Shakespeare

Interview: Alan Cumming on staging a one-man Macbeth

Aberfeldy’s most famous son on the toil and trouble of Shakespeare

25 May 2012

How much doom and gloom can one man take? For most actors, it would be enough of a mental burden to take on the role of Macbeth, the warrior king whose ambition leads to self-destruction. But for Alan Cumming, that’s only the start of it. In a new…

Gordon Barr on Bard in the Botanics 2012

The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It to be staged in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens

15 May 2012

This season, for us as we move into our second decade, is all about discovery, exploration and new horizons so we were looking for plays that tied in to those themes. The link to The Tempest is fairly clear but As You Like It covers some similar ground…

Irene MacDougall to play female Prospero in Dundee Rep's The Tempest

Caliban and Ariel also adapted as female roles in new production

15 May 2012

Irene MacDougall has been a member of the Dundee Rep ensemble since its inception, but 2012 will mark her first turn in The Tempest. Like Helen Mirren in Julie Taymor’s recent film of Shakespeare’s classic, MacDougall will play Prospero as a female. The…

New production Lady M re-examines the Macbeth story

Mary McClusky discusses The Scottish Play's continuing relevance to modern audiences

16 Apr 2012

As artistic director of Scottish Youth Theatre and a frequent contributor to Oran Mor’s Classic Cuts season, Mary McCluskey is no stranger to slimming down a Shakespeare play to its essential components. And in the year of the World Shakespeare…

David Hayman to play King Lear at Citizens Theatre

Dominic Hill directs Scottish production of Shakespeare

21 Mar 2012

It’s been 33 years since David Hayman last performed at the Citizens Theatre. ‘Backstage is very different so I now need a chaperone to get me from A to B.’ he laughs. Widely recognised for his role as DCS Walker in ITV’s Trial and Retribution, Hayman…

Coriolanus

Ralph Fiennes proves as adept behind the camera as in front of it in this Shakespeare adaptation

5 Jan 2012

(15) 123min Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut is a powerful reimagining of the Shakespearean tragedy and is a resonant story about leadership, politics and power. Acting as well as directing, Fiennes stars as the central character, the eponymous…

Theatre critic Mark Fisher on the Shakespeare productions planned for 2012

Alan Cumming, David Hayman and more to stage the Bard next year

13 Dec 2011

In 1964, the Polish critic Jan Kott published Shakespeare, our Contemporary. The book caused a stir for framing a long-dead playwright through the lens of 20th century totalitarianism. Director Peter Brook was delighted to find a commentator who could…

Soulja Boy inspired by Shakespeare

Music Gossip

3 Oct 2011

Soulja Boy is inspired by Shakespeare. The 'Crank That' rapper claims the English playwright - who died in 1616 and is widely acknowledged as the greatest in Western history - has had a profound effect on his career, in particular a quote from his…

I, Malvolio

Revisiting Shakespeare’s maligned steward

22 Aug 2011

Appearing in the latter half of a Festival that has made its theatre audience work harder than in previous years, Tim Crouch keeps us on the edge of our seats with a show that probes cultural tastes through the figure of Shakespeare’s much maligned…

The Tempest

Anarchic comedy showcases Korean theatrical traditions and retains spirit of the original

14 Aug 2011

Shakespeare’s swansong enjoys a unique status in the playwright’s canon. Part magical realist fantasy, part forerunner to the absurdist tragicomedy, part wry comment on the nature of playwriting itself, The Tempest floats outside of the classifications…

King Lear

Engaging spectacle gives Shakespeare a Jingju interpretation at 2011 EIF

14 Aug 2011

Two artforms, alike in their lengthy traditions and explorations of familial and martial subjects but divergent in their aesthetic, are brought together by their areas of commonality. Wu Hsing-kuo (Contemporary Legend Theatre) adapts aspects of…

The Curse of Macbeth

Great staging, shame about the acting

8 Aug 2011

From the knife-wielding thugs that welcome you into the venue, it’s clear that this production of Macbeth is going to be bold, brash and in your face. And in those terms the show doesn’t disappoint. Its striking design – all bloodstained mirrors and dry…

Bard in the Botanics - 10 years of Glasgow’s outdoor Shakespeare festival

Artistic director Gordon Barr on 2011 anniversary programme

27 May 2011

Artistic director Gordon Barr reminisces about ten years of Glasgow’s outdoor Shakespeare festival and looks ahead to the anniversary programme with Steve Cramer It seems a little odd that we should think of Shakespeare played outdoors as a peculiar…

Top 5: Artists lending their talents to children's TV voice-overs

Featuring Derek Jacobi, Stephen Fry, Arthur Lowe and more

28 Mar 2011

Ah, the life of the serious actor. All that serious acting they have to do; all the line learning, the getting into character, the understanding and channelling of the character's emotional vulnerabilities and personality traits. Its enough to drive a…

The Okavango Macbeth: Alexander McCall Smith’s 'Shakespeare and baboons' opera

The author/librettist teams up with Tom Cunningham and Robert McFall

24 Mar 2011

Alexander McCall Smith’s inspiration to write an opera based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth isn’t the first. Verdi was certainly there before him, but what makes McCall Smith’s The Okavango Macbeth decidedly different is that the characters are all baboons.

Sir Derek Jacobi ready to tackle role of King Lear

Michael Grandage director builds production around 72-year-old actor

24 Feb 2011

‘You would never do Lear without an actor in mind,’ says Michael Grandage. The outgoing director of London’s Donmar Warehouse has had just such an actor in mind for several years. He has built his acclaimed production of Shakespeare’s great tragedy…

Romeo and Juliet

22 Sep 2010

As the prologue foretelling the deaths of the most iconic of lovers is spoken, we see them, statuesque in an embrace, their now reconciled families laying wreaths at their feet. With this opening, and the almost universal knowledge of how this story…

Romeo and Juliet and The Importance of Being Earnest set for Edinburgh Lyceum

Highlights og autumn theatre season

7 Sep 2010

Two love stories by two playwrights – performed by one cast on one set. In these cash-strapped times, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Royal Lyceum was trying to save a penny or two. In fact, the innovative doubling-up of the first two shows in the…

Twelfth Night

By my troth, an afternoon delight (if you’ve got the energy)

27 Aug 2010

The small cast composing this year’s C Theatre production are really enjoying themselves. They transport Twelfth Night’s faraway kingdom of Illyria to a sexy 1930s London scene, and complete the look with boater hats, black lace, cigarette holders, and…

Now is the Winter

Confusion abounds

25 Aug 2010

Unless you’re seriously intimate with Shakespeare’s original give this a miss. This one-woman reinterpretation of Richard III retells the story from his ascendancy to the battle of Bosworth through the eyes of a faithful servant. A challenging notion…

Mary & William

Intimate rendition is by turns humorous and poignant

14 Aug 2010

Actress Mary MacDonald Hamill performs a biographical piece woven together with excerpts from Shakespeare which provide a lyrical commentary to the narrative. Following the story of her life and career from childhood, this intimate rendition is by turns…

Shakespeare the Man From Stratford

Spellbinding mix of thundering speeches and historical storytelling

12 Aug 2010

Simon Callow’s Fringe show is a magnificent three-course banquet of storytelling that will prove irresistible to anyone with a passing interest in Shakespeare. Writer Jonathan Bate builds a biography of the Bard told around extracts from his works…

Just Macbeth!

Slick, accessible and boisterous adaptation of classic tragedy

8 Aug 2010

There are plenty of reasons why Macbeth is not suitable for kids: there’s the cold-blooded murder, the unmitigated violence, not to mention the difficult language. Australian company Bell Shakespeare, however, are experts in these things, and what they…

Whole Lotta Hamlet at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010

Linda Marlowe's five favourite versions of Shakespeare’s text

27 Jul 2010

Director Grigori Kozintsev’s film of Hamlet Made in Soviet Russia in 1964 and starring Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Hamlet, this version is a visual masterpiece with magnificent black and white photography and a dramatic score by composer Dmitri…

King Lear

Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, until Sat 10 Jul

2 Jul 2010

As is so often the case with outdoor performances, an audience’s ultimate enjoyment of this first show in Bard in the Botanics’ 2010 season might be more a matter of projection than performance. While some of the parts require – and are afforded – a…

Macbeth at Traquair

28 May 2010

It’s summertime, which may or may not mean the arrival of blue skies and sunshine, but most certainly spells the onset of the outdoor Shakespeare season. Leading the pack is the annual celebration of the Bard at beautiful Traquair House in Innerleithen…

Greenwich Theatre and Rapture co-production of Hamlet tours Scotland

23 Feb 2010

Scotland’s Rapture theatre company has teamed up with the Greenwich Theatre in London to create a modern, accessible take on Shakespeare’s most famous play. Rapture’s updated Hamlet is set in the contemporary Glasgow underworld, where Hamlet is caught…

Othello

Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 21 Nov

10 Nov 2009

Guy Hollands’ production of the Bard’s tragedy of racial hatred, jealousy and betrayal is a stripped-back version, starkly lit, with minimal staging, that returns the focus squarely to Shakespeare’s language. Thus, the most successful moments come about…

Theatre hitlist

4 Nov 2009

Natura Morte World renowned dance company Derevo unites with St Peterburg theatre mavericks Akhe to create a spectacular premiere, which takes over every inch of the Arches. Arches, Glasgow, Tue 10–Sat 14 Nov. Othello Guy Hollands directs…

Othello preview

After his EIF success, Andy Clark tackles the Bard

1 Oct 2009

Andy Clark is perhaps Scotland’s most in demand actor at present. From his earliest days at Dundee Rep a decade back, his performances have long garnered praise, but in such productions as The Ching Room and The Last Witch over the last year, he has…

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

6 Aug 2009

There have been some weird and wonderful productions of Shakespeare’s great comedy of fairies, mechanicals and bickering lovers, from the 1934 Hollywood version starring James Cagney as Puck to Peter Brook’s inspired 1971 production for the RSC. But…

Bard in the Botanics

11 Jun 2009

There are probably fewer people in Scotland more excited about the Met Office’s predicted heatwave this summer than Gordon Barr, artistic director of Bard in the Botanics, Glasgow’s annual outdoor Shakespeare festival. ‘I’m really keeping my fingers…

Othello

11 Jun 2009

OUTDOOR THEATRE You know summer’s finally arrived when the nation’s brave outdoor theatre companies take to the al fresco stage for that all-too-brief window of long days and (hopefully) fine weather. Borders company Shakespeare at Traquair…

Titus Andronicus

28 May 2009

The Strathclyde Theatre Group takes on Shakespeare’s gory early tragedy, Titus Andronicus, which depicts the bloody running battle between the titular Roman general and his mortal enemy, Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her devious sons. The production…

Much Ado About Nothing - 25 & 26 April, St Mary’s Quad, St Andrews

27 Apr 2009

Directors Sam Fowles and Alice Jones promised an ‘original’ Much Ado. ‘While we would never dare to look outside such a wonderful script for inspiration,’ they explained, ‘we basically took this as something of a carte blanche to experiment.’ The…

Bard in the Botanics

19 Jun 2008

If you accept the notion that ‘a sad tale’s best for winter’, it follows that a pair of comedies make the best entertainment for a summer backdrop. The programmers behind Bard in the Botanics certainly appear to think so. This year, Glasgow’s outdoor…

The Winter's Tale

4 Oct 2007

Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, until Sat 20 Oct CLASSIC So much of Shakespeare’s work examines the disparity between the rational, ordered world, governed by laws and etiquettes long since agreed and more pre-rational, primal urges and experiences, but…

Hamlet

4 Oct 2007

The widespread belief that society is in deep moral decline is hardly unique to our age – indeed, there have been few times in history when this wasn’t a preoccupation of the public at large. What makes our society a little more unique, and renders Guy…

The Winter's Tale - interview

20 Sep 2007

Ever dealt with the green-eyed monster? If not, you’re lucky, but most likely you have. Mark Thomson, never one to shirk the “difficult” plays of Shakespeare’s oeuvre, has chosen to begin the Lyceum’s autumn season with The Winter’s Tale. Aside from…

Hamlet - preview

20 Sep 2007

If I had a Kroner for every time someone reinvented Hamlet, I could afford a cruise to Denmark. If it’s not being set in Nazi Germany or a mental institution, the lead is being performed by – Gosh o’blood – a woman, the whole thing’s being done in the…

Petition launched by Bard sceptics

10 Sep 2007

Almost 300 people have signed a petition calling for an investigation into the works of William Shakespeare. Among those who claim it is not possible the plays could have been penned by the 16th Century commoner are actors Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark…

Macbeth

6 Sep 2007

There’s nothing particularly new about updating Shakespeare’s medieval Scottish tragedy to a modern criminal underworld setting - see the 1956 American mob movie Joe Macbeth - but Australian filmmaker Geoffrey Wright nevertheless makes a decent stab at…

Romeo and Juliet

16 Aug 2007

Having finally got over Baz Luhrmann’s version, it feels like we can move on to a new approach to this popular, if flawed, old Shakespearean standby. If Peter Meineck’s version for Aquila doesn’t quite make for a new ‘standard’, it certainly…

Macbeth: Who is That Bloodied Man?

Nicola Husband

16 Aug 2007

Macbeth, like most of Will’s plays, has suffered from many strange interpretations, including a film that transposes the action to a 90s rave and an American theatre version that quite literally strips the characters bare. These wacky interpretations…

I, Lear

16 Aug 2007

Two bumbling actors (Andrew Jones and Ciaran Murtagh) share their wisdom of the theatre, including tricks of the trade such as Marmite up the nostrils for upset and spray cream foaming at the mouth for anger. They teach us techniques from the likes of…

Romeo and Juliet

Festival Fringe

1 Aug 2007

‘Maybe Romeo and Juliet was such an old warhorse we needed to put a bomb under it.’ It’s fighting talk to some, but it’s the kind of statement you’d let through from Peter Meineck, co-founder and joint artistic director of Aquila, one of the USA’s most…

René Weis

Shakespeare Revealed: A Biography (John Murray)

12 Mar 2007

LITERARY ANALYSIS Combining taut prose with tight scholarship, René Weis has written a gripping biography of the world’s most famous Bard. With the great man’s life notoriously wreathed in mystery, Weis has plunged into the works for clues. He cites…

Merchant of Venice, The

The Merchant of Venice

2 Oct 2006

CLASSIC It’s easy enough to see, in Britain’s current climate of religious intolerance, why Mark Thomson should wish to open the Lyceum’s new season with Shakespeare’s tale of money and racism. It is one of Shakespeare’s trickiest pieces. Our 21st…

Stage Whispers

Theatre news

2 Oct 2006

There’s so much happening in the theatre at present that Whispers is once again forced to put aside his usual egotistical ravings to flag up some entertainments that we couldn’t find space for amid our rush of reviews.

Merchant of Venice, The

The Merchant of Venice

18 Sep 2006

CLASSIC Shakespeare’s great commentary on the unease between Christians and Jews has suffered, over the years, with some of the most tortured attempts to make it conform to one thesis or another imaginable. All of his work, of course, has been…

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Dundee Rep, until Sat 16 Sep

7 Sep 2006

CLASSIC Reinhardt’s 1934 version of A Midsummer Night’s Dreamwas set on a hillside amidst a specially planted forest; Brook’s 1971 vision was in a white box space with trapeze artists and Michael Hoffman’s 1999 film placed the action in 19th century…