The Tempest (RSC) @ The Novello Theatre
March 20, 2007
I’ve been very unfair to this production of ‘The Tempest’. I’ve seen it twice before, but the first time I was distracted for personal reasons, and the second we were severely late, so I’ve never been in a position to sit down and simply enjoy it. Last night remedied that, in an evening that made …
Venus & Adonis: A Masque For Puppets (Little Angel) @ The Swan Theatre
March 16, 2007
One of the problems with revivals is that the press aren’t particularly concerned second time around. ‘Venus and Adonis’ doesn’t have a press night during its week-long stay at the Swan, and all professional reviews of it are buried deep in internet archives. A large proportion of the Stratford audience saw it in 2004, when …
Coriolanus (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
February 28, 2007
This is the final play in Shakespeare’s canon that I had never seen a production of (well, unless you count ‘Edward III’- and I’ve still only seen ‘The Merchant Of Venice’ on film), meaning that it’s the final chance I had to come to a production completely fresh, knowing little more than the basic outline …
Nothing Like The Sun (RSC/Opera North) @ The Courtyard Theatre
February 25, 2007
Considering this is the ‘Complete Works’ Festival, it seems an appropriate time to point out that that doesn’t mean every word Shakespeare ever wrote. None of his commendatory poems or prefixes are being performed, for example. His famous epitaph (‘Cursed be he that moves these bones’, chilling) stays on his grave. More prominently, neither ‘A …
Antony & Cleopatra (RSC) @ The Novello Theatre
February 18, 2007
Friday night was the chance to revisit, for one final time, the excellent ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, bookending my Complete Works marathon quite nicely with the same production, seen for a third time almost a year after I first saw it in the Swan. It was very good, but I was disappointed at how much its …
Henry VI Part 1 (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
February 10, 2007
Last night’s trip was a jolly really- a third viewing of the first part of Michael Boyd’s ‘Henry VI’ trilogy, just for fun! I’d really wanted to see all three ‘Henries’ and ‘Richard III’ in sequence, but timing hasn’t allowed, and I’m sure I’ll get the chance in 2008 when the company play eight history …
Richard III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre
January 28, 2007
It’s impossible not to notice that, throughout all the publicity material, posters, press shots, reviews and everything else surrounding the fourth installment in Michael Boyd’s history cycle, there is only one face leering out. Despite the emphasis that this company has placed on ensemble playing, despite the universal praise for the all-round excellence of the …
Days of Significance (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
January 21, 2007
Welcome to 2007! We’re in the final stretch of the Complete Works now, down to the last twelve productions, plus a few repeat viewings. Still a little way to go before I break out the champagne though….. Yesterday’s production was the fourth of the main response plays, a major new commission by Roy Williams called …
Much Ado About Nothing (RSC) @ The Novello Theatre
December 23, 2006
The RSC’s London Season this year sees the three biggest hits of the first half of the festival- ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ and ‘The Tempest’ coming to the West End. Being the RSC hack I am, and also more seriously out of a desire to see a) how the plays have developed …
Merry Wives: The Musical (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
December 21, 2006
Yes boys and girls, it’s that time of year- it’s the Big Christmas Musical! While part of me was really looking forward to this evening- a Gregory Doran production, the star power of Simon Callow, Judi Dench and Alistair McGowan and the promise of a new take on what is probably my least favourite comedy- …
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