Monthly Archives: July 2015

(It) may not fare a whit the worse, for the false pace of the verse.

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What: Volpone or the Fox

Who: Ben Jonson

Where: The Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

When: July 16th, 2015

If I was going to see the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) at either The Royal Shakespeare Theatre or The Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon or any of their increasingly frequent transfers to London, New York and the world at large, I would always buy a programme.

They are only £4 and reading between the lines, you will find an awful lot about the RSC’s goals in their production of the play at hand. You will then, in turn, get a feel for how their production will differ from the one you were hoping for (for some infamous examples, see my reviews of the 2011 production of The Merchant of Venice https://twilightdawning.com/2011/05/28/all-at-sea/ and the following year’s Troilus and Cressida https://twilightdawning.com/2012/08/13/remixed-shakespeare-for-the-hip-hop-generation/ amongst others). You will also find that sometimes the play production that they are presenting falls short of its own goals.

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Oh! What a Night!!

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Who: Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

Where: Bournemouth International Centre (BIC)

When: July 3rd 2015

About 3 years ago, I was at the Royal Albert Hall reviewing the Frankie Valli and Four Seasons concert (https://twilightdawning.com/2012/06/27/seasonal-returns/).

It was a fine show but it had the air of being nothing more than nostalgia puffed up by the success of the “Jersey Boys” musical.

The next time Valli was in town my health was poor and I was prevented from attending.

In 2015, I was elsewhere when the band played their London show but I was commissioned to cover their show in Bournemouth. How would it be?

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The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in June (2015)

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The Yankees pitching has been in a steady decline all season. In April, the average ERA of the team’s pitchers was 3.23 with a WHIP of 1.16. In May, that ERA was up to 4.38 and the WHIP was 1.33. In June, the WHIP was exactly the same but the ERA was up again to 4.48.

The bullpen kept the team rolling in April but was overused. In May it had begun to creak. By June some key players were injured but thankfully the batting had improved enough to keep the team alive – but they have used more relief pitchers prior to roster expansion than in any season in the team’s history. For a team at the head, or near to the head of the division, times are proving hard.

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The New York Yankees – The Batters in June (2015)

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At the end of May, the Yankees were tied for first place in the American League East. By the 9th of June they were 2.5 games clear at the head of that table. By the 23rd, they were 2 games behind. As June turned into July, they were poised to take the lead in the division again.

June was a mixed month for the New York Yankees. June was a very streaky month for the New York Yankees.

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