5***** 28 February 2020 Amidst the glossy musicals, the gender-fluid productions of Shakespeare and the avant-garde diatribes it is good to know that out there, tucked away, is some excellent, honest theatre. It is a relief, a surprise and a joy. The Coastguard by Marie Macneill and presented by Mundic Nation is a vivid, beautifully […]
THE COASTGUARD – Barbican Theatre, Plymouth Read More »
3*** 25 February 2020 No one mounts a production of ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ without first taking a very deep breath. It is a modern monster of a piece. Now, nearly 60 years old, it is, as director David Mercatali says in his programme note, still ‘edgy with a wicked sense of humour’. Listening
WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? – Bristol Tobacco Factory Read More »
4**** 24 February 2020 As a self-confessed Agatha Christie fan since my early teens, it is a wonder that it has take me so long to get round to seeing a production of The Mousetrap. I did read the play over 40 years ago and thought it not her best, but watching a play unfold
THE MOUSETRAP – Theatre Royal Plymouth Read More »
5***** 19 February 2020 “I am ashamed that men are so simple”, so says Katherine, turning to the audience with a knowing look! Yes, but, of course, the original line uses ‘women’ rather than ‘men’; so the theme behind this gender-swapped production of another of Shakespeare’s ‘problem’ plays is summed up – to an extent.
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW – ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY – Theatre Royal Plymouth Read More »
4**** 13 February 2020 The Fourth Wall in a theatre – that invisible barrier between the players and the audience at the front of the stage – conventionally doesn’t get ‘broken’ by direct interaction between performers and those watching. In Shakespeare’s era, the convention did not occur. The audience was included in the action, fulfilled
AS YOU LIKE IT – ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY – Theatre Royal Plymouth Read More »
5***** 12 February 2020 Hallelujah! Just when you think of giving up on productions of Shakespeare plays, because of the insistence directors seem to have in buggering about with The Bard, a bright light suddenly appears before you and you settle down and realise all is right with the world. The RSC tour to Plymouth
MEASURE FOR MEASURE – ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY – Theatre Royal Plymouth Read More »
3*** 11 February 2020 We all know John Cleese can write a good farce; each of the 12 episodes of ‘Fawlty Towers’ was a piece of exquisite structure, plotting and execution and his writing along with Connie Booth was just about faultless. Along with his work for Monty Python, which contained enough farcical elements to
BANG BANG! – Northcott Theatre, Exeter Read More »
