Photo by Ellie Kurttz (c) RSC
For many actors Lear is the ultimate role, hence the proliferation of productions that appear every year. In 2016 alone we’ve had Timothy West, Don Warrington and Michael Pennington all pop up in the role and Glenda Jackson is currently giving us a female perspective over at the Old Vic. RSC stalwart Antony Sher’s take on the role has been something we’ve been waiting a few years for… so how does he do? Continue reading
the company of Much Ado About Nothing
There’s something special about seeing a Shakespeare play for the first time – so the chance to see two, on the same day and in linked productions couldn’t be missed. A couple of years ago the Royal Shakespeare Company paired Love’s Labours Lost with Much Ado About Nothing (renamed Love’s Labours Won) in a gorgeous setting amidst the Great War to much acclaim. This year they’ve revived the production, with many of the original cast and have brought it to Chichester Festival Theatre. Continue reading
Photo: Tristram Kenton
Cymbeline has long been regarded as perhaps the most challenging of Shakespeare’s “problem plays”, a hodge-podge of plots thrown together without any consistency of tone or style – it’s almost like a series of sketches more than a coherent play. It’s normally best presented as comedy or fairy tale, but this gritty new production decides to dwell in the earthiness of the character’s relationships. Continue reading
I was lucky enough to see the Royal Shakespeare Company‘s production of Cymbeline in Stratford back in May and, for a play that has always seemed troublesome, it made for incredibly engaging viewing in large part due to a stunning cast of performers and a fascinating setting. Check out the trailer here and then go see it for yourself, it transfers to the Barbican later this year. Continue reading
The Two Gentlemen of Verona in it’s natural outdoor setting
Shakespeare’s early plays are often problematic, with the bawdier comedies such as The Comedy of Errors the faults are hidden within some gloriously silly slapstick, but in The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (quite possibly the first play in Will’s canon) the flaws are writ large. Nonetheless Shakespeare’s Globe’s gloriously silly touring production makes for a largely enjoyable evening. Continue reading
Like most of Shakespeare’s tragedies Macbeth works best when viewed on the strength of the relationships between its characters. Sure the blood and guts murders are ways to get bum on seats but even with a literal thunderstorm overhead foreshadowing the tumultuous effects of Macbeth’s actions it all boils down to a marriage made strong by the pursuit of power. Continue reading
Anarchy!
It’s not what you expect from a Shakespeare play… even one that has been performed in as many ways as A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been tackled.Emma Rice’s debut piece in her first season as Artistic Director for the Globe throws the rulebook right out of the window though with performers wearing head mics, set dressing seemingly hanging from the sky and a distinctly non-reverential approach to William’s words. Continue reading
Shakespeare’s Globe’s Wonder Season is in full swing on Bankside, with the theatre becoming more and more of a fantasy world. I have to confess that The Taming Of The Shrew would not have been one of the plays I’d have picked for such a whimsical programme, but this production has a magic of its own! Continue reading
Following the four Shakespeare history plays, King & Country: Shakespeare’s Great Cycle of Kings, which kicked off 2016 at the Barbican Theatre, the touring production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation visits the Barbican for a week of performances in May, with London amateurs from the Tower Theatre joining the cast as the Rude Mechanicals, and pupils from Eastbury Community school and Beam Primary school in Barking and Dagenham playing Titania’s fairy train. Continue reading
I’m a relatively new convert to Shakespeare. Going to an all-boys secondary school in the mid-nineties there was very little focus on arts subjects and it put me off the bard for a long time. Even when I finally started going to see productions of Shakespeare’s plays I was wary of the Royal Shakespeare Company. These were the protectors of the canon and surely would be the toughest to truly appreciate!
Then I saw Antony Sher as Falstaff… Continue reading
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