The Play's the Thing

It was pouring with rain as we drove into the car park at the New Vic, a warm, steamy kind of rain that had people dashing quickly into the dry welcome of the theatre foyer. We'd booked a table for a meal before the performance mainly because, as Paul works close by, it was easier to park early than for him to come all the way home and then to struggle to find parking later on, so I met him there. I was looking forward to this production, having seen quite a few by Northern Broadsides over the last few years I knew we would be captivated once more. As we found our table and joined the queue to order our food several of the cast members were in front of us ordering theirs, including the director Barry Rutter and Othello himself - Lenny Henry.

When I heard that comedian Lenny Henry was to play Othello for Northern Broadsides I wasn't sure what to expect but my faith in his abilities to pull it off were not in vain. He was a tremendous Othello. He has a huge presence on the bare, almost propless stage, just occasionally speaking his words a little quickly but oh, the gamut of emotions he went through as Othello spirals from strong, happy, dynamic soldier through tormented jealousy and rage to remorseful defeat was absolutely riveting.

My star of the evening, though, was Conrad Phillips who, as Iago, was the malevolent lynch pin of the whole production; on stage for almost all of the three hours of the production, he plotted and whispered and cajoled leading all the characters into his web of cruel deceit.

It wouldn't be a Northern Broadsides production without a bit of music and a bit of comedy and this was supplied by the actors themselves playing the instruments, with music written especially for the production by Conrad Phillips. The 'drinking' song used in order to get Cassio, played by actor Richard Standing, drunk was very funny and received a huge ovation at its end.

I always have trouble with Desdemona as a character and she was superbly portrayed by Jessica Harris and but for me, it was Maeve Larkin as Iago's wife Emilia who stood out giving a fine, measured performance. Not surprising then that the cast received a standing ovation as they took their bows at the end.

All in all a wonderful evening, I would say catch it if you can but unfortunately - well not for the theatre or the company of course - the run at the New Vic is completely sold out.

Edit30/4/09 - I forgot to mention that the New Vic is a 'theatre in the round' not a 'proscenium arch' theatre so the action all took place on a central, empty stage with props being brought in and out by the actors and some of the action taking place on the steps between the banks of seats. As we were on row B - second from the front we were almost involved in the action, in fact the lady front left of me ducked when Othello sent his dagger flying straight into his map board placed next to where she was sitting and I must admit that when a trumpet blew out, to herald that the battle was won, from the steps behind us I nearly hit the ceiling!

Reading Matter(s)

Today is World Book Day here in the UK. I can't imagine a world without books or indeed, my life without a book or two on my bedside table or on the coffee table just waiting to be read. If I love a book I can read it very quickly not wanting it to end but equally desperate to know the conclusion. Other books I can meander through, leave whilst I read another, and come back to, days later and carry on reading again. I like to read for an hour in the afternoon if I can, when the day's chores are done with time before I have to start to prepare an evening meal. I curl up in a comfy chair or stretch out on the bed, usually with a mug of tea and a cat on my lap and just enjoy the luxury of reading. I count myself very lucky to be able to do this. So what am I reading at the moment? Well, two books on the same subject and, as you know from previous posts, one of my literary heroes - William Shakespeare.

The first book, which I've nearly finished reading is by Bill Bryson. I've wanted to read 'Shakespeare' for some time and I haven't been disappointed. You don't get the 'laugh out loud' moments you get with some of Bill Bryson's books, but his gentle, witty and humerous way of writing and his easy way of explaining the historical background makes the book very readable and the sights, smells and language of Elizabethan and Jacobean England are almost within your grasp. The other book The Lodger by Charles Nicholl is waiting to be read. Based on research done by American academics Charles and Hulda Wallace, who in 1909, in the Public Records Office in London, came across a series of twenty six documents which made up a litigation roll from the Court of Requests detailing what is known as the Belott-Mountjoy dispute. These relate to a case from 1612 between Huguenot wigmaker Christopher Mountjoy and his son-in-law Stephen Belott. So where does Shakespeare come into this I hear you ask? Well, he was asked to give a statement, which he signed on 11th May 1612, because he had been a lodger in the house of Christopher Mountjoy in Cripplegate, London in 1604, the year the dispute first started. This house stood on the corner of Monkwell Street and Silver Street. Hence the full title of the book 'The Lodger, Shakespeare on Silver Street.'

I will finish reading 'Shakespeare' in the next couple of days but I'm going to sneak in one of John Harvey's 'Resnick' books before I walk down Silver Street.

Books I really must keep - part 1

In my last post I mentioned that I would write about some of the items that I felt I could not part with and that I would start with some of my books. The first book is this one:-



I was trying to remember when this was given to me and I'm guessing it was probably in 1965 because this was the year I became hooked on Shakespeare. I'd been staying up late to watch the BBC's adaptation of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Wars of the Roses cycle of plays and my passion for Shakespeare developed from there. The book itself was given to me by my Uncle Harold and I guess it had been in his family or perhaps that of my Aunt's for some time. Unfortunately some of the front pages have been taken out so there is no date of publication just the following:-

Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, Tragedies & Sonnets. His Majesty's Printers, Eyre and Spottiswoode (Bible Warehouse) Ltd. London.

The pages are slightly yellowed with age and the paper is very flimsy and delicate - and I did wonder if it was a war time utility publication. 'His Majesty's Printers' must mean it was published in the reign of George V or more probably George VI. Maybe one day I will try to find out.

Book two is one of my very favourite books. A novella rather than a novel it just seems to touch every fibre of my imagination and somehow captures that bittersweet essence of life, love and mortality. That something that most of us feel but very few can express in words.



A Month in the Country by J. L. Carr tells the story of a young artist, suffering with 'shell shock' from his time in the trenches during the first world war and whose marriage is in difficulties. He travels into Yorkshire to restore a mediaeval wall painting in the church at a place called Oxgodby. Told in the first person the characters of the village that he comes across whilst he is working there, including the Reverend Keach, the archaeologist Charles Moon and the wonderful Katie Ellerbeck, are vividly portrayed. I won't say any more; just urge you to read it - it is only just over 100 pages, easily read in an afternoon - go on, treat yourself - you know you want to.

Thank You Mr. Shakespeare

Apart from being St. George’s Day, today is thought to be not only the date of the birth of William Shakespeare in 1564 but also the day upon which he died in 1616. As some of you will know I am a great lover of Mr. Shakespeare and his plays so I've decided today to acknowledge this with my recollections of some of the most memorable performances I have been privileged to see. The ones where I sat enthralled, almost unaware of my own existence; the ones that left me feeling as if Ihad been touched by magic; the ones that filled me with joy and the ones where I left the theatre floating on air.

My very first experience of Shakespeare was the BBC’s 1965 production of the Wars of the Roses, seen in black and white on a small TV screen. I remember staying up late to watch with my fingers crossed that there wouldn’t be a power cut, I was beside myself with happiness then, I lived and breathed every word – I was a teenager and my family didn’t understand. My first visit to the RSC's theatre at Stratford was to see Coriolanus with Ian Richardson in the title roll. Perhaps not the best play to start with but once I’d taken that initial step I returned again and again – I was hooked.

There are many memories of countless performances but those I remember without even searching through my programme collection are as follows. A gloriously joyful The Comedy of Errors at Stratford with a cast including Judy Dench and Michael Williams. The cast came out into the audience at the end and we all joined in the final song. A stirring Henry V, again at Stratford, with Alan Howard in the title role. Nottingham Playhouse in the early seventies two equally stunning performances of Hamlet, one with Alan Bates as the Prince the other with Ian McKellan. A stunning Richard III at the National Theatre again with Ian McKellan. A dreamy and colourful Love's Labour's Lost with Ian Charleston, Alan Rickman, Richard Griffiths and David Suchet. I remember sitting through three productions in one day when the RSC at Stratford presented The Plantagenets. We sat through it all again at the Barbican in London. Last but not least a magical amateur production of A Midsummer Nights Dream on midsummer's eve at the Stamford Shakespeare Company's open air theatre at Tolethorpe.

Thank you Mr. Shakespeare for some wonderful memories.