Showing posts with label Play Performances. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Play Performances. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
National Theater Live: King Lear
Derek Jacobi isn't one of my favorite actors. I know he's very well thought of, but I often find his delivery of the Shakespearean line to be something akin to thundering down the hill in a runaway train and crashing in the valley - that's the end-stop - below. Over and over and over again, for hours on end. It wears me out.
HOWEVER, last weekend I attended (thanks to the Shakespeare class teacher at the university where I work) a telecast in a Portland theater of the well-reviewed National Theatre Live/ Donmar production of King Lear, starring Jacobi. We haven't gotten to King Lear yet - difficult as it may be to believe, the Donmar does not schedule its productions around What Shall Shakespeare Say Today - but these telecasts don't come here too often, and I really wanted to check it out, whether Jacobi was the star or not, and never mind the reading schedule. And I'm happy to report...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Plays! Especially The Comedy of Errors
Emma and I have stayed busy seeing several Shakespeare plays the last few weeks - we saw a production of The Taming of the Shrew in Seattle, yesterday we saw a broadcast of a production of King Lear running in London right now, starring Derek Jacobi - which was really great - and last week we saw a production of The Comedy of Errors at the Portland Actor's Conservatory. Whew!
If anyone in the Portland area is interested in seeing this production of The Comedy of Errors, it'll be running through March 6th - AND it's next week's play! Perfect timing, right? Both Emma and I enjoyed this production, which captured the silly farcicalness of the story excellently. Though nearly all the cast are student actors, and as such I didn't expect them to be as polished as professionals, there were several strong performances and the whole cast seemed to be fully committed to and take delight in the rollicking tale of separated twins and mistaken identity.
The production had some puzzling aspects - why, for example, was the goldsmith Angelo played by a girl coiffed, bespectacled and costumed to be a Harry Potter look-alike? Was it to play into the play's references to sorcery? If so, why was just one character - who was not, after all, a sorcerer -"wizardy"? In addition, the cast gamely struggled with a set that consisted solely of multiple doors that shook and clanged whenever opened and closed.
However, this production also has THE BEST, most convincing stage twinning that I have EVER SEEN. The two sets of twins really look A LOT alike!
Each of these productions we've seen in the last weeks, with their various concepts - Shrew set in the '60s, Lear set in an empty box with quasi-medieval/Victorian/Japanese costumes, this Comedy of Errors costumed as a modern/Edwardian mishmash with nearly everyone in bare feet - has reminded me that Shakespeare and his stories are so strong that they can support these interpretations. I'm a super picky and critical audience member, but I (nearly) always find a lot of things to appreciate in any production I see. I'm reminded of a Shakespeare in the Park production of the Comedy of Errors I saw last summer, where the entire cast spent most of the play in Edwardian bathing suits. And it was completely delightful!
So hie thee to the theater, and see what Shakespeare says today - on stage.
If anyone in the Portland area is interested in seeing this production of The Comedy of Errors, it'll be running through March 6th - AND it's next week's play! Perfect timing, right? Both Emma and I enjoyed this production, which captured the silly farcicalness of the story excellently. Though nearly all the cast are student actors, and as such I didn't expect them to be as polished as professionals, there were several strong performances and the whole cast seemed to be fully committed to and take delight in the rollicking tale of separated twins and mistaken identity.
The production had some puzzling aspects - why, for example, was the goldsmith Angelo played by a girl coiffed, bespectacled and costumed to be a Harry Potter look-alike? Was it to play into the play's references to sorcery? If so, why was just one character - who was not, after all, a sorcerer -"wizardy"? In addition, the cast gamely struggled with a set that consisted solely of multiple doors that shook and clanged whenever opened and closed.
However, this production also has THE BEST, most convincing stage twinning that I have EVER SEEN. The two sets of twins really look A LOT alike!
Each of these productions we've seen in the last weeks, with their various concepts - Shrew set in the '60s, Lear set in an empty box with quasi-medieval/Victorian/Japanese costumes, this Comedy of Errors costumed as a modern/Edwardian mishmash with nearly everyone in bare feet - has reminded me that Shakespeare and his stories are so strong that they can support these interpretations. I'm a super picky and critical audience member, but I (nearly) always find a lot of things to appreciate in any production I see. I'm reminded of a Shakespeare in the Park production of the Comedy of Errors I saw last summer, where the entire cast spent most of the play in Edwardian bathing suits. And it was completely delightful!
So hie thee to the theater, and see what Shakespeare says today - on stage.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Taming of the Shrew: Hello, Seattle
This Saturday, Shakespeare girl and I took a day trip up to Seattle. Needless to say, a few weeks prior to the trip, I googled all over the internet for a Shakespeare production in Seattle that weekend. But I came up with... nothing. I admitted my failure to Shakespeare girl, and she told me, "Oh, no, there's a production of Taming of the Shrew up there that night." She had seen it on facebook. Facebook > Google?
Anyway, I'm very pleased I was able to go to the quiet - that's the name of the theatre company, not a description of the play - production of The Taming of the Shrew last weekend (incidentally, the Shakespeare quote "Nay, let them go, a couple of quiet ones" is from The Taming of the Shrew - III, II, 242). Review below!
First off, if I had been paying attention as I entered the theatre, I would have known that Director Josh Hornbeck's vision for the play focused on the gender issues in the play, specifically the ill-treatment of women. I could have guessed this because of the lovely (not really) posters adorning the entrance to the theatre.
Examples.
"Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere." Well, tobacco was introduced to Europe in the late 1500's, shortly before 'Taming' was written....
And if that one's not bad enough...
Anyway, I'm very pleased I was able to go to the quiet - that's the name of the theatre company, not a description of the play - production of The Taming of the Shrew last weekend (incidentally, the Shakespeare quote "Nay, let them go, a couple of quiet ones" is from The Taming of the Shrew - III, II, 242). Review below!
First off, if I had been paying attention as I entered the theatre, I would have known that Director Josh Hornbeck's vision for the play focused on the gender issues in the play, specifically the ill-treatment of women. I could have guessed this because of the lovely (not really) posters adorning the entrance to the theatre.
Examples.
"Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere." Well, tobacco was introduced to Europe in the late 1500's, shortly before 'Taming' was written.... And if that one's not bad enough...
Friday, January 14, 2011
Two Gentlemen: Play Performance Review
This last Sunday, Emma and I were able to go with some friends to see the Northwest Classical Theater Company’s production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. I thought it was pretty cool that I got to begin the year by seeing a live production of the first play I read in my brand-new Shakespeare project - serendipity indeed. And, happily, it was a good production. Let me tell you about it!
The company’s home theater is named the Shoebox, and aptly named it is - it’s a very small, intimate theater that seats no more than 40.
This production was performed in the round with no set pieces. This worked quite well and allowed for rapid and interesting exits and entrances, and though the playing area is limited, the confident staging of this production let me forget that the forest, for example, was bounded in a space no larger than an average size living room. The closeness between the audience and the performers also allowed the players to address and interact with the spectators.Though there was no suggestion of place or time through set pieces, the very effective Elizabethan costuming provided a strong Renaissance setting.
The company’s home theater is named the Shoebox, and aptly named it is - it’s a very small, intimate theater that seats no more than 40.
This production was performed in the round with no set pieces. This worked quite well and allowed for rapid and interesting exits and entrances, and though the playing area is limited, the confident staging of this production let me forget that the forest, for example, was bounded in a space no larger than an average size living room. The closeness between the audience and the performers also allowed the players to address and interact with the spectators.Though there was no suggestion of place or time through set pieces, the very effective Elizabethan costuming provided a strong Renaissance setting.
One of the major strengths of the production was the rapid-fire pacing of the show - nothing dragged or seemed too slow. The cast was strong across the board and communicated the story well through their use of the language as well as physical humor, including a gag where the petite actress playing Julia struggled to unsheath a sword nearly as tall as she was. Especially delightful were the scenes with Launce and his dog Crab. Crab was played by a bulldog type - so ugly that he was adorable - and was one phlegmatic pooch. Ensconced in a cosily cushioned chariot and wheeled in for each of his appearances, he was the perfect foil for his weepy master’s angst and devotion.
(Poster boy for the production - Crab in his little wagon)
One mark of any good play is whether or not it makes you think, and this production hit that mark. Director Butch Flowers chose to highlight the ambiguity and unsettling aspects of the conclusion, which created a sense that the story was somewhat incomplete. However, this refusal to tidily wrap up all the loose ends into a conventional “happily ever after" certainly fostered conversation after the play about the possible implications of the ending.
(Conversation between Shakespeare girl and friends was fostered)
In all, good afternoon at the theater, and I’ll plan on going back to the Shoebox for Shakespeare's Cymbeline in the spring.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Production!
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is simply not one of Shakespeare's most performed plays. There aren't even very many filmed versions. That's why I'm so surprised and excited that a theatre company in my hometown is actually performing the play! This week! Amazing timing, right? I'm going to see it on Sunday and shall report back on the show!
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