-
All the shades of grey
The Shakeaspears, the Chekovs, the Ibsens, they are greats because their work transcends time. But I get the urge to modernise them for today’s context – when done well, not only can existing themes be amplified, but new perspectives can also be woven through. That is the genius of some of the books within the…
|
-
Unsex me now
I have seen a couple of Macbeths on stage before, obviously read the play, and more recently Jo Nesbo’s book, part of the “Hogarth” series. All my past experiences blur together to create the Macbeth imprint in my head, so I will readily admit that I cannot discern what exactly Emily Burns adapted in this…
|
-
And the moral of the story is?
I really enjoyed the play, at first. The dialogue is quick and sharp from the start and the laughs keep coming. In a way, it is refreshing to see some really difficult topics addressed through satire. Exposing the hypocrisy of declared liberals who are in fact paying lip-service to feminist ideals; showing up the contradictions…
|
-
Misogyny and patriarchy
I had not read or seen this play before, so I do not know how much Joe Hill-Gibbins adapted the original written in 1881, but it felt incredibly current and contemporary. I also do not know, whether it is through his directing that the performance, at least to me, seemed to be centred on the…
|
-
The cool of tiffany turquoise instead of the heat of stifling sinopia
The outlines of dark shadows sit fanning themselves in what looks like a lego house that has been opened down the middle to allow for child’s play. They are fanning themselves and yet the whole set has a chill factor to it. So, in the audience, I am not feeling the heat even though I…
|
-
Women’s spaces
This play is probably too high school. What do I mean? It is the perfect play to analyse in the classroom: please set out the similarities and differences between Kate’s and Elaine’s narrative; please explain how the play reflects and differs from the #meetoo sentiment of the 2020ies, provide your interpretation of the play’s title…
|
-
A Lear too sprightly
There is a fundamental problem with this production – Kenneth Branagh is, well, how shall I put it – too sprightly? Just the other day, I watched the 1993 film Much ado about nothing. I want to know how Branagh does it, but there is no way that the 30 years that have passed since…
|
-
Is it the best of parallels?
I really wanted to love this play. Who wouldn’t, if only for the current context of October the 7th. But additionally, this is a play written by Dmitry Glukhovsky – a Jewish Russian in exile – sentenced to eight years in prison in absentia; and directed by Maxim Didenko, a fellow dissident. Both choosing to…
|
-
Never too late
When I mentioned to a work colleague I was going to see “Frank and Percy” that evening, they asked what the play was about. “I don’t quite know,” I responded, “but I could watch Sir Ian McKellen drink tea for two hours, and it would make me happy.” And in a way, it turned out…
|
-
Does science exonerate?
This play is set in Farm Hall and the events take place from July 1945 to January 1946. As a reminder, Nazi Germany capitulated in May 1945; Japan in September. The play tells the story of ten German physicists sequestered by the British, who monitored their conversations with the aim of figuring out how close…
|