Theatre 2016: Review Thirteen

The Tempest, Sam Wanamaker Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, London. March 2016.

After seeing such a good production of this in the main Globe a couple of years ago I wasn't certain that I wanted to see this but a friend asked me to go with him and who am I to turn down a trip to the theatre?  Sadly on the day he was poorly and I persuaded Mr Norfolkbookworm to join me.

The play was brilliant, the comedic characters stole the show but at the same time were reined in so that they never overstayed their welcome. For me the highlight was Ariel, she managed to be present on stage and act her role perfectly - she was a mix of petulant, put upon, rebellious and dutiful - the cast interacting with her also deserve praise as they managed to act as if she really was invisible even when she was touching them. Her relationship with Prospero was interesting too as again you weren't sure if she loved or loathed him.

Since studying Shakespeare, and this play in particular, I've learnt so much about the 'behind-the-scenes' stories of the play. The Tempest is apparently all about colonisation and this wasn't something that I had noticed in previous productions, but here it certainly came through for me. Caliban was just a native of the island and certainly was not a monster and he was certainly a victim of a European colonisation.

This production was also interesting as Ferdinand was certainly a stronger character than usual where as Miranda was weaker than others I've seen.  She was however very much the 15/16 year old the play describes but possibly just a touch too modern.

I'm heartbroken that my friend missed this as it is the best Tempest I've seen.  Mr Norfolkbookworm enjoyed the show too but is absolutely convinced that the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is just a form of torture and however tempting the production he'll just cross his fingers that it is released on DVD!

Theatre 2016: Review Seven

Red Velvet, The Garrick Theatre, London. February 2016.

After the disastrous visit to the Garrick to see The Winter's Tale last November I was feeling rather anxious about having booked Mr Norfolkbookworm and I seats to see Red Velvet in the same venue.  I'd picked different seats and held by breath that it would all be okay on the night - luckily it was and we got to see a wonderful play.

I saw this for the first time just under two years ago with Rebecca and raved about it then, it was in fact my second best play of 2014, and I was so enthusiastic about it that as soon as a West End rerun was announced Mr Norfolkbookworm instantly agreed to go and see what was so special about this play when I suggested it.

I was a little nervous, could such a powerful play have the same impact on second viewing? Was it really that goo? Would himself enjoy it as much as I'd intimated? Again the answer to all of these questions really was yes.

A little of the intimacy of the smaller venue is lost but the piece itself is just as powerful and again has as much to say to the audience of 2016 as it had in the 1800s.  All of the performances were spot on and the final scene is still a devastating reminder of the racism that still pervades our society.  The audience in our performance were particularly engaged with the play for at some of the most outrageous racist lines there were audible hisses throughout the theatre and no inappropriate laughter.

I did find the actor playing Charles Kean to be less terrifying this time around (I'm sorry I don't have his name to hand, £5 for a programme was a step too far for a re-watch), he certainly seemed to be playing up the comic aspect of his character but his casual, throwaway lines and disguised racism was still present.

I'm really happy we got to see this and if anyone reading this can grab a seat before it closed I recommend doing so - Row O had excellent sightlines!

Theatre 2015: Review Thirty-Three

Richard II, Shakespeare's Globe, London. October 2015.

After revisiting Hamlet and possibly enjoying it less than the first visit I was actually a little wary about seeing Richard II again. It was a good production earlier in the summer - what if it didn't live up to that, or what if I was wrong in thinking it to be good....

Fortunately I enjoyed our trip to this as much, or if not more than earlier in the season.  I still stand by my comments that too much of the Groundling space was used for acting, which meant that even in our top price seats we missed some of the action but my other niggle about line pacing had definitely been worked on.

I'd thought previously that the speed of delivery was supposed to indicate the King's state of mind and that was clearly the case.  At the start of the play when Richard is firmly in control he speaks slowly and in a measured way but as his monarchy, and his state of mind, unravels he speeds up and becomes frantic.  However in this final performance of the season there was a clear demarcation of the two speeds and no clarity was lost during delivery.

William Gaunt who has been playing John of Gaunt in the production was indisposed yesterday and as per the Globe's procedure (no understudy) his part was read by another actor.  I'm not sure how long W. Gaunt has been off but the stand in was almost word perfect yesterday and if we hadn't been told he was reading the script we'd have totally believed that Gaunt was a man of state papers hence them in his hand.

This was the last outdoor performance of the 2015 season and it ended it with speeches from the out going artistic director.  I'm looking forward to the season announcement for 2016, and celebrating the fact that it will be a female in charge of the theatre.  I am also nervous because it is Dominic Dromgoole's Globe (and Shakespeare) that I have fallen in love with.