Twelfth Night (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
September 5, 2007
I’m of the opinion that Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare’s greatest pieces of work. It’s funny, deep, very clever and features some of the greatest characters in the canon. Its immediate appeal is apparent from the number of productions of the play put on every year. The last twelve months alone have seen Filter, …
The End Result
September 3, 2007
Today I submitted my MA dissertation. This is of particular interest to this blog as, as my longest serving readers will know, this blog only came about because of my dissertation. Let me take you back, if you will, to March 2006. As the RSC’s Complete Works Festival rolled up and I started choosing which …
The British Shakespeare Association Conference
The what? Well, for the last six months I’ve been kept very busy co-organising the British Shakespeare Association’s 3rd conference, which was held at Warwick Uni this weekend. I’m somewhat knackered, but wanted to write a little bit about some of the stuff that came out of the conference, as it’s not entirely irrelevant to …
The authority of blogging on theatre
August 21, 2007
In a couple of week’s time I’m speaking on a panel at the British Shakespeare Assocation’s annual conference on the topic Blogging Shakespeare . I haven’t fully thought out what I’m going to say yet, but a big part of it will be about the authority of blogging. I’ve been thinking about this because of …
Henry IV Part II (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 16, 2007
After the disappointment of Michael Boyd’s Henry IV Part I, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Richard Twyman’s Henry IV Part II is a joy to watch. Fast, funny, moving, integrated and with a unique character and flavour of its own, this production comes with a massive sigh of relief, rekindling my faith …
The Merchant Of Venice @ Shakespeare’s Globe
August 12, 2007
The Merchant Of Venice is in trouble. In all the version I’ve seen of it on stage and screen, this “comedy” has become a very serious play, with one issue- Shylock. The Jew. The events of the early 20th century have unbalanced the play, drawing on the discussion of anti-semitism to turn this into the …
Othello @ Shakespeare’s Globe
August 5, 2007
I saw one of my first ever Shakespeare productions at the Globe, The Tempest with Vanessa Redgrave starring as Prospero. The Globe is somewhat smaller than I remembered, but still brings with it that sense of occasion. You don’t just go to the Globe to see the play, but to have the experience of jostling …
Henry IV Part I (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 4, 2007
The disappointment is crushing. It was perhaps too much to hope that every play in the Histories Cycle would be a cracker, but after five excellent productions (even Richard III, which I wasn’t too fussed about at the time, has left a positive impression on me), Michael Boyd has finally dropped the ball. That said, …
Richard II (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
With the Complete Works Festival now long over, and the Swan preparing to shut down in a couple of weeks, the RSC’s attention now seems focussed on its new Big Project. The Histories Cycle is Michael Boyd’s attempt to stage with a single company the two tetralogies of history plays that Shakespeare wrote. The Cycle …
Twelfth Night (WSAF) @ Warwick Arts Centre
June 28, 2007
There are dangers to taking on Shakespeare. People are obviously drawn to the history, the accessibility, the guaranteed audiences and the copyright-free texts, but sometimes the dangers get overlooked. Perhaps the most overlooked problem when tackling a Shakespeare play is the question of “Why?”. When every play has such a rich performance history, why do …
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