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Yes a standing ovation, manipulated skilfully. I’m sure Mendes had the last scene down before anything else. I enjoyed this but I thought it was unbalanced. Gatiss gave us Gielgud so perfectly and interpreted the man so well, as it seemed to me, that the others didn’t have anywhere to go - impersonation, interpretation, no idea, etc? In that light I thought JD was very good with her Elizabeth Taylor except for the accent. Did Taylor have that southern American drawl? She was British as a child and in Taming of the Shrew for example her accent is lighter, much lighter. Did we need to be told about how difficult it was to be gay? Dunno. I’m not sure about Burton. Did he actually arrive so drunk? If this is so, well, I’m surprised he treated his fellow actors so badly. We hadn’t heard that before, had we? I haven’t read the book.
And again that ending - so full of irony, the comments written up BUT are we now going to have it all spelt out for us? Can’t the play do the work? If we clever enough to get hamlet as Mendes assumes, aren’t we clever enough to know what happened to Burton and Gielgud? Or is this an age thing? Asking for the elderly.

All in all, worth the money. I hope it does well America.

Little thing : I bought a programme which has a couple of interesting articles in it but it was difficult to understand who was who in the minor roles. Little pics with name and role and also a teeny bio would have been nicer than the full splurge imo. And of course although they had tow bios of guys who were in the original, it would have been nice to know more about all of them.

Dreadful. There is no respect prob cos a comedy. Try that with Brian Cox’s Long Day’s Journey, I dare you…..

Just to say that the Donmar has changed its membership levels obviously in the hope of raising more dosh. There is a huge gap between levels , with £500 then £1800plus. This is to my mind off putting but I suppose they did the research. They offer comps at the higher levels but is this enough?

I’m with you up to a point. The media are pretty crass. But ‘not particularly bright’ doesn’t really work now. He had a uni degree when degrees were not ten a penny, so in academic terms, ok and he foresaw the climate, environmental issues and was ahead of the game, a different kind of intelligence perhaps.  He connects with people, maybe not you, but quite a few others. He sticks at stuff, his projects, yes, but beneficial on the whole. You might not like Poundbury but if he were allowed to build villages and towns we might not have this terrible housing crisis. He isn’t daft. Might be grumpy at times….. 

Yay, hello, another Brummie? Anna Calder Marshall was brilliant wasn't she and years later, recently saw her in Rory Kinnear’s play about disabled sister. Still brilliant. 

Not diggin in, though not sure what you mean by that. I might well read the book as many have praised it. But good books do not always make good plays. Imo, it isn’t a good play. It’s a docudrama 😁

The title isn't alright is it? The play has to be about the son to be so titled. It isn't. And it isn't about the son making his father into who he became, by having similar name to a Danish Prince. That is just silly. Diggin in enough for you? 

Made me chuckle. I have never been called for jury service ( do they know about me, I wonder?) but seen a load of Lears. McKellen memorable and old. I saw Branagh’s Hamlet on stage and also the movie which is v good for studying, so I suppose I should round off with his Lear. I like his approach to Shakespeare on the whole. We’ll see. 

I think some weekends have two plays on the go, so Hamnet and Cymbeline. I know Merchant and Macbeth in the autumn coincide. But I agree, the town desperately needs influx of money. I was shocked how many vacant shops there are and how neglected the frontages of the shops are. Covid did for many such places but it really shows there in the small central area. Thank goodness they spruced up the area by the river when they did. Some people have complained about a Gummies shop which is painted a lurid pink. I’m no gummies fan and I expect it won’t be there for long but at least someone is making an effort to make money, make a business. The M&S which I know our American ladies go to for their for their knickers has lamentable stock of women’s clothes, none of the trendy stuff on sale online or in London stores. I think they have def dropped the ball there, theatre and town. But the last two I have seen, Tempest and Cymbeline, are good productions, the problem is they need sensational productions. Let’s hope the two new guys get something going before Shakespeare gets woked.

Last one for now: Brenda Blethyn ( Vera on the telly ) in Steaming, run naked round the stage. Those were the days. That must have been over 40 yrs ago. I know someone will correct me if I’m wrong.

I saw Brian Cox, he of Succession in his glorious latter end of career, play Orlando in wonderful production of As You Like It at the old Birmingham Rep in the late sixties ( approx dating 😂)

Also saw his son, Alan, play same role at RSC some time later 😁

Sold out.
What is ironic is that whatever happened at that time, in WWII Churchill mastered the medium par excellence.

So Cymbeline. Pack an overnight bag and take snacks. Also take your own water as RSC charges £4 for a small bottle. Wear comfortable clothes. Pee before the show. These precautions are required because this production is very loooooooooooooooong. The first third is looooooooong, there is a 15 min interval and then the second third is about 40 mins before a 5 minute pause and then third part goes on and on and on and on …ended at about five to 11. In the old days, I would have missed the bus back to Brum.
Nicely done, the story is clear, set simple, the performances what you expect, trad RSC make ‘em think you understand what you are saying stuff. But o boy did it need a blue pencil and bit of that old fashioned chutzpah that Barton had when he used to write bits in to explain the plots, thus being about to cut a load of, let’s be honest, less than understandable and un dramatic blah. ( Willie, you know I love ya but even you would have been shuffling in your seat and begging for a drink last night )
Odd play, isnt it? Very funny, reconciling and merciful end with justice done, baddies dead. But what is done to the main characters is truly horrific and the stakes are high. If it were the only Willie play we had, it would never be played.