Goodbye, 2017: A Round-Up

While it is true that the last couple of months have not been easy, and that I am still struggling through my illness, I nevertheless find that I still have a lot to be thankful for. 2017 has been a year of challenges, surprises, and little triumphs, and I am grateful for every experience I have had, memory I have gained, and person I have shared it with. 

(Here's to)

Review: Bridge Theatre, Young Marx

The year is 1850, and amongst the ramshackle streets of Soho, a desperate man heads to the pawnbrokers with his wife's family silver tucked under his arm...

So begins Young Marx, the debut production at the new Bridge Theatre on London's South Bank. For me, the play was an unexpected delight - not the dry, inaccessible political lecture I feared it might be, but a playful, upbeat comedy highlighting the all-too-human flaws and failings of one man, now known as the greatest intellectual revolutionary of his age. Here's my thoughts.

Shakespeare Sunday: Richard III

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays and write my thoughts. 

'Teach me how to curse...' Richard III Act 4, Scene 4

Crippled Queens: Hurting or Helping?

Shakespeare Sunday: Macbeth

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays and write my thoughts.

'Hecate, Hecate, come away' Macbeth, Act 3 Scene 5

Middleton's Additions: Worth a Second Look?

Review: Alarum Theatre, Idle Women

While we remember the men who fought to keep our country safe, let us also spare a thought for the women who toiled to keep it running... 

It's been a few weeks since I saw Idle Women of the Wartime Waterways, but now, during this time of remembrance, it is as apt a time as any to review this heart-warming show of courage and perseverance. 

Shakespeare Sunday: King Lear and Henry V

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays and write my thoughts. 

'Why, this is an arrant counterfeit rascal...' Henry V Act 3 Scene 6

Bawcock or Heart of Gold? Comparing Kent/Caius and Pistol

Working The Blanks: Week One

As the first week of my poetry residency comes to an end, I'd just like to write a brief summary of the goals I've set myself, the things I've learnt, and the hopes I have for future weeks. I was made to feel  welcome straight away, and I'm really happy with the start that I've made.

Working The Blanks: Introduction

'Working The Blanks'

Becoming Poet-in-Residence at the Pen Museum 

Shakespeare Sunday: Much Ado About Nothing

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract of one of the plays, and write my thoughts. 

'She would infect to the north star' Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 1

Bullying and The Hostile Environment 

Mood Board: October 2017

Shakespeare Sunday: Coriolanus

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays, and write my thoughts. 

'Some parcels of their power are forth already' Coriolanus, Act 1, Scene 2

Rome: Superpower in the Making

Shakespeare Sunday: Julius Caesar

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays, and write my thoughts.

'I come to fetch you to the Senate House' Julius Caesar, Act 2, Scene 2 

The Morning Salutatio: Caesar's Fatal Errors 

Review: RSC, Coriolanus

In Ancient Rome, all people - from the simplest plebian to the most brilliant general - struggle to adapt to times of peace...

Coriolanus was the last of Shakespeare's plays to be featured in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2017 Rome Season. Having enjoyed the fantastic productions of Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Titus Andronicus, I looked forward to Coriolanus - a play I had previously been unfamiliar with. Here's my thoughts. 

Shakespeare Sunday: The Tempest

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays, and write my thoughts.

'Thy thoughts I cleave to...' The Tempest, Act 4, Scene 1

Ariel: A Figment of Imagination? 

Shakespeare Sunday: Richard II and Henry VI Part 3

Welcome to 'Shakespeare Sunday', where I take an extract from one of the plays, and write my thoughts.

'Let us sit upon the ground...' Richard II, Act 3, Scene 2
'Here on this molehill will I sit me down...' Henry VI Part 3, Act 2, Scene 5

Kings Brought Low: Comparing Richard and Henry 

Review: RSC, Dido Queen of Carthage

In the kingdom of the gods, Jupiter and his dysfunctional family revel in hedonism, cruelty and spite... 

Consistently awarded four and five stars, and hailed as the finest show of the RSC's summer season, to see Dido, Queen of Carthage was an absolute must. And what a treat it was: visually spellbinding and delivered with clarity and poise, Christopher Marlowe's play was brought into vivid technicolour in this spectacular production. Here's my thoughts. 

Shakespeare Sunday: Henry V

Here is the first of my 'Shakespeare Sunday' features, where I take an extract from one of the plays, and write my thoughts. 

'A little touch of Harry in the night...' Henry V, Act IV, Prologue 

Consider the Chorus: An Unreliable Narrator?

Review: Shakespeare's Globe, King Lear

Wild and lost, here is where they find themselves: stumbling up and on to the stage of an abandoned theatre...

When I heard that Shakespeare's Globe were getting in on the latest trend of theatre-to-cinema broadcasting, I was thrilled, and determined to see it. In this way, I could experience a top-class Shakespeare production without making the arduous trip down to London. Especially exciting was that the production was King Lear, one of my favourite plays. Here's my thoughts.