Donmar Shakespeares at Kings Cross

Thanks xander! Wouldn't resell or refund as still good availability but have swapped for 17th Dec so hoping to make it then! Anyone else going then? 

I was upgraded at Julius Caesar in the morning. There werent just the odd empty seat at the front though there were smatterings of empty seats all over the place

Somehow they picked me at the back to be upgraded. I suppose it's because I'm still a young adult

Henry IV and Tempest were better but there were still the odd empty seat

I was upgraded to front row when I went.
So I guess I should probably stop bitching about the free scheme.

Sorry am on endless question mode, for the trilogy has anyone got any recommendations for where to wander in between please? I'm there on my own on sat and figure i can wander to the British library in the first break but no idea of the longer second break.

Oh my mail says 2 and a half hours but then I've got an email just now to tell me they'll email in a few days with suggestions of what to do in the interval and some discount offer for the day. In a couple of days time i'll be in the middle of it, could they not send it a couple of days in advance instead!

Is The Tempest 105 or 120mins? What is the running time for Julius Caesar?

First of all I'd like to say that this was a fantastic, energetic and imaginative production this is. With one of the best ensemble work ive seen this year

Now I'd rate the productions as

1. The Tempest
2. Julius Caesar
3. Henry IV

I love seeing Shakespeare presented in different periods and settings. The Merchant of Las Vegas, an African Julius Caesar e.t.c.

I liked the idea of these plays reflecting the lives of these prisoners taking part. At the same time it did feel like these productions were trying to achieve multiple things at once.

For one they were endeavouring to keep the plays grounded in the prison setting. Julius Caesar is presented as this top-dog that all the inmates look up to, returning after committing crimes on parole. Then you see these developing prison power politics, and I was half expecting a staged prison riot after Antony's speech. Instead the break the prison image by turning to guerilla warfare

So after keeping up the prison pretence all I saw was the premise of these prisoners putting on Shakespeare. And at the same time they were trying to draw parallels with themselves and the characters they were playing

Henry IV is still good but to me it is the weakest. The biggest reason being that they had to cram two plays into 2 hours. Understandably they stick to part 1, with only four scenes from part 2. But still the ending feels rushed, and they had less time to present parallels between the characters and the prisoners. The girl playing Hal still does an excellent job showing how her prison character wants to move on, and you get hints about her relationship with the prisoner playing Falstaff. But still the whole relationship is glanced over which makes the ending feels like it comes out of nowhere. Also I'd have liked to have seen more about the prisoner playing Mistree quickly considering what happens to her half way through, but nothing comes of it

And that Quickly moment, along with a couple of similar moments in JC and HIV goes back to my point about these productions attempting multiple things at the same time. They can only do a Shakespeare play and then stop a few times to remember no us that they're making parallels with the prison setting. Sometimes the plays and the setting gel and others they don't

Then you get to The Tempest and then Phyllida Lloyds vision really comes into fruition. It's the most personal of the three plays. Harriet Walter plays a woman in jail for life and playing Prospero you see the anger she harboured for those who put her here.

The prison is her island and all of a sudden the play and the setting neatly fits together. The court of Milan is put through the same experience she had when arriving in prison and is at her mercy.

But at the same time this is a Prospero who will never be able to leave the island and Walter gives the most pained and shattering "rounded of with a sleep" soliloquy I've seen so far. But you sense that she has come to find spiritual peace over the years, and the ending is so heartfelt

Walters performance is one of the best I've seen this year (along withTim McMullans Prospero. Praise also goes to Jade Anouka who gives nothing but a stellar performance as Antony, Hotspur and Ariel

I still wholeheartedly recommend the whole trilogy but if you hand to go to one, The Tempest would be the one

Julius Caesar - 120 mins
Henry IV - 135 mins
Tempest - 105 mins

Thinking about this makes a rather silly grin want to appear on my face. I loved JC when I first saw it, wasn't quite so thrilled about HIV but sufficiently to buy a trilogy ticket in order to see the Tempest. JC was as good as I remembered, a few tweaks from the original and some casting changes but it still had the same energy filled, easy to follow, compelling quality that sucked me in last time. Harriet Walter again superb but when isn't she. Henry IV had either improved from what I remembered or perhaps knowing what to expect I didn't miss some of the cut bits from the second part. I didn't remember it being so funny and yet so painful at the same time. Jade Anouka was on fire as Hotspur, all firey passion and rash courage, this was a part she seemed born to play and has to be the best Hotspur I've ever seen. The tempest I did initially think was the weakest but I think that’s as it was new to me so I’m still processing it and has been commented it has the strongest links prison character setting wise. It was both full of joy and piercing sadness and isolation. I think these plays had so much to say through a female cast and the prison setting and as an all in one day experience it was really strong (plastic seats aside did get a bit uncomfy but all had all that extra cold weather clothing to sit on).

Others before have eloquently reviewed much better than I could a lot of what I felt but I’d strongly recommend it.

On a practical note there were some no shows on Saturday and some of those were free under 25s from talking to other people however since they wanted to fill the front row and threw myself at the available seat as fast as possible I can’t complain as it meant I had a great view although I don’t think there are any bad seats here, I was pleasantly surprised how good my corner seat was before I moved. Spent the intervals with the person I met sitting next to me having long conversations about theatre and about how our friends and family thought us mad when we describe what we see, most satisfying.

Went to the Trilogy on Saturday. I must say that much of what David J said earlier corresponds to my feelings.

Overall I had a great day. There are some good performances. I particularly liked Jade Anouka as Anthony, Hotspur and Ariel.

I agree that the prison context is oddly used. All 3 are interrupted by the prison officers, so breaking the action of the plays (this is much worse in The Tempest). However, this is a minor grumble!

I would rate the productions as Julius C., Henry IV and Tempest in that order (the order presented!).

Previous reports of running times are accurate. However, all 3 started exactly 10 minutes late (due to leading the audience in very close to start time). Still, with The Tempest running under 2 hours, we were out at 10 pm.

The common space is shared with Lazarus, but the start times are staggered, so making it easier for bar and toilets.

For info, Julius C was at about 90% occupancy and the other 2 at 95%.

Macbeth is reasonably tedious, and the Globe and RSC do it all the time. It's also reasonably safe as a West End or other major theatre or fringe theatre production. I've seen three different productions of it this year alone courtesy of Punchdrunk (sort of), the Young Vic, and the Globe. If you're not seeing enough Macbeths for your liking, then it's you who's not making the effort, not the theatres.