Intertwining ribald comedy with a morality tale is no easy feat, yet an outstanding cast and creative team reinforce this thought-provoking and immersive experience of Measure for Measure for all to enjoy.
NEWS: RSC concludes its partnership with BP
The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced its decision to conclude its partnership with BP at the end of this year. BP have supported the RSC’s £5 ticket scheme for 16 to 25 year olds since 2013. Talking about the decision, RSC artistic director Gregory Doran and executive director Catherine Mallyon said: “Over many months we have listened to a wide and varied range of voices …
NEWS: First casting announced for the RSC’s production of The Boy In The Dress
Rufus Hound, Irvine Iqbal, Natasha Lewis and Forbes Masson have been cast in The Boy in the Dress, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new musical which runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from 8 November 2019 to 8 March 2020 (press night is 27 November).
‘It’s all done superbly’: MEASURE FOR MEASURE – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon ★★★★★
What Gregory Doran frames most brilliantly in Measure For Measure at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon is the is the central confusion of morality.
NEWS: RSC returns to the Barbican with three new Shakespeare productions
Later this year, the three Shakespeare productions from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) summer 2019 Stratford season transfer to the Barbican from 26 October 2019.
NEWS: Mark Ravenhill, Robbie Williams & Guy Chambers will pen new musical version of David Walliams’ The Boy in the Dress in RSC winter season
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Winter 2019 season will include a new musical of David Walliams’ novel The Boy in the Dress with a book by Mark Ravenhill and music and lyrics by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, directed by Gregory Doran.
‘Feels horribly current’: TROILUS & CRESSIDA – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon ★★★★
Troilus & Cressida at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon feels horribly current. The terrible story sweeps you up: the vigour, the clamour, the extraordinary racket of macho metallic madness, shield and sword echoing Glennie’s extraordinary score.
‘It’s the sharp commentary on extreme religiosity which hits home’: TARTUFFE – Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon ★★★★
It was Gregory Doran, the RSC’s leader, who surprised Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto (veterans of The Kumars, Citizen Khan etc) with the suggestion they adapt Moliere’s 17c comedy of hypocrisy, and set it in a Pakistani Muslim family in Birmingham, directed by Iqbal Khan.
NEWS: RSC announces ‘cross-cast’ rep programme for summer season 2019
RSC artistic director Gregory Doran announced today his ambition for a new collaborative cross-cast ensemble which reflects the nation, to play three Shakespeare productions in a newly reconfigured Royal Shakespeare Theatre next summer.
‘Great writing, clever production, brilliantly acted’: IMPERIUM – West End
I thoroughly enjoyed the RSC’s Imperium. Great writing, clever production, brilliantly acted. Overall, a great day out in Ancient Rome.
‘A story told with theatrical panache & decent human poignancy’: MISS LITTLEWOOD – Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon ★★★★
It is a joy to have Greg Doran’s RSC hosting a musical about Joan Littlewood: itself a debut by the composer Sam Kenyon creating book, music and lyrics, and with a cast full of RSC first-timers including Clare Burt as Joan herself.
‘Constantly intense & gripping’: IMPERIUM – West End ★★★★★
Imperium is a powerful production of a story that is strikingly relatable to audiences watching it in 2018. A brilliant and lavish production – highly recommended.
NEWS: David Threlfall & Rufus Hound will reprise their roles in the West End transfer of RSC’s Don Quixote
David Threlfall and Rufus Hound will reprise their lead roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Don Quixote when the production transfers to London’s Garrick Theatre from 27 October 2018 to 2 February 2019.
Time for a round-up of lots of new theatre books
The shelf I reserve for newly arrived theatre books is beginning to groan so it’s obviously time for a round-up. There’s a lot of Shakespeare on the pile and I was especially pleased to see Paterson Joseph’s Julius Caesar and Me with its arguably provocative catchline: “Exploring Shakespeare’s African Play”.
‘A masterclass for fearlessly funny women’: THE FANTASTIC FOLLIES OF MRS RICH – Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon ★★★★
The RSC’s artistic director Gregory Doran has a kindly sense of balance, so the dourly modern, blokey, bleak and inevitably joyless Macbeth just down the corridor is offset by The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich, a merry bit of Restoration fluff and female scorn, by the largely forgotten 17the century writer Mary Pix. Good move, Mr D.
NEWS: RSC’s Imperium transfers to the West End
The Royal Shakespeare Company has today announced its forthcoming productions in London, including the epic historical thriller Imperium – Mike Poulton’s stage adaptation of Robert Harris’ best-selling Cicero books, which transfers for a limited season to the Gielgud Theatre from 14 June to 8 September 2018.
NEWS: Kathryn Hunter leads cast of Timon of Athens in new RSC winter season
The RSC’s new winter 2018 season will include new productions of Troilus and Cressida, Tamburlaine, and Timon of Athens (featuring Kathryn Hunter in the lead role).
RSC co-founder John Barton dies at 89: Artistic director Gregory Doran pays tribute
The Royal Shakespeare Company last night reported the death of John Barton at the age of 89. Barton co-founded the company with Peter Hall, who also passed away in September. Current RSC artistic director Gregory Doran reflects on Barton’s life (26 November 1928-18 January 2018).
‘This political saga is to be treasured’: IMPERIUM – Stratford-upon-Avon (RSC) ★★★★★
Either play stands alone – the first perhaps more easily than the second – but together the rich intelligence and lively wisdom of this political, intimate saga is to be treasured.
Resolutions for 2018: be kind and wise
As 2017 is analysed and filed away, Kath and I are busily sorting out 40+ years of archives, lofts, photos and our individual and shared lives as we reduce (a bit) what we plan to move to our new home in Edinburgh.