Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare, directed by Gregory Doran, RSC, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Thursday 18 October and Wednesday 14 November 2018. Reviewed by Peter Malin All quotations from the play are from the 1987 New Penguin edition, ed. by R. A. Foakes Academic theatre reviewing should sometimes, I think, consist of more […]
King Lear, translated and directed by Jack Nieborg, Shakespeare Theater Diever, The Netherlands, 8 September 2018. Reviewed by by Paul Franssen (Utrecht University) This year, the Diever amateur theatre had chosen King Lear for their annual production. In line with some other recent stage adaptations of Shakespeare plays, the tragedy was set in the world of […]
High Park’s Midsummer fails to woo with its swords Diana Jones, York University Director Tanja Jacobs’ choice to set High Park’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a carnivalesque atmosphere, inspired by the work of Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini, is appropriate for several reasons. Shakespeare’s comedy is tremendously playful with its sprightly faeries, magical flowers, and […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Taming of the Shrew, translated and directed by Jack Nieborg, Shakespeare Theater Diever, The Netherlands, 26 August 2017. Reviewed by Paul Franssen, Utrecht University The annual open-air Shakespeare production at Diever, staged by amateurs, seems to be drawing bigger crowds every year. This year’s production of The Taming of the Shrew makes it clear why: […]
Titus Andronicus at The RST, dir. Blanche McIntyre, 1/7/2017. Reviewed by Sara Marie Westh The red warning posters warns prospective audience members at the RST that the play they are about to see is Shakespeare’s bloodiest, and that it contains “bad language”. The former statement is undoubtedly true, while the latter appears to pass judgement of […]
