A little medical downtime has meant that I’ve had chance to update my catalogue of reviews of Shakespeare productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company which I have been covering for the last nine years.
Shakespeare Reviews Update
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Music: The principal of pleasure (1978-1980)
A guy that I’ve met wrote a list on Facebook which has been running ’round my head for the last few hours. Quite a simple idea really – the albums he was listening to in his teenage years. It sparked something within me and took me back to another time and so I’m up in the night writing a list of my own but also exploring things that in some ways I’d rather not think about it – a very different time – and some things I guess I’d rather forget.
But in the midst of it there was always music.
The New York Yankees – Off Season Part 1 (Oct-Dec 2016)
The New York Yankees decided in the second half of 2016 that they were going with youth. It was a little surprising therefore, to see their two major signings in the first half of the post-season be a 36-year-old who would be designated hitter and one of the relief pitchers they traded away in the movements that took place around the trade deadline
Hip! Hip! Hooray!!
What: Three Cheers for Christmas
Who: The Riding Lights Theatre Company
Where: Ravenscourt Arts, Hammersmith, London
When: December 2016
Anyone for two-handed pantomime?
Well… not really a pantomime. A little bit pantomime, a little bit nativity. Mostly a feel good half day out from school for kids who were able to get seats for this free presentation.
A Strange Fish!
Holy Gonzalo (Act V Scene 1), Batman! The RSC may have a hit on their hands.
What: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company
When: 24th November 2016
This production of the Tempest attempts to break new boundaries in theatre-making with the very first use of “live motion capture” in a major stage production … and it succeeds… just…
An ongoing Honaloochie boogie…
Who: Ian Hunter and the Rant Band
Who Else: Graham Parker and Brinsley Schwarz; Sitting Pretty
Where: Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
When: 11th November 2016
Well, who thought we would still be here? The ongoing wonder of Ian Hunter’s career and the dedication of his fans enters a new era. After the rave reviews of his new album “Fingers Crossed” in the music press, Mr Hunter has a new impetus (not that he seems to have needed any) to reach fresh mountain peaks in his career.
“Nobility enforce a freedom out of Bondage, making misery their Mirth”
What: The Two Noble Kinsmen by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company
When: October 2016
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) performances are oh-so-relevant. Or at least they think they are.
But are they trying a little too hard?
The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in September and October (2016)
The New York Yankees started the season with the best bullpen in baseball. When they gave up expecting to make the playoffs at the trading deadline, they gave up much of what gave them that quality. They stripped the bullpen bare and further weakened a starting rotation which hadn’t look good when the season started. Surprisingly, despite all of this, they didn’t do too badly over the last weeks of the season. On the other hand, they didn’t do too good.
The New York Yankees – The Batters in September and October (2016)
The New York Yankees surprised us all by how long they stayed in contention for the second wild card before slipping away in the final week or so of the regular season. However, in reality they didn’t really maintain the momentum that they had worked up in August and the team both in terms of their batting and pitching struggled over the last few hurdles and the much vaunted Baby Bombers began to look a little more ordinary after the initial excitement around the call-ups had settled down…
The New York Yankees – The Pitchers in August (2016)
The Yankees had more outgoing pitchers than batters in the trade deadline clear out but there were less new faces on the pitching staff than there were batters with starters, Luis Cessa and Chad Green who had been around on and off since the beginning of year suddenly thrust into the limelight. Let’s see who over-achieved and who under-achieved…
twilightdawning 