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 […]
The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Kevin Gates. At the City Theater, Austin, TX, June 8, 2017. Review by Michael Saenger What in the world does one do with The Taming of the Shrew? When I was growing up, it was a staple of community theater, a hilarious and (chuckle) romantic tale of an […]
The Cardinal by James Shirley, directed by Justin Audibert for Troupe at Southwark Playhouse, 2 May 2017 Reviewed by Peter Malin References to the play are to James Shirley, The Cardinal, ed. by E. M. Yearling, Revels Plays Series (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1986) Conventionally-staged productions of early modern plays, in period costume, have […]
‘Know us by these colours’: Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2016 By Sheila T. Cavanagh, Emory University Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Ashland, Oregon sparked considerable controversy last year when they announced their “Play On!” initiative, whereby current playwrights and dramaturgs are being commissioned to “translate” the plays attributed to Shakespeare into twenty first century English. […]
