Don John (Lowry, 7th March 2009) Red Riding (C4, 5th March 2009)

“Deliver us from evil” a character in Red Riding quotes from the Lord’s Prayer. “Hell” flashes above the stage at the conclusion to Don John at the Lowry. This is the nineteen seventies in the North of England.

In these two productions, the seventies has become very bleak and dark. Channel Four’s Red Riding piles on the images of a world that is desolate and where there is no hope. The Gypsy camp which has been destroyed by arsonists is shown as a war zone. Indeed, at one point a character comments that the scene is one from the Vietnam war. Camera shots focus on concrete and in one sequence the main character walks through a multi storey car park and we are aware that the slabs bear down on him. The whole programme is shot in browns and beiges, with limited colour, the most startling was the red coat of the missing girl. Red Riding is violent and brutal and a place of no hope.

Don John is also violent and brutal. Raping and murdering to get his kicks, the character of Don John is more of a representation of all that is wrong with society, rather than a fully rounded character. He hides in the shadows of the run down buildings ready to pounce on his next victim. The production opens with strikers dressed all in black. Was this to show that there is little hope? Surely strikers are about trying to make life better.

Don John is set in fairground and we are taken on the ride. Unlike Red Riding, there is hope. In the encore, Gisli Örn Gardarsson who plays Don John comes back on stage and takes the hand of a member of the audience and they dance , and then other cast members invite members of the audience to dance with them.

I’m not sure why the seventies has become the setting for such a dark world as the seventies was a world of contrasts. For example, punk rock was existed alongside Abba. Life on Mars played with this world. It was a bigoted world, but it was the world of colour in contrast the gray of the world of rules and regulations of the modern day. Both Don John and Red Riding contained strong narratives and the seventies becomes a vehicle to depict narratives that show there is a hopelessness in life, but behind this there seems to be a glimmer of colour somewhere.

Reviews and Previews

Preview: Don John, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Le…
Don John: Not so much high art as trash culture…
Don John at Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-A…
Don John, Northern Stage, Newcastle (From The N…
The Stage / Reviews / Don John
Charles Hutchinson reviews Don John (From York …
Don John, Courtyard, Stratford
Loot, Tricycl…
Don John, Northern Stage, Newcastle (From The N…
FT.com / UK – Don John
Don John, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avo…
Review: Don John, Northern Stage, Newcastle – J…
Don John: Not so much high art as trash culture…

Julie RabyLeave a comment

Can Any Mother Help? (WYP, 5th March 2009)

The epistolary novel was very popular in the eighteenth century, and there have been examples of this form of story telling since, but in a world of email, letter writing has been transformed to the digital format and used less frequently than it was. Can any Mother Help? takes us back to paper, pen and typewriter when it was more complicated to circulate to a number of people. This is a story told through the letters of the women who wrote letters to each other as part of the Cooperative Correspondence Club (CCC). The Club was a secret magazine and the editor passed the letters on to each member. Can Any Mother Help? is the story of the CCC and of the club and is also a patchwork of the individual narratives of the women who wrote to each other. Foursight Theatre use a variety of techniques to tell the story, playing characters who wrote the letters as well as acting narrators. For example, the opening story of the death of a German airman is narrated by one character, while other use the full cast as both character, audience and narrator. There is the story of the correspondent who fell in love with the Bach musician and the woman who wanted another baby. The production manages to interweave the balance of emotions as some of the writers’ stories are funny, and others very sad.

The production runs for 90 mins with no interval, which keeps the audience engrossed throughout.

Reviews and Previews
The Stage / Reviews / Can Any Mother Help Me?
Preview: Can Any Mother Help Me?, West Yorkshir…
Preview: Can Any Mother Help Me?, West Yorkshir… ers on to each member and comments.

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Boeing Boeing (York Theatre Royal, 24th February 2009)

I remember seeing Boeing Boeing when I was a teenager and finding it really funny. I seemed to remember its fast pace and the how timing was really important to the comedy. When I saw it again at York Theatre Royal, I realised how out of date the comedy was. I suddenly felt uncomfortable at the sexism, and with the stereotypes. It was well acted, the set was marvellous and the colours vibrant, but for me, it was not theatre for the 21st century.

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The Tempest (The Courtyard, 26th, 27th, 28th February 2009)

 

Wow, this is a production that as well as being entertaining, is also very political and makes you think. Superb casting of Antony Sher as Prospero and John Kani as Caliban really emphasises the postcolonial themes in the play. The play makes us think about the Caliban and Propsero relationship in terms of relationships between whites and blacks in apartheid South Africa.

Though the production clearly attempts to place the Propsero and Caliban relationship as its central focus, the relationship between Prospero and Ariel is a strength in the production. Atandwa Kani, with his athletic and his decorated body, is a stunning Ariel. It is clear that Propsero delights in Ariel’s magic and youthfulness, but can’t tell him he loves him nor can he embrace him. Prospero’s daughter, Miranda, does not have this restraint and baggage from the so called civilised world and she looks upon the stranded Milanese with delight. This is a portrayal of Miranda as if she really grew up on an island away from the latest fashion and trends.

The music is stunning, the use of puppets and masks is staggering which all adds to the spectacle. The production is loud and colourful and aesthetically beautiful. There isn’t a moment when you aren’t fully engaged.

Details of the production

http://www.rsc.org.uk/WhatsOn/6941.aspx

Photos of the Production (from the RSC Facebook site)

Previews, Interviews and Reviews

The Times – Sir Antony Sher: Actor/writer/direc…
The Leamington Observer – Tempest to an African…
news.google.com
RSC storming back to city after decade with Tem…
The Tempest, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-…
Antony Sher on The Tempest, Stratford – Telegraph
BBC NEWS Entertainment Arts & Culture She…
Antony Sher on The Tempest, Stratford – Telegraph
The Tempest at the RSC Courtyard, Stratford – T…
Antony Sher and John Kani to Star in RSC’s The …
The Tempest, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-…
FT.com / UK – The Tempest
She(e)r passion – Mail & Guardian Online: The s…
Antony Sher on The Tempest, Stratford – Telegraph

The Tempest, Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-up…
Curtain goes up on region’s must-see shows – Yo…
Tempest gets a blast of sunshine – Coventry Tel…
Theatre review: The Tempest / Courtyard theatre…
The Tempest: Full of spectacle and zest, it wil…
The Stage / Reviews / The Tempest
The Tempest at Courtyard Theatre, Stratford – r…
Tonight – Stepping out from under dad’s shadow
Theatre review: The Tempest / Courtyard, Stratf…
The Stage / Reviews / The Tempest
The Tempest: How a legend of African theatre wa…
The Tempest : Whatsonstage Midlands
The Tempest, Courtyard, Stratford
Othello, W…
Tonight – More Shaka than Shakespeare
The Tempest whips up a storm Metro.co.uk
The Tempest at Courtyard, Stratford – Times Online

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Coronation Street, Law and Order, Who Do You Think You Are? (February 23rd 2009)

I think I was really pleased that Law and Order was on last night, because I am finding that Coronation Street is really struggling to keep me interested. Ken is seeing another woman again. Tina is lying for David again. There’s a new boss at the Factory again. Steve McDonald has moved a woman into the pub, and Liz and Amy have to get used to her – again. Ryan Connor is scowling and you get the picture. I am a great Corrie fan, but I need my fix of that humour and sadness with a little bit of originality that makes Corrie a great TV drama, and that seems to be missing at the moment.

Law and Order is based on an American programme, which I must admit, I have never watched. The structure is the police solve the crime and the prosecutors bring justice. What a cast as well. Freema Agyeman was refreshing as a young and keen prosecutor contrasted against the director of the CPS , Bill Pattison and the Detective Sergeant played by Bradley Walsh. As the mystery was contrasted with will they prosecute, it felt very satisfying getting the resolution to the narrative all in one evening.

I also watched Who Do You Think You Are? thanks to the magic of my SKY + box. I just thought what a beautiful woman Zoë Wanamaker is and how interesting Sam’s story was. We are aware of the Globe’s story and Sam’s quest to reconstruct the Globe in London. This is a wonderful story, but the story of how Sam came to England was really fascinating as well. I do like this programme, because I get caught up in the search and want to see how far back the Family Historians go. In last night’s episode, Wanamaker just went back through her father’s line and ended up tracing her Grandfather’s family back to Russia.

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