Reviewed by Eoin Price Why do we go to plays? Is it to see extraordinary fictions, or to watch people like us? On the one hand, we know we are entertained by illusion, on the other, we know that these illusions are performed by actors, who may or may not be ‘people like us’ but […]
Evil is all around us! Reviewed by Zsolt Almásy Ádám Horgas’s Macbeth[1] in the Hungarian Theatre, Budapest provides a thorough theatrical representation of the overwhelming power of evil. In this production all the smallest details line up into a coherent unity exploring magically how fragile human virtue is, how seductive evil can be. The exploration […]
AS YOU LIKE IT, directed by BEATRIZ BATARDA for ARENA ENSEMBLE, at TEATRO CARLOS ALBERTO, PORTO, PORTUGAL. Seen on 22nd February 2014. Reviewed by Miguel Ramalhete Gomes Having premiered at roughly the same time as Nuno Cardoso’s highly political Coriolanus, Beatriz Batarda’s production of As You Like It for Arena Ensemble was often coupled with […]
The Taming of the Shrew [Poskromienie złośnicy], dir. Katarzyna Deszcz, Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce, Poland. Premiere: 12 April 2014 www.teatr-zeromskiego.com.pl Reviewed by Jacek Fabiszak There is not denying the fact that Shrew in the Western world poses a serious challenge. For a variety of reasons: because it is mysoginistic, because it cannot match the complexity […]
Originally published on Steve Mentz’s blog, 2 January 2015. By Steve Mentz (St. John’s University, New York City) Two days into 2015 and I haven’t done my 2014-in-review post! I’m behind already. In swimming as in blogging, 2014 was a year of constancy. No long swims, and several months with no water-miles logged — in Jan […]
UNPERFECT ACTOR (ACTOR IMPERFEITO), an adaptation by Luísa Costa Gomes of Shakespeare’s sonnets, directed by ANTÓNIO PIRES for TEATRO DO BAIRRO (LISBOA), at TEATRO CARLOS ALBERTO, PORTO, PORTUGAL. Seen on 1st February 2014. Reviewed by Miguel Ramalhete Gomes Stage performances based on Shakespeare’s sonnets have come to occupy a rare though often special presence in […]
ROMEO JA JULIA [ROMEO AND JULIET]; directed by Antti Mikkola for the Seinäjoki City Theater, Seinäjoki, Finland. 25 November 2014. Reviewed by Nely Keinänen I like to think of myself as open-minded about Shakespeare, but at heart I suspect I’m a purist—nothing but the text, please. So I found Antti Mikkola’s adaptation of Romeo […]
Juhannusyön uni (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), directed by Jonna Wokström for The Group Theater, Helsinki, Finland. Date seen: 12 November 2014 Reviewed by Nely Keinänen In the fall of 2014, Ryhmäteatteri (The Group Theater) created a Youth Theater program for 15-20 year-olds, whose first production was a spirited A Midsummer Night’s Dream. For most of […]
As You Like It, directed by Theu Boermans, Het Nationale Toneel, Koninklijke Schouwburg, The Hague, 21 December 2014. Review by Paul Franssen (Utrecht University). This modern dress production gave a contemporary slant to the dominant themes of As You Like It. The contrast between the Court and the Forest of Arden was updated to that […]
SHAKESPEARE À LA BRASILEIRA COULOURS PORTUGAL A REVIEW OF SUA INCELENÇA, RICARDO III PRODUCED BY CLOWNS DE SHAKESPEARE PORTO, PRAÇA D. JOÃO I, 09 JUNE 2013 Review by Livia Segurado The Brazilian theatre company Clowns de Shakespeare participated in the closing ceremonies of the FITEI[1] 2013 in Porto, last June, with their acclaimed version of […]
