It is Caryl Churchill’s turn to get the Tristram Kenton treatment from the Guardian’s archive, and what an impressive array of talent that have understandably flocked to this most remarkable of playwrights:
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2020/sep/16/from-top-girls-to-the-skriker-the-best-of-caryl-churchill-in-pictures-tristram-kenton
2020 British Academy Television Awards nominations
Best Drama Series
The Crown (Netflix)
The End of the F***ing World (Netflix/Channel 4)
Gentleman Jack (HBO/BBC One)
Giri/Haji (BBC Two)
Best Mini-Series
Chernobyl (Sky Atlantic)
A Confession (ITV)
The Victim (BBC One)
The Virtues (Channel 4) Continue reading “2020 British Academy Television Awards nominations”
News: The Mono Box launch The Monologue Library
I mean, just look at this absolute treasure trove of theatrical talent!
We are proud to announce the launch of THE MONOLOGUE LIBRARY, an audio love letter to the industry. #MonoLibrary is a FREE resource of over 100 monologues recorded by professional actors in isolation to celebrate, commiserate & share speeches that mean something to them now… pic.twitter.com/GuT7Y7wQ1q
— The Mono Box (@TheMonoBox) May 1, 2020
I’m off to listen to Patsy Ferran read Tom Wells, and Gabby Wong read Alexi Kaye Campbell, and Sarah Niles read Winsome Pinnock and…and…
This incredible resource is free but like so many creative endeavours right now, would benefit hugely from your donations here.
Review: A Streetcar Named Desire, Royal Exchange
“I don’t want realism, I want magic”
The thing is, if you’re going into a Sarah Frankcom/Maxine Peake collaboration with any notion of it being traditional, then more fool you. The pair have worked together several times (notably on The Skriker and Hamlet) and are clearly interested in advancing their creative vision, undoubtedly a feminist one but equally excitingly, an utterly adventurous one. So to label their take on Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire gimmicky is reductive, to bemoan its lack of specificity narrow-minded, to characterise its colour-blind casting thus a fucking disgrace. FYI Cavendish, if the actress playing Stella had been white, they still wouldn’t have been “related”, it’s called imagination.
Having got that off my chest, I should say that this is a remarkably intense Streetcar and it is one that requires dedication throughout its 3 hours+ running time, Frankcom’s key conceit taking its time to play out as Peake charts Blanche DuBois’ startling decline in the New Orleans abode of her sister Stella and her virile but violent husband Stanley. Uprooted from any over-riding sense of particular time and space, Fly Davis’ design has a strangeness that takes some getting used to, its expressionistic flourishes framing some stunning imagery. And this increasingly hallucinatory atmosphere is played up by the presence of Creole figures that haunt Blanche, floating around the edge of her consciousness more and more as her anxieties increase. Continue reading “Review: A Streetcar Named Desire, Royal Exchange”
Review: Two Gentlemen of Verona, RSC at Theatre Royal Newcastle
“Foster’d, illumin’d, cherish’d, kept alive”
I’ve become a bit of a dab hand at making work trips coincide with theatrical opportunities and as with last year, the stars aligned to put me in Newcastle at the same time as the RSC, and to see a Shakespeare play I’d never seen before as well (only six more to go and one of those will come this weekend). Two Gentlemen of Verona doesn’t get anywhere near as much exposure as some of the others, a recognition that as an early play – possibly even the first he ever wrote – it bears the marks of a playwright still very much working his way into his craft.
It also plants the seeds of what would grow into several of his hallmark devices – the liberating freedom of the forest to solve the problems of the town or court, a woman dressed as a man, sudden and random declarations of love – but they’re deployed here with a little clumsiness as the quartet of lovers here wind their way through the trials and tribulations of love’s young dream. Where Simon Godwin’s production succeeds though is in embracing these issues and shifting the tone of the play from a comedy to more of a problem play. Continue reading “Review: Two Gentlemen of Verona, RSC at Theatre Royal Newcastle”
Review: Richard II, Barbican
“I wasted time, and now doth time waste me”
I am aware that I’m flying in the face of received wisdom here but I really wasn’t a fan of the RSC’s Richard II. The announcement of David Tennant in the leading role ensured its sell-out success (regardless of the actual strength of the production) and its transfer to the Barbican after its initial run in Stratford-upon-Avon likewise proved to be the quickest of sellers. Its critical notices have been close to superlative too, so the level of expectation was certainly high.
But for all of this, I found Gregory Doran’s production to be largely quite dull, it hardly ever provoked excitement or even piqued my interest in the slow-moving telling of its tale of regime change and the corrosive effects of absolute monarchy on the individual. The inferences of a Christ-like demeanour to this King are heavily played and Tennant laps this up, irascible and irritable throughout and increasingly given to thoughts of his own divinity. Intentional perhaps, but hard to like. Continue reading “Review: Richard II, Barbican”
Review: Boris Godunov, Swan Theatre
Short film reviews #2
There are so many short films out there featuring so many actors that I like that I found it impossible choose my favourites…so here’s a second set for your delectations, there may well be more to come!
I do
The main reason I started looking at short films was after having been sent this little beauty which was a finalist in the 2010 Electric Shorts competition. I Do stars both Julian Ovenden and Aden Gillett so it should be clear why someone thought it relevant to my interests, but it is actually a really well put together little film by Duncan Cargill. It looks good, it is sexy and fresh and wittily clever all within less than three minutes. If you only watch one of these films, I’d make it this one! Continue reading “Short film reviews #2”
Review: As You Like It, Royal Exchange
“Were it not better…that I did suit me all points like a man”
As You Like It is one of those Shakespeare plays that seems to pop up most regularly at the moment, so much so that its mere mention makes my heart sink a little. I quite like the play but it is not one of my favourites and so had been intending to give the many productions appearing all over the show a miss this year. The best intentions etc etc no willpower blah blah meant that I couldn’t resist popping into the Royal Exchange to take in this modern-dress version.
Chief of my reasons was the casting of Cush Jumbo as Rosalind: she was a highlight in the Pygmalion I saw at the same venue last year and I suspect she is an actress destined for big things. She is excellent here, at her best when disguised as a street-smart Ganymede, peppering her lines with hip-hop slang and becoming terrifyingly convincing as an awkward teenage boy. A terrific performance and definitely one to watch. Continue reading “Review: As You Like It, Royal Exchange”