Tag: Shakespeare

Richard III (1592/94): William Shakespeare

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Richard III

★★★★

(Iris Theatre, St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, until 25 July 2014)

This is the third production I’ve seen by Iris Theatre, and they never fail to delight. While in previous years I’ve seen them perform light, summery romantic comedies (A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It), this was my chance to see them tackle something in a darker key. It’s a very topical choice of play, of course: debate is still raging over whether or not the remains discovered in Leicester last year are indeed those of Richard III. I was intrigued to see what Iris, and their director Daniel Winder, would make of the king.

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King Lear (c1606): William Shakespeare

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King Lear: Shakespeare

★★★

(National Theatre, London, until 2 July 2014)

I’ve been rather blown away by the reaction to my post on The Crucible and am only glad that so many people enjoyed it and found it useful. The secret to successful blogging, clearly, is to name-drop Richard Armitage as often as possible. However, in lieu of any other opportunities to do so, I wanted to write about another of the plays I’ve seen recently: the National’s production of King Lear (directed by Sam Mendes), which is almost at the end of its run.

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Coriolanus (1605/8): William Shakespeare

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Coriolanus: Donmar Warehouse

★★★★

(Donmar Warehouse, 2013, directed by Josie Rourke)

During the Donmar Warehouse’s run of Coriolanus, tickets were so scarce that people camped outside in sleeping bags in the hope of getting a day ticket for the show. Interviewing the director Josie Rourke, just before a live broadcast of the play, Emma Freud asked what could account for this surge of popular interest. Somewhat disingenuously, Rourke enthused about the modern parallels to be found in this story. It’s a tale about the power of public opinion, in which a great soldier is brought down by his failure to transition to the hand-pressing, baby-kissing world of popular politics. She suggested that the play spoke to modern sensibilities. It’s about an era of austerity, about class divisions between the people and those who rule them, and about the fact that the people notionally have a voice but realistically don’t feel they have any power to change their government.

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Much Ado About Nothing (1598/99): William Shakespeare

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Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing

★★★½

(Shakespeare’s Globe, 2011)

This is the third production of Much Ado that I’ve seen in the last four months (note to self: be more adventurous). After the creative but unsuccessful version at the Old Vic, with its elderly Beatrice and Benedick, and the excellent modern adaptation by Joss Whedon, it was interesting to compare them to this more traditional interpretation. Jeremy Herrin’s 2011 production is one of the few performances filmed for the Globe’s DVD series, which I’ve mentioned before: like the two parts of Henry IV, which I watched recently, it was a real pleasure.

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Othello (c1603): William Shakespeare

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Othello: Shakespeare

★★★

(directed by Rebekah Fortune, Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, until 8 February 2014)

Othello: because one dose of Jacobean treachery and murder per week just isn’t enough. In the aftermath of the Globe’s stunning Duchess of Malfi, I headed off to sample a spot of Shakespeare on the other side of town. Although I’ve lived in the area for more than three years, this was the first time I’d been to Riverside Studios and I feel suitably ashamed. But, when I spotted this new production of Othello advertised in the local paper, I just couldn’t resist. The 1940s film noir setting was a stroke of genius: the themes of ambition, corruption and sexual jealousy fit perfectly into that mould and it was such an ideal match that I’m surprised it hasn’t been done more frequently.

Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2 (c1597): William Shakespeare

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Henry IV: Part 1: William Shakespeare

(Shakespeare’s Globe, 2010)

My first encounter with Henry IV was via the BBC’s The Hollow Crown last year, when I was unexpectedly captivated by this story of a disappointed father and his wayward son. Afterwards I wished I’d had the sense to see Dominic Dromgoole’s 2010 production at the Globe (especially since I did see their 2012 Henry V, in which Jamie Parker reprised the role of an older, wiser Hal). However, my uncle very kindly bought me the DVDs of Henry IV for Christmas and I curled up with them this week, with ever-increasing pleasure.

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Throne of Blood (1957)

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Throne of Blood

★★★★

(directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1957)

This post is severely overdue: I watched this about a month ago and I’m not sure how it slipped through the net (Goodwood seems to have distracted me). To recap: back in early September I had my first proper encounter with Kurosawa, in the form of Ran. That was a reimagining of King Lear set in samurai-era Japan; and Throne of Blood gives Macbeth the same treatment. As I’ve said before, I’m not familiar with Kurosawa’s films and I don’t know which of these two is generally considered the better. My own preference is for Throne of Blood, which I found much more accessible than Ran, even though it was filmed almost thirty years earlier. (In fact, I was surprised to find out just how old it is.)

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Much Ado About Nothing (1598/99): William Shakespeare

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Much Ado About Nothing: William Shakespeare

★★★★★

(directed by Joss Whedon, 2012)

From the minute I saw the poster, with its moody Casablanca vibe, I couldn’t wait to watch Joss Whedon’s modern-day take on Much Ado About Nothing. Even the story behind the making of the film is marvellous. Apparently Whedon had a bit of spare time between commercial projects and, as you do when you’re an A-list director, he decided to fill it with a bit of Shakespeare.

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Much Ado About Nothing (1598/99): William Shakespeare

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Much Ado About Nothing: William Shakespeare

★★★

(directed by Mark Rylance, The Old Vic, London, until 30 November)

Much Ado About Nothing is the closest that Shakespeare came to writing a screwball comedy and I love it dearly, mainly for the barbed word-play. I’ve seen several versions (my favourite is still the sun-drenched Kenneth Branagh film) and I was very interested by the idea behind Mark Rylance’s new adaptation at the Old Vic. Here Beatrice and Benedick are played respectively by Vanessa Redgrave (76) and James Earl Jones (82): two older people who, after watching their young friends fall in love, are finally persuaded to end their age-old skirmishing and embrace their affection for one another before it’s too late. I thought it was a marvellous take on the play – but unfortunately the production doesn’t live up to the brilliance of this concept. It was rather disappointing because, with such a director and such actors, it should have been a cast-iron success.

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Ran (1985)

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Ran: Akira Kurosawa

★★★

(directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1985)

I’ve just joined LoveFilm and am busily kicking myself for not having discovered it years ago, thereby saving myself hundreds of pounds on DVDs. I began with Ran, which is the first Kurosawa film I’ve really paid attention to (I saw Yojimbo at my university film club, but don’t remember much about it). I ordered it because I was intrigued to see how Kurosawa would adapt his source material of King Lear into a Japanese setting – Throne of Blood, which takes on Macbeth, is also on my wishlist.

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