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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 15, 2022 23:11:14 GMT
You are only getting parts 2 and 3
Part 1 was dispatched last summer as a rehearsed reading after livestreamed rehearsals
Pretty shameful
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Post by Jan on Apr 16, 2022 8:59:11 GMT
On reading job ad it looks like they want a director for one piece opening March with huge commitment to community etc etc.,thought the role of AD was to create a policy of experienced directors…here they state no Shakespeare experience required. The RSC have lost all plots . They’re advertising for a director ? That is absolutely breathtaking. ACE needs to stop this nonsense now and remind them of their obligations. |
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Post by Jan on Apr 16, 2022 9:14:22 GMT
You are only getting parts 2 and 3 Part 1 was dispatched last summer as a rehearsed reading after livestreamed rehearsals Pretty shameful Not sure. These two were programmed pre-Covid at which point they were supposedly a reduction of all 3 plays. That might have changed now. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 16, 2022 10:21:01 GMT
The website references parts 2 and 3 but not 1
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Post by NeilVHughes on Apr 16, 2022 10:57:31 GMT
It does look it is only Parts I & II, in SuA next Saturday for both, gave Much Ado a miss and my first trip of only two this year.
Also going to the pre-show morning talk so a long day especially as there are other events to celebrate Will’s birthday on as well to fill the gaps.
Bit of a Shakespeare weekend as will be at the Globe Fri evening for the first evening of their summer season.
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Post by Jan on Apr 21, 2022 16:53:48 GMT
I see poor old Mark Lawson gave the Henry VI plays 5* in the Guardian. He inserted several superfluous Boris Johnson comments - obviously hoping for more work from them.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 21, 2022 18:31:44 GMT
I read the Lawson review and wondered if he had actually been to see the productions. There was so little engagement with the specifics. Billington would never have written something so empty of critical content.
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Post by Jan on Apr 21, 2022 19:06:25 GMT
I read the Lawson review and wondered if he had actually been to see the productions. There was so little engagement with the specifics. Billington would never have written something so empty of critical content. Yes, the same thing occurred to me, he'd obviously combed the text in advance to find some references he could use to drag in his Boris material irrespective of what the production itself was like. I prefer the other reviewers the Guardian use. |
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Post by lynette on Apr 22, 2022 10:34:32 GMT
Greg Doran is retiring from RSC today . Gonna do Richard II and other stuff as Emeritus.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Apr 22, 2022 11:20:39 GMT
That is the right move for Doran. Just need Whyman to go as well
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Post by Jan on Apr 22, 2022 11:34:40 GMT
That is the right move for Doran. Just need Whyman to go as well This move by Doran is simply formalising the current situation with Whyman moving from acting AD to AD. I bet they don’t even run a recruitment process to replace Doran, even if they do she’ll get the job. |
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Post by alexandra on Apr 22, 2022 12:21:53 GMT
That is the right move for Doran. Just need Whyman to go as well This move by Doran is simply formalising the current situation with Whyman moving from acting AD to AD. I bet they don’t even run a recruitment process to replace Doran, even if they do she’ll get the job. They are running a recruitment process. Opens 29 April. Whyman to continue as acting AD until the new appointment. It wasn't just Lawson btw - Rebellion and Wars of the Roses got generally very good reviews this week. |
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Post by Jan on Apr 22, 2022 12:50:56 GMT
This move by Doran is simply formalising the current situation with Whyman moving from acting AD to AD. I bet they don’t even run a recruitment process to replace Doran, even if they do she’ll get the job. They are running a recruitment process. Opens 29 April. Whyman to continue as acting AD until the new appointment. It wasn't just Lawson btw - Rebellion and Wars of the Roses got generally very good reviews this week. Oh, thanks for the info. Still think she'll get the job though. I wonder who'll apply ? Yes I saw the Times reviews too, 3*/4*. I was simply doubting that this was one of the greatest productions Lawson had ever seen in his life and so worthy of 5*, I mean how many 5* productions does one see ? "Summerfolk" obviously, but beyond that ? |
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Post by alexandra on Apr 22, 2022 13:02:37 GMT
They are running a recruitment process. Opens 29 April. Whyman to continue as acting AD until the new appointment. It wasn't just Lawson btw - Rebellion and Wars of the Roses got generally very good reviews this week. Oh, thanks for the info. Still think she'll get the job though. I wonder who'll apply ? Yes I saw the Times reviews too, 3*/4*. I was simply doubting that this was one of the greatest productions Lawson had ever seen in his life and so worthy of 5*, I mean how many 5* productions does one see ? "Summerfolk" obviously, but beyond that ?  |
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Post by lynette on Apr 22, 2022 13:41:55 GMT
There is a thread over in General now for the RSC AD selection ideas so please see that. Continue here with news, comments on the new season, the History plays etc.
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Post by sweets7 on Apr 22, 2022 22:30:53 GMT
I don’t think the RSC has grown under him…or done much different really. Some productions were good.
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Post by lynette on Apr 23, 2022 23:56:19 GMT
Rebellion and The Wars of the Roses aka Henry VI parts 2 & 3 : well, that’s better, walking out at 10.45 into a very chilly night, having spent the afternoon and evening with this chunk of drama and English history. Better because these are good productions ( hallelujah) with some very promising performances. W/R just a tad better that R, W/R being a play with more light and shade. There is filming live and projection onto a grey backdrop, better than it sounds, which gives the productions a modern twist but also allows more depth of vision than without. For example, we see close up the face of the dying Warwick as he lies on the ground. It sounds gimmicky but it isn’t. Personal favourites are Oliver Alvin-Wilson who plays York, strong stage presence and manages to convey some complexity of character and Arthur Hughes who plays Richard the son of York, RIII to be. A star is born, he is really very good. He grooves into being what he becomes and is not afraid of this massive iconic part. Looking forward to RIII very much now. So guys, hove up to Stratford and enjoy.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Apr 25, 2022 10:07:28 GMT
An excellent day at the RST. A welcome change, the plays were allowed just to be. Rebellion sets out the Politics which can come over slightly flat but sets thing up nicely for the energetic War of the Roses where the action is unrelenting and time just flew by. The standout for me (excluding meeting lynette) was Richard, he dominated the stage when he was on and really looking forward the seeing RIII later in the year, the foundation for his evolution to the despotic King is set up nicely, the loathing of his favoured brothers and his aspirations for the Throne are all there for their natural conclusion in RIII. Best seen as a pair as neither would really stand on their own but well worth a trip to SuA to see then but definitely one to be seen if they bring Rebellion, War of the Roses and Richard III to the Barbican this winter, here’s hoping to a Fri/Sat threesome when I can enjoy all three in quick succession. |
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Post by kate8 on Apr 28, 2022 7:10:07 GMT
I don’t know how well the Henries have been selling, but what put my friend and me off was very few dates with both plays in one day. With only one theatre open, I wonder they don’t try a few days where they have an extra matinee on a Monday, Friday or Sunday? The scheduling doesn’t seem designed to make it easy to see both plays in one trip. But maybe their audience demographic is largely local and/or retired and/or wealthy, so don’t have to worry about journey times, annual leave and cost of hotels.
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Post by NeilVHughes on Apr 28, 2022 7:34:23 GMT
Agree kate8 it was frustrating there were so few Saturdays where you could see both plays, with these plays they come as a pair and you would expect most matinee days to be both plays, another indication of poor planning. Fortunately last Saturday worked for me as doing 2 trips up to SuA as you say would be an expensive hassle. |
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Post by lichtie on Apr 28, 2022 7:43:11 GMT
The main reason they won't put on extra matinees is simply that the tourists haven't yet really returned to Stratford. It's unfortunate that so few of the matinee days they do have don't really do the obvious of part 2 in the afternoon and part 3 in the evening but I can certainly understand why they don't have more - last Friday, the day before the birthday celebrations weekend, the main house was notably not full. And Stratford itself looks dead. Bit better on the Saturday, but mostly it seemed people from the area coming out for the day (the RSC was full in the evening).
As for the plays themselves, I think I preferred Rebellion. Bit less of the oh another battle followed by long speaches followed by another battle. You do need to have some basic understanding of who everyone is though to follow the court intrigue. The standout performance though is definitely Arthur Hughes as Richard in part 3. I had low expectations of this going in (the HVI plays are amongst my least favourite of Shakepeare's simply because they lack the finesse of his later work), but they are worth seeing. The use of the video projections onto the curtain screen works well for the most part too in keeping you on track with what is happening. There are only a few misfires there which distract. And I think it benefits from the very simple staging (which seemed to get up some newspaper critics noses).
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Post by kate8 on Apr 28, 2022 8:44:57 GMT
Maybe they should try doing two shows on a Sunday and cut out two midweek shows? I understand actors wanting Sundays off, but maybe that’s less of an issue with a short run?
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Post by Jan on Apr 29, 2022 8:21:40 GMT
I don’t know how well the Henries have been selling, but what put my friend and me off was very few dates with both plays in one day. With only one theatre open, I wonder they don’t try a few days where they have an extra matinee on a Monday, Friday or Sunday? The scheduling doesn’t seem designed to make it easy to see both plays in one trip. But maybe their audience demographic is largely local and/or retired and/or wealthy, so don’t have to worry about journey times, annual leave and cost of hotels. What is also odd is that they're finishing the two Henry VI plays before Richard III opens. It would make more sense to overlap the runs and do some weekends when you could see all three. That would make it slightly more appealing to take on the cost and inconvenience of travelling to Stratford. But maybe apart from Richard it is an entirely new cast for Richard III ? It adds a lot to Richard III to have seen the Henry VI backstory, in fact I don't think I've ever seen the Henry VI plays when they weren't integrated with Richard III. |
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Post by joem on Apr 30, 2022 22:18:25 GMT
I don’t know how well the Henries have been selling, but what put my friend and me off was very few dates with both plays in one day. With only one theatre open, I wonder they don’t try a few days where they have an extra matinee on a Monday, Friday or Sunday? The scheduling doesn’t seem designed to make it easy to see both plays in one trip. But maybe their audience demographic is largely local and/or retired and/or wealthy, so don’t have to worry about journey times, annual leave and cost of hotels. What is also odd is that they're finishing the two Henry VI plays before Richard III opens. It would make more sense to overlap the runs and do some weekends when you could see all three. That would make it slightly more appealing to take on the cost and inconvenience of travelling to Stratford. But maybe apart from Richard it is an entirely new cast for Richard III ? It adds a lot to Richard III to have seen the Henry VI backstory, in fact I don't think I've ever seen the Henry VI plays when they weren't integrated with Richard III. The Michael Boyd history cycle in the mid 2000's had a couple of years between the Henry VI plays and Richard III and, if memory serves me, changed the style from RSC historical to modern dress despite Jonathan Slinger playing Richard in both. Incidentally, I do not like the idea of condensing the three plays into two - I remember Edward Hall doing that as well with the all-male "Rose Rage". Each play has its point within the cycle and tampering with that inevitably ends up unbalancing the whole production. |
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Post by Jan on May 1, 2022 9:40:00 GMT
The Michael Boyd history cycle in the mid 2000's had a couple of years between the Henry VI plays and Richard III and, if memory serves me, changed the style from RSC historical to modern dress despite Jonathan Slinger playing Richard in both. It was more complicated than that. Boyd directed Henry VI 1,2,3 and Richard III as part of the 2001-2 history cycle (the other plays had different directors). The four plays shared a cast and a "historical" setting. Aidan McArdle played Richard in all the plays. For his own cycle 2007-8 Boyd revived the Henry VI 1,2,3 plays from the previous cycle - same setting, but mostly re-cast. He then directed an entirely new modern dress production of Richard III. Jonathan Slinger played Richard in all the plays. So in both cases Richard III was presented with the same cast as Henry VI and they could be seen together, though as you say in his own cycle there were delays between the plays appearing simply due to the number of plays he was staging. |
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