The Winter’s Tale (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
May 4, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whatson/7291.aspx The new RSC ensemble is now officially up and running in Stratford, with The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It both playing in rep at the Courtyard. At the moment I’m curious to see whether the new ensemble format will prove as rich as the old; where the Histories …
The Tempest (Baxter Theatre Centre) @ The Courtyard Theatre
February 24, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whatson/6941.aspx When the Complete Works Festival finished, we were promised that it would be an "engine of change" at the RSC, ushering in home and international collaborations and more new work. However, after a couple of months, the RSC was taken over by the Histories and then the last summer season …
Romeo and Juliet (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
December 8, 2008
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/whatson/6433.aspx I’m not going to beat around the bush with this review. The RSC’s new production of Romeo and Juliet is one of the worst productions of Shakespeare I’ve ever had the misfortune to sit through. As hard as I tried to find some positive aspects to the production, I honestly …
Twelfth Night (Filter) @ The Courtyard Theatre
November 8, 2008
Writing about web page http://www.filtertheatre.com/ As part of the original Complete Works ‘Bardathon’, I was one of the few people lucky enough to catch the earliest days of Filter Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night, when it was still just a work-in-progress being tested out in the tiny Cube space. The finished version has been touring …
Love’s Labour’s Lost (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
October 18, 2008
Writing about web page http://www.rsc.org.uk/WhatsOn/5725.aspx Love’s Labour’s Lost is often regarded as a difficult play to stage, and in many cases can be a difficult play to watch. There are many good reasons for its long absence from the British stage, and modern revivals have to tread a fine line between clarity and dumbing down, between humour …
Hamlet (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
September 7, 2008
I have to wonder, in many ways, what is left to say about this production. Ever since the announcement, about a year ago, that David Tennant would be playing Hamlet in Gregory Doran’s new production of the play, the hype machine has been in full gear. Endless blogs, articles, debates, releases, the adoption of several …
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
August 22, 2008
Considering the RSC’s fondness for revivals (cf the recent Henry VI/Richard III cycle and the touring The Comedy of Errors), it’s perhaps surprising that this is the first time I’ve been to one that I saw first time round. Greg Doran’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was one of the better productions of the 2005 Comedies …
The Taming of the Shrew (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
May 28, 2008
Irish director Conall Morrison made waves in Stratford last year with his violently explicit production of Macbeth, a flawed but compelling show that demonstrated his fascination with sexual abuse and the blurring of lines between dark comedy and outrage. It is little surprise, then, that this uncompromising director has been invited back to Stratford to …
The Merchant of Venice (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
April 11, 2008
The Merchant of Venice has long been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I love the fact that the play can so easily and excitingly be used to confront so many issues: anti-Semitism, homosexuality, gender oppression, racism, child abuse and more have all been dealt with in productions I’ve seen. It’s also one of the very …
Richard III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre: Highlights
March 4, 2008
The big finish! And, if I’m truly honest, it was a slightly disappointing end to the week. Not because of the company, who kept up the energy right to the end, but for two reasons. Firstly, Richard III is a play dominated by one performance. The wonderful thing about the Histories ensemble is that there …
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