Richard II - Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

This is the second Richard II I've seen this year, the first being at the Almeida in January.This one was at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse,  (the Globe's Jacobean theatre),  and the cast, led by Adjoa Andoh (who also co-directed) was made up entirely of women of colour.

We were sitting in the front row, right round to one side, so at the side of the stage, which was interesting, although it did mean that a lot of the time the  actors were  facing away from us.

The playhouse, before the play 

The production sets the play in a non-specific, other England - the back of the stage has been covered with bamboo, and the cast were all dressed in styles from a range of different countries and traditions, and  photos of female ancestors of the various cast members were displayed around the theatre.  Richard's crown was made of black and gold feathers, and she carried a  horsetail fly-whisk by way of a sceptre.

There were some really powerful performances - Andoh's Richard was perfectly petulant, too sure of her own god-given right to rule, and Shobna Gulati's Duke of York was a joy to watch, and listen to, as her loyalties gradually shifted.

In the current, Brexit-heavy political climate,   John of Gaunt' (Dona Crull)'s  deathbed speech hit home very hard.

Over all, an excellent and thought-provoking production, one to catch if you can. It's on until 21st April   I have to admit, I enjoyed it much more than the Almeida version (despite Simon Russell Beale,)

Troilus and Cressida at the RSC

Troilus and Cressida is not a play I've seen before, and I deliberately went in not having read anything about it, either the play generally, or this production, at the RSC, other than that I knew that percussionist Evelyn Glennie has  composed and arranged the music for the production.

For those who, like me, are unfamiliar with the plot, Troilus and Cressida is set during the Trojan Wars, with the love story of Troilus and Cressida (nicked from Chaucer ) tacked on. So we meet (on the Greek side) Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles, and Ajax, and (on the Trojan side) Priam, Hector, Helen, Cassandra, Aeneas  and Paris. No horse, though. Troilus and Cressida are both in Troy, but, inevitably, find themselves separated and unhappy.

The RSC's flyer

The production has a post-apocalyptic, 'Mad Max' style - the 'tents'  of the Greeks are repurposed shipping containers (Achilles' has his name on it, in Greek, which is a nice geeky touch). Achilles' myrmidons wear black fatigues and gas masks with horned helmets, plus there are a couple of sightings of a motorcycle with a horse's skull. .

It's an interesting play, or maybe 2 plays, a rather insipid love story (with the original creepy uncle, Pandarus, who is desperate to get his niece, Cressida, together with Troilus, to the extent of getting them into bed together)   and the politics and war of the 'history' element of the play.

Stage and set

The Trojan War has been going on for 7 years, at the time of the play, and any high ideals anyone may have had seem long gone. Achilles, (Andy Apollo) looking far too much like Chris Hemsworth's Thor for it to be coincidental, is more interested in lounging around in his tent with his young and handsome lover, Patroclus (James Cooney) (and who shall blame him) than in fights to the death, Ajax (Theo Ogundipe) is equally strong and beautiful, but not terribly bright, and is jealous of Achilles' reputation, and open to exploitation by the more politically savvy of his comrades! Ulysses (Adjoa Andoh) is particularly astute, and seems like a consummate politician.

On the Trojan side,  Cassandra (Charlotte Arrowsmith) was portrayed as deaf and mute, giving her prophecies via sign language interpreted by her sisters, unheard as well as unbelieved.

I enjoyed the production, although I enjoyed lots of elements of it more than the play as a whole, if that makes sense. I particularly liked the music and sound of the production.

(Plus, I got to hang out with a good friend and have a rather nice meal in the RSC's rooftop restaurant, so that was a bonus!)

Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre

I enjoyed my first visit to the new Bridge Theatre, to see their opening production, Young Marx, in November, so was looking forward to going back for their first Shakespearean production, Julius Caesar, which features David Calder as Caesar, Ben Whishaw as Brutus, David Morrissey as Mark Antony, Adjoa Andoh as Casca and Michelle Fairley as Cassius. 

Which is quite an impressive cast, I think you'll agree!

For this production, the seating in the stalls has been removed, and the galleries extended to the 4th side of the theatre, creating an arena-style central area, where the audience members who had bought 'promenade' tickets were allowed to stand.

As we waited for the play to start, the promenaders were given the chance to buy nuts, and drinks, and badges and red baseball hats supporting caesar...

And in keeping with that, the production is in modern dress, and there's something worrying familiar about Mark Antony, particularly once he starts to make speeches...

I was curious about how the 'promenade' style would work, and how easy it would be to see the action, but it turned out that there were various 'blocks' which came up and down as and when needed, with the audience moving around them, which worked well both to keep the actors visible and also to take the place of scene changes.

Ben Whishaw's Brutus is presented as a liberal, intellectual man  - when we first see him at home he is seated at  desk with lots of books - I admit I was a little distracted trying to read the titles of his books (they included books about Franco and Hitler, that I could see),vehemently opposed to tyrants and nepotism, but unfortunately a bit short-sighted in dealing with others. 

Michelle Fairley makes an excellent Cassius, passionate and much more astute than Brutus -  shes' not an actor I am particularly familiar with but hers here is a stand out performance.

The promenade audience are showered with political flyers, with balloons, and follow the actors around the stage. It's very dramatic, and it must be amazing to be part of that (I'm considering going back to see it from that angle!) 

It's a superb and very timely production - well worth seeing. It's on at the Bridge until 15th April, and is being shown in cinemas via NTLive on 22nd March. (and presumably other dates internationally) I'm sure the filmed version won't be as stunning as being there in person, but it will be a lot better than not seeing it at all. Go if you can!