Julius Caesar - RSC

Late September, I had the opportunity to see not one, but two Shakespeare plays; Macbeth at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and Julius Caesar at The Alhambra Theatre in Bradford. Both were enjoyable in their own way, but my favourite by far was the RSC production of Julius Caesar, the on stage drama was gripping and the drama continued into the interval with a set malfunction adding to the intensity.

Set in Africa, the production was captivating from start to finish. I had initially wondered how it would translate to being set in Africa but have to admit it worked exceptionally well. The cast was made up from many well known actors who will have been familiar to many from their previous work in film and television and this had been part of the appeal for me to see the play. It was not a play I had studied or seen before so I made sure I read up on it before going to see it and was impressed by the reviews that I had seen.

The acting throughout was incredible, the famous soliloquies were exceptional and really captured the mood of the play. The entire cast gave outstanding performances but the real drama came from Paterson Joseph as Brutus and Ray Fearon as Mark Anthony.

The interval had a drama of its own when the safety curtain refused to raise at the end. The stage manager, theatre manager and RSC manager all came out to apologise for the delay which then turned into a cancellation. Everyone was offered a refund or the chance to see the evening performance. Someone asked if the cast might come out into the stalls area so that we could applaud their performances so far. In good nature they all came out and took bows and chatted to the audience at the front of the stalls. As they took their final bows, the safety curtain suddenly rose like a phoenix from the ashes and the RSC manager told a now delighted audience that the show would go on.

The second act seemed just as gripping and I was glad I hadn’t left early like so many others. Mark Anthony’s speech “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” was so powerful that he really brought the text to life. I wish I had seen productions like this when I studied Shakespeare at school as it really brought out the feeling and emotion of the piece.

At the end of the performance, the actors all came on stage to take their bows and applauded the audience for staying with them. It was a fantastic production and I dearly hope it gets released on DVD in the future.

Review - The Merchant of Venice

The RSC ‘s latest production of the Merchant of Venice directed by Rupert Goold and starring Sir Patrick Stewart is a production that has to be seen to be believed!

I have always thought that Shakespeare’s plays can transcend any era and thereby appeal to audiences of any age. However, this production takes this idea to a new level by setting the play not in Italy but in Las Vegas - complete with its own casino and hip shaking, singing Elvis! The question of who will marry Portia is still decided through the choosing between the gold, silver and lead caskets but this has been modernised into a cross between a weekly game show and a reality TV show called Destiny as each suitor by choosing a casket, chooses their destiny. I have seen many Shakespeare productions given a more modern setting but the idea of this staging seemed quite outlandish – and yet, it worked! Not only did it work, but it worked so brilliantly that you were left in awe at how well it transposed to this setting.

Portia , under the terms of her late Father’s will is obliged to marry the suitor who chooses from amongst the caskets of gold, silver and lead and finds the one containing her portrait. The young Venetian Bassanio is determined to woo and marry Portia and so to improve his chances, asks his good friend Antonio a rich merchant to lend him the money ($3 million) to fund his voyage and improve his status. Currently short of available cash owing to his ships being at sea, Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, a Jewish money lender, who charges extortionate rates of interest and who Antonio has previously insulted. Shylock proposes as terms of the loan that instead of interest, if Antonio refuses to pay back the money in the time specified, he will be entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Meanwhile, Bassanio’s friend Lorenzo elopes with Shylock’s daughter Jessica who brings with her money and jewels stolen from her father. Distraught at the loss of his daughter, but more importantly his money, Shylock seizes on the news that Antonio’s ships have been lost and sea and demands his pound of flesh...

The play has everything you would expect from Shakespeare, comedy, tragedy, mistaken identity and above all some excellent soliloquies. Patrick Stewart delivered his infamous speech “Hath not a Jew eyes...”with such brilliance that he captured the attention of the entire audience. The speech by Portia disguised as the attorney sent to judge the case of Antonio V Shylock, ”The quality of mercy is not strained...” was also beautifully delivered and added a poignancy to the scene. It was also interesting to see how many phrases we use in modern day language seem to have emanated from this play; in the twinkling of an eye, cut-throat, blinking idiot and all that glisters is not gold. The fact that these words are still used today combined with the modern setting of the play made it seem more natural and definitely more accessible. Anyone who had ever thought Shakespeare boring and irrelevant to our time would be forced to think again after seeing this production.

Patrick Stewart who as you might expect from an actor of his reputation and calibre gave a powerful performance but didn’t dominate the whole production as he blended well with the other actors in the ensemble. Susannah Fielding is also worthy of a mention as the dizzy blonde Southern belle Portia who then transforms into the learned, eloquent young lawyer sent to try the case of Antonio and Shylock. There were many other fine performances from the cast and I enjoyed how they used different American accents to portray the various characters and make them more individual and idiosyncratic.

Emily Plumtree as Nerissa,Susannah Fielding as Portia & Patrick Stewart as Shylock

The production was a delight to watch from start to finish and quickly dismissed any previous misconceptions I had about the play at the start. If you are able to catch a performance before the run ends in September then I highly recommend it as I couldn’t praise it enough.

For more information on this and other RSC productions, go to www.rsc.org.uk and follow the RSC on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/thersc

The Wedding, The Birthday and an extra Bank Holiday

Everyone loves a good party and this past weekend in the UK, we have had more than one excuse to celebrate; A Royal Wedding, A Playwrite's Birthday and an extra Bank Holiday - and boy did we ever party!

As billions of people around the world tuned in to watch Prince William marry Kate Middleton, millions also took to the streets in London to see the Royal Procession and to take part in all the celebrations. In some places, special licences were obtained to close streets in order for the residents to hold a street party – something which I remember from the Silver Jubilee and Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. The scenes shown on TV as thousands of people lined Pall Mall was quite amazing. People from all over the world had come to London to take part in the celebrations and the sea of union jacks all waving madly was really something to behold.

I must confess I did not get caught up in all the excitement as much I thought I would. I did watch the proceedings on TV and thoroughly enjoyed the incredible sights of Westminster Abbey, the beautiful and at times, quite ethereal music from many great British composers and I enjoyed watching the wedding ceremony itself – but at the end of the day, it’s all about an ordinary couple in love starting a life together. Ok, so this ordinary couple are one day set to rule the country and unlike most other newlyweds starting out, their lives will be closely monitored from now on, never being far away from a camera lens but, for them (and us) it was a day of celebration.

 Saturday marked a day that I was more excited to take part in – William Shakespeare’s 447th birthday celebrations in Stratford –Upon – Avon. William Shakespeare was born (and died) 23rd April but this year as his birthday fell upon the Easter Bank Holiday, his birthday celebrations were put on hold for a week.
It seemed that despite his age, or should that be that he died so many years ago, many people were eager to take part in the celebrations of arguably our Nation’s greatest play writers proving that whilst the man may be dead, his work lives on and is still celebrated today.

There was the procession through the town to the church where Shakespeare is buried, featuring many people dressed in traditional Tudor costume but also depicting characters from his plays. There were musicians and singers scattered throughout the town performing music from both Elizabethan and modern times and there were magicians, theatrical performances and Morris dancers – take away the modern shop frontages and at times it felt like you had been transported back in time. There was also a distinct British feel about the celebrations and at times reminded me of the May Fairs we used to go to when I was a child.


The main street and area near the Swan Theatre were decorated with bright yellow shields and banners each representing one of Shakespeare’s plays or characters; it was quite an incredible sight, especially as the union jack bunting was still flying from the previous days celebrations.

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) had laid on many free events for families which included craft activities to make your own Elizabethan ruff or theatrical mask, or having a theatrical makeover by a member of their makeup team. There was also a chance to take part in transforming the Swan Room into a giant birthday cake to commemorate the event. Under the direction of the artist Shane Waltener, children were invited to design and make a decoration for the cake. It was an ingenious idea and looked very effective as the decorations were added to the walls of the room.

I particularly enjoyed a short trip on the Sonnet Ferry, a traditional chain boat that crosses the Avon – and supposedly the oldest surviving one in the country. As we crossed the river, a member of the RSC read sonnets to us – ours being “Shall I Compare Thee to a summer’s day, thou art more lovely and more temperate...”

I also enjoyed watching an outdoor production of Shylock V Antonio – The appeal. Set in modern times, Shylock, still in his traditional costume appears with his modern day attorney to have his appeal read against the original judgement made in the play The Merchant of Venice. Part of his argument was based on the fact that the trial had not been fair in that the person claiming to be an attorney (Portia) was not legally qualified at the time of the trial and had undisclosed connections to a friend of Antonio’s and was therefore biased in favour of him. The whole thing was very cleverly written with references to many modern day things such as people having gastric bands or colonic irrigation to help shift that “pound of flesh”. It was highly entertaining and seemed well received by the informal audience that sat around on the grass watching.

It was great to see how people, young and old and from many different countries joined together to celebrate the works of this man. Many people wore sprigs of Rosemary in their buttonholes (“Rosemary for remembrance” as Ophelia says in Hamlet) and I noticed that some of the park area in front of the Swan Theatre had Rosemary growing in it.

It was a wonderful day out and lovely to take part in such a fun day. It is interesting to note in hindsight, that I’ve become more interested in the works of Shakespeare as I’ve grown older. Whilst, unlike many of my classmates I did enjoy studying him at school, I think it’s only since I’ve grown older that I’ve learned to appreciate him more and gain a deeper insight into his work. In contrast, in my childhood I relished the street parties, the flag waving and all the celebrations of Kings and Queens and fairytale romances and whilst I still enjoy the pageantry, it doesn’t have that same magical feel to it.

So, on our last Bank Holiday (well at least for a few weeks) I intend to make the most of the gloriously sunny day and enjoy it whilst it lasts.