Macbeth @ The National Theatre, dir. Rufus Norris, 2018 Reviewed by Ronan Hatfull Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest and sharpest tragedy, demonstrating the playwright’s mastery of the tightly-coiled thriller. What a pity, therefore, that Rufus Norris’s production of Macbeth fails to fulfil the promise shown by Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff in 2016, when they performed […]
Volpone by Ben Jonson, directed by Brent Griffin, Curtain Theater, Austin, Texas, 25 March, 2018. Reviewed by Michael Saenger Ben Jonson’s particular brand of moral satire suits the times. There are no heroes in Volpone, though Celia and Bonario have, at least, the moral character to qualify for valor, if not the psychological breadth that […]
The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster, directed by Maria Aberg, RSC, Swan Theatre, 8 March 2018 Reviewed by Peter Malin I hadn’t intended to review this production but, given its enthusiastic reception in the press, I thought a dissenting voice might be of some value. In 2014, Maria Aberg inflicted considerable damage on Webster’s […]
Hamlet, directed by Kemal Aydoğan and translated by Onur Ünsal and Emre Adıyaman at the Moda Sahnesi Theatre, Istanbul, Turkey Reviewed by Anna Carleton Forrester, University of Georgia One does not have to be well-versed in Turkish or in Shakespeare to appreciate the intention and artistry behind Kemal Aydoğan’s Hamlet of the Moda Sahnesi […]
Fırtına: A Turkish Tempest. Directed by Kemal Aydoğan and translated by Emine Ayhan at the Moda Sahnesi Theatre, Istanbul, Turkey Reviewed by Anna Carleton Forrester, University of Georgia Kemal Aydoğan’s Fırtına, an adaptation of The Tempest, was one of two Shakespeare plays scheduled for the Istanbul Theatre Festival (November 13-26), and will continue its […]
Julius Caesar, dir. Michiel de Regt. Performance: Orkater. Music: K.O. Brass! Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, 2 December 2017. Reviewed by Paul Franssen (Utrecht University). Like many productions of Julius Caesar nowadays, Orkater’s staging transposed the action to the modern age. No togas, therefore, but modern dress, and modern instruments too: for this production replaced much of the […]
Hamlet. Abbatoir Fermé. Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, 5 November 2017 Reviewed by Paul Franssen (Utrecht University) Among the first intelligible words that Hamlet utters in this production is his speech on man, the “paragon of animals,” which yet “delights not [him].” Hamlet’s doubts about human nature seem to be confirmed throughout, more than the more optimistic view […]
As You Like It by William Shakespeare, directed by Kate Saxon for Shared Experience / Theatre by the Lake, at Oxford Playhouse, 18 November 2017 Reviewed by Peter Malin References to the play are to William Shakespeare, As You Like It, ed. by Alan Brissenden (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993) Where to start? With […]
Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Ann Ciccolella. Austin Shakespeare at the Rollins Theatre, The Long Center for the Performing Arts, Austin, TX. November 15, 2017 Reviewed by Michael Saenger. On an elegantly open stage, punctuated only by a standing lattice arch, Austin Shakespeare created an intoxicating sense of optimism and the distinct impression that […]
Othello at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe, London, April 2017 Reviewed by Madison Doss, Burning Coal Theatre Company The issue of race in Othello is inescapable—and it should be. Ellen McDougall, director of the Globe’s most recent production of Othello, acknowledges that “productions must take responsibility for the racism, misogyny, and sexual violence in both the […]
