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Post by Jan on Nov 10, 2021 17:25:15 GMT
One bit that amused me, as it always does when Doran and Norris say similar things, is this:
"I’ve done a lot of work which has experimented with who’s in it, who’s invited to be in it, what is it saying about the world – the Romeo and Juliet that I made in 2018 is in my head, it was very explicitly about young people right now. I don’t think all Shakespeare has to be set right now and all sorts of things work in different time periods, but I use that as an example because there was nervousness about what a traditional audience might make of it."
Firstly, the condescending thought that a "traditional audience" might not understand her edgy (in her own mind) work. And secondly that a 50-year-old Oxbridge middle-class wealthy director would have the slightest idea about "young people right now". Just putting a rap into the production doesn't quite cut it (Hytner I'm looking at you). Let me try again: The directors who might know about young people right now are young directors who are tuned in to popular youth culture. The Robert Icke Hamlet was a show that both young people and a traditional audience liked.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2022 12:21:45 GMT
Anyone got any ideas of what we can expect for the autumn/winter season? The announcement is usually around this time of year.
I can’t imagine them doing another musical having done 2 years in a row (ignoring the COVID postponement). Though saying that I wouldn’t be surprised if they bought back The Boy in the Dress seeing as West End plans were interrupted by the pandemic.
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Post by Jan on Jan 31, 2022 13:02:35 GMT
Anyone got any ideas of what we can expect for the autumn/winter season? The announcement is usually around this time of year. I can’t imagine them doing another musical having done 2 years in a row (ignoring the COVID postponement). Though saying that I wouldn’t be surprised if they bought back The Boy in the Dress seeing as West End plans were interrupted by the pandemic. Henry VI only goes to end-May so we're waiting for the summer season news too. I would suggest they do a bit of Shakespeare if they can squeeze it in between their failed money-making ventures. If they really intend to complete the full cycle they need to do Richard III, Henry VIII, also Pericles if they're not going to use the get out that it wasn't in the First Folio. Actually I could see them going for Pericles "with its themes of migration an amateur cast of asylum seekers blah blah blah". |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jan 31, 2022 14:58:39 GMT
Anyone got any ideas of what we can expect for the autumn/winter season? The announcement is usually around this time of year. I can’t imagine them doing another musical having done 2 years in a row (ignoring the COVID postponement). Though saying that I wouldn’t be surprised if they bought back The Boy in the Dress seeing as West End plans were interrupted by the pandemic. Henry VI only goes to end-May so we're waiting for the summer season news too. I would suggest they do a bit of Shakespeare if they can squeeze it in between their failed money-making ventures. If they really intend to complete the full cycle they need to do Richard III, Henry VIII, also Pericles if they're not going to use the get out that it wasn't in the First Folio. Actually I could see them going for Pericles "with its themes of migration an amateur cast of asylum seekers blah blah blah". They have already done that with the Open Stages production of Pericles about 10 years ago |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2022 15:19:56 GMT
Anyone got any ideas of what we can expect for the autumn/winter season? The announcement is usually around this time of year. I can’t imagine them doing another musical having done 2 years in a row (ignoring the COVID postponement). Though saying that I wouldn’t be surprised if they bought back The Boy in the Dress seeing as West End plans were interrupted by the pandemic. Henry VI only goes to end-May so we're waiting for the summer season news too. I would suggest they do a bit of Shakespeare if they can squeeze it in between their failed money-making ventures. If they really intend to complete the full cycle they need to do Richard III, Henry VIII, also Pericles if they're not going to use the get out that it wasn't in the First Folio. Actually I could see them going for Pericles "with its themes of migration an amateur cast of asylum seekers blah blah blah". That's a fair point, I hadn’t realised it only goes up until May, thought it was around September time. |
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Post by Jan on Jan 31, 2022 15:23:57 GMT
Henry VI only goes to end-May so we're waiting for the summer season news too. I would suggest they do a bit of Shakespeare if they can squeeze it in between their failed money-making ventures. If they really intend to complete the full cycle they need to do Richard III, Henry VIII, also Pericles if they're not going to use the get out that it wasn't in the First Folio. Actually I could see them going for Pericles "with its themes of migration an amateur cast of asylum seekers blah blah blah". They have already done that with the Open Stages production of Pericles about 10 years ago Oh ? Can’t imagine how I missed that. Maybe also make it all-female this time and have Mark Ravenhill rewrite it as a rap ? |
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Jan 31, 2022 16:10:30 GMT
They have already done that with the Open Stages production of Pericles about 10 years ago Oh ? Can’t imagine how I missed that. Maybe also make it all-female this time and have Mark Ravenhill rewrite it as a rap ? Christ don’t give them ideas! |
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Post by Jan on Jan 31, 2022 20:12:40 GMT
Oh ? Can’t imagine how I missed that. Maybe also make it all-female this time and have Mark Ravenhill rewrite it as a rap ? Christ don’t give them ideas! Sorry. It’s just that I remember when Kneehigh completely rewrote Cymbeline - every single line - as doggerel rhyming verse. |
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Post by Jan on Feb 8, 2022 7:35:34 GMT
www.whatsonstage.com/stratford-upon-avon-theatre/news/royal-shakespeare-company-2022-productions_55879.htmlSo, R-III and All's Well. Elsewhere they say Twelfth Night too. "These two newly announced titles mark the final productions of the company's ten-year pledge to produce all of the Bard's collected plays on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage." That's fake news. There are plays they haven't done at all (Henry VIII, Pericles) and several they only did in the Swan and not in the RST (eg. Timon, King John). I quite like Blanche McIntyre as a director, her Titus Andronicus was the best thing by far in their appalling Romans season, typical that it has taken 5 years for them to invite her back, her career in Shakespeare has been developed and sustained by the Globe. Some top virtue signalling from the launch: "Erica Whyman, acting artistic director of the RSC, said the company was committed “to partnership, to inclusion and justice”."
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Post by stevemar on Feb 8, 2022 13:15:25 GMT
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 8, 2022 14:10:01 GMT
I am not sure reinforcing Tudor propaganda is terribly progressive.
I know that the play is not supposed to be historically accurate but for me the key to Richard III has always been the psychology of the man not the physical challenges he faced.
One could argue that the latter informed the former. But the reality of the man is that he was a successful warrior and not outwardly encumbered by his scoliosis.
It is great that the RSC are employing disabled actors. But it would be far more exciting if they were to cast this actor as Romeo or Lysander. This feels like a very safe and obvious move.
Richard of Gloucester in the play certainly displays psychological issues but no one is saying how important it is for an actor cast in the role to have lived experience of psychopathy.
I know representation matters. But it should never be tokenistic.
When I directed the piece, I was determined to focus on the psychological aspects of the character and didn't ask my actor to portray any form of physical difference. I think it is rarely acceptable to ask an able bodied actor to act disabled. And with this play, the issues around Richard's disability are of far less relevant to creating a thrilling piece of theatre than getting inside the mind of the monster Shakespeare created.
Great that the RSC have taken a small step towards representing disabled actors on Stratford stages.
I just wish they had been a bit more creative.
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Post by Jan on Feb 8, 2022 14:29:03 GMT
Arthur Hughes was good in Vassa at the Almeida so it seems reasonable casting to me though I’d rather have had David Tennant which would also have been more commercial. I’m less happy with the director, it’s a long hard play and unsuited to Doran’s literal and static approach, I would rather have had Blanche McIntyre direct that one.
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 8, 2022 14:31:32 GMT
It may be a first for the RSC, but it's not a first. The 2017 Northern Broadsides production, which began in Hull as part of the City of Culture, had Mat Fraser in the title role.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 8, 2022 14:45:57 GMT
It may be a first for the RSC, but it's not a first. The 2017 Northern Broadsides production, which began in Hull as part of the City of Culture, had Mat Fraser in the title role. I don't think the rsc get many firsts these days. Well not positive ones anyway |
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Post by Jan on Feb 8, 2022 15:49:45 GMT
It may be a first for the RSC, but it's not a first. The 2017 Northern Broadsides production, which began in Hull as part of the City of Culture, had Mat Fraser in the title role. Daniel Monks in that updated version at the Donmar. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 8, 2022 19:29:45 GMT
The blurb for All's Well is utterly facile
'Helena is convinced that she and Bertram are #CoupleGoals. He’s not so sure. After engineering their betrothal, Helena will go to any length to realise her glamourised version of romance. But do the ends always justify the means?'
It completely trivialises what is quite a subtle and moving play
I know they are all about the yoof. But this misses the magic in the text.
Another thing - anyone know why Mariah Gale is now being billed as Minnie Gale?
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Post by samuelwhiskers on Feb 8, 2022 20:38:55 GMT
'Helena is convinced that she and Bertram are #CoupleGoals. He’s not so sure.’ Hashtag CRINGE |
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Post by Jan on Feb 9, 2022 7:12:27 GMT
The blurb for All's Well is utterly facile That's just the marketing department. Like when they advertised Doran's "Troilus and Cressida" with an expensive video game trailer and the production turned out to have nothing at all to do with video games. This constant quest for yoof with every production is self-defeating really, it is a never-ended treadmill as they perpetually alienate an older audience and have to replace it. |
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Post by Jan on Feb 9, 2022 10:00:17 GMT
Here are some exciting new appointments by the RSC.
"The RSC has also named three new digital fellows: writer and dramaturg Kirsty Housley, digital artist Adam Clarke, and multi-platform artist Ben Glover.
Housley will explore the future of artificial intelligence and the gender biases around it, Clarke will focus on the crossover between live performance and video games, and Glover will work to develop captioning technology in live performance."
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Post by crabtree on Feb 9, 2022 10:15:27 GMT
yikes! I'm still frustrated after their hi-tech tempest with a ropey live projection of ariel whilst sidelining a rather brilliant performer to the shadows. Grim. The projection of the flowers onto the masque dresses were lovely but please don't replace the actors.
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Post by cavocado on Feb 9, 2022 12:47:12 GMT
I think real yoof find that kind of marketing embarrassing and patronising, so I doubt it achieves anything, other than giving marketing interns something to add to their CVs.
I wish the RSC wouldn't dabble in digital art. What I want from a theatre company is...high quality live theatre, real human actors speaking and performing on stage in front of live audiences. Is that such an odd thing to prioritise? I found the virtual reality Dream film they did over lockdown just pointless - it was only loosely Shakespearean, and very dull to watch compared with big budget animations - understandably so, because animation is not where the RSC is meant to excel. Fair enough to explore captioning technology to make theatre more accessible, but why is the RSC putting money and resources into VR, video gaming, etc?
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 9, 2022 12:47:32 GMT
Here are some exciting new appointments by the RSC. "The RSC has also named three new digital fellows: writer and dramaturg Kirsty Housley, digital artist Adam Clarke, and multi-platform artist Ben Glover. Housley will explore the future of artificial intelligence and the gender biases around it, Clarke will focus on the crossover between live performance and video games, and Glover will work to develop captioning technology in live performance." They just love wasting public money on stuff that just isn't needed. What a joke they have become. |
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Post by juicy_but_terribly_drab on Feb 9, 2022 13:11:43 GMT
I think real yoof find that kind of marketing embarrassing and patronising, so I doubt it achieves anything, other than giving marketing interns something to add to their CVs. I wish the RSC wouldn't dabble in digital art. What I want from a theatre company is...high quality live theatre, real human actors speaking and performing on stage in front of live audiences. Is that such an odd thing to prioritise? I found the virtual reality Dream film they did over lockdown just pointless - it was only loosely Shakespearean, and very dull to watch compared with big budget animations - understandably so, because animation is not where the RSC is meant to excel. Fair enough to explore captioning technology to make theatre more accessible, but why is the RSC putting money and resources into VR, video gaming, etc? As a "yoof" myself, there is no one in my age group that this kind of marketing will appeal to and, unless it's supposed to be drenched in irony (which doesn't come across whatsoever), it just reads as painfully out of touch. |
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Post by Jan on Feb 9, 2022 13:27:34 GMT
Fair enough to explore captioning technology to make theatre more accessible ... Agree on paper that looks useful but in practice I would guess it is an area that is already being looked at by subsidised and non-subsidised theatre and operas all over the world. For the RSC who have to generate a profit of £1m a year just to cover their interest payments on the Covid loan it looks like the wrong priority. Having someone look at AI and the gender biases around it is definitely a complete waste of money - that is a subject for university academic research as it calls on a range of disciplines. |
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 9, 2022 14:03:53 GMT
Captioning technology already exists and has been working very well for years.
It's not as if the RSC is doing improv. They are working with texts that can easily be put into any number of subtitling systems.
They are just being self indulgent. As ever.
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