351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jul 13, 2018 15:22:09 GMT
Richard 11 to be all female/multi racial company.
Thoughts...?
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jul 6, 2018 18:41:24 GMT
Of course...with the increasing number of so called Chilled Performances,audiences can get used to wandering around,talking,phones,etc.......on one hand we say-come and be yourself.....then chide for doing so.
Its gone too far.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jun 29, 2018 15:41:47 GMT
RSC now,for me,basically a beefed up education project.It was a world beating ensemble.
Not just Doran....through the whole ranks of admin etc.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jun 27, 2018 11:37:59 GMT
Looking at Imperium it seems that Greg Doran has a fantastic core of actors who could play in the Troilus and Cressida company at Stratford.Hope RSC casting share these thoughts .Certainly feels like ensemble.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jun 18, 2018 12:47:45 GMT
But still a rather exciting exploration. Similar with RSC Swan......minority Eliz and Jacobean plays plus experiments in language etc.Thats now all but abandoned with shows like Miss Littlewood coming in.i regret that but guess the planning has to be realistic although don't see Littlewood drawing a largely tourist crowd. Back to Wanamaker...great to see Marlowe with Shakespeare in tandem and idea of festival themed surround is enriching.CAsting the eye across London this winter there is so much of all genres that I don't want to see Globe duplicate which is what happened with ER when most of the shows could have sat well elsewhere. We shall see and,of course,my thoughts are my own initial response to the announcement. Believe that Michelle Terry does have an intelligent plan.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jun 18, 2018 12:22:22 GMT
Personally think this season is most exciting for years....of course,time and casting/creatives will tell but ,to me,seems to be exactly what Wanamaker is for .
Hated old white man signs off
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on May 25, 2018 16:26:07 GMT
Just beginning to wonder if this is going to work.
Quite a few people like to select their play in advance and not take pot luck.....perhaps one Twelfth Night too many when one really wants a Shrew.
Quite like to make my own selection....any thoughts../
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Apr 30, 2018 7:38:45 GMT
Now. Back to Hamlet
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Apr 27, 2018 16:10:19 GMT
great to hear this
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Apr 27, 2018 15:32:44 GMT
Any thoughts on the opener.....?
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Mar 23, 2018 11:09:04 GMT
I suggest there is no problem with the Olivier whatsoever.
Yet many problems.
The Olivier space is designed for epic work and large themes.Worlds great drama in reimagined and engaging styles.From earliest days in this space much magnificent work has been developed covering Greek Drama,Shakespeare,Jacobean,Restoration and contemporary.Of course many large musicals have also won acclaim-Follies being a perfect example.
However many Directors fail to grasp the requirements of the space.I recall at RSC no young director wanted the main house and fought for The Other Place or Swan Theatre.This fear spread to actors feeling unable to cope with the large space and experiments in reducing scale developed.
There remains an essential fear in planning that in order to be successful one has to ensure mass appeal and often results in catastrophe as with the current Macbeth.The calls should not be for Norris to go but to engage in a discussion with Directors who want to think big and be bold.Hall,Nunn,Hytner,etc....and many more have swept audiences along with stunning work born from a passion.War Horse is a prime example of a bold drama that took everyone by surprise...all ages....
As many of todays writers love smaller spaces for engagement there is little opportunity to test the large scale.Very bad idea to place new writer onto Olivier....
There is some rather silly dialogue going on......programme Olivier as community space.What utter nonsense for.perhaps,our greatest arena for theatre.The answer is to consider the great and ,of course,potential discoveries planning a repertoire that excites and challenges.The design factor could be explored through a semi permanent space design to house a repertoire as with early Travelex days.This would certainly allow easier changeovers and flexibility.
Of course,we can all plan academic seasons as we dont have to balance the books but there is a rich seam of work waiting to be developed on the Olivier stage and surely Directors who want to engage with this democratic space.
Great Drama will reignite the Olivier.Lets not talk of the space being the problem,rather accept that here we have one of the greatest spaces anywhere and its time to bring it back to the fore.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Mar 9, 2018 10:48:26 GMT
This is an utter and catastrophic mess.
I should write with logic and a sense of awareness for Directorial conceit etc.
My anger forbids it.There is no understanding of the importance of creating a society dominated by elite blood and religion....the world is a gym inhabited by 'grunts' and reducing the play-one of the strongest in the Jacobean canon to a nonsense.Dont quote Tarantino blood letting-he has a purpose.In this nonsense the actors slip,slide and snarl their way only standing when they are not slipping.
The work is a disgrace and an insult to audiences.
Sorry anger forbids anything more this morning.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Mar 8, 2018 10:11:24 GMT
superb Macbeth on in Paris...Odeon.Worth a Eurostar trip.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Mar 8, 2018 9:43:45 GMT
Well.....like to be a fly on the wall in RSC admin today.....looks like they cant fail.
Interesting interview today with new Duchess in The Stage seeming to suggest Erica Whyman is the great boss.Come on Greg...show some spirit.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Mar 4, 2018 12:13:08 GMT
overheard front of house saying to someone who couldnt get tickets.....its mainly schools,Macbeth is on syllabus.We do seem to cater more for schools at RSC these days.
Perhaps explains the popularity.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Feb 24, 2018 16:36:58 GMT
what a really uninspiring piece of news.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Jan 25, 2018 9:09:13 GMT
some interesting thoughts here.my own opinion is that Doran/Whyman have had to agree to many Arts Council impositions and,therefore,the RSC has become a political plaything rather than international Shakespeare house.Why relocate Tartuffe to Sparkhill and risk localising the work....? Seems rather odd in planning although the prospect of Boyd's Tamburlaine based on the US reviews is worth years of waiting.The obsession with young people is resulting in weak casting although maybe actors just dont want to decamp to Stratford for long periods without a London guarantee. There is a real and urgent need for groundbreaking directors to approach the plays rather than a rather limited roster and the upgrading of assistants to tackle work.If RSC is to regain status as world leader it needs to look very carefully at itself in the next year or so and question what it wants to be.It saddens me to see much better versions of Shakespeare and classical at other theatres.Greg's enthusiasm may be curtailed by Erica Whyman's agenda.Who knows...I am not in the RSC corridors of debate but sense dissatisfaction with the state of play.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Dec 30, 2017 12:51:52 GMT
....announcement on Thursday
any thoughts...?
Rumour of a Rylance return this week in Evening Standard....
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Dec 27, 2017 15:25:22 GMT
in 2018 I would love theatre to be less self righteous and tending towards the worthy. I miss the wildness and non conformist attitude that made me love it.Everything today in funded theatre seems to be education based or discovering those who maybe happy without. Soon we will see a pool of mediocrity as the righteous cast their web.
cant imagine today some of the radical stuff of the past....but maybe no need. For me going to theatre was best away from school,from organised structures.....lots to learn from the gig and the non patronising attitude. I think I felt it all going horribly wrong when I sat in an audience scribbling their notes for school and seeing awful casting but spreading the net.
I guess time for me to consider other forms.....sad but this wash of bland and PC structures have made it so much less compulsive. The word excellence is rarely used these days...shout me down and I know you will but I long for a kind of theatre not governed by correctness but by a need to scream out.
have a great new year everyone.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Dec 22, 2017 13:34:17 GMT
this is depressing,but i have to agree.
perhaps our majors have become too obsessed with agendas and politics to unleash work of real excitement.
the trend for amateur and community participation may be fitting for a culture where anyone can do anything but it,nontheless,does reduce the uniqueness of seeing a world leading theatre in action.It will continue and with the current directors a shared type of experience.What I am saying is-lets try to preserve excellence as well as participation.
The crowd scenes in both Caesar and Andronicus are lamentable and ,quite frankly,not reflective of the RSC stated aspirations.Yet the casting across the company is not strong right now and one senses that many do not want to enrich their career paths by coming to Stratford.
I agree about Icke's Hamlet and hope that other companies take bold steps in casting and directors.Think its odd that the front line directors do not go to Stratford.....Icke,Mitchell,quite like to see a Sally Cookson etc.....anyway one can only imagine but I dont think much will change now.I do find myself moving away from theatre as the agendas are too much for the profession and not really about the audience.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Dec 15, 2017 15:20:30 GMT
Emma Rice in final Front Row interview last night on Globe.....admits mistakes and not being too upfront with Board about the imposition of mics,sound,lights,etc.One can only wish her well in what was clearly not a good match.
Michelle Terry highlights the audience as core to her mission and suggests a very vibrant season with local,national,international focus.Please Michelle-reinstate the small scale tour. Really enjoy hearing her thoughts and feel Globe will be a fantastic place.
Sometimes a balance in planning is called for where Original Practices can be in shared repertoire with explosive work style.
Roll on 4th Jan.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Dec 15, 2017 15:13:01 GMT
Fighting this morning NOT to overhear the next table conversation about the new Star Wars movie...wanting it to reveal next week as a complete surprise....isnt that the joy of discovery ?
Theatre facebook today......do you want to know the plot-here it is.........
Think I would rather discover than read in advance-whats the point if you know the end. ?
Hermoine wakes..........Hamlet Dies.........Wendy grows up.......be quiet.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Oct 12, 2017 7:58:58 GMT
very positive interview in Globe new magazine with Michelle Terry. At the heart of her work ...The Plays and a sense of excitement,experimentation and the joy of the work.Very much looking forward to her first season plans being revealed.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Oct 6, 2017 9:03:31 GMT
i thought this was dire and the conclusion of a season unworthy of the RSC.
Why not stronger directors......and,above all,actors who can deliver.Casting is a major problem here and gets weaker by the season.it seems that Greg Doran cannot attract actors or directors to commit for full seasons.
Straight and safe-you say.Dull and lacklustre with token updates.
|
|
351 posts
|
Post by cirque on Sept 25, 2017 8:00:35 GMT
we know a dark lady new work
we know she will supervise every stitch
when will the Globe release the full season from new AD.
Personally......can't wait.
|
|