Sweet Music – The Subtle Seductions of South Pacific and Shakespeare

The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night And his affections dark as Erebus: Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music. The Merchant of Venice – Act V, [...]

Read Full Post »

You’re never alone with a clone – “Futureshock” reviewed

Imagine being forcibly woken after eight hundred years of suspended animation, to be faced by a heartless corporate clone informing you that the programme you signed up for has run out of money, so you’re going to be turned out into a society you can barely comprehend with no support whatsoever. This is the unenviable [...]

Read Full Post »

Measure For Measure, RSC Swan Theatre, Stratford

Charles Spencer from the Telegraph must really have it in for the RSC this winter season. He condemns their David Edgar play about the King James Bible, Written on the Heart, as “wordy and hard work,” and takes an almost visceral dislike Roxana Silbert’s production of Measure for Measure, Shakespeare’s problem comedy of sex and [...]

Read Full Post »

The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Presentist Shakespeare

    Two very different quotations I came across today get right to the heart of the debate about Shakespeare adaptation: In the red corner we have Brad Bevitt, who can’t see the point of dressing Shakespeare up in modern clothes and retaining all the original verse. He’s specifically discussing the new Coriolanus adapted by [...]

Read Full Post »

Damon and his Doctor

Every year the city of Manchester hosts an international arts festival which is remarkable for consisting entirely of premieres, many of them quite high-profile and therefore high-risk. Last night I went with my son to Damon Albarn’s “English Opera” about Dr John Dee, the remarkable Elizabethan magician and mathematician who was, many believe, the prototype of [...]

Read Full Post »

Rory’s Next Job?

Ooh, Arthur Darvill as Mephistopheles at the Globe. Getting quite excited about this!

Read Full Post »

In Belmont is a Barbie Doll

I’m back from Stratford, and my first production at the new RSC Theatre, where I managed to break a seat. It literally fell apart in my hand as I tried to push it up to let people get past me. I was whisked away into a very expensive stalls seat before I could manage to tweet about it! Not that [...]

Read Full Post »