Lockdown has provided many a theatre fan the chance to watch a whole host of their favourite stage shows on the small screen. We have seen the National Theatre broadcast sixteen of their most popular past productions for home viewing, and Disney+ has since taken the world by storm with their acquisition and distribution the […]Read More
Fans of Avatar, I suspect this might be just the show for you. No, I’m not referring to the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, or its unfortunate live-action sibling, but James Cameron’s infamous CGI epic from the distant past of 2009. If you want a similar spectacle, then look no further than the Cirque de […]Read More
Amadeus, streamed as part of the National Theatre At Home series, allowed viewers to stream Michael Longhurt’s revival of playwright Peter Shaffer’s story of genius, ambition and jealousy directly into their homes. The protagonist and narrator is Salieri; composer and rival of Mozart. We learn, at the beginning of the play, that he is suspecte […]Read More
Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays; it was written during the reign of King James I and, as such, is dark. It predominately reflects the personal insecurities James had regarding his position as King. Shakespeare existed in a patriotic world, where his plays were often performed at the King’s Court. Remembering that […]Read More
As a proud Yorkshire girl, I thought I knew quite a lot about the Brontë’s. I’ve visited Howarth a lot, gone around their house and walked the route that supposedly inspired Wuthering Heights. However, Wasted is the Bronte’s as you’ve never seen them before. In this new rock documentary, we are given an access-all-areas account […]Read More
The Barn Theatre, who are based in Chichester, have announced the second season of their digital theatre series: Bard From The Barn, which is in collaboration with Aaron Sidwell. The series reimagines William Shakespeare’s work in a modern-day setting; including Beatrice and Benedick bantering over a Zoom call, Hamlet gazing out his window while trapped […]Read More
Theatre, as a platform, had to be completely reimagined in the age of COVID-19. With the arts and entertainment sectors taking a hit of a quarter of a year without investment, there is threat that up to 70% of theatres across the UK could be permanently shut down due to lack of funds. 50% of […]Read More
The Deep Blue Sea is one of many works written by Terence Rattigan, who partly bases the play on his secret relationship with Kenny Morgan. He weaves allusions to the end of their relationship into the plot too, with critics often claiming that his work is autobiographical. Rattigan existed in a prejudiced and old-fashioned world, […]Read More
Shown as part of the National Theatre At Home initiative, against the haunting backdrop of 2020’s bubbling racial and political tensions, there is no doubt that Les Blancs is the most timeless masterpiece streamed by National Theatre- full of passion, drama and history. Thanks to Lorraine Hansberry’s ex-husband, Les Blancs was complied, edited and published […]Read More
The Disney+ streamed version of Hamilton is a product of multiple eras in many respects. The breeches, dresses and bayonets belong to 1776- Alexander Hamilton arrives in New York as a “bastard, immigrant, son of a whore”. But this particular production of Hamilton also belongs to the New York of 2016; it was filmed in […]Read More
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a new phenomenon – the remote musical. Earlier in lockdown, the theatre community speculated about which shows could be easily performed with no physical contact – Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years was at the top of the list, and so Lambert Jackson productions teamed up with […]Read More
Like many others looking to escape the formulaic doom and gloom of lockdown, Thursday night found me tuning in to YouTube watch the latest play from National Theatre At Home: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Gwendoline Christie (best known as Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones), The Bridge Theatre […]Read More
A must-see production from the National Theatre At Home series, Rufus Norris interweaves humour and heartbreak into an incredibly poignant staging of Andrea Levy’s novel. Spanning World War 2 and its aftermath, Small Island tells an incredible tale based on the plight of the Windrush generation. The show follows three Jamaicans and one English woman, whose […]Read More
I am embarrassed to admit that prior to watching this play, the extent of my knowledge of George III came from CBBC’s Horrible Histories and the musical Hamilton. In the former, George’s mental illness is just a massive joke; in the latter he is pre-madness George, a camp and capricious king playing at colonialism as […]Read More
At a time when our world appears unrecognisable, where the very crux of democracy is being questioned as we are denied our liberties for the sake of public health in this pandemic, and as many people all over the world fight for basic human rights, Coriolanus has rarely seemed so relevant. Caius Martius, later renamed […]Read More
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