The Globe has produced a really lovely production of Much Ado About Nothing. Eve Best is a tremendous Beatrice - thoroughly hilarious, fantastic chemistry with Charles Edwards' Benedick, whose brilliant comic timing and ability to judge the audience's mood serves to keep them laughing, loving and with him from start to finish. Philip Cumbus' Claudio is so fantastically teenage in his emotional responses it almost makes the underwritten character work, with pretty much every adolescent girl in the area awwing at his behaviour. Ony Uhiara brings real pathos to her Hero, to the point where when she is confronted over her fidelity by Claudio, your chest gets tight and your eyes are suspiciously close to watering.
In supporting roles, Joe Caffrey is excellent as Borachio/Friar, bringing pathos and humour to both of these smaller parts, while Matthew Pidgeon is gorgeously evil as Don John - he plays it tremendously close to the edge of panto, but pulling it back just enough that it remains a strongly dramatic performance, albeit an intermittently hilarious one. Rhiannon Meades, Lisa McGrillis and John Stahl all shine as Ursula, Margaret and Antonio respectively, while Joseph Marcell brings the necessary amount of twinkle and severity to his Leonato.
Paul Hunter and Adrian Hood have the difficult task of Dogberry and Verges, whose humour may have been amusing at the time but now, as Leonato says, seems frankly "tedious". The Globe seeks to get around this problem by casting polar opposites - one very small, one very tall - and subsuming the text in little pre-word mannerisms from Hunter. This doesn't really work for me - having seen it twice, it once did not work at all, barely raising a grin from the crowd and once, perhaps because the audience was full of schoolchildren, actually really did, with Hunter and Hood getting two or three rounds as they left the stage.
Last week of the run:
Eve Best left the show for the last week or so of the run due to other commitments and Naomi Frederick stepped in. Frederick was a truly exquisite Rosalind in the 2009 As You Like It, but has been fairly quiet since, so a return visit had to be made to see what she did with Beatrice.
It would be unfair to expect a chemistry between Edwards and Frederick on the same level as Edwards and Best, considering they have had the entire summer to build this and she has had but a few performances, but considering, she did rather well. She keeps it similar to Best's portrayal, perhaps not wanting to put her own stamp on the character in this short space of time, sticking with what works. Much of the business is the same, though not completely - there's seeming-spontaneous, and then there's forced - avoiding the latter is always good.
There were some heartstopping emotional moments, though, and while she was unable to wrench the humour from the text quite as well as Best, perhaps given more time, she might have been able to. Although Frederick is a good comic actress, her true strength lies in the ability to balance Beatrice between a desperate vulnerability and steely determination.
She is a subtler actress than Best, who is funnier, but broader too. Frederick is lovely to watch on stage - she really has that special something. Though this is perhaps not the best showcase for her style, let us hope she makes a much-needed full-time return to the stage in another guise very soon.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
Rant: What is it about German school groups and Shakespeare's Globe?
Don't get me wrong. I love Shakespeare's Globe. I'm there as much as I remember to, I try and make it to most shows in a season, I enjoy the atmosphere, the night sky and the stark lights, the often fantastic acting and so many other things about this place. But there's nothing that annoys me more than a Globe audience full of German schoolchildren.
I realise this might sound faintly xenophobic, but it's really not. Of all the schoolgroups in all the varying corners of the globe, it is pretty much always the Germans who have to be conducted out of the auditorium, who talk at normal volume throughout productions, who wear rain ponchos when it's not raining and rustle around in them noisily throughout sensitive moments, whose teacher seems to be mysteriously absent or lacking in any sort of care. And the reason why this makes so little sense is that Germany is renowned for the way it treats performers - English actors flock to work there - in both its professionalism and perks. So why is it that they seem unable to behave themselves when they visit the Globe?
It's definitely not a schoolgroup thing. Most are capable of behaving absolutely appropriately, no matter where they're from. Today I stood next to a group of international students from Bangkok. They weren't completely perfect (one had played Beatrice in a school production and started the production saying her lines along with the show, until a judicious tap on the shoulder quieted her down), but they too were distracted by the noisiness of the Germans - and when the international students' teacher asked the girl behind to be quiet, as she turned back, the girl made an extremely rude face at her. We were all schoolchildren once, but I'm pretty sure I never disrespected the rest of an audience in the way these children do.
Speaking with the ushers afterwards, many of the group had to be removed from the theatre during the show. They kept trying to come back, to go round the back of the auditorium where the actors move around, to climb over the walls of the Globe (!), and all the time their teacher did not seem to have a care in the world for where they were. It makes a mockery of the time spent queuing for those who really care, for those who came to be sucked into some wonderful theatre.
Oh, and, hey two English guys who started shouting at Charles Edwards 'just kiss her, Jesus!'... yes, we are all watching this production too, and would quite like to hear the lines and not your inane commentary. Thanks.
I realise this might sound faintly xenophobic, but it's really not. Of all the schoolgroups in all the varying corners of the globe, it is pretty much always the Germans who have to be conducted out of the auditorium, who talk at normal volume throughout productions, who wear rain ponchos when it's not raining and rustle around in them noisily throughout sensitive moments, whose teacher seems to be mysteriously absent or lacking in any sort of care. And the reason why this makes so little sense is that Germany is renowned for the way it treats performers - English actors flock to work there - in both its professionalism and perks. So why is it that they seem unable to behave themselves when they visit the Globe?
It's definitely not a schoolgroup thing. Most are capable of behaving absolutely appropriately, no matter where they're from. Today I stood next to a group of international students from Bangkok. They weren't completely perfect (one had played Beatrice in a school production and started the production saying her lines along with the show, until a judicious tap on the shoulder quieted her down), but they too were distracted by the noisiness of the Germans - and when the international students' teacher asked the girl behind to be quiet, as she turned back, the girl made an extremely rude face at her. We were all schoolchildren once, but I'm pretty sure I never disrespected the rest of an audience in the way these children do.
Speaking with the ushers afterwards, many of the group had to be removed from the theatre during the show. They kept trying to come back, to go round the back of the auditorium where the actors move around, to climb over the walls of the Globe (!), and all the time their teacher did not seem to have a care in the world for where they were. It makes a mockery of the time spent queuing for those who really care, for those who came to be sucked into some wonderful theatre.
Oh, and, hey two English guys who started shouting at Charles Edwards 'just kiss her, Jesus!'... yes, we are all watching this production too, and would quite like to hear the lines and not your inane commentary. Thanks.
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Review: No Naughty Bits (Hampstead Theatre)
Please take into consideration that this review is of a first preview.
Steve Thompson, who wrote the brilliant Roaring Trade, as well as numerous episodes of shows ranging from Sherlock to Silk, returns with latest offering No Naughty Bits at the Hampstead Theatre. It's the story of Monty Python's battle with American network channel ABC back in 1975, when they tried to censor the Pythons' work before broadcast. The network and the comedians end up in a court battle in New York, trying to sort it all out.
This isn't exactly revelatory work for Thompson but it is fairly funny and well written, though there is the occasional clunky moment as we move between scenes. The humour ranges from explanations of Monty Python jokes to your typical groan-worthy lowest common denominator gag. The wonderful Harry Hadden-Paton is already doing exquisite work as Michael Palin, giving a full sense of the man without copying Palin's behavioural tics too much, making the part his own. Meanwhile, Matthew Marsh practically steals the show as the amused judge who presides over the Pythons' trial. If only all judges were able to snap out the one-liners with such ease.
The others all do fine work, particularly Issy van Ryndwyck as an American TV executive, but excluding van Ryndwyck, there's a strong need to work on American accents - Sam Alexander as Terry Gilliam is the worst offender, veering repeatedly into far more English territory as the show wends its way onwards. While we're on the subject of niggles, hopefully a few more performances will iron this out, but the lighting was a bit all over the place, as were the stage management crew, who tried to be fast, but often blundered past in the semi-light, drawing more attention to themselves than is necessary.
Overall, fun, but not fantastic. Some knowledge of Monty Python would be good before you go in, but not necessary. Oh, and No Naughty Bits? Just wait until the end...
Steve Thompson, who wrote the brilliant Roaring Trade, as well as numerous episodes of shows ranging from Sherlock to Silk, returns with latest offering No Naughty Bits at the Hampstead Theatre. It's the story of Monty Python's battle with American network channel ABC back in 1975, when they tried to censor the Pythons' work before broadcast. The network and the comedians end up in a court battle in New York, trying to sort it all out.
This isn't exactly revelatory work for Thompson but it is fairly funny and well written, though there is the occasional clunky moment as we move between scenes. The humour ranges from explanations of Monty Python jokes to your typical groan-worthy lowest common denominator gag. The wonderful Harry Hadden-Paton is already doing exquisite work as Michael Palin, giving a full sense of the man without copying Palin's behavioural tics too much, making the part his own. Meanwhile, Matthew Marsh practically steals the show as the amused judge who presides over the Pythons' trial. If only all judges were able to snap out the one-liners with such ease.
The others all do fine work, particularly Issy van Ryndwyck as an American TV executive, but excluding van Ryndwyck, there's a strong need to work on American accents - Sam Alexander as Terry Gilliam is the worst offender, veering repeatedly into far more English territory as the show wends its way onwards. While we're on the subject of niggles, hopefully a few more performances will iron this out, but the lighting was a bit all over the place, as were the stage management crew, who tried to be fast, but often blundered past in the semi-light, drawing more attention to themselves than is necessary.
Overall, fun, but not fantastic. Some knowledge of Monty Python would be good before you go in, but not necessary. Oh, and No Naughty Bits? Just wait until the end...
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
September
Singing in the Rain £14
God of Soho (forgot!) £5
Much Ado £5
Beauty Queen £17.50
Rattigan's Nijinsky £31
Deep Blue Sea £35
Betwixt £10
Jamie Parker £50
One Man Two Guvnors £12
Massacre at Paris £8
Anna Christie £50
Much Ado £5
God of Soho (forgot!) £5
Much Ado £5
Beauty Queen £17.50
Rattigan's Nijinsky £31
Deep Blue Sea £35
Betwixt £10
Jamie Parker £50
One Man Two Guvnors £12
Massacre at Paris £8
Anna Christie £50
Much Ado £5
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