'Henry IV Part 1' by William Shakespeare
25 April 2014
On
Wednesday I was in Stratford-upon-Avon, as a guest of the Royal
Shakespeare Company, to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th
birthday. The evening culminated in a spectacular fireworks display
outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre after we had watched Greg
Doran's production of Henry IV Part 1. Many people (including The
Guardian's Michael Billington) claim Henry IV Part 1 is Shakespeare's
greatest play. I'm not really in a position to judge but I have had a
soft spot for the work since I studied it for 'O' level. Watching it
again for the first time since seeing the National Theatre production
in 2005 (which featured Michael Gambon as Falstaff) I thought about
what makes this Shakespeare so special. Comparing it to the other
history plays, I think the balance between the macro political story
and the personal development of the characters is more even. The
contrast between the scenes at court and the inn scenes is so stark
they sometimes seem to have come from different plays. This makes the
crossover between these two worlds particularly fascinating and, for
all the inevitable focus on the wonderful character of Falstaff, this
is Hal's play. In the RSC production, Alex Hassell showed us a very
convincing transition between the playboy prankster and the warrior
prince, maturing before our eyes. In contrast, Trevor White's
peroxide blonde Hotspur was a manic, grinning adolescent – easily
over-excited and bouncing all over the stage. It was interesting to
see Henry IV so soon after watching Greg Doran's Richard II (reviewed
here in December 2013). Jasper Britton, as Henry, started proceedings
on Wednesday by placing the crown upon his head as the shadowy figure
of Richard (with David Tennant's flowing locks) appeared briefly on a
balcony, before fading from view – reminding us of Henry
Bolingbroke's violent coup at the end of the previous play. But it is
Falstaff who is naturally the centre of attention in Henry IV Part 1
and Anthony Sher's portrayal of the portly knight was compellingly
brilliant. Sher managed to make Falstaff both incredibly funny and
unnervingly unlikeable. The battlefield scene in which he offers a
desperate unarmed Prince Hal the loan of his pistol, only for Hal to
discover that the holster merely contains a bottle of sack, was truly
chilling – with Falstaff's childish giggling completely
out-of-place with the Prince's frustrated fury. Anthony Sher is an
electric presence on a stage and it is very hard to take your eyes
off him. But he makes Falstaff more than a mere clown, giving us a
much more complex character – one we long to see again whilst also
despising him. Labels: Drama, Theatre
'An Intervention' by Mike Bartlett
22 April 2014
I
worried a little when I discovered that Mike Bartlett's new play 'An
Intervention', which we saw at Watford Palace Theatre last Saturday,
runs without an interval, takes place mostly in front of curtains
(“like Morecambe and Wise or Abbott and Costello”) and has just
two characters, designated 'A' and 'B' – who “can be played by
actors of any age, gender or ethnicity”. But 'An Intervention' is a
very accessible, clever and impressive piece of theatre. It's a
funny, thought-provoking and disturbing two-hander – excellently
acted by Rachael Stirling and John Hollingworth in a Paines Plough
and Watford Palace Theatre production, directed by James Grieve. We
last saw Rachael Stirling in Mike Bartlett’s contemporary version
of ‘Medea', also at Watford Palace Theatre (reviewed here in
November 2012), and she is a wonderful stage actor. 'An Intervention'
looks at what happens when you hate your best friend. Can friendship
survive when one of you supports the proposed military intervention
in a Middle East conflict and the other is on the anti-war protest?
And how much of the ensuing argument is really personal rather than
political? Mike Bartlett's play has plenty of dark humour and a
contemporary everyday ordinariness that reminded me of Patrick
Marber's 'Closer', but it is a serious work that looks at its themes
in a very theatrical way. Intriguing and entertaining – an
excellent production.Labels: Drama, Theatre
Feydeau's 'Every Last Trick' in a new version by Tamsin Oglesby
22 April 2014
I first encountered the inspired lunacy of Spymonkey through their wonderfully silly stage show 'Oedipussy' (reviewed here in February 2012). Last Friday I was back at the Royal Theatre, Northampton, to see two of the four members of Spymonkey tackling a classic Feydeau farce in a new version by Tamsin Oglesby. 'Every Last Trick' was a Royal and Derngate production, directed by Told by an Idiot's Paul Hunter. It was a very impressive combination of physical theatre, clowning, dancing and singing. There were some incredibly funny moments (and some hilarious corpsing!). But 'Every Last Trick' felt a little like a work in progress and I wonder whether there were simply too many creative cooks involved in its preparation. The strict rules of farce seemed to get a bit lost along the way. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable experience which was rapturously received by a packed audience.
Labels: Drama, Theatre
'Longbourn' by Jo Baker
17 April 2014
Jane
Austen's novels must have generated more sequels, prequels, parodies
and imitators than any others, but Jo Baker's wonderful novel
'Longbourn' stands out from the crowd. 'Longbourn', which I have just
finished reading as an unabridged audio book narrated by Emma
Fielding, revisits characters and scenes from 'Pride and Prejudice'
from the point of view of the Bennetts' servants. As with Tom
Stoppard's 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead', for everyone
familiar with the original, there is great pleasure to be had from
discovering what happened in between the bits we know. And Jo Baker
is very good at demonstrating how little those below stairs notice or
understand about events which appear so momentous in Austen's story.
But 'Longbourn' succeeds so well because it is a complete novel in
its own right, with a self-contained plot – an achingly painful
love story – that would make it an enjoyable and satisfying read
even if you had never heard of 'Pride and Prejudice'. 'Longbourn' is
a very modern novel, but completely true to its period setting. It is
beautifully written, without succumbing to the temptation to imitate
Austen's prose style. Jo Baker evokes the harsh realities of a
servant's life and explores some of the darker questions beneath the
polite society of Jane Austen's world. Revealing that Mr Bingley's
wealth comes from sugar, she explores the role of slavery – which
makes for interesting comparisons with those in service in England.
The arrival of the army in Meriton takes us on a journey into the
horrors of an ordinary soldier's experiences in the European wars.
But all this is done without any knowing, contemporary sneering:
'Longbourn' tells it how it was and allows the readers to draw their
own conclusions. One of the most intriguing revelations concerns the
relationship between Mr and Mrs Bennett. From 'Pride and Prejudice'
(and more so in many of its film and TV adaptations) Mr Bennett
appears to be a saint, while his wife is an incredibly irritating
comic character. It is tempting to wonder how they ever got together.
Jo Baker paints a much more sympathetic portrait of Mrs Bennett and
shows a darker, but sadly believable, side to her husband.
'Longbourn' is a clever, fascinating and moving novel – highly
recommended. Labels: Books
Northampton Symphony Orchestra concert
11 April 2014
Accompanying a soloist in a concerto is always a difficult discipline for an orchestra. Maintaining balance often requires considerable restraint from the orchestra and the need to follow the soloist's fluctuations of speed can be a significant challenge for the conductor. In the Northampton Symphony Orchestra's concert last Saturday we had the privilege of accompanying the amazing violinist Clare Howick in a performance of Elgar's 'Violin Concerto'. Less well-known but very similar to the Elgar Cello Concerto, this romantic and dramatic work twists and turns the tempo in almost every bar. Clare Howick gave a stunning performance, and it was very exciting to accompany her, but the concentration required throughout the concerto (which lasts nearly 50 minutes) was exhausting. In the second half of the concert we performed Brahms' 'Symphony No. 1', a very 'classical' symphony that feels like supercharged Beethoven. There is a deceptive simplicity to the piece which reveals more and more as you get to know it and builds to a very exciting finale. I think we gave a very strong performance and it was an extremely enjoyable concert.
Labels: Concerts, Music
Milton Keynes Sinfonia workshop - ''Sinfonietta' by Leoš Janácek
3 April 2014
As regular readers may remember, I first came across the 'Sinfonietta' by Leoš Janácek in 2007 (reviewed here in October 2007). Last weekend I finally got the opportunity to play the Sinfonietta, in a workshop day at the Open University, organised by Milton Keynes Sinfonia. Following the success of last year's workshop on 'The Rite of Spring' (reviewed here in May 2013), players from Milton Keynes Sinfonia and other local orchestras gathered on Sunday morning to tackle the very different demands of the Janácek work, under the guidance of conductor David Knight. It was a very enjoyable and sociable day – with plenty of tea and cake! - and it was lovely getting to know this wonderful piece of music better by playing it. We finished the afternoon with a very passable informal performance of the Sinfonietta. I'm looking forward to the next MKS workshop.
Labels: Concerts, Music
The Lake District
3 April 2014
We had a lovely week in the Lake District. The weather was cold but mostly sunny and we enjoyed some stunning walks. We were staying in a cottage in the village of Uldale, near Caldbeck, North of Keswick, so we mainly explored the Northern parts of the Lake District. We walked around Buttermere and up Sale Fell, overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake. We did a coastal walk at Silloth and visited the popular tourist haunts of Grasmere and Rydal. We particularly enjoyed driving over the spectacular Honister and Kirkstone passes. We also enjoyed some wonderful meals and would recommend the Quince & Medlar vegetarian restaurant in Cockermouth and the Overwater Hall Hotel restaurant near Ireby.
Labels: Holidays
