Tag Archives: William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night or What You Will, by William Shakespeare

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Twelfth NightEither my education’s failed me or I’ve failed my education as this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the great William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or What You Will.

 

A production by the Pell Mell Theatre Company at The Space on the Isle of Dogs, I had no preconceptions of what the play was about, let alone how it compared to the written word or other stage adaptations.

 

Twelth Night came across as organised chaos – entertainers with painted faces stretched, performed, laughed and mocked the other characters and we never quite know whether they’re visible to all on stage or if they just act as a narrative device to help the audience’s understanding.

 

At times they were comedic in their moves, at other times they were somewhat distracting pacing about the stage while the audience tried to keep up with the main characters.

 

I was glad to see Shakespeare’s chief ploys of gender swapping and love triangles present.

 

Orsino pines for Lady Olivia, but she’s ironically hypnotised by Orsino’s page boy, Cesario, a woman who’s disguised herself as a man. And Cesario – aka Viola – is in love with Orsino.

 

The play is predominantly set at Lady Olivia’s home, where we meet her outspoken maid Maria, her pompous chief servant Malvolio and where her uncle, Sir Toby, roams the corridors after late night drinking sessions.

 

We also meet Feste, the fool who is wickedly honest and surprisingly witty and who shone through his thickly painted face.

 

As the love triangle heightens and madness has descended on the cast as the once disinterested Cesario has now wed Lady Olivia, is forced to fight Sir Andrew who’s also trying to win Olivia’s heart, and comes to blows with his/her master Orsino who believes he’s been betrayed, Sebastian enters.

 

The long lost twin brother of Cesario/Viola stands in front of the whole cast and all is now made clear. The way Sebastian was revealed and the way we saw each of the characters seem to realise the truth was a great strategy.

 

And though the play’s a little farcical as Lady Olivia is happy to have wed the male counterpart of Cesario, it was heart-warming to see Cesario revealed as a female – as she’s able to declare her love for her master, Orsino.

 

Viola, played by Ella Garland, was truly fantastic – she had the right mix of authority and playfulness for the role.

 

You couldn’t help but warm to Malvolio, played by Andrew Seddon, who paraded around in a grand suit before dressing in yellow stockings in the belief this would win the heart of Lady Olivia.

 

The actual play was simple in terms of props, and I think this was the right move, as the costumes were majestic and the lighting and music filled the stage.

 

Twelfth Night is showing at The Space until 8 August – tickets are available from https://space.org.uk.

 

 

 

King Lear William Shakespeare Théâtre de Nesle Review – Paris

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King Lear William Shakespeare Théâtre de Nesle Review – ParisHow do you put Shakespeare’s King Lear on a stage the size of a postage stamp with 6 actors (3m,3f) running 90 minutes?

The answer is – carefully.

This is a very careful production with everything timed meticulously.  The 6 actors obviously play many parts each and the changes of costume/character are carefully thought through and executed with a seamless precision; one actor walking past another who is ready to hand the scarf and take the jacket that indicates the character change (for example).  The staging is organised and choreographed to the centimetre and the use of the sparse décor (rostra particularly) highly effective.

 

The text has been cut intelligently and some of the subplots sacrificed to bring the running time to the 90 minutes that the theatre demands.

 

What the production lacks is a certain passion and a rhythm.  The poetry of the verse has been sacrificed in the interests of clarity – creating a rather controlled and intellectual production.  But then this is a question of personal taste when it comes to Shakespeare and I prefer passion.  The intricacies of the plots and the machinations of Goneril and Regan – not to mention Edmund – are abundantly clear and easy to follow; the surtitles enabling those whose English is not “native” to keep up to speed.

 

On the whole a huge “bravo” to the entire team and a production well worth watching if you are in Paris soon.

 

Colin David Reese

 

 

And They’re Off! The Olympics 2012 Starts

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Starting from today, London is the most exciting place in the world. The Olympics has started and Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony is underway.

Evoking Britain’s green and pleasant land, choirs sang the national anthems of each country in the United Kingdom with their respective flowers which were: Danny Boy, Flower of Scotland, Bread of Heaven and England’s rose, Scotland’s thistle, Wales’ daffodil and Northern Ireland’s flax. There was even 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens and nine geese.

Then the set was stage as a volunteer cast of two and a half thousand people acted out the Industrial revolution. The cast are dressed like peasants and rich men from another era gave the audience a history lesson to the rousing beat of the drums. The theme of the opening ceremony is the Isles of Wonder, inspired by William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. Mark Rylance had to drop out of the main part performing a monologue from The Tempest as his step-daughter died. Our heart goes out to him.

Direct descendants from the suffragette movement also took to the stage. Then there was a moment of silence for all of those who have sacrificed their life for their country. The epic opening ceremony cost £27 million

Then there was a splash of colour for the 60’s. 60,000 people inside the stadium watched the spectacle and another 4 billion watched on TV.

Molten Olympic rings were forged by craftsmen and then rose from the ground, creating an amazing spectacle. An emotional moment. The Olympic rings represent the five continents.

Then Daniel Craig as James Bond went to Buckingham Palace to get the Queen (yes, that one) with the corgis snapping at his heels. A helicopter ride later across London’s landmarks lead to The Queen and James Bond parachuting from a helicopter.

The Union Jack was then carried in by servicemen from the RAF, Army and the Navy.

Then the NHS and achievements of children’s books were represented while Mike Oldfields played ‘Tubular Bells’. This included Peter Pan and JK Rowling was there. NHS was then displayed in lights. Kids jumped on beds while nurses danced. Then children’s nightmares were represented by Lord Voldemort, Cruella De Vil and child snatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Then a few Mary Poppins were dancing on stage and the nightmares were chased away. 10,000 people have taken part in the Opening Ceremony in total. The audience roared as the homage to the NHS ended. All of the nurses and doctors were real NHS workers! They all rehearsed for 350 hours.

Then Rowan Atkinson (as Mr Bean) played along while the National Symphony Orchestra during Chariots of Fire. Then scene from the film were played with Mr Bean cut into them. Very funny.

Then a typical British household was represented along with British TV shows and music from the past. Gregory’s Girl, Charlie Chaplin, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who and David Bowie were all represented. Every audience member was taken through their childhood.

The Sex Pistols, texting, Soul II Soul and The Eurythmics played as the dancers rocked out and an actor and actress texted each other and then kissed. Famous kisses were then played in the background. Including that of Kate Middleton and Prince William. The journey of music and dance was told from the 60’s to the present day. Danny Boyle even got Trainspotting, the film that made him famous, in.

Then East London’s Dizze Rascal took to the stage. Dizzie was a good choice and then Amy Winehouse played. A homage to the singer who died last year.

The inventor of the internet Sir Tim Berners-Lee appeared and was paid homage to as everyone cheered. David Beckham, East London boy, brought the torch to the Olympic Stadium.

There was a minute silence for those who have passed away and then Emile Sande then sang Abide By Me. The dancers were amazing and there were some brilliant Tai Chi moves.

Then the athletes arrived. The athletes from each country arrived at the stadium carrying their flag as their country was called out.

The opening ceremony was full of British in-jokes and fantastic performances. Frost Magazine are proud to be British and will constantly be blogging about the Olympics. Let us know your opinions and thoughts.

Casting Notice For Shakespeare Project.

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We need the following cast for a Shakespeare project filming next year. Unpaid at the moment, but will be paid if we get funding. Filming in HD with experienced and talented cast and crew.

William Stanley, later 6th Earl of Derby (1561 – 1642) here aged 21
Christopher Marlowe, student and alleged spy (1564 – 1593) here aged 18
Francis Bacon, later 1st Viscount St Albans (1561 – 1626) here aged 21
Edward de Vere, 21st Earl of Oxford (1550 – 1604) here aged 32 Craig
Will – son of a local glove-maker (1564 – 1616) here aged 18
Anne, a local barmaid (1556 – 1623) here aged 26

Please audition by uploading yourself doing a Shakespeare monologue on Youtube and then post the link below. Name link ‘Audition for The Shakespeare Episodes’.

Thank you