Theatre Review- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, performed by Poltergeist Theatre

Title: Much Ado About Nothing 

Writer: William Shakespeare

Director: Jack Bradfield 

Performed by: Poltergeist Theatre

Seen at: The Michael Pilch Studio

Review: Shakespeare’s tale of two schemes concerning lovers – one to get a couple together, one to tear another couple apart- could conceivably happen anywhere. Jack Bradfield sets the action in a house party at the turn of the millennium, when anything might happen.

Poltergeist Theatre’s production introduces new perspectives to the characters. I liked how Hero and Claudio, who are traditionally the couple who conform to society’s gendered expectations, are the ones whose genders are played with, keeping the genders and pronouns they have in the text, whilst being played by actors and wearing clothes coded to another gender. The editing of the play blends this all together, as Claudio’s rant at the alter focuses more on the infidelity he believes Hero to be guilty of, and is less directly misogynistic, which might have felt weird coming from someone in a skirt. In addition, I enjoyed the addition of a redemption arc for Margaret when she realises her complicity in the shaming of Hero.

The cast was very strong. Alice Moore’s Beatrice was sharp and had a wide range of comic facial expressions, and Adam Goodbody’s Benedick was the least cocky I have ever seen him, even vulnerable in his love at times, and together, they make a touching couple. Benedick’s other important relationship, his friendship with Claudio. Is also well played, from their camaraderie at the beginning to seeing the conflict of issuing or receiving the challenge to the duel. Georgia Figgis plays Claudio in many states-excited in love, drunk, angry, upset- and the sadness she brings makes you feel sympathy for him, at least until he very convincingly rages again. Another standout for me was Lillian Bornstein’s Don Pedro, who looked utterly heartbroken after Beatrice refuses his marriage proposal.
Design wise, it’s tied together well. Both Georgia Bevan’s costumes and Adam Marshall’s lighting revolve around winter greens and rich purples, set against the white snow and plainer bases to the costumes. The transitions between scenes often resemble fast-forwarding in a video, keeping with the video theme in a stylised and polished way. Many a time a character is seen with drugs, a glass, or a bottle, which seems to motivate some of the more extreme reactions. The music, an original soundtrack by Alice Boyd, is melancholy, and the haunting rendition of Sign No More is particularly beautiful.
One thing emphasised in the marketing was the use of live-streaming and television. The major use of the live feed is when policemen Dogberry and Verges, perform to a handheld video camera, which shows on screen. This is an inventive way of allowing their actors, Imo Allan and Marcus Knight-Adams, to double as villains Conrad and Borachio, but the scene where the constables capture the criminals, repeatedly passing the camera between them, did seem a little clumsy. The television is also used in other parts of the play, to be played with, or for comic effect or for exposition. Its use would be greatly improved by ensuring that the audience could always see what was happening on screen- either by having a second screen that the actors didn’t interact with, and was only there for the audience, or simply by having the actors moving around instead of sitting or standing still in front of it.

The other thing that was conveyed in the marketing was the edgy perspective they would take on the play- the “death” of Hero and Benedick’s challenge to Claudio are emphasised. I was expecting a darker tone than what I normally expect from a Much Ado-but this production went beyond my expectations. Yes, there are moments of pure comedy, such as the scene when Benedick is tricked into believing Beatrice loves him, and the unexpected audience participation, but it’s a lot darker than something often played as a rom-com is. The editing of the script focusses on the sad, angry, and tense moments, and even the very last line -drawing attention to the Prince’s failure to find a wife- leaves you with a sombre mood.

If you’re going hoping for a cheery, fun, or romantic night, this is play not for you. However, if you’re going for Shakespeare performed very differently, or something to play with your mood, or a uniquely brilliant interpretation of a classic, Poltergeist’s Much Ado is one to watch.

Links:  Company Website | Facebook event for show

Another edition of this review may appear on the website of the Cherwell

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Theatre Review- Macbeth, performed by Act Three Theatre

Title: Macbeth

Writer: William Shakespeare

Performed by: Act Three Theatre

Major cast: Josh Beecham, Ned Walkely, Simon Morgan

Seen at: Paradise in the Vault, Edinburgh Fringe
Summary: An exciting new take on William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Using the original language but set in a young offenders’ prison, it is bold, fast-paced, and performed entirely with a cast of three.

Review: The story of Macbeth is performed by three actors and set in a modern young offender's prison. I wanted to see this show because Macbeth, multiroling, and a vastly different setting to its original-what more could I ask for?

We open with Macbeth holding a titlecard/ID card, presumably having a mugshot taken, then an opening physical sequence with some impressive stage fighting to set the scene. Then the play develops in its new setting, where guards are witches and kingship is represented by a dressing gown and a paper crown.

The setting works well for the most part, prison hierarchies being a good new setting for kingdoms, and the costumes suited the production, but I did wonder where is Malcolm going when he announces leaves for England, if he's meant to be locked up.

The cast are all really good. My favourite thing about it though was the doubling, because, while necessary with three characters, makes some good links between the characters- Simon Morgan playing both Duncan and Banquo, the two direct victims of Macbeth's ambition, Ned Wakely playing both Lady Macbeth and Banquo's murderer (I know they kept Macbeth's line "Be innocent of the knowledge", but it just got me thinking of how cool it might have been if they'd kept the implication that she killed Banquo), and also Josh Beecham saying the Doctor's words in the sleepwalking scene, while still (I think) being Macbeth, adding a different, kind of caring, spin on him.

I don't know if it was intentional, but the lighting in the "Is this a dagger I see" scene and the banquet scene made the actors' eyes look black, demonic, which went well with those scenes.

The editing of the script is amazing. I think we ended slightly before the advertised hour, but the major plot points were all conveyed. Also, so much love for the delivery of "Birnam" just before the attack on Macbeth. The twist and wordplay and cleverness of getting around the prophecy was just...yes.

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a fast, intense version of Macbeth.

Links: Company

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Theatre Review-A Midsummer Night's Dream, performed by the Arcola Queer Collective

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Writer: William Shakespeare and Patrick Cash and company

Director: Nick Connaughton

Performed by: Arcola Queer Directive

Cast:  Sheena Anyanwu, Diego Benzoni, Miss Cairo, Daniel Correia, Anthony Cranfield, Vickie Dillon, Rudi Douglas, Camilla Harding, James Hartley, Stuart Honey, Damien Hughes, Krishna Istha, Rubyyy Jones, Damien Kileen, Bex Large, Phil Rhys Thomas.

Seen at: Arcola Theatre

Review: Hermia and Lysander are a happy couple, much to the protests of Hermia's homophobic mother Egeus. Helena is a young man in love with Demetrius, who pushes him away. The couples all get mixed up at a nightclub, La Forêt, when the owner Oberon uses Puck to matchmake. Meanwhile, Oberon's relationship to his wife Titania is breaking down over the care of an abducted Irish musician, while the backstage team of La Forêt prepare for their turn in the spotlight. Through Shakespearean verse and contemporary additions, A Midsummer Night's Dream is a tale of love, relationships, and how that all works out.

I was very excited for this. Midsummer is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, and the fact that they were making it to include queer characters and modernised made me even more interested.
I'm glad I knew it had added monologues before going in. I wouldn't have hated it if I hadn't, I would just have been puzzled to start with. The monologues are good additions, and I'll come to them later.
We're introduced to the last night of La Forêt. Introducing Puck as the in house drug dealer sets the tone. Then for the rest of the play, which happens mostly as Shakespeare intended, with some flashback scenes and speeches added in. 

I like most of the new characterisations. The Mechanicals have a weird love triangle/pining thing going on (Flute loves Quince, Snug makes physical moves on Quince, I'm not sure whether Quince reciprocates either of them. It's not really explored, or maybe I didn't notice it ) but they do produce a good play by the end of it. Theseus and Hippolyta were...bizarre. Were they high? Their comments are amusing ("Hermia can go to a convent or die" "That's a bit much." And "I will kiss the wall's hole" "Shakespeare is a pervert") but I'm not sure where their characters were going.
Other characters get better development. Puck is a cabaret, Doctor Frankenfurter like figure, introduced by a monologue of how he ran away then got into this culture. Hermia talks about her relationship with her mother. Helena's speech about porn and falling for Demetrius is funny and makes you love him. Bottom comes out of character and delivers a passionate speech, including poetry, about their identity and society, which I thought was a brilliant performance. 

There are four characters that this production of Midsummer changed my views on. First, Demetrius, who from the Shakespeare is normally one of my lesser favourites due to him being a bit of an asshole. Here, his speech about HIV gives him a reason for pushing Helena away, despite his feelings for him, and does not make him seem heartless.I also liked it because Oberon, listening to this speech, now has a more valid reason to work to get Helena and Demetrius together and finally yay bisexual visibility. Then there's Oberon and Titania, who are again a warring couple, but there's a confrontation scene at the start of the second half between them that is distinctly modern and pulls up the issues in their lives as they discuss the family and identity they left behind and how to go forwards. We see more flaws in both their characters than from the Shakespeare, and added new levels of manipulativeness, and I liked the new take on the relationship. Finally, there's the kidnapped boy they're fighting over-Irish here, as opposed to Indian, and given a chance to talk about his new life and chemsex, as opposed to being namedropped and maybe brought on with the fairies. He also provides really good keyboard and singing. 

The staging of this is good. They stay mostly on the main stage but sometimes use the upper level, where the Irish Boy and keyboard is stationed, and an aisle, for the flashbacks.I also enjoyed the little bits of audience interaction which made it more inclusive, but not so much to intrude on the main action.

They make full use of innuendo in the Pyramus and Thisbe scene, and the Titania and Bottom seduction scene, providing adult physical comedy that differs to the comedy I'm used to seeing from Midsummer (and the comedy that others are used to too-the performance I was at saw a group of old people leave for the interval and not come back).

The comedy is less present in the lover's fight scene, when Lysander and Demetrius are both artifically in love with Helena, while Hermia looks on. I think it might be because it takes the bad situation for Hermia (having both her suitors completely change tack and court her best friend Hermia) and makes it worse because there's something a little more heartwrenching as her girlfriend Lysander (who I think might have been a lesbian?) starts wooing a gay boy, and the friendship and romance falls apart. 

I think the strength of this performance is that they take the issues surrounding courtship and marriage that are present in the Shakespeare, and look at the issues surrounding courtship and marriage today, particularly within the queer community.

Overall:  Strength 4.5 tea to a play that easily weaves together Shakespearean and modern stories to create a play that is both funny and serious, but entirely powerful.

Links:  Company and play| Theatre

Arcola Queer Collective is currently performing Le Petit Prince, between 8 -13 February. More information here.

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Theatre Review: Secret Shakespeare by William Shakespeare and The Handlebards

So, my Edinburgh Fringe theatre reviews are ready to be posted! They’ll come as often as I can, but I have a lot of school work to do, plus I’m doing work exp

erience at a law firm and ugh travelling is tiring. They’ll come though. And book reviews will resume shortly, and maybe some other things. Thanks for sticking around!   

Title:  Secret Shakespeare (A Shakespeare play, but I can't say which one)

Writer: William Shakespeare

Director: James Farrell & Emma Sampson

Performed by: The Handlebards

Major cast:  Calum Hughes Mcintosh,  Callum Brodie, Tom Dixon, Paul Moss

Seen at:  ...somewhere pretty.

Review: The Handlebards are four actors who have been cycling up from London to Edinburgh, carrying their costumes and props, and stopping every so often to perform a show. Secret Shakespeare is where the audience joins them to meet up in the city centre, get given bikes, ride out about 5 miles-ish, and then enjoy the show. I'm not allowed to tell you much about the play in specifics, due to the secret thing, but I'll say what I can.
The ride was easy, even for someone who hasn't ridden for years, and led by professionals. We cycled through parts of the city I probably would never have seen if I'd spent all my time in the centre, so that was nice.
The location was beautiful. Beautiful behind the audience, beautiful behind the stage, it was a great place to be. It's an open air show, with tents providing the wings and gazebos for the audience to sit under. Oh, and the rain wasn't too bad!
When they said what play they were doing, I was very happy. I hadn't seen it before, but I was familiar with the storyline.
I love the puppetry. It's first used to illustrate the exposition speech, which was very useful because it is a confusing set up. It's later used to represent characters in some scenes where there's meant to be more than four characters on stage. Other ways of getting around the "only four actors" thing includes holding out key identifying costume pieces, audience participation, and plates.
The multiroling is superb. All four actors have to switch costumes and characters very very quickly, sometimes speaking back to themselves. Costume, voice, and movement changes make clearly defined characters. I really enjoyed the characterisation, especially of the women.
I did find it going a bit too fast in places, and I'm not sure if it's because of the Handlebards format or the writing. Probably both. Despite this, I really enjoyed the show.

Overall:  Strength 5 tea to an inventive take on an old play, and a great evening out.

Links:  Company

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Theatre Review- Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare, performed by Smooth Faced Gents

Title: Titus Andronicus

Writer:  William Shakespeare

Director:  Yaz Al-Shaater

Performed by: Smooth Faced Gentlemen

Cast:  Ariane Barnes, Olivia Bromley, Anita-Joy Uwajeh, Ely Condron, Lia Burge, Ashlea Kaye, Helen Coles, Emma Nixon

Seen at:  Greenwich Theatre

Review: Following a bloody war with the Goths, Romans return home with prisoners but without an emporer. Titus Andronicus is appointed, but he refuses. Saturninus is appointed emperor, and he says he wants to marry Titus’ daughter, Lavinia. Lavinia and her lover/Saturninus’ brother object, so Saturninus takes Tamora, the queen of the defeated Goths, as his empress. Throw in her two sons, her lover, and her desire for revenge (fair enough, considering within the first five minutes of the play, her eldest son is cut up, despite her pleadings), and you have Shakespeare’s bloodiest play... here performed with an all-female cast and a lot of red paint.

I was very excited to see this. I read Titus a few years ago, and wondered how it could be done on stage what with...everything. I saw a cinema screening of the RSC production where they did it very realistically, which was pretty good. And then I saw this.

Everybody has the same costume as a base-black trouser, white shirt, and braces. Coats and props are used to differentiate major characters from eachother, but  even without these, you can tell when people are playing different characters.

 This was cast perfectly! Ariane Barnes is a strong Titus, being the right mix of funny  in some places and and emotional in others.  Anita-Joy Uwajeh plays Aaron with a distinctive style that I couldn’t pin down but which one of my friends said was mythical and magical. Elly Condron is Lavinia, who makes you form an emotional connection with her depsite her losing her tounge about a third of the way through ,and having what seems like quite a few of her lines cut. Olivia Bromley’s Tamora is coldhearted, but you can feel the power coming off her.  Everybody was very talented and embodied their character(s) wholly, changing styles as they changed character, especially considering Helen Coles and Ashlea Kaye’s characters were completely morally opposites (Chiron and Lucius for Coles and Marcus and Demetrius for Kaye). And on a less serious note, Lia Burge’s  Saturninus telling Emma Nixon’s Bassianus  “Sir, you are being very short with us!” was wonderful.

They kept the tone right. From my reading of Titus, I enjoyed the humour (and it does come thick and fast, with Shakespeare taking the sass levels high), to contrast with the horrors that the play contains. It comes through in this play, but as I said, it allows suitable tenderness in the scenes with the Titus family, completely in contrast to Aaron’s casual attitude to demanding a hand in return for the exchange for sons, the moments when Titus suggests names of Lavinia’s attackers, and the background Goths passing round Aaron’s child and their different attitudes to him while serious things happen in the front.

I am completely in love with this staging. There’s white screens, behind which the characters change (sometimes), and  paintpots at the front. The strictly held colour scheme of black, white, and red, with silver and brown accents, and the replacement of knives and swords with paintbrushes and rollers made it look a bit surreal, which allowed them to do all kinds of gory things on stage. It was a brave decision to do Lavinia’s mutilation on stage, but they made it work so horrifyingly well. Accompanying music was provided by the actors singing, and they did it very well, holding their lines while also effecting scene changes and such, although it did seem a little random, only happening at some scenes and not others. 

It’s very fast. I think they cut about an hour’s worth of lines, which is a shame, especially when Lavinia and Bassianus had brilliant lines before they lost the ability to speak, but it was still easy to follow and enjoy, and we kept some very good monologues.

There could be  political/feminist discussions over having an all-female cast, especially considering there's only three canonically female characters, and the really terrible fate of one of them. I'm not going to discuss that, because regardless of their gender, all eight actors conveyed the characters and made them real. 

Overall:  Strength 4 tea to a slick, brilliantly acted performance. Can’t wait to catch the Smooth Faced Gents  (possibly again in Titus, definitely again in Othello) up in Edinburgh!

Links:  Company website | Theatre website

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Theatre Reviews: I Need a Doctor and Shakespeare's Avengers Assembleth

Title: I Need a Doctor: The Whosical

Director: Benjamin Occhipinti

Major cast: James Wilson-Taylor and Jessica Spray

Seen at: Pleasance, Edinburgh Fringe

Review: Jamie and Jess are two Whovians who want to perform a Doctor Who themed musical. Who have recieved a Cease and Desist notice from Stephen Moffat. Oh well-changes can be made so copyright infringement can be avoided, right? With this in mind, Jamie and Jess take on the roles of a companion, A Doctor, and multiple villians, and journey through time and space in the TARD- Phone Box. I wasn't sure if I was going to see this, but then I got told they make fun of Moffat and I was sold.

Its a very clever parody. Yes, they do  make fun of Moffat, using fairy godmother Amy Wand, who continually advises Jess to obey the Doctor and stay where she is. Like companions of a better time, Jess ignores her and goes and has adventurers.

Both performers, and the pianist, are very good at what they do. The multiroling that Jamie does is brilliant, especially when portraying A Doctor and Da Master simultaneously.

Jokes come continually, a mix of Who-related, musical related, generally awesome lines, and one thing that was set up from the start just to include

which just made the whole show better.

 [if you can't see it, that’s the BARROWMAN gif]

The original songs are catchy, and funny. I also likes how they included changed bits from other musicals like The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (the Exterminators), Confrontation (from Les Mis, A Doctor and Da Master), and Music of the Night Phantom of the Opera  [edited] (from Phantom, Da Master and Jess, leading to "sing for me, angel....bloody hell!")

Overall Strength 4 tea to a really fun show that every Whovian and every fan of musicals (that catches most of you guys, right?) must see.

Links: Company

Title: Shakespeare’s Avengers Assembleth

Performed by: Drake's Drummers Theatre Company

Seen at: Greenside Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe

Review: Queen Elizabeth is about to be crowned, making England Protestant. Knowing that The Pope will try and keep England Catholic she commissions William Shakespeare to write a play with his greatest heroes,  warning of Catholicism. The Vatican's High Inquisitor is not happy about this, and he in turn summons Shakespeare's greatest villains. This results in a cobbled together play starring Cardinal Dave, William Shakespeare, and his greatest characters (and Brutus).

I was very excited about seeing this play. I knew it wasn't going to be Marvel's characters in Shakespearean (though that would have been awesome too), and was excited to see how they'd all interact.

There were lots of running gags that always made me laugh, such as Hamlet  always talking to Banquo, Ophelia's offstage actions, Brutus being very stabby and the High Inquisitor's grasp on his religion.

Interpretation of characters was a mix of brilliant and...interesting. I loved the characterisation of Brutus, Macbeth, and Juliet.

The plot wasn't great, and the play within a play was impossible to follow. I think that might have been intentional though, judging by the jokes about it within the script. This play should be judged more on its jokes; the oneliners, physical things, and ones that take a bit more time  to set up.

The cast multiroled and played off each other really well. The lighting and stage were kept very simple, and I think as well as a riff off Shakespeare, it's also a comedy about very amateur productions and how they get produced (that is, badly organised, lots of arguements, and lots of laughs, which is highly highly accurate). 

Overall Strength  4 tea to a fun story and spin on Shakespeare's characters.

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From Bard to Bookshelf SignUp Sheet

It's 23rd April, so kind of a busy day. First, its' Saint George’s Day, so if any of you are English patriots, or otherwise interested, click here to read about him (Then hang around that site. It’s a great site with retellings of all the myths with a giant dose of humour. Well, not all of them, obviously. But lots of them).

Happy World Book Night! Have fun, everyone who's giving books out, either as an official person with the pretty covers, or as a Community Giver, giving books to people because why not?

Finally, more the reason for this post. 23 April is the accepted birthday (and death day) of William Shakespeare, and this year's even more special, as it should be Shakespeare's 450th birthday.

You may or may not know that I really like Shakespeare's plays. I love seeing them performed. i am attempting to have done one-person dramatic readings  of three quarters of his plays by the time I leave school. I’m working on it...

Anyway, sometimes I wonder. Why are his stories so popular that they’ve lasted centuries, being performed by countless players, and adapted by so many writers? I know that his plays were often based off other stories, but it’s his take on them  that we remember.

And it’s his take on them that gets adapted a lot. It’s often into films, but then there’ll be other plays. And comic books. And manga. And novels. And I want to do something to celebrate this.

I’m planning a blog event to happen in  August when we all celebrate Shakespeare, and Shakespeare’s influence on YA. It's open to anyone who enjoys Shakespeare; readers, writers, actors, whoever. I’m thinking posts you host on your site unless you really want it hosted here, reviews of plays by or YA inspired by Shakespeare, alternative interpretations, posts about themes in Shakespeare and YA,opefully a few giveaways here, anything goes.

If you’d like to take part, fill out the form below,  and do a post or video or somehow spread the word about this event, linking back here. Soon there’ll be a pretty button you can share, when I’m a little less busy. I’ll email you to talk about what you want to do, and sort out posting dates and things. Signups are open until mid-July.

 I leave you with one of my favourite lines from Macbeth.

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Theatre Review-Coriolanus at the Donmar Warehouse

This was going to go up later in the week, but as it's Hiddleston's birthday, I thought it appropriate to do it today!

Title: Coriolanus

Writer: William Shakespeare

Directed by: Josie Rourke

Major cast: Tom Hiddleston, Hadley Fraser,

Seen at: the cinema, NT Live screening. Performed at the Donmar Warehouse.

Warnings: graphic gore

Review:Caius Martius  has been fighting with Coriolus. Returning to Rome, he is placed in as a senator  and given the name Coriolanus. However, with his rude attitude, and the fact that he was made more for war and not politics, this doesn't go well and leads to his exil e and downfall. 

I didn't know much about the  play. I hadn't heard of it before, and I'm glad it's being done (rarely done plays being done make me happy). I went to see it because a friend of mine really likes Tom Hidldeston and we went to go with her.

We went to a livescreen version (National Theatre, I love you for doing these things) and had a short feature with the presenter woman who is always there, which was a little annoying because I think we all just wanted to see the play.   We were kind of surprised at the audience- in a giant cinema screen, there were possibly ten teenagers total?  Mostly older people.  Also one of our English teachers. 

It starts off dramatically, with a boy, Martius' son, coming along and painting a box in red paint on the stage. For most of the first act, the whole cast are on stage, either acting, or simply sitting at the back.  This did have the effect of being a little distracting- in the words of another friend, Tomato,  “I kept getting distracted by Hadley Fraser's face”.

The scene changes were amazing. They weren't much-just movements of chairs, perfectly timed and choreographs, to dramatic music, but that was enough for this very minimalistic staging  propswise. In terms of what they did to the stage-that's a bit less minimalistic.  They made paper things come out everywhere. They made a shower scene happen. For Coriolanus. For Tom Hiddleston. I'm sure most people appreciated that.

 Tom Hiddleston and Hadley Fraser both play their parts very well. Hiddlestone puts a lot into the way he carries himself in the performance, which I liked. Birgitte Hjort Sorense, who played Virgilia, Martius' wife, was quiet and I liked the way that she was all, with her facial expression and attitude, “seriously?” when Deborah Findley aka Virgilia aka his mother and Mark Gatiss aka Menenius a family friend, was all “Yeah! He's coming back with loads of wounds! He's a man now!”

For the care put into creating the giant wounds across Coriolanus' body, even they're only seen in one short scene, props to the makeup department.  And whoever had to go find/make/supply all the fake blood.

Around the middle of the play, I didn't understand Coriolanus. He goes back to Aufidus-the guy he very nearly killed and offers to let Aufidius kill him- and then he  gets welcomed like an old  friend and I don't understand why Aufidus would be “you nearly killed me a few acts ago” and lets him lead a new assault on Rome.

The ending was really unexpected, and really well carried out. This made the bows mildly amusing- small cast of 14 (I think), all looking immaculate, bar Hiddleston and Fraser, faces totally covered in blood.

Overall: Strength 4 tea to a powerful staging of a play I wish I'd known about before.

  Links: | NT Live|   Theatre

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Theatre Review- Macbeth (in Pitch Black) by Shakespeare

I said I was going to branch out... It's time for tea-tre; thank you Georgia for the name :) 

I hope you don't mind the fact I'm doing something new with the blog. I'll be showcasing awesome things, so maybe you'll like it.

Title: Macbeth (in Pitch Black) 

Writer: William Shakespeare

Performed by: London Contemporary Theatre

Major cast: Noel Andrew Harron, Louise Bereford, Samuel Clifford,  James Burgess, Andrew Chase,

Director: Kevin Williams

Seen at: Windsor Firestation

Other Info: toured in November. Shakespeare has written many things.

Review: I really like Shakespeare (as you might be able to tell from my fangirling over the internet), so when I saw this advertised at the Firestation, one of my favourite places,  I was intrigued because they say they’re doing it in the dark. Then I got told one of my major pieces of coursework would be on Macbeth, and I knew I had to see it.

When we got there, the lights were down low in the foyer of the theatre as well, because The Dark Room was playing too, and the bar and everything was lit with UV and glowsticks. Then we were shown down to the basement, which was scary, because somebody thought it was a good idea to get about 100 people down some stairs, lighting it only with two tiny lanterns where the stairs turn corners. We got there though.

Despite the title, it’s not all in pitch black. Certain scenes used lights of various kinds, such as “candles” for Lady Macbeth, lights in balloons for the feast, lights in trashcans for the witches, and torches for the end. The sudden lights were used effectively, only for major scenes; more plotty, wordy, less actiony scenes were left in the dark. Doing it all in the dark was a really interesting way of staging it. I think it really made you listen more to what was happening, and is a very different way of performing a play.

The cast are amazingly talented. There’s five people doing the whole thing. Ok, some roles were cut down and some were merged, but everyone bar Macbeth took on more than one role, using voice to differentiate. Also, how on earth did they manage to move around and get everywhere they needed to be without repeatedly falling over things? Witchcraft, I tell you.

It’s cut down a lot. They kept the major bits in, and cut down the wordier bits, and most of the angsty bit with Macduff. They updated it a bit, using phones in place of messengers and some other touches that put it firmly in the modern world.

I loved the staging of it. The Basement in the Firestation has a small stage at the front and the rest of the room is flat. The chairs were set out on the flat, and the stage was on the flat too, with chairs making an aisle down the stage and some more to the side. This set up was really good, especially as I was sitting on the side of the stage

Overall: Strength 5 tea to a unique performance of a much-done play.

Links: Company | Theatre

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