I once heard someone saying that if you understand The Lion King, you understand Hamlet. Frankly, my knowledge of William Shakespeare’s most quoted tragedy, completed in 1601, consists of communication with a ghost and with a skull in Denmark, and a couple of famous character names. I also realise that it’s the first indoor performance … Continue reading To be or not have been – Hamlet at the Southwark Playhouse
In the week the ongoing heatwave in England has made international headlines and has officially declared a national drought, the Open Bar Theatre Company are visiting Caterham on the Hill’s pub The King And Queen. Not once, but twice. The troupe has split into two groups, one touring Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew, the … Continue reading Ukulele orchestra, assemble – a Shakespeare double bill in England’s pub gardens
The Oxford Companion to English Literature comments on Shakespeare’s As You Like it “entertainment rather than plot dominates this play” and confirms that it contains more songs than any other of the bard. Indeed, we hear them sung in harmonies, accompanied on the ukulele and wooden flutes. Open Bar's signature costume change whirlwinds blast through … Continue reading Pub garden summer stable Open Bar are back and the weather god is a fan – Shakespeare’s As You Like in Surrey
It was a relief when the Shakespeare In The Garden troupe from the Open Bar theatre company got the go ahead to tour England’s pub gardens as long as social distancing measures were in place. I bought my tickets immediately as this is something which needs supporting, no matter if I would feel comfortable going … Continue reading You cannot furlough the spirit of summer – Shakespeare in the Garden plays The Tempest in Surrey
Angela Carter was born in 1940 so there is no big anniversary this year but for some reason she seems everywhere: This summer gave us a fantastic TV documentary which made me proud to live in country where programs about authors are being shown on Saturday night at prime time. Since then the BBC published … Continue reading Wise Children at the Old Vic – Angela Carter’s love letter to South London
Summer has arrived in Twickenham when you lay in the park and the people around you start practicing Shakespeare, accompanied by the screeches of passing parakeets flying over. A week of outdoor performances by the Richmond Shakespeare Society is indeed an annual tradition, each year in front of the scenic nymphs’ (or rather correctly oceanides’) … Continue reading Watching an interrupted Midsummer Night’s Dream in Twickenham’s Fountain Garden
Sadie takes the Stage 