Propelling Edward III (Propeller) @ Wimbledon College of Arts
February 4, 2015
I was privileged this weekend to take part in an experimental two-day event at Wimbledon College of Arts with Propeller, a company on whom I’ve been working for some time (as well as providing talks for at Nottingham Theatre Royal). The event was designed as a collaborative venture between practice and research as part of …
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Propeller) @ Sheffield Lyceum
January 30, 2014
The Bardathon has had a slow start this year, as writing and marking priorities haven’t given me a huge amount of time for theatre. New reviews will be further delayed as my first show of the year, Propeller’s wonderful A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was seen as part of a module trip. As many of my …
Twelfth Night (Propeller) @ Theatre Royal, Nottingham
May 30, 2013
Propeller’s new season is their first with no brand new production, the company instead touring revivals of its acclaimed 2006-07 Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew, the tour on which I first encountered them. Looking back over my backlog of reviews, Propeller have consistently been revelatory. Their all-male productions are no heritage gimmick, …
Henry V (Propeller) @ The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
May 7, 2012
Writing about web page http://propeller.org.uk/current-productions/henry-v-and-the-winters-tale Propeller’s ability to create community remains unsurpassed. Raising money for charity during the interval of last night’s Henry V, their rousing rendition of "The Wild Rover" was bolstered by a good hundred audience members, gathered in a cramped foyer space around a couple of acoustic instruments. The camaraderie between audience …
The Winter’s Tale (Propeller) @ The Belgrade, Coventry
May 5, 2012
Follow-up to The Winter’s Tale (Propeller) @ Sheffield Lyceum from The Bardathon A second visit last night to Propeller’s The Winter’s Tale, now in Coventry, both affirmed and complicated the thoughts in my original review of the Sheffield performance. Once more, the play combined some truly superlative performances with a joyous depiction of Bohemia. Thanks …
The Winter’s Tale (Propeller) @ Sheffield Lyceum
February 2, 2012
Writing about web page http://propeller.org.uk/current-productions/henry-v-and-the-winters-tale Edward Hall’s company Propeller has always been playful. Whether entertaining audiences in foyers, offering grand guignol torture scenes or turning Portia into a drag queen, the company has delighted in its own performativity. In doing so, their shows tread a fine line between the parodic and the emotive. While elements …
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 …
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Propeller) @ Liverpool Playhouse
February 1, 2009
It makes a pleasing change to see a Dream during a hugely cold spell at the end of January, as opposed to in sweltering heat – which suggests to me a production that actually has something interesting to do with the play, rather than rolling it out to fill a quiet summer slot. This, the second half …
The Merchant of Venice (Propeller) @ Liverpool Playhouse
January 31, 2009
After some rather poor Shakespeare at the end of 2008, I have to say that it’s a relief and a pleasure to begin 2009 in the company of Propeller and their thoroughly interesting Merchant of Venice. It’s been a couple of years since I was wowed by their Shrew in Stratford, and happily Edward Hall …
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