Last time I saw Lisa Dillon was in Taming of the Shrew at the RST. Here she is playing the wife of a man giving birth, and was just as compelling to watch as she was as Kate. This is a 90 minute piece set in the maternity ward of a hospital and the twist…
Read more Short Review: Birthday (Royal Court, 21st July 2012)
The set was a bed. Indeed, the set really grabbed my attention when I walked into the RST. As I sat on the front row, I had to strain my neck to see over the stage, because the bed made the stage, which is high anyway, much higher. It’s was a bold move to turn…
Read more The Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Theatre, w/c 23rd January 2012)
Visit my new blog about the events I am taking part in over the summer and how I hope to raise a little bit of money for some charities. http://julierabyrunning.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/running-ambling-swimming/
There was a strangeness about this production, and it reminded me of the television programme Tales of the Unexpected. There was a conjuring Duke (Raymond Coulthard) who did slight of hand tricks, but the biggest trick of them all would be the bed trick. The Duke attempted to connect with the audience, but there was also a…
This is a very strange play and at the end of it, I wasn’t clear at all about what it was about. Patrick Stewart plays Shakespeare in his retirement at New Place. There are scenes with his daughter Judith and also the servants. Maybe the play was about the banality of Shakespeare’s later life when…
If this was just the first Act then I would really love it, because that first scene is great, but the rest of the play felt very dated. I realise that overall Top Girls is beautifully structured, and the doubling is intriguing. However, I felt the play now lacks elements of freshness and surprise. The…
Read more Short Review: Top Girls (West Yorkshire Playhouse, 6th March 2012)
This is a bustling exhibition with a fantastic selection of the eighteenth-century artist Johan Zoffany’s work. The exhibition is arranged in themes which presents very useful comparisons. There’s a sense of Zoffany observing the society around him, hence the title, but the observations often have a sense of humour and mischief. The exhibition shows Zoffany as…
Read more Johan Zoffany RA. Society Preserved (Royal Academy)
The Changeling is one of my favourite plays. This is a modern version that plays up the surrealism in the play. One of the highlights was the wedding scene, which was brilliantly played. Food became sexy, but it also became the blood. The play is about sex and madness and this production drew on these…
Read more Short Review: The Changeling (Young Vic, February 18th 2012)
Written on the Heart is a fantastic glimpse at an interesting period of history. There are some really engaging performances particularly from Oliver Ford Davies as Lancelot Andrews and Stephen Boxer as William Tyndale. The play explores the creation of the King James Bible and focuses on a group set up to compile it. Alongside…
Thinking back to this production, I have a memory of sand, snow, models, and a rather sinister Mamillius (Ben Allen), who doubles as Perdita in the second half. What I find fascinating about Propeller’s work is that I am always aware that this is men playing women’s parts. There is never an attempt to pretend…
Read more Short Review: The Winter’s Tale (Propeller, Sheffield Lyceum, 4th February 2012)
Julie Raby: A Dyslexic Writer 