The Winter’s Tale (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
December 14, 2006
It was a mistake on my part to see ‘Pericles’ and ‘The Winter’s Tale’ on consecutive nights, when I had a full day of work in between the two. By this evening I was very tired, and not looking forward to spending another three hours standing up. It says something then, that this production kept …
Pericles (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone who’s seen ‘Pericles’. It’s debatable, to be honest, whether I know anyone who’s even read it, it only surviving in severely corrupt or conjecturally reconstructed texts. It’s not a play which people seem to know much about (“It’s a Roman one, innit?”) and the theatre tonight, while bustling …
The Indian Boy (RSC) @ The Cube
November 11, 2006
This was the ‘big’ new production of the Cube- a new commission by the RSC, and a response to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. A new housing estate is being put up on some ancient woodland, and the builders find a mysterious Indian Boy in the trees. Knocking him out, he’s admitted to a psychiatric ward …
One Of These Days (RSC) @ The Cube
November 10, 2006
After waiting so long for a ticket, I’d have been disappointed if this play, a new response to ‘The Tempest’ by Leo Butler, hadn’t been at least entertaining. Fortunately, despite only being a recently-rehearsed reading of the play, it was absolutely worth it. The plot centred round an 18th century broken family- a protestant soldier, …
The Phoenix And The Turtle (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre and Holy Trinity Church
November 6, 2006
The holy grail of the Complete Works, and one that cost me a great deal of time and money in order to get a ticket for! But thoroughly worth it, despite me not knowing the poem at all. The evening began in the Courtyard, with a talk from Michael Wood about the poem. Without going …
Antony and Cleopatra (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
October 15, 2006
Last night’s play was the wonderful, universally lauded ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ starring Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter, which I reviewed way back when I first started this blog. Then, though, I was standing in the top gallery of the Swan. Tonight, I was on the front row, at times mere inches from the actors. And …
‘Julius Caesar’ and ‘The Tempest’ (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
October 12, 2006
Two entries for the price of one today, as I’ve been back to see two plays that for various reasons I didn’t fully digest first time I saw them. Many thanks to our sponsors at the CAPITAL centre for transport and cheap tickets! ‘Julius Caesar’ first. The interesting thing about seeing this production again was …
Regime Change (RSC/BBC Radio 3) @ The Swan Theatre
October 10, 2006
The first excitement of today was getting the free programme and seeing the cast list. Not only were several of the best actors of the ‘Julius Caesar’/’Tempest’ company (including Julian Bleach, Mariah Gale, John Hopkins, Joseph Alessi, David Rubin and Golda Rosheuvel) involved, but for this event only the fantastic actor Henry Goodman had come …
The Rape Of Lucrece (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre
September 10, 2006
It’s a bit hard to know whether to call this an event or a production- it IS one of the fifty-four Complete Works productions, but as it was an hour and fifteen minute workshopped reading, it felt more like an event, a curio, than a full production. ‘The Rape Of Lucrece’, for anyone who doesn’t …
Troilus and Cressida (RSC/Edinburgh International Festival) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
September 2, 2006
Firstly, thanks to the Edinburgh International Festival, there is a whole website of production photographs for this play, far too many to show here- you can see more at http://www.eif.co.uk/galleries/tandc2/?PHPSESSID=4c62742405b330dd95ccaedd678327a8 . This was, as you can tell from the pictures, a production that aspired to the epic. From the pre-recorded and lavish music to the …
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