Tomorrow Thou Must Go

What: The Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare

Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

When: July 17, 2014

The programme, which you can purchase for £4 at the theatre door, makes much of the fact that this is one of the very few times that the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has staged “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” in recent years.

Continue reading

Folk ‘n’ Magic

What: Cordner and Rudolph supported by Perkelt

Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Hammersmith, London

When: June 11, 2014

This show promised to be an unusual and cosmopolitan evening of folk music and it didn’t disappoint. The main act came from Northern Ireland and France, the support from the Czech Republic and in the show there was something for everyone.

Continue reading

Paul and His Poems

What: Paul Cookson Poetry Workshop

Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Hammersmith, London

When: June 2,3,4, 2014

Just under 300 children booked places for the poetry workshops which were scheduled for the 1st week of June in Ravenscourt Arts. Paul Cookson was the poet and Darren Hirst the M.C. as the schools’ groups came and went, over a three day period.

Continue reading

Fare you well, Falstaff. I, in my condition, shall better speak of you.

What: Henry IV Part II

When: May 15th 2014

Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

The Royal Shakespeare Company last performed Henry IV Part II in 2008 as part of their “Histories” cycle. On that occasion it was necessary that they performed both Henry IV plays in tandem as they were performing all of Shakespeare’s history plays. Now in 2014, they have chosen to perform the two together again. I wonder at the wisdom of this decision.

Continue reading

Shakespeare Reviews

We now have 7 years of Shakespeare reviews on this site – so many it can be hard to find what you’re looking for. I’ve done this handy guide to them all so you can follow the links below to any RSC production over the period. Where there has been more than one production of a particular play, they are listed separately and the date given. I’ll try to keep it updated annually.

Continue reading

“…….Do so, for it is worth the listening to”

What: Henry IV Part 1 by William Shakespeare

Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

When: April 24th 2014

The Royal Shakespeare Company are publicising Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 as Shakespeare’s finest two plays. I can’t say I agree. Such a claim would make King Lear & Macbeth blush. However, they may well be the point where Shakespeare’s three stylistic modes best meet.

Continue reading

A Gospel Night

In February, I performed at Ravenscourt Arts Theatre in an event called “A Gospel Night”. Also on the bill were Dimitri McIntosh, Mick Chwedziak and the Ravenscourt Arts Choir.

Continue reading

What’s coming up in 2014?

Thank you to everyone who visits and supports this site. We now get more visitors per day than ever before. We get twice as many visitors per day just reading old stuff as we used to get on the old site on a day when a new article went up.

So a couple of weeks into the New Year, what seems to be likely to appear here in 2014 and what else will I be involved in?

Continue reading

The News is Very Fair and Good

What: Richard II by William Shakespeare

Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

When: November 2013

Richard II is not Shakespeare’s best known play. In fact, nobody I spoke to prior to seeing the current production could tell me the whole plot and storyline.

David Tennant is probably the UK’s best known Shakespearean actor. He has achieved this status not for his work on Shakespeare’s plays but because he is an extraordinarily well-known actor who also performs in Shakespeare. His fame comes primarily from his role as Dr Who – even within that role, within the last few days, he was voted the nation’s most popular Doctor.

Continue reading