Posted on

News: Internationaal Theater Amsterdam join in the streaming game with ITALive

With ITALive, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam get in on the livestreaming game with their productions of Medea, Wie heeft mijn vader vermoord (Who killed my father) and De stille kracht (The hidden force)

In the grand scheme of things, missing out on my regular trips to Amsterdam this year isn’t that big of a deal though it still makes me sad to think of the friends I haven’t seen, the theatre I’ve missed, all the bitterballen I’ve not eaten…

But Internationaal Theater Amsterdam are going some way to rectify that by launching ITALive (and for the long term too, not just for the pandemic) as a way of extending the reach of their work. Selected shows from their repertoire are being livestreamed from the magnificent Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam starting with Simon Stone’s exquisitely heart-wrenching take on Medea starring the incomparable Marieke Heebink. Continue reading “News: Internationaal Theater Amsterdam join in the streaming game with ITALive”

Posted on

Not-a-review: La Ménagerie de Verre, Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe

Coronavirus may stopped me from seeing Isabelle Huppert and Ivo van Hove’s La Ménagerie de Verre at the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe in Paris but some bloopers will always make me smile

“La scène est la mémoire”

In the grand scheme of things, missing out on an Ivo van Hove/Isabelle Huppert collaboration isn’t the end of the world but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. La Ménagerie de Verre was due to come to the Barbican this summer but naturally I wanted to see this Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe production in its Parisian home. As a co-production with La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand scène nationale, Onassis Stegi in Athens, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Thalia Theater in Hamburg, deSingel in Antwerp and the Barbican, one hopes that this won’t be the end for this production, we’ll have to see.

Any chance to see Huppert live should be snaffled up immediately, no matter how strange or how far, but there’s also something interesting in seeing Tennessee Williams done in a foreign language as released from the distracting tyranny of trying to nail a Southern accent, the potential for something richer seems to flow.

 

Continue reading “Not-a-review: La Ménagerie de Verre, Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe”

Posted on

20 shows to look forward to in 2020

I look ahead to some of the 2020 shows exciting me most with an emphasis away from the West End, looking mostly instead at the London fringe and across the UK 

Sure, there’s all sorts of big ticket shows coming to London in 2020 (with big ticket prices too to go with their big names), like Sunday in the Park with George with Jake Gyllenhaal, Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg, A Doll’s House with Jessica Chastain. But there’s so much more to discover if you venture away from Shaftesbury Avenue…

1 The Glass Menagerie, Odéon–Théâtre de l’Europe at the Barbican
Not that I want to be predictable at all but Isabelle Huppert! Acting in French! Right in front of you! I understand that van Hove-fatigue might be setting in for people but only a FOOL would pass up the chance to see one of our greatest living actors. A FOOL! 

2 The Glass Menagerie, Royal Exchange
And if you wanted to do a direct compare and contrast, Atri Banerjee’s revival for the Royal Exchange will be worth checking out too for an alternative perspective. 

3 The Wicker Husband, Watermill
Even before Benjamin Button tore my heart apart, I was excited for the arrival of this new musical by Rhys Jennings and Darren Clark but now, the bar has been raised even higher. And the gorgeous intimacy of the Watermill feels like a perfect fit.


4 Children of Nora, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Me: “I don’t need any more Ibsen in my life”
Also me: Robert Icke revisiting the world of A Doll’s House through the eyes of the next generation? Yes please.

5 Romantics Anonymous, Bristol Old Vic
I don’t think I thought this delicious Koomin and Dimond musical would ever actually return, so this short run in the UK ahead of a US tour feels like a real blessing. Now where did I put my badge? Continue reading “20 shows to look forward to in 2020”

Posted on

10 of my top moments of the decade

Ever behind the curve, I present 10 of my top moments in a theatre over the last ten years (plus a few bonus extra ones because whittling down this list was hard, and it will probably be different tomorrow anyway!)

© James Bellorini

Extraordinary Public Acts for a National Theatre

The establishment of the Public Acts programme at the National Theatre offered up something sensational in Pericles, an initiative designed to connect grassroot community organisations with major theatres, resulting in a production that swept over 200 non-professional performers onto the stage of the Olivier to create something that moved me more than 99% of professional productions.  A truly joyous and momentous occasion. 

Honourable mention: this year’s musical take on As You Like It proved just as heart-swellingly beautiful over at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch. Continue reading “10 of my top moments of the decade”

Posted on

10 questions for 10 years – David Ralf

The Bunker Theatre may have announced its impending closure but its executive director Dave Ralf certainly has a lot to say! 

  • Where were you 10 years ago?

    Ten years ago, 2009, I was in my second year at university, writing an essay on John Donne’s poetry and desperately trying to impress my professors because I’d seriously slacked off the previous few weeks while rehearsing the first play that I’d written. I learned that year that directing your own work is a bad idea as a new playwright – frankly it’s probably not the best idea at any stage. The following year, I learned that directing theatre was not my calling at all – I couldn’t make myself care about the pictures on the stage, and only listened to the voices. Many years later, I’d find a good fit for that instinct: directing the radio dramas for Hotel Europe, which I made with Isley Lynn, David Loumgair and Philipp Ehmann and five extremely talented writers. But back in 2009, I was learning the jobs I wasn’t best suited for, concentrating on what I could offer and give to the theatre world I was then immersed in – and writing and producing had the edge over acting or directing.

    Continue reading “10 questions for 10 years – David Ralf”

Posted on

10 questions for 10 years – Nastazja Somers

A self-described “European theatre maker infesting British theatre”,  Nastazja Somers pauses the patriarchy-toppling for just long enough to answer Ten Questions for Ten Years 

Posted on

10 questions for 10 years – Christopher Tester

Actor and voiceover artist Christopher Tester takes a thoughtful trip through his 10 questions

With his indecently listenable voice, Christopher Tester is the kind of actor who makes you sit up when he starts talking and I’ve enjoyed many of his performances over the last few years. Up at the top though is probably The Picture of John Gray.

“In many ways it was the ideal fringe experience – beautiful new writing, with a generous and talented company, which felt like it was really offering something important in a room above a pub. I think it sits up there with The White Rose as a show that prompted a huge response from its audience which I was very aware of while performing it. And the fact that it was based on little known real characters gave it an extra weight – a feeling that these people’s lives were resonating beyond their own time. It also gave me a scene where I just had to pour my guts out a little bit, and however much it’s “never about you”, that I had that opportunity coupled with writing deft enough to (hopefully) avoid indulgence was pretty special. You do it because you want to offer your heart.
And maybe kiss an actor as pretty as Patrick Walsh McBride.”

Continue reading “10 questions for 10 years – Christopher Tester”

Posted on

10 questions for 10 years – Rosie Wyatt

She’s been acting less time than I’ve been blogging but I can’t hold that against Rosie Wyatt, an actress whose name you should know

I’m not saying that Rosie Wyatt in the sole reason I like monologues now but her captivating performance in Bunny went a long way to convincing of the merits to the form that up until that point, I had mostly resisted. So much so she was nominated for a prestigious fosterIAN award for Best Actress.

So it was great to hear it was a positive time for her too:

“I have loads of nice memories of Bunny. Rehearsals with Joe Murphy remain one of my happiest, creative periods to date. Waiting to go in to the Fringe Awards to collect our Fringe First and being totally overwhelmed and Jack Thorne teasing me. And my Dad coming out to New York, his first and only solo trip abroad, to see me perform.”

Continue reading “10 questions for 10 years – Rosie Wyatt”