Globe-ings, Shakespeare, and er...job?
me being incredibly late with updates, aside from the weather: rainy. with occasional sun but lots of wind at all times.
Henry V, Globe, 27th June
This was good. Jamie Parker playing henry V (and really peeved now I didn't see Henry IV parts I and II so couldn't see his Prince Hal - the clips I've since seen look really funny). Although I love this play to pieces, discovered problems w/ it in theatre: it is really, really choppy. Few of the scenes really connect, and it works far better on screen, especially the battles, which on stage are people occasionally rushing on, going 'argh' and then rushing off, as there's no climactic swordfights in this play like there are, say, in Macbeth or Richard III or Hamlet. However the speeches? DAMN. Henry: 'Stiffen up the sinews - hang on, audience, no cheering yet, I haven't finished yet!' As usual, the Globe does slapstick in a truly awesome fashion: Pistol, Bardolph and Nym and Flewellyn are filthy and nuts. (Flewellyn being far more nuts and self-important than filthy) Especially when it comes to leeks and having to eat them. Also: bad choice for the Chorus on the day we were there. We had a peasant woman who was eager and enthusiastic, but somehow it just doesn't work that well when you're trying to conjure up the imagery. Either grander, more solemn or at the very least less naturalistic. Katherine & maid: aka 'bad french that audience can't stop giggling at': lovely, and very sweet, which is what you want from those two. Which leads on to the Henry trying to woo Katherine scene at the end where he can't speak French and she can't speak English, which was a thing of *purest* awesome. Audience in fits of laughter, they had brilliant chemistry. Combine with her 'oh dear god' looks and his verbal flailing - I'd say your fiver is worth this scene alone.
Richard III, Globe, 14th June
First preview, @Oughttobeclowns had a spare ticket and somehow I'd completely forgotten it was Mark Rylance until I got there and was chatting to the theatre photographer in the Swan pre-play. (I also gibbered somewhat when I figured out I was talking to Simon Annand - he did that book of photos of actors getting ready backstage, The Half - if you've seen that pic of Benedict Cumberbatch having the headpiece put on for Frankenstein, that's one of them) Got in, traded gossip, settled in.
And...interesting. It's brilliant, played with an all-male cast - Sam Barnett* as Queen Elizabeth and James Garner as the Queen Mum are *amazing* - also props to the actor playing Anne. (also, James Garner was possibly the funniest Queen Mum I've seen, the man's comic timing is stunning and can do terrible things with a facial expression) Overall this production is emphasizing the laughs more than anything, mostly due to Mark Rylance's Richard being played as... I think Oughttobeclowns described it as the 'Dad's Army' version. Imagine a Sergeant Wilson in the body of Captain Mannering. Constantly putting on a faintly surprised, mild-mannered air, always a bit regretful, but only the audience really gets to see the shining cogs and machinery of sociopathic ambition in his brain. (the bit where he puts aside Anne when he gets the throne is even more shuddery than usual because of this) Really good supporting cast - aside from the ladies, Roger Lloyd Pack as a very put-upon Buckingham who had to contend with a massive downpour during act 2 and was forced to raise his voice considerably to be heard, the two kids playing the princes were great, etc etc. (re: the downpour: not kidding, it was a good half of the 2nd half, and the water was a good couple of inches deep in the yard. The Globe sneers at all other open-air theatres who stop for rain.)
*Sam was making pathetic noises on twitter about waxing his chest and seeking soothing treatments for it. Bless.
Hollow Crown: I FLAIL. I GIBBER SOME MORE. And then they fucking inflicted Tom Hiddleston in leather, and later, oiled, sweaty and in just a towel on us. Dear lord, that's just not *fair* to inflict on the public. Look for me on saturday during Henry V, I will not be sane.
And...um... it looks like I have a job. Production Editor at Taylor & Francis (if you know publishers, they own Routledge) in the journals. 2nd interview was really late due to boss going on holiday, but got called up the next day with an offer. Cue me now being a wee bit nervous until that contract is in my hands.
annnnd now I'm off to see Play without Words. where judging by the posters, Richard Winsor is going to get seduced over a kitchen table by a sixties dollybird in a cricket sweater. My life, the *hardship*. buckets for drool will be laid on.
Henry V, Globe, 27th June
This was good. Jamie Parker playing henry V (and really peeved now I didn't see Henry IV parts I and II so couldn't see his Prince Hal - the clips I've since seen look really funny). Although I love this play to pieces, discovered problems w/ it in theatre: it is really, really choppy. Few of the scenes really connect, and it works far better on screen, especially the battles, which on stage are people occasionally rushing on, going 'argh' and then rushing off, as there's no climactic swordfights in this play like there are, say, in Macbeth or Richard III or Hamlet. However the speeches? DAMN. Henry: 'Stiffen up the sinews - hang on, audience, no cheering yet, I haven't finished yet!' As usual, the Globe does slapstick in a truly awesome fashion: Pistol, Bardolph and Nym and Flewellyn are filthy and nuts. (Flewellyn being far more nuts and self-important than filthy) Especially when it comes to leeks and having to eat them. Also: bad choice for the Chorus on the day we were there. We had a peasant woman who was eager and enthusiastic, but somehow it just doesn't work that well when you're trying to conjure up the imagery. Either grander, more solemn or at the very least less naturalistic. Katherine & maid: aka 'bad french that audience can't stop giggling at': lovely, and very sweet, which is what you want from those two. Which leads on to the Henry trying to woo Katherine scene at the end where he can't speak French and she can't speak English, which was a thing of *purest* awesome. Audience in fits of laughter, they had brilliant chemistry. Combine with her 'oh dear god' looks and his verbal flailing - I'd say your fiver is worth this scene alone.
Richard III, Globe, 14th June
First preview, @Oughttobeclowns had a spare ticket and somehow I'd completely forgotten it was Mark Rylance until I got there and was chatting to the theatre photographer in the Swan pre-play. (I also gibbered somewhat when I figured out I was talking to Simon Annand - he did that book of photos of actors getting ready backstage, The Half - if you've seen that pic of Benedict Cumberbatch having the headpiece put on for Frankenstein, that's one of them) Got in, traded gossip, settled in.
And...interesting. It's brilliant, played with an all-male cast - Sam Barnett* as Queen Elizabeth and James Garner as the Queen Mum are *amazing* - also props to the actor playing Anne. (also, James Garner was possibly the funniest Queen Mum I've seen, the man's comic timing is stunning and can do terrible things with a facial expression) Overall this production is emphasizing the laughs more than anything, mostly due to Mark Rylance's Richard being played as... I think Oughttobeclowns described it as the 'Dad's Army' version. Imagine a Sergeant Wilson in the body of Captain Mannering. Constantly putting on a faintly surprised, mild-mannered air, always a bit regretful, but only the audience really gets to see the shining cogs and machinery of sociopathic ambition in his brain. (the bit where he puts aside Anne when he gets the throne is even more shuddery than usual because of this) Really good supporting cast - aside from the ladies, Roger Lloyd Pack as a very put-upon Buckingham who had to contend with a massive downpour during act 2 and was forced to raise his voice considerably to be heard, the two kids playing the princes were great, etc etc. (re: the downpour: not kidding, it was a good half of the 2nd half, and the water was a good couple of inches deep in the yard. The Globe sneers at all other open-air theatres who stop for rain.)
*Sam was making pathetic noises on twitter about waxing his chest and seeking soothing treatments for it. Bless.
Hollow Crown: I FLAIL. I GIBBER SOME MORE. And then they fucking inflicted Tom Hiddleston in leather, and later, oiled, sweaty and in just a towel on us. Dear lord, that's just not *fair* to inflict on the public. Look for me on saturday during Henry V, I will not be sane.
And...um... it looks like I have a job. Production Editor at Taylor & Francis (if you know publishers, they own Routledge) in the journals. 2nd interview was really late due to boss going on holiday, but got called up the next day with an offer. Cue me now being a wee bit nervous until that contract is in my hands.
annnnd now I'm off to see Play without Words. where judging by the posters, Richard Winsor is going to get seduced over a kitchen table by a sixties dollybird in a cricket sweater. My life, the *hardship*. buckets for drool will be laid on.