A Midsummer Night’s Dream

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Punzss5sHto” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe] A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s best-known and most-performed plays. Nicholas Hytner’s adaptation is a spirited spectacle (pun intended). We see fairies swinging on silks, beds moving through space, and parts of the stage rise up from the floor and disappear. The Read More

Small Island

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/pac-Furijsw” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe] This stage adaptation of Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel of the same name, staged in 2019, is unusually prescient, given how relevant the themes are today. Coincidentally, as I write this review, the world marks Windrush Day, marking the 72nd anniversary on which Caribbean Read More

Coriolanus

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/XHqkEruwBT0″ frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe]   Josie Rourke’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s last tragedy & his last Roman play is uniquely suited to the sparse setting of the Donmar Warehouse. This small stage is open to the audience on three sides; only 14 chairs, a ladder, and the back wall Read More

A Streetcar Named Desire

[iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/BJEpYaD3yTw” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen></iframe] ‘I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.’  Blanche Dubois If you’re looking for a literary treat before lockdown’s slight easing, you could do worse than immerse yourself in the National Theatre’s compelling interpretation of the classic Tennessee Williams’ play, A Streetcar Named Desire.  Read More

Antony and Cleopatra

https://youtu.be/lWc6_aCTqI0 As the lockdown continues, the National Theatre is screening another gem from its history, as part of its National Theatre at Home fundraising campaign. This time, the play being shown is Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, directed by Simon Godwin. With Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo in the titular roles and in a modernised setting, Read More