14 posts tagged “rsc”

Despite my initial reservations about Jude Law playing Hamlet, I was actually quite excited by the time Tuesday arrived. So I settled in my front row seat (benefits of booking 18 months in advance) with Jen to one side and Spike's empty seat to the other* and it was show time.
And Law didn't disappoint. He played his Hamlet with an anger that had veins pulsating in his neck, sweat pouring down his brow and spit flying from his mouth (the one disadvantage of being on the front row when he is delivering a soliloquy at the front of the stage).

His manic hand gesturing was a little too much at times but you can't fault him on clarity of delivery which is an achievement when some speeches can easily become incomprehensible rants. It was a moving performance especially when on a couple of occasions our eye-line matched and it was as if he talking just to me (I'm sure the actors see very little of the audience once the stage is lit up but it still feels good.)
And the rest of the production? Well Penelope Wilton nailed Getrude, Ron Cook as Polonius didn't milk the comedy in his part enough (although that may be partly down to cuts in his speeches) something the RSC did very well and Ophelia, played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw was the weakest link. Just didn't connect with the character at all. She was too sensible and straight in the first half to make her descent into madness in the second half believable. She has a beautiful sweet singing voice but I don't think that really suited someone who's properly lost their marbles.
There weren't as many theatricals in the production as the RSC's (cracking mirrors, playing king being hoisted up ghost like into the ceiling etc), the set of towering stone castle walls with huge sliding doors gave the stage a suitably cold and bleak feel and there was a shower of snow in one scene so convincing it made me shiver.
Michael Grandage, who directed, has trimmed the script back to make it shorter which I don't object to as I think Hamlet can be a little long.
But what is my verdict, Tennant/RSC or Law/Donmar? Sorry Law you were much, much better than I expected and very enjoyable to watch but I didn't come out of the theatre thinking I'd just seen something historic like Tennants.

And what did the pro's think?

Daily Telegraph: "Law...joins the modern pantheon of spellbinding sweet princes with a performance of rare vulnerability and emotional openness."
Guardian: "Law doesn't have the sardonic wit of David Tennant, or the philosophical fluency of Jamie Ballard in Jonathan Miller's recent Tobacco Factory production, but he makes a Hamlet who truly discovers himself."
West End Whingers: "The Whingers also found themselves getting very sad about their inability carry off a cardigan which Jude Law can do depressingly well." 

*Spike got stuck up in York where he'd been for work and because he had his ticket with him the box office couldn't resell it, which was frustrating not because of the money lost but because there was a long queue of people desperate for returns and it was such a good seat to waste. Fortunately a chap who'd been sitting somewhere up in the gods spotted the empty seat during the first half and snuck down during the interval and asked if he could take it. Jen and I were glad to oblige.:"

After a self-imposed virtual drought during May, June's theatre visits kicked off in fine form with a bit of Shakespeare at the National Theatre accompanied by adam, who likes a bit of the Bard.

Now I wasn't familiar with All's Well That Ends Well but have since done a bit of research and it is what is sometimes described as Shakespeare noir. It doesn't really fit into the standard comedy envelope that would easily accomodate say Twelfth Night or a Midsummers Night Dream; if you take the story literally it's about a female stalker.
As a result it is quite a strange story  but if you don't worry about that too much and view it more as a fairy tale then it's an entertaining romp with Shakespeare flexing his word play muscles.
The first half is the set up: girl falls for boy who's socially above her, she helps out the King who in return promises to let her marry whomever she chooses. Guess who she chooses? Boy, Bertram is his name, rejects her saying he'll only be her husband if she gets a ring on him he can't remove and has his baby.
He then buggers off to war in Italy. End of part one.
The second half is basically how she does the seemingly impossible. There is a Falstaff-type character thrown in for extra comedy value and hey presto there you have it.

And while the story didn't exactly float my boat, the production and acting more than made up for it. The set designers definitely went for fairy tale with castle turrets almost appearing like gnarly old trees and projections of spiders and bats on the back drop. Clever lighting picked out sparkles and sequins against quite a dark backdrop.
Notable performances came from the wonderful Oliver Ford Davies as the King (last seen doing a brilliantly comic Polonius in the RSC's Hamlet) and Conleth Hill as Parolles.
It's not going to be my favourite play of the year but it certainly dazzled and for £10 a ticket in the Travelex season you can't complain that it wasn't worth the money.
Here's what a few reviewers thought:
Independent
Time Out
Guardian

The Donmar Warehouse's Wyndham's season wraps up with Hamlet starring Jude Law which opened a couple of days ago.
I am desperately avoiding any reviews until I see it in July as I want to form my own opinion. At the moment Mr Law and the Donmar team has a lot of work to do to impress coming barely 6 months after the RSC's Stewart/Tennant production finished its London run.
So what's it up against?

Jude Law vs David Tennant
Jude Law is still a bit of a posh soap actor in my eyes, while his body of work looks quite varied he's just not one of those actors who stands out for me. He's also too old to play Hamlet. Arguably David Tennant was too but he compensated by bringing a youthful energy to the role. David Tennant, aside from his age, was a fantastic Hamlet as I wrote on this very blog after seeing it last year and I feel sorry for Law having to follow it because comparisons are inevitable.

Patrick Stewart vs Penelope Wilton
Well it's the entire company really but those are probably the two most familiar names. The RSC company was entirely marvellous, stand out performances from Mariah Gale as Ophelia (redeeming herself after Miranda in The Tempest from the year before) Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius too was exceptional bringing to the fore the comedy of the character and Stewart quiet and calculating...I could go on. Wilton I just can't visualise as a Queen at the moment but Ron Cook is potentially a superb Polonius as I think he has the skill to work the comedy in his speeches. The rest of the cast I'm not familiar enough with to judge.

Shiny mirrors vs A traditional set?
The RSC production was simple but nonetheless impressive using mirrors as a back drop and the stage itself. Torches were used to clever effect and stage furniture was sparse which gave the production a modern feel - aimed I'm sure at the younger audience attracted by the presence of Dr Who. The Donmar's season at the Wyndham's so far has been impressive (although I missed Madame De Sade because I was poorly). I predict the Donmar will go for something a little less minimalist and maybe a bit more traditional, which worked very well for both Twelfth Night and Ivanov.

Back in August Jenny and I were not only lucky enough to get to see David Tennant  play Hamlet at Stratford but somehow managed to get front row seats. It was an amazing experience and one we'll never forget and still high on the spectacle the next day we returned to the theatre to buy souvenir posters.
But that wasn't quite enough. I'm afraid we were overcome by a teenage-esque surge of obsession.
I did a bit of research on the internet, found the details of Tennant's agent and following the instructions to include an SAE or cardboard tube in this case, sent both posters off with a short note in the hope that they would get signed but requesting they were returned regardless. The agents website makes no guarantees except that it may take many months.
Well the posters went off in September and I'd all but forgotten about it until, hey presto, two days ago a cardboard tube arrives back.
With bated breath I unfurled the posters inside to see if Tennant had indeed put black marker to paper and he had - not the most crafted signature but each was personalised nonetheless. I can just imagine him locked in a room with a stack of pictures and posters to sign, slowly getting cramp in his hand. It's a tough life being famous but hey ho, he did it and so that is why David Tennant is currently my favourite actor.
Now I just need to get it framed and put up in a place where it won't fade but just slowly increase in (sentimental) value.

I've already tweeted about the fact that there are plans to reprise the RSC's Hamlet with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart one more time but this time it will be filmed.
From this story it looks like they aren't going to film it straight as it was performed which is a shame but anything is better than nothing. They will never be able to recreate the atmosphere of seeing it performed live but at least it will be a great reminder and Jen and I can say 'we were there on the front row'.
Wonder if you can pre-order on play.com yet?

I do hope this story about plans for a film version of The Tempest with Ben Whishaw playing Ariel are true. I saw an RSC version of The Tempest with Patrick Stewart as Prospero about 18 months ago and it reminded me of what a fun play it is. It was also one of my set texts at A-Level.
It is one of those Shakespeare plays which I think will work really well on film as it is jammed full weird and wonderful creatures and characters and has an element of the fantasy about it. It also kicks off with a violent storm and shipwreck.
Of all the roles in the play I would pick Ben Whishaw for, Ariel would be the top of my list. He's a spirit with attitude who having been rescued by Prospero is tasked with performing certain duties for him as payment, something he gets a little disgruntled about.

As Jen and I were leaving the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford on Thursday night she said to me: 'Do you feel like you've just seen something historic?'.

There is a reason why there are probably half a dozen actors at best who's Hamlet's remained emblazoned on theatre-goers and critics memories, it is probably one of the most complex roles an actor will undertake and probably one of the most mentally and physically demanding. It is, after all, the longest part in any of Shakespeare's plays.
The 'interesting energy' I hoped David Tennant would bring to the role when I first heard he'd been cast was there in abundance. He managed to convincingly pull off languid melancholy to barely contained coiled spring and erratic lunacy.
But the 'historic' question of Jen's wasn't merely refering to Tennant but to the whole cast and production. While Hamlet was like a bomb waiting to go off and occassionally doing so, Patrick Stewart's Claudius was considered and quiet.
Mariah Gale's Ophelia, a happy, confident young women who is completely broken by tragedy. I could go on (and on).
What director Gregory Doran has done is create a Hamlet that is both satisfying to aficionado's while being accessible to those attracted to the theatre by the stage appearance of Dr Who. He has also managed to draw out the tragedy and comedy in the play, the latter often neglected, to produce an imaginatively staged and thoroughly entertaining play.
When we got back to our hotel we sat up for hours talking about what we had seen and the interpretation of the play. And that is why I think I answered 'yes' to Jen's question.

Last October I wrote this because I'd just got my Hamlet tickets through the post. I've wanted to see it since I heard more than a year ago that David Tennant was taking the lead and I can hardly believe that tonight is the night.
So the hotel is booked, our itinerary planned, all I need to do now get over to Jen's so we can hit the road. The play has long since sold out and there is a front row ticket going on ebay for £300 this morning but I wouldn't sell for any money. V. v. excited.

First time I've seen images of David Tennant as Hamlet. Did I mention how excited I am about seeing this at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford in August?

When I booked the tickets for the RSC's King Lear back in summer it seemed like an age to wait but in the blink of an eye the months have passed. Arriving excited with anticipation at the New London Theatre there were posters warning us that the play contained loud gun-shots and brief nudity. J and I both joked that as long as it wasn't Ian McKellan who was getting his kit off, that would be fine.

McKellan plays the aged King who decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters and with the usual doses of jealousy, plotting and misunderstandings sprinkled with a bit madness and violence it all ends tragically.
I'm fond of good tragedy and in particular Shakespeare's but this storyline didn't really move me and left me feeling that most of the characters got what they deserved. Perhaps it was the way it was played and that is no way a criticism of the acting which was generally superb.
It sounds like I didn't enjoy it but I really did and almost entirely because of McKellan who's performance was mesmerising. He is a true King of Shakespearean acting, put him and Patrick Stewart on the stage together and the rest of the cast might as well stay in their dressing rooms.
Other notable performances came from Sylvester McCoy who played The Fool and was unceremoniously and rather shockingly hung just before the interval. (His 'body' was retrieved by stage hands during the interval which some in the audience felt deserved an applause.)
Frances Barber who I've seen playing Mrs Coulter in the Dark Materials at the National was an excellently selfish and manipulative Goneril, the eldest daughter.
The jury is still out on Romola Garai (seen recently in the film Atonement) who played the youngest daughter Cordelia and the chief victim of the tragedy. Many actors have said baddies are more fun to play and maybe it's because she's a goody that she didn't get the chance to shine, I don't know, I'd have to see another actress play the part to really judge.
This probably only makes sense to me but while the story didn't move me in the same way that say Hamlet or Othello does the performance itself was utterly engaging.
And oh yes I nearly forgot, the nudity. Well it wasn't what I'd describe as brief and despite the warning it was far more shocking than Equus . What I will say is that Gandalf's is bigger than Harry Potter's.