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Henry IV Part 1 & 2 (Chicago Shakespeare Theater) @ The Swan Theatre

The first of the American companies, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, have been performing these two plays in tandem all week, and I thought I’d take the opportunity to see them both in one day- Part I in the afternoon, part II in the evening. I was quite interested to see how an international company would treat …

Titus Andronicus (Ninagawa Company) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Yukio Ninagawa is a very famous director, though I should admit I’d never actually heard of him! He’s Japanese, directed ‘King Lear’ for the RSC a few years back and is currently putting on Japanese interpretations of every single Shakespeare play in turn. It seems obvious, then, that he should be contributing to the Complete …

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Dash Arts) @ The Swan Theatre

You know when I said a few days ago that I was trying to avoid using superlatives? Well, forget that. This was the BEST BEST BEST thing I’ve EVER seen on stage! Firstly, it was by no means difficult to follow. Some characters never spoke a word of English, but the actors were so clear …

‘Twelfth Night’ and Director’s Talk (Cheek by Jowl) @ Warwick Arts Centre

It’s been a hectic few days, rounded off by my third play in as many nights, a second viewing of Cheek By Jowl’s ‘Twelfth Night’. Again, it’s a comedy that manages to stay funny a second time round, and even better was the fact that the audience was considerably bigger this time. Also, it was …

Julius Caesar (RSC) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

First of all, I’m going to quickly rave about the value of the seat I got. For £5, I was in the fifth row, relatively central and right in front of the stage. It was the best view I’ve ever had in the theatre! And, even better, I’ve got the same seat booked for a …

Othello (Munchner Kammerspiele) @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

APRIL 29TH 2006 (backdated) “May be unsuitable for young children. Certain scenes contain strong language which some people may find offensive”. Not a disclaimer for this blog, but the one sent out prior to the arrival of the first of the international contributors to the Festival – Munchner Kammerspiele from Germany. This was emphatically NOT …

Sneak peek!

APRIL 27TH 2006 (backdated) There are advantages to going on conferences sometimes. While on a two-day conference on Thomas Kyd’s ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ (a very good play by the way, hoping someone mounts a production of it in the near future), we got the offer of seeing an open dress rehearsal of the Baxter Theatre …

Antony & Cleopatra (RSC) @ The Swan

APRIL 13TH 2006 (backdated) Whew. Well, as opposed to ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Doran’s ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ was a very traditional production, but very, very good. It says something that for its three hours length, I didn’t even notice that I was standing, the time just flew. Whereas the cast of ‘Romeo’ were dwarfed by their …

Romeo & Juliet @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre

APRIL 11TH 2006 (backdated) I was always going to be excited about the first show of the Festival, but this promised to be particularly special. The director, Nancy Meckler, debuted with the RSC last year with ‘The Comedy Of Errors’, the funniest production of a Shakespeare play I had ever seen. Physical, fast and hysterical, …