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 …
To Will (Freshfest) @ The Dirty Duck, University of Warwick
February 27, 2011
A quick note about a short production I saw a couple of days ago. To Will was performed as part of a week-long new writing festival organised by Freshblood Theatre, one of Warwick’s many student drama societies. I didn’t see any programmes, unfortunately, so can’t recount the names of the actors, writer or director. To …
Gnomeo and Juliet (Rocket Productions) @ Showcase Cinema, Coventry
February 24, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377981/ Film versions of Shakespeare are required, one way or another, to confront the docu-real potentiality of the medium in the transition from stage to screen. While a very few choose to exploit the possibilities for historical drama and lush scenography, the heightened language and inevitable familiarity of subject matter more …
Richard II (SAATF) @ The Tobacco Factory
February 18, 2011
Even though Richard II stands alone as a wonderful, lyrical play, there’s something about a good production that leaves you wanting more, in the form of Henry IV. Certainly the play seems to aim at that. Some of the most exciting moments in Andrew Hilton’s new production, opening this year’s season at the Tobacco Factory, …
Richard III (Propeller) @ The Belgrade, Coventry
February 10, 2011
In stark contrast to last night’s interval concert, audience serenades and jovial banter, Propeller last night erected a stony wall between the audience and the stage. As Richard Clothier’s Richard delivered his "Was ever woman in this humour wooed?" speech, he limped about the stage and then paused. A woman in the front row was …
The Comedy of Errors (Propeller) @ The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
A roar of dissent rose in the foyer of the Belgrade Theatre during the interval of last night’s Comedy of Errors, as the tannoy politely requested that audience members resume their seats for the second half. The roar came, however, not from reluctant audiences, but from the theatre company themselves. The men of Propeller had …
King Lear (Donmar/NT Live) @ Warwick Arts Centre Cinema
February 4, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.donmarwarehouse.com/pl114.html Poor Paul Jesson. As Gloucester in Michael Grandage’s award-winning production of King Lear, last night he delivered one of the most powerful renditions of the Dover cliffs scene that I’ve ever been privileged to see. Accompanied by Gwilym Lee as Edgar, he shuffled across the bare bleached boards of the …
Double Falsehod (MokitaGrit) @ The Union Theatre, Southwark
February 1, 2011
Writing about web page http://www.doublefalsehood.org/ Comparisons may be odious, but at the Union Theatre’s new production of Double Falsehood, they are positively unavoidable. In August, KDC performed what it called the "21st century premiere" of Theobald’s disputed play in the space. Five months later, the same theatre played host to another Double Falsehood by MokitaGrit …
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