Freud, the Golden Age of Hollywood, Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the surreal, a troubled mind, mad grief—enough to drive you insane… And the ‘dead’ city of Bruges—what is it about Bruges? But this is not Martin McDonagh’s black comedy In Bruges; this is the holier-than-thou pious city based on Georges Rodenbach’s 1892 Bruges-la-Morte. We may know Korngold… Continue reading The Dead City / Die tote Stadt
Month: March 2023
Right down their street
This Monday—World Theatre Day—Unfolding Theatre announces the cast and creative team for its brand new show, A Street Like This. Set and made in Sunderland, it’s written by Alison Carr, directed by Annie Rigby, with music co-written by Ross Millard from The Futureheads and local residents. A Street Like This will première at The Fire Station in Sunderland… Continue reading Right down their street
Hedda
It’s gratifying, at a time when light musicals so dominate mainstream theatre, to find a relatively small company tackling one of the dramatic masterpieces, and doing so in such a full-blooded a way. What makes Hedda Gabbler such a great play, the frustration of a newly-married, sensual woman bored by life with a good-hearted but… Continue reading Hedda
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Say what you like about Macbeth but the play is indestructible. Flabbergast Theatre has thrown the seemingly unimaginable at it—clowns, mud, party hats and puppets—and yet what emerges is a thrillingly primordial portrait of manipulated ambition. This production has been a long time coming. An R&D opportunity came from Wilton’s Music Hall in 2018, since… Continue reading The Tragedy of Macbeth
Two-thirds ENO chorus may have to leave profession
Ahead of a meeting between English National Opera chorus members and a cross-party group of MPs and Lords on 28 March, actors’ union Equity claims that 67.9% of the ENO chorus are at risk of leaving the profession entirely if Arts Council England forces the company out of its London Coliseum home. In an Equity survey of… Continue reading Two-thirds ENO chorus may have to leave profession
Cosmic comedy at Court
Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre Studio stages Cosmic, a new comedy by Joe McNally about what happens when you look a bit too hard at everyday life for a bit too long. It stars Clare Hackett, Connor Henry, Andy McLeod, Mark Rice-Oxley and Kalli Tant and is directed by Deborah Yhip. Vinnie knows things that the average… Continue reading Cosmic comedy at Court
Twitchers afloat for Mikron
Mikron Theatre, one of the country’s most versatile touring theatre companies (if not its only floating one!) will be launching its 51st season with the première of Twitchers, Poppy Hollman’s new play with original live music. Springwatch is coming to RSPB Shrikewing nature reserve. Can Jess take inspiration from tenacious female founders and draw on its history… Continue reading Twitchers afloat for Mikron
Sheffield shows to come
Sheffield Theatres announce new Crucible and Playhouse shows. They include Roger Mcgough’s adaptation of Molière’s The Hypochondriac; a new production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas; while the flexible Tanya Moiseiwitsch playhouse will stage two world premières: Anna Hibiscus’ Song and We Could All Be Perfect. These new shows join other productions previously announced for 2023.
Macbeth in Southwark
Flabbergast Theatre brings The Tragedy of Macbeth to the Southwark Playhouse March 14–April 8. Flabbergast’s Macbeth fuses a respectful approach to text and storytelling to a lucid interpretation of Shakespeare’s blood-soaked tragedy. The company presents an interpretation of Shakespeare’s most wretched tragedy, working to draw out the parallels with modern society. At its heart, the… Continue reading Macbeth in Southwark
Swan Lake
Peter Wright and Galina Samsova’s 1981 production of the perennial favourite Swan Lake never fails to enchant. Gothic and sumptuous, dark and light: Tchaikovsky’s romantic ballet encompasses the full gambit of emotion from the opening staid funeral procession to the frivolity of partying, from soaring love to deep despair. Mathias Dingman’s diminutive stature belies his… Continue reading Swan Lake