I have a confession; I have seen The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk before, actually, I’ve seen it twice before in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse and at Wilton’s Music Hall. I loved it so much I jumped at the chance to see it again, this time virtually from Bristol Old Vic. It gave a completely different perspective to the performance, seeing the actors so close up. I could appreciate their facial expressions so much more than I normally can, many rows back through myopic eyes. The Flying Lovers tells … [Read more...]
Guildford Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an adaptation of Guildford Shakespeare Company’s (GSC) 2017 open-air production. Lotte Wakeham, who is now Artistic Director of the Octagon Theatre, Bolton, has returned to GSC to direct this online version, a co-production with the Octagon Theatre. I am really pleased that this, like all GSC’s online productions this year, has been so popular that two extra performances have now been added on the 2nd and 3rd October. Puck (Emma Fenney) is our … [Read more...]
UK Tour of Bang Bang! at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford | Review
Bang Bang! is, perhaps, rather surprisingly, John Cleese’s stage-writing debut. It is an adaption of Georges Feydeau’s farce “Monsieur Chasse”, written in French in 1892. John Cleese and Director Daniel Buckroyd’s version keeps the story in the time and place that it was originally set: Paris in the mid-1890s but, thankfully, it is performed in English. David Shields’ set is brilliantly designed, beginning at Monsieur and Madame Duchotel’s (Tony Gardner and Tessa Peake-Jones) Parisian home … [Read more...]
The Creature: Frankenstein Retold at the Rose Theatre Kingston | Review
I feel quite honoured to be attending the professional debut of this evening’s cast who are all alumni of the Rose Youth Theatre. Ciaran McConville, the former Director of Learning and Participation at the Rose Theatre has updated Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ with references to modern technology that brings the story right up to date but remains just as terrifying. Philip Connolly’s set is a tangled mass of pipes, wires, cobwebs and rags and so much smoke that I was surprised the smoke … [Read more...]
Macbeth by Guildford Shakespeare Company | Review
Guildford Shakespeare Company’s (GCS) content warning certainly tells you everything you need to know! "Shakespeare’s Macbeth contains themes of violence, war, murder, infanticide and the supernatural." No surprises then. However, the production is set against the background of a very contemporary guerrilla war, with whistling gunfire amidst a smoky haze, making the audience feel as if they could be in the line of fire. This made the atmosphere much more real and immediate and, quite frankly, … [Read more...]
All’s Well That Ends Well at Jermyn Street Theatre | Review
I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to see this production in Guildford as I always try to see everything that Guildford Shakespeare Company (GSC) produce, but what a treat! I get to see it in the delightful Jermyn Street Theatre for GSC’s first London transfer. Most of the set is covered with dust sheets as we take our seats but enough is showing to see that this production has a modern setting, although not too modern as the LPs and video tapes are evident on the shelving around the … [Read more...]
The 39 Steps at the Leatherhead Theatre | Review
The talk in the foyer before this evening’s performance is that one of the actors hurt his leg last night and had to finish the second half in a wheelchair. There is no sign of any injury this evening as the amazing cast of four all skip run and dance their way through the performance. Patrick Barlow's adaptation of John Buchan’s novel and Alfred Hitchcock’s film manages to tell the story of Richard Hannay’s unwilling involvement in an international spy ring as a lightning-paced, slapstick, … [Read more...]