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David Richards speculates about the Lisbon Treaty..
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, HCTC, 21st June 2009.
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What could be a better way to spend the eve of the summer solstice than sitting outside on a picnic rug, glass of wine in hand, watching ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’? The Hill College Theatre Company’s one-night-only performance of Shakespeare’s comedy, directed by Georgina Leach, was perfectly suited to the sultry evening (if we ignore the fact that it was threatening to rain). Deep-bellied laughter (though perhaps not always for the right reasons) was set against frantic anxiety, as the characters in the …
Twelfth Night, Castle Theatre Company, Castle Great Hall, 18 - 20Â June 2009.
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           Twelfth Night, Castle Theatre’s summer Shakespeare, will be touring England and America later this year, and so bore a heavier responsibility than is usual for alfresco thesping. Of course, I say ‘alfresco’, but I saw the show in the Great Hall, the Durham run having unfortunately missed the English summer (which this year apparently lasted from June 6th to 10th ).
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The plot of Twelfth Night, or What you Will is Shakespearean comedy by rote. Siblings separated in traumatic …
This coming week in Durham the sketch comedy scene will almost inevitably be dominated by WitTank vs. the Durham Revue, a show set to be the one of the comedic highlights of the year. However, anyone who thinks that that is the only sketch comedy taking place will miss out one of Durham’s best kept secrets, the award winning Microcomedy. They perform incredibly clever, disturbingly dark, low-key sketch comedy. The audience, as well as the performers, is welcomed onto the assembly room stage which is lit with small desk lamps. …
‘Othello’, Collingwood College Woodplayers, Collingwood, 19 - 21 June 2009.
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The amphitheatre at Collingwood College transforms what would otherwise merely be a turning circle into an ingenious outdoor space. On arrival, the audience - those that were prepared to risk the weather of a Durham summer afternoon - were seated on the tiered steps of the amphitheatre, some way away from colourful, graffiti splashed panels near the middle of the turning circle. These provided a rather meagre context for this staging of Othello, set in a modern police station - complete …
Hole in the Wall Theatre Company, Van Mildert College, 21 - 23 June 2009.
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Hole in the Wall’s brief version of Lysistrata was an interesting collection of different ideas. The set was sparse with only a couple of sofas for the choruses, two screens for the actors to come in and out by and a few flickering torches; mind you, given that it was outside, on a small lawn in Van Mildert grounds, what did I expect?
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I certainly didn’t expect the Ancient Greece meets Sex and the City that I got. …
Terry Pratchett’s ‘Mort’ by Collingwood’s Woodplayers’ Society at Collingwood College, 19th-21st June 2009.
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Director Leo Smith’s interpretation of Stephen Briggs’ interpretation of Terry Pratchett’s Mort was small, cheap, cheerful and unambitious. Was there a large cast? Nope. A big budget? No way. Was there even a stage? Dream on. No, we were in a hastily converted gym in Collingwood. With a total of two sound effects, two sets, a tiny crew and a line in the programme saying ‘I’ve had a lot of fun guys’, clearly this play was a bunch …
Donnchadh O’Conaill puts the Durham theatre scene in the spotlight Â
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           Durham theatre types indulge in endless self-analysis, but it is often rather insular in nature. The points of reference are usually other Durham thesps or productions, with occasional nods to what’s going on London or what was hot at the Fringe last summer. But you’re not comparing like with like here: even when you see shows from other universities at the Fringe, you’re seeing only a sample, and you never know how representative it is. I did my BA and MA …
‘The Vagina Monologues’, Hill College Theatre Company at The Assembly Rooms, 11th - 13th June 2009
Where to begin? The Hill College Theatre Company’s production of Eve Ensler’s ‘The Vagina Monologues’ has been the talk of the town these last few days, not least among those who filled the theatre on Friday night – the monologues were still the focus of conversations in the early hours of Saturday as the birds began to sing. These tales of women young and old from across the world are laugh-out-loud, full of sadness. They are frightening …
Stevie Martin argues that the d’Oscars are a well deserved, much needed load of bollocks
Vicki Sparks penned her thoughts shortly after Chelsea’s controversial Champions League elimination on Wednesday…
