus The Globe’s summer season this year is surprisingly light on Shakespeare. The only two main house Shakespeares are All’s Well and Much Ado about Nothing, as well as touring versions of Hamlet and As You Like It, but a surprising proportion of the season has been new writing and, celebrating …
Being Shakespeare @ Trafalgar Studios
Writing about web page http://www.beingshakespeare.com/ My PhD supervisor, Jonathan Bate, has a play on at Trafalgar Studios at the moment, Being Shakespeare.The show is essentially a reduced version of his last book on Shakespeare, Soul of the Age, with Simon Callow delivering a talk about Shakespeare’s life and career divided into Jacques’ seven ages of …
With Will (Warwick Student Arts Festival) @ Warwick Arts Centre Studio
June 28, 2011
I’ve only managed to catch one show at this year’s Warwick Student Arts Festival – With Will, a half-hour duologue. I don’t know the names of writer, director or actors, but I can only assume it comes from the same mind that created the very similar To Will, which I caught earlier this year. The …
Dunsinane (National Theatre of Scotland/RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
It’s amusing to note that, while the Royal Shakespeare Company first produced David Greig’s Dunsinane in 2010, it only played in London; and it’s only in the National Theatre of Scotland’s staging of the RSC production that the play has finally come to Stratford-upon-Avon, after an outing at Edinburgh’s Lyceum. It’s less amusing to report …