What: Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon (RST)
When: 22nd April-27 May, 2023
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
An excellent production!!
But that does need some explanation and clarification.
What do we have here?
What: All’s Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST), Stratford-upon-Avon
When: August 22-28 2022 (runs until late October 2022)
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
William Shakespeare’s “All’s Well That Ends Well” is, they say, a problem play. Having read all the main literature on that subject, I’m still not convinced on that subject, but this I do know – the RSC’s current production of it makes it more of a problem than it needs to be.
What: Richard III by William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
When: Late June to early July 2022
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
This is a very good RSC production. It fades a little in the final third but on the whole, it has much to offer. And frankly, if you look through my recent reviews of the Stratford-Upon-Avon-based theatre, it hasn’t been too often I have been able to say that in the last 5 years.
Of course, the shutdown because of the pandemic has affected the percentages, but some productions have been a real struggle.
The recent Much Ado Nothing had some good sections. Measure for Measure and the Comedy of Errors were absolutely excellent, and far, far beyond my expectations. But, most often the RSC seems to have been embroiled in experimentation, tricky notions and slightly bizarre shapes for their own shape.
What: Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
When: Viewed week of 14th February to 18th of February (runs until 12th March 2022)
Attempts to evoke some sparks of negativity around the principles of the RSC’s productions do become a little tired. The artistic director of this production spoke of a “racist backlash” to the casting of this play. I cannot speak to this directly but having spoken to various audience members, over the days that I attended the show, nobody seemed to be particularly concerned about the casting although some did have other axes to grind.
What: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
When: July 21 and 22, 2021
Where: The Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Garden Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company
William Shakespeare’s play “The Comedy of Errors” is a better play than many believe and the Royal Shakespeare Company current production of it is better than I expected…
What: King John by William Shakespeare
When: October 2019
Who: Royal Shakespeare Company
Where: The Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Three plays? No, just one.
Are you sure? Well, yes as much as I can be sure about anything to do with this production.
But whatever we say, we have to say that the production is an untidy mess.
What: Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
Where: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company
When: July 2019
“The poetic atmosphere is one of religion and critical morality. The religious colouring is orthodox, as in Hamlet.”[1]
“There have, however, been others, notably in the last century, such unlikely yoke-fellows as Gervinus in Germany and Walter Pater in England who have seen the play neither as expressive of cynicism and disgust nor as filled with the spirit of the Gospels and yet believe it to be no ‘meaningless’ entertainment but serious and coherent exploration of certain moral issues. It is in support of this view that the following pages are written”.[2]
I have two touchstones, benchmarks if you will, when it comes to Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure” and the above quotations are examples of their understanding of the play and the differences between those understandings. Gregory Doran’s production of the play in Stratford-Upon-Avon may have become a third.
Continue readingWhat: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
When: 19th March 2019
The Royal Shakespeare Company when announcing their 2019 season said that they were going to show the relevance of Shakespeare’s writings to the modern era. There is no question that they have attempted this – although they could be accused of majoring only on one contemporary issue.
Like a percussionist surrounded by many instruments but beating on only one drum, they have taken up only the issue of gender. This meant that in the seldom-performed “Timon of Athens”, they left us wondering what the value of the change of gender was – although it did give some opportunity for strong female character actors in the principal roles. Very few of the audience would know the original play well enough to appreciate the difference that making all the lead characters female had made. Then there was As You Like It where the gender swaps caused a complete meltdown in the second half of the play as an already complex plot became just too untidy.
But with The Taming of the Shrew, by George, I believe they may have added in something worthwhile.
Continue readingWhat: As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Where: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company
When: 21st February 2019
Kimberly Sykes’ direction of the current Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of “As You Like It” has many strengths but there are some self-created weaknesses which it seems to me have little to do with the writing of the Bard of Avon. The peculiar things is that they are similar flaws to those present in other recent productions by the RSC and those were handled by other directors. I hate to be repeating myself but… What is going on here?
Continue readingWhat: Timon of Athens by William Shakespeare
Where: The Swan Theatre @ The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Waterside, Stratford-Upon-Avon
Who: The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)
When: 13th December 2018
It has been a strange year for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). It just got stranger. Their take on – should I say adaptation of Timon of Athens – is an unusual one. And that is to say something quite remarkable because this play is seldom performed.
twilightdawning 