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Henry VI Part III (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

It’s been a busy week for me in Stratford- ‘2 Henry VI’ and ‘Capulets and Montagues’ on Wednesday, long public transport nightmare trip on Friday, ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ yesterday and today, my second viewing of ‘3 Henry VI’. I’m quite glad I decided to see the Henries individually as well as the whole day event- …

Love’s Labour’s Lost (Shakespeare Theatre Company) @ The Swan Theatre

I always try to read a selection of professional reviews of the shows I’ve seen- partly for interest, partly because they sometimes bring to light things I hadn’t noticed and partly because they sometimes give a good platform for argument. One of the most respected of these critics is Michael Billington, the Guardian theatre critic, …

Henry VI Part II (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

I have to admit, this is my favourite part of the trilogy, and so the chance to see ‘2 Henry VI’ by itself today was one I was enormously looking forward to, especially as I again had a front row seat. And, once again, it didn’t disappoint. The ‘Henry VI’ trilogy are in contention for …

The Tempest (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Last night’s show was ‘The Tempest’ at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the third and final play performed by the company of ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ and ‘Julius Caesar’. The big draw tonight was, of course, Patrick Stewart as Prospero, but aside from that it’s the first of the romances to be shown as a full production …

Henry VI Trilogy (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

Wow! Yesterday was another big ‘event’ day- the entire Henry VI trilogy in one day, starting at 10.30 in the monring and finishing just after 11 at night. And it was spectacular. I’m seeing the plays again, so I’ll save the detailed comment til then- here I just want to say a bit about the …

Henry VI Part I (RSC) @ The Courtyard Theatre

Tonight was my first visit to the new temporary theatre, the Courtyard, so was always going to be a slightly special occasion! The new theatre is really nice, and still smelled of varnish and new wood when I first went into it tonight. The double bar area is a genius idea that really cut down …

Twelfth Night (Cheek by Jowl) @ Warwick Arts Centre

MAY 30TH 2006 (backdated) The first and only disappointing thing about this performance was the relatively small audience. Unfortunately, the Arts Centre is on a University campus which was right in the middle of exam period, and the fact that the play was in Russian probably put quite a few people off as well. The …

The Two Noble Kinsmen (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre

MAY 21ST 2006 (backdated) I had to get a lift into Stratford and queue for day tickets for this one, the first real ‘event’ piece of the Festival. The RSC Touring Company, currently travelling with Greg Doran’s production of ‘The Canterbury Tales’, stopped off for one afternoon in Stratford to do this, a special event …

Much Ado About Nothing (RSC) @ The Swan Theatre

MAY 16TH 2006 (backdated) ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ isn’t a play I know particularly well- I’d only seen one student production of it which was fairly good, but certainly hadn’t blown me away. So, I wasn’t expecting great things from the RSC’s new production of it, and I didn’t know any of director Marianne Elliott’s …

Hamlet (Baxter) @ The Swan Theatre

MAY 1ST 2006 (backdated) And now for the full-on performance! My seat wasn’t as good as it was for the dress rehearsal, but no matter, the production was just as it had been two days ago- excellent. The problem with seeing any production twice in a short space of time is, of course, over-familiarity. This …