The Tempest at Shakespeare’s Globe is an unexpectedly hilarious production of a potentially tricky play, with vibrant direction from Sean Holmes – George Fouracres, Ralph Davis and Ciarán O’Brien shine as a comedy trio.
‘A well overdue production of an elusive play’: HENRY VIII – Shakespeare’s Globe ★★★★
Written in collaboration with John Fletcher, Henry VIII is quite possibly Shakespeare’s final play – but, despite this country’s continued obsession with all things Tudor, it remains a rarely performed piece. Imagine the delight of Shakespeare completists everywhere when it was announced as part of the Globe’s 2022 summer season, this time in a slightly updated version that sees Hannah Khalil (resident writer) become the third collaborator; the original has a heavy male focus, thanks in part to the two (male) playwrights having to work around the expectations of the establishment to avoid censorship and arrest – but now 400 years have passed, it’s about time the female voices in this story were heard as well.
REVIEW ROUND-UP: Macbeth at the Longacre Theatre, New York
Love London Love Culture’s Emma Clarendon take a look at what critics have been saying about Sam Gold’s production starring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga.
‘Absolutely worth investing your time in’: HENRY VI: WARS OF THE ROSES – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford upon Avon ★★★★
Running in rep alongside Henry VI: Rebellion (a.k.a. Henry VI, part two), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre is also currently home to Henry VI, part three. As with the previous part, this third play in Shakespeare’s first Henriad has been renamed – going under the title Henry VI: Wars of the Roses.
‘This exhilarating production makes you wonder why the play is often so overlooked’: HENRY VI: REBELLION – Stratford-upon-Avon (RSC)
The story begins with Henry welcoming his new bride, Margaret of Anjou, with a boisterous feast that isn’t exactly suited to his calm and reserved temperament – though Margaret immediately feels at home.
‘There is quite a bit going on but it balances perfectly’: HAMLET – Sam Wanamaker Playhouse
As soon as Hamlet was announced as part of the 2021-22 winter season my eyes rolled so hard I nearly saw the inside of my eye sockets. I was desperately disappointed. But then something magical happened: a Hamlet unlike any other.
It’s going to be epic: What are you most looking forward to at the Globe this summer?
It seems like we’ve been made to wait an inordinately long time for this announcement, but it was definitely worth it as far as I’m concerned.
VIDEO: Did Christopher Marlowe write the plays attributed to Shakespeare? Marlowe’s Fate post-show Q&A
More than four centuries after William Shakespeare died in 1616, aged 52 on his own birthday (23 April), questions remain about the authorship of his prodigious output – including nearly forty plays and more than 150 sonnets.
‘I want the audience to ask themselves: what if Marlowe didn’t die in 1593?’ Writer Peter B Hodges on the UK premiere of Marlowe’s Fate
Research proves that Christopher Marlowe not only didn’t die in 1593 at the age of 29, but that he wrote the plays that made Shakespeare famous. So says author and playwright Peter B Hodges whose Off-Broadway play on the subject, Marlowe’s Fate, is now running at London’s White Bear Theatre until 27 November. He told us more about it.
‘This is Shakespeare for the Netflix generation’: MACBETH – Almeida Theatre
Saoirse Ronan makes her UK stage debut in Yael Farber’s testosterone-fest, which is vivid, but much too long.
NEWS: Marlowe’s Fate, featuring a sparring match with Shakespeare, gets UK premiere at White Bear
Peter B Hodges’ Off-Broadway hit Marlowe’s Fate, based on the premise that Christopher Marlowe wrote the canon credited to William Shakespeare, gets its UK premiere this month at London’s White Bear Theatre, where its limited season continues until 27 November.
‘Just as Shakespeare would have intended’: THE SCOTTISH PLAY – Bard in a Yard
The intimate and interactive nature of the setting meant that we, the audience, were completely immersed in the performance of The Scottish Play.
‘Offers a faithful reading with some contemporary resonance’: THE WINTER’S TALE – RSC / BBC Lights Up Festival (Online review)
The Royal Shakespeare Company joins forces with BBC4 for the world premiere of A Winter’s Tale, a production intended for the 2020 stage and all but lost to theatre history.
‘Will be just the kind of theatre magic we’ve all been waiting for’: SWINGIN’ THE DREAM – RSC (Online review)
The RSC, Young Vic and Theatre for a New Audience have a difficult but fascinating task ahead in re-creating lost work Swingin’ the Dream that honours the original while offering something new to modern audiences.
‘It felt like we were all creating something very special together’: A fond farewell to The Show Must Go Online series
I may be woefully behind on my show write-ups, but I couldn’t not mark The Show Must Go Online coming to an end – at least until further notice.
‘My favourite part of working in casting is meeting fresh, exciting talent’: Sydney Aldridge on the casting process for The Show Must Go Online
I’ve really admired the work of Sydney Aldridge throughout the course of The Show Must Go Online, so who better to talk to about casting and her experiences with this innovative Zoom theatre project?
‘All in all, yet another brilliant show’: AS YOU LIKE IT – The Show Must Go Online (Online review)
From Rome to the Forest of Arden, as The Show Must Go Online next tackles As You Like It.
‘Adds some dynamism’: THE SECRET LOVE LIFE OF OPHELIA – Greenwich Theatre (Online review)
The Greenwich Theatre production of The Secret Love Life of Ophelia showcases a selection of excellent young performers that inadvertently asks some big questions about how we cast Hamlet in the 21st century.
‘I could have written an entire post about Ruth Page’s performance’: HENRY V – The Show Must Go Online (Online review)
I’m running out of superlatives for The Show Must Go Online. Each show is exceptional, including the latest staging of Henry V, and manages to improve upon the previous week in as many ways as possible.
‘A lean, swift & feisty political thriller’: CORIOLANUS – Donmar Warehouse (Online review)
To take a play as epic in scale as Coriolanus and find a natural home within the intimacy of London’s Donmar Warehouse takes a skill and lightness of touch that is not only rare but all so often missed.