Theatre: Shakespeare 1. Romeo and Juliet (RSC). 2. King Lear (RSC). 3. As You Like It (West Yorkshire Playhouse). 4. Measure for Measure (Almeida). 5. The Winter’s Tale (RSC/Roundhouse). 6. Henry IV part 2 (Globe). 7. Macbeth (Globe). 8. Antony and Cleopatra (RSC). 9. Antony and Cleopatra (Liverpool Playhouse). 10. Hamlet (The Crucible, Sheffield). 11.…
On the 15th October matinée, Katy Stephens (text in hand) took on the role of Cleopatra in the RSC Antony and Cleopatra when Kathryn Hunter ‘was indisposed’. Though for most of the scenes Katy Stephens held the book in her hand, she only looked at the script now and again to remind herself of odd lines. I felt…
Read more Antony and Cleopatra. Part 2 (Theatre Royal Newcastle, 15th October 2010)
In the episode ‘George’s Last Ride’ from the seminal television drama Boys from the Blackstuff, Chrissy (Michael Angelis) pushes George (Peter Kerrigan) in his wheelchair through the derelict landscape of the industrial dock area of Liverpool. The predominance of greys in the scene create a sense of despair and pessimism. As Chrissy helps George stand…
Read more King Lear (RSC, The Courtyard Theatre, w/c 1st March 2010)
Though I enjoyed the South Bank programme about the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) because of my interest in the Company and its work, I did start to feel that it was more like a promotional DVD, than an in-depth study. It is sad to see a long running show axed and I hope other shows take its place,…
Outside Waterstone’s in Newcastle, young women wearing clothes with flashes of pink, are queuing to see Katie Price signing copies of her new novel. The former glamour model, who is also known as Jordan, experiments with different identities, and she could be described as an independent woman making it on her own in the savage and brutal world of a celebrity-focused culture. About 100 yards away from…
Read more As You Like It (Theatre Royal Newcastle, 24th October 2009)
What is it like seeing a production as it has started to bed down and well into its run. I’ve seen the RSC’s As You Like It five times now. Once very early in its run in May and then in July when Mariah Gale was playing Rosalind. I think the production has matured, just as I…
Read more Katy Stephens' hair: As You Like It (The Courtyard Theatre, 12th August 2009)
This is becoming the As You Like It summer. I’ve already blogged about the Curve production, RSC production, and the Globe production, but felt that I had make mention of the RSC one again after seeing Mariah Gale go on as understudy for Rosalind. On this occasion, there were no press releases or reports of…
On the cover of the programme for current RSC production of The Winter’s Tale , Greg Hicks (Leontes) stands in the middle of a winter landscape and glances down at an ‘old master’ painting depicting an idyllic classical landscape. The programme image suggests the pastoral world as an alternative to the world that Leontes inhabits.…
Read more The Winter's Tale and As You Like It (RSC 7th, 8th and 9th May 2009)
Julie Raby: A Dyslexic Writer 