Tomorrow I will be travelling to Stratford-upon-Avon with my parents, to celebrate my mum’s birthday. We’ll be seeing ‘Twelfth Night’ at the courtyard theatre, checking out the progress of the renovations on the main theatre and having a delicious, early tea somewhere in the town before driving home. I’m so looking forward to the day, which I hope will be classy, fun and without rain (I shake my fist at you clouds).
It’s a little dream of mine to read all of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as see them all preformed on the stage. Here’s how my current totals stack up right now:
Read
Macbeth
Othello
Henry V
Romeo and Juliet
Julius Ceasar
Seen
Hamlet
Measure for Measure
Henry V
The Merchant of Venice
Lot’s more work to do on that goal obviously.
I may not have seen many of the plays preformed but what I have seen has been exceptional. In January I saw ‘Hamlet’, starring David Tenant, Patrick Stewart and Penny Downey, which was for ‘proper’ theatre goers and was spectacular. The stage had this massive mirrored backdrop which opened into secret doors, the grave scene was funny and creepy all at the same time and I think Tenant did a great job of really emphasising Hamlet’s desire for revenge and his callous behaviour towards Ophelia. Unfortunately, it took place in a London theatre with the tiniest seats ever and I sat next to a large man who kept his legs spread throughout the entire show. Exactly the sort of person that makes you want to say ‘some people’ very loudly.
In the summer I went with my friend Claire to see ‘Measure for Measure’, at the theatre closest to my work, where we snagged second row seats and goggled at how close we were to Alastair Mcgowan. Yes, we are impressed by celebrities in plays and we were doubly impressed to be inches away from Jason Merrells in an old fashioned waistcoat. Le sigh. It was really enjoyable, so enjoyable I felt sorry for the girl behind us had to take detailed notes about the set design for her drama degree. There was just one dim light on stage for most of the performance, so it can’t have been easy for her to see to scribble.
The other two productions were by the RSC (as was Hamlet). ‘The Merchant of Venice’ travelled to my university’s theatre a few years ago. It was a very bare production where they used just a couple of wooden frames to show windows, rooms and outside venues. It’s interesting to see the various ways modern companies portray Shakespeare’s set design, it must be so hard to work with just a few props and make the audience believe in what you’re doing (in this performance they didn’t even have a fake knife for the ‘pound of flesh’ scene).
The actor playing Shylock in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ turned up as a French advisor in ‘Henry V’, which I saw in the Courtyard theatre in Stratford. I really enjoyed this performance, partly because I’d read the play at college, which made it very easy for me to follow. The male lead was commanding and there was this cool part where the cast playing the French hung out on ropes and said their lines while turning rope tricks. The perfect mix of traditional and modern I thought.
The Courtyard theatre in Stratford is where we’ll be seeing ‘Twelfth Night’. It’s nice, but it is quite small and it will be wonderful when the renovations on the main theatre are finished. I have only seen a Dickens adaptation there, so it will be special to see my first Shakespeare play in the main Stratford theatre.
As for the progression of my own little dream, tickets are already booked for next year’s Stratford performance of ‘Julius Caesar’, the play I disliked most in school, but have come to freakishly appreciate many years later. Maybe I can convince someone to see Romeo and Juliet with me. That would only leave 32 plays, at one a year I could be just 56 by the time I've seen them all :)
7 comments:
My most memorable Shakespeare experience was when I saw Othello at the Globe Theater a couple summers ago. I went for a study abroad class on theater in London, so we talked about the play before and after. I learned a ton from it that way -- most of the time Shakespeare is really difficult for me.
I loved your descriptions of previous theatre trips, particularly the fat man who invaded your personal space. Have a wonderful time at the theatre, happy birthday to your mum and do tell us all about it when you get back.
Kim I'm desperate to see Othello and wow the Globe, what an expereince that must have been. I always think it really helps to study all texts in depth, but Shakespeare is one of those authors it's almost absolutely necessary to get professional help with to get at the full meaning.
litlove have just returned form getting quite lost on the way back. The play was lovely (might post on it later), quite deep in places compared with how I always imagine a comedy and I'd forgotten how nice the Courtyard theatre really is. No strange seat neighbours this time, which is quite unusual (for example once we went all the way to London on a drop off coach trip and a man, clearly dragged along by his wife slept all the way through The Lion King).
Othello is one of my favorites, you know, and one of the reasons is that I've seen every film version of it ever made. There are some really good ones--I'm an advocate of live theater, but movies can help you move your goal along, too!
No one who has been lucky enough to see a play by the American Shakespeare Company in Staunton, VA will ever say that Shakespeare is difficult, by the way.
Jeanne I love Othello, it's probably my favourite play after Romeo and Juliet. I've seen quite a few film versions (and modern updates for teens - remember when setting Shakespeares stories in modern American highschools was all the rage for a while?) mostly Brannagh versions. For me Iago will always be Ian Mckelan.
It's amazing how easily you slip into the dialogue when you watch the plays isn't it? I think it's something about the inflections the actors give to their lines...
I too am working my way through all of Shakespeare's plays performed at theatres around the country and loving every minute of it. Ok, well maybe not the minute when I discovered my phone had been destroyed by the torrential downpour at the Globe in London. But you get the picture! I still have not been to Stratford, which I am most ashamed of and will certainly be rectifying next year!
New to your blog but very interested by your indepth and thoughtful reviews. I shall definitely be stopping by again.
Hey marial, love your blog (I want my own medieval birthday). I'd advise waiting until the big theatre is done up in Stratford now, it seems reasonably close to completion. So jealous you've been to the Globe, I've got plans to get there maybe next year (and phones can not survive even a bit of water, mine died at a festival even though it was in a bag under a cardigan - phones are not practical technology).
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