Twelfth Night (National Theatre Primary Classics) @ Warwick Arts Centre
May 5, 2010
Writing about web page http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/39017/primary-classics/primary-classics.html The Primary Classics series is an important part of the National Theatre’s youth work. You can argue till you’re blue in the face about the politics of canon, the centrality of Shakespeare as a "necessary" component of primary education, and whether there aren’t a great many more worthwhile theatrical projects …
All’s Well that Ends Well (NT Live) @ Warwick Arts Centre Cinema
October 2, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=52899 Nicholas Hytner, in an interview with Alex Jennings that preceded the National Theatre’s second NT Live broadcast, qualified the expectations for this experimental programme in a way which chimed more with my own expectations. The broadcast of Phedre back in June was preceded by rather hyperbolic and over-ambitious suggestions that …
Curtain calls or credits? Phedre (NT Live) @ Warwick Arts Centre
June 25, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk/events/id/4118 I caught the National’s Phedre last night – or, at least, an aspect of it. For this was the launch of the National’s NT Live Project, which saw a live performance screened simultaneously on over 200 screens around the world. I caught it at Warwick Arts Centre, which added a further …
All’s Well That Ends Well @ The National Theatre (Olivier)
June 10, 2009
The label of “problem play” has long been regarded as an unhelpful and negatively loaded description for those plays of Shakespeare’s which fit uncomfortably into neat genres, yet in the case of All’s Well That Ends Well, the label has stuck. Marianne Elliott’s new production for the National Theatre, however, made a virtue of the …
Dido, Queen of Carthage (National) @ The Cottesloe Theatre
March 29, 2009
Writing about web page http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/dido I’ve been a bit slow at getting a review of the National’s new studio production of Dido, Queen of Carthage up, which has given me a chance to have a look at some of the other notices it’s received. Interestingly, it’s been quite divisive: certain of the broadsheet critics have given …
Shakespeare Blogged
March 3, 2009
The National are doing a talk entitled Shakespeare Blogged on June 23rd, described thus: Actor and RSC blogger Nick Asbury joins director and author Simon Reade for a light-hearted look at how Shakespeare the playwright would survive in today’s world of internet scrutiny and arts subsidy. Nick did the RSC blog for the Histories way …
Macbeth: Who Is That Bloodied Man? (Teatr Biuro Podrozy) @ The Square2, National Theatre
August 11, 2008
For two productions only, the National Theatre has opened a new space, the Square2, just outside the main theatre on the South Bank. It’s an odd space, a large flat open area with audience standing around on three sides on stepped platforms behind crash barriers on raked platforms. Only a low wall separates it from …
The Revenger’s Tragedy @ The National Theatre
June 4, 2008
The 2008 Middleton Renaissance is underway with two new productions of The Revenger’s Tragedy opening simultaneously at opposite ends of the country. The professional critics saw the Manchester production first, but I’m working the other way round, last night catching the National’s new interpretation. The National went to great lengths to emphasise and jazz up Middleton’s …
Much Ado About Nothing (National Theatre) @ The Olivier
December 16, 2007
The National’s decision to put on a new Much Ado about Nothing as their main house show over the Christmas period seems to be a slightly odd one, coming so soon after Marianne Elliott’s hugely successful production for the RSC which is still garnering award nominations. Clearly, however, Nicholas Hytner felt there was still something …
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