Totus Mundus Agit Histrionem

The Spanish Tragedy

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 14:47:09 GMT

Hello all you graphically savvy people! I'm directing Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, aka the first great Elizabethan revenge tragedy, in a couple of months. I need a graphic designer to design the look for posters, marketing, program, whatever. I thought I would mine the talent on livejournal, especially as it is full of theatre lovers, early modern lovers, and creative people all around.

You can find the script on google books, project gutenburg, and other various places online. It's a fascinating piece, and I highly encourage you to check it out. Basically, it's possible that the Hamlet we know would not have existed without the influence of this play.

If you are interested in this project, send me a message. Aesthetically, I believe in blood and gore. I hate when people die on stage and there is no blood. I like my violence on stage intense. (The blood work in the RSC Histories was aweseome!) I'll be staging this play in the round, to highlight the "world as stage" idea that this play uses so well. There is a frame narrative AND a play-within, so the structure is a bunch of concentric circles like this: audience - Revenge and the Ghost - Royal Court of Spain - the play about Soliman and Perseda.

I'll also be setting the play in modern day. I want the look to be real, but intensified. The kind of look you find in today's modern revenge movies like Kill Bill of V for Vendetta.

I have a few ideas for the tag line for advertising, but I'll hold back on revealing those and let you read the script first.

If this is inappropriate to post here, I apologize, and will promptly remove.

x-posted

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 19:05:20 GMT

Dear friends! Does anybody has Purcell`s "Dido and Aeneas" in his musical archive?
I need the air "Dido's lament" for my theatre. Can anybody be so kind as to share this track with me?

Possible Globe Tour?

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:46:27 GMT

I found this whilst surfing today.
http://www.2luck.com/pages.php?&menuid=123# Be worth seeing if it happens!! I might even have to go to States for holidays!!

recommendation

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:37:04 GMT

Hi guys,
Could anyone who has seen this season's non-Shakespearean plays tell me about their impression and suggest me which play to go and see next? I ran out of Will-plays and now don't know what to choose!

Thanxalot :)

Article on Liam Brennan in Living Scotsman!

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:42:03 GMT

http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1514742007

Nice article and interview ... talks about the Globe.

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:24:33 GMT

Romeo and Juliet Set
Originally uploaded by fadryn.

lexaplexa and I went to see the Globe's touring production of Romeo and Juliet at Alnwick Castle last night. It was really good fun. We arrived fairly early - to get a good spot - had a picnic in the grounds of the castle, and then settled down to watch the production.

The production was fun, not the best Romeo and Juliet I've ever seen, but certainly very unique. Like the touring companies of old they did the performance with only 8 actors, which meant that everyone had to play several parts. This made it very energetic.

I also liked the clothing, which was a mixture of modern dress with all the good bits of Tudor dress. So, the boys all had jeans and shirts on, but with a doublet over the top. (I don't know what it is about a man in a doublet but it certainly does it for me). The guy who was playing Paris/Benvolio had the most gorgeous black doublet on when he was playing Benvolio - I want.

The set, as you can see, was a knackered blue VW campervan, with the Globe stage (including pillars) in front. The actors really used the space well, and the camper van was fun.

The venue was excellent, right inside the castle with the keep behind us, but it didn't half get cold later on and I regretted not bringing more substantial footwear than my flip-flops.

The BIG Secret Live - w/ Globe Alum

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 19:43:30 GMT

CHICHESTER Festival Theatre's Shakespeare theme continues this summer in the Minerva Theatre with Mark Rylance's The BIG Secret Live I Am Shakespeare Webcam.

While conceived and written by Rylance, the company will devise the piece through rehearsals.

Colin Hurley plays William Shakspere, Juliet Rylance plays Mary Sidney, Alex Hassell plays Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and Roddy Maude-Roxby plays Sir Francis Bacon

Comedy Store at the Globe

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 23:58:39 GMT

So did any one get to see the Comedy Store Players?? ... It was HILARIOUS ... a hoot ... I was lucky enough to be on duty (I'm a Globe Steward) So I got to see it for free ... ho ho ... though obviously watching out for photography and fainters and generally doing my job ... it was amazing :D ... Josie Lawrence WOW!

The Globe is the MOST amazing theatre ... everything looks great there ... Merchant is my current favourite ... though I am looking forward to seeing what they do with Love's Labours .. any who

LOVE fellow GlobeFans xx

Romeo & Juliet on Tour

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:50:19 GMT

This is so worth seeing! It had first perf on Sunday afternoon at the Globe and now it's on tour! See these for info :-)

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/article-23401009-details/Camper+van+takes+globe+on+tour/article.do

and the tour is going all round the UK which is super! http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/globetouring/

At-door admissions?

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:35:42 GMT

Thanks for the responses to my last question. I think we're going to try to see Merchant.

Catch is, it's playing the evening we arrive -- and we don't know how jet lagged we'll be -- or a Saturday matinee.

If we want seats (and I will want to sit; can't stay on my feet long enough to groundling), how likely will it be that we can get them day of the show?

Thanks in advance. I saw the Exhibition my last visit to London, but it was November so no shows were playing. Seeing a play @ the Globe is one of my must-see experiences.

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 08:45:38 GMT

I saw Othello on saturday and I meant to share thoughts on the production with you. They're not entirely coherent I'm afraid but I always like hearing other people's reactions to the plays so I thought I'd share!

Has anyone seen Merchant yet?

Anybody seen Merchant yet?

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 00:09:46 GMT

I just saw a news story that the Globe is recasting Portia and delaying the press opening of Merchant

However, we're going to be in London at the end of the week, and I was hoping to find some reviews to help me decide between that and Othello

I'm particularly wondering how their "Renaissance staging" would handle the antisemitic aspects of the story.

Has anybody here seen Merchant yet? How bout Othello?
Any comments or recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Scottish Theatre Awards (cross posted from OBASC)

Wed, 23 May 2007 12:26:42 GMT

Another little boast for Liam Brennan! He has been nominated as Best Actor in the Scottish Theatre Awards for his performance as Otto in Tom Fool at Glasgow Citz. This is his third successive year he's been nominated (and he won it last year!) Fingers crossed for him at the Awards Ceremony on June 10. More news as I get it!!

Slings and arrows

Tue, 01 May 2007 20:35:41 GMT

This is a new(ish) series from canada, starring Paul Goss from Due South, about a Shakespeare Festival. It's fairly aesthitic I gather, and what I wanted to know if BBC 4 or ITV3 have bought it. Does anybody know?

This is way off current discussions but grateful if anyone could advise how I could get hold of this series in region 2 dvds - or if it is on multi region format, would it playback on region 2 dvd player

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:25:42 GMT

Here's an interesting link from Whatsonstage:
http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821172055492

Patrick Stewart in Shakespeare at Chichester, playing Malvolio in "Twelfth Night" and "Macbeth"

And Mark Rylance is also to be at Chichester, in the Minerva in a "play wot he's wrote" about Shakespeare and the Authorship question "The Big Secret Live "I Am Shakespeare" Webcam Daytime Chatroom Show". Has anyone seen Mark in "Boeing Boeing" yet? I am hoping to go in next couple of weeks, simply cos it sounds fun!

This was going to be a quick "heads-up" but I thought whilst I was on-line, I'd do you a catch-up!

Other Globe alumni:

Frances Barber is to be in the McKellen King Lear at the RSC;

Other ex-Globies including Hannah Barrie, Ann Ogbomo, Roger Watkins, Matt Costain, Patrice Naimambaya (sp?) (amongst others) continue to play in "Richard III " as part of the RSC's Wars of the Roses over the rest of this year.

Tony Bell and Simon Scardifield who have both worked with Globe Ed are touring with Propeller in "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Twelfth Night". They are taking the productions all over the globe (literally!) - no pun intended!

Eve Best is playing Rosalind in "As you like it" directed by Sam West in his last production as Artistic Director of the Sheffield Crucible

Liam Brennan is opening tonight (23 Feb) in a new play, "Strangers Babies" at the Traverse Theatre, in Edinburgh. Garry Collins ("Coriolanus" and "Under the Black Flag") is also in "Strangers Babies".

Immediately after "Strangers Babies" ends, Liam Brennan is in London at the Bush Theatre from March 28th - April 21st, in the Glasgow Citizens' production of "Tom Fool" This got 5 star reviews in the Scottish and National press when it opened last year, so it's a chance for us in the South East to see it.

Patrick Brennan (most recently at Globe in "Antony & Cleopatra" & "In Extremis") is at the National Theatre. Patrick is in "The Reporter".

Michael Gould (Edmund in the Globe's "King Lear", in 2001) and Liz Kettle (Bishop of Ely in "Richard III" and the false Vicentio in the "Taming of the Shew", 2003) are in "Attempts on her life", again at the NT

Alex Hassell (The Tempest", "Measure for Measure" and "The Storm" )is flirting with Liza Tarbuck on ITV1 in "Bonkers" on Thursday nights, while Sheila Reid (The Abbess in "In Extremis") is in "Benidorm" also on ITV1 immediately afterwards.

Douglas Hodge ("Titus Andronicus") is to play "The Doctor" in a stage adaptation of the Powelll & Pressburger film, "A matter of life and death" at the National Theatre. He is also playing Sir Thomas Bertram in "Mansfield Park" on tv, and is recording songs and performing his music most recently at the Trafalgar studios.

Colin Hurley ("In Extremis", Globe 2006), Tas Emiabata ("Antony & Cleopatra"), Tom Stuart ("In Extremis") and Jacqueline Defferary (Isabel in "Under the Black Flag" are in the Globe Education's Playing Shakespeare production of "Much Ado about Nothing" at the Globe in a couple of weeks.

Fred Ridgway (Enobarbus in last year's "Antony & Cleopatra", and Heloise's Uncle in "In Extremis" ) is playing Siscinius the Tribune in the RSC's "Coriolanus", in which William Huston is playing the title role. Darlene Johnson (The Nurse in "Titus Andronicus") is Valeria in this production.

Mo Sesay & Nicholas Tennant ("Under the black flag" ) are also at the NT in "The Caucasian Chalk Circle".

Zoe Wanamaker is in "The Rose Tattoo" at the NT and then this Christmas, she is playing Beatrice opposite Simon Russell Beale as Benedick in "Much Ado about Nothing" again at the NT.!

More news of the "Globe Family" !

Michael Brown was in "Summer & Smoke" in the West End but that closed early, I'm afraid!

Edward Hogg was a wow "off Broadway", just before Christmas in "Woyzeck" at the St Ann's Warehouse Theatre, Brooklyn, New York, ( where the "Measure for Measure" company played at New Year in 2006.)

Juliet Rylance & David Sturzaker have formed their own theatre company, Theatre of Memory and have just finished performing in "Bash", directed by Tamara Harvey at the Trafalgar Studios in Whitehall

Peter Shorey has just finished as "Widow Twankey" in Aladdin at Watford - I hear it was great fun!

Simon Trinder and Paul Chahidi were in "Merry Wives, the Musical" at the RSC but I don't think it's transferring, sadly.

Jodie Whittaker ("The Storm", Globe 2005) has just starred (as you all probably know!) in the film "Venus" opposite an Oscar-nominated Peter O'Toole.

Phew! Think that's everyone that I know of at the moment. Anyone else got any gossip (err I mean interesting news!).

2007 Globe Season Announced

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 10:03:57 GMT

Renaissance and Revolution
4 May – 7 October 2007

'It's far and away the most thrilling theatre in London'
Time Out, May 2006

Booking for the 2007 Theatre Season will open on 12 February

The three Shakespeare plays this season are all explorations of his own moment, the late Renaissance. They share the excitement of reporting on the world as he knew it, a world of promise and potential, yet disturbed by fault-lines. Two of them, Othello and The Merchant of Venice are largely set in the New York of the Renaissance world – Venice – a city where East met West and where wealth and romance concealed commercialism and prejudice. The third, Love’s Labour's Lost, is set in Navarre, where all the exuberance of young people in love with the world, each other, and the language they use to celebrate life, pours out unimpeded.
The three new plays celebrate tipping-points in history. We are reviving our great hit of last summer, Howard Brenton’s In Extremis, a love story about Abelard and Heloise, who revolted against the orthodoxies of the medieval age and ushered in the spirit that became the Renaissance. Jack Shepherd has written Holding Fire! for the Globe, an account of the Chartist movement, and a vivid, picturesque journey through early Victorian England. The third new play, We, The People, recreates the moment in Philadelphia in 1787, when 50 men sat down over a long, hot, fly-infested summer, and wrote down what the United States could and should be.
Come and join us at these human dramas of love, prejudice and hope, played out among the confusion of history’s riptides. The Globe is a unique arena, which in its first incarnation, reflected Renaissance England back to itself, and which, with its recreation, brings us back together today.
The Globe Theatre is ten years young this year. What it has achieved in its first ten years is remarkable, yet every time it opens its doors to a brand new audience, there is a sense of a brand new beginning, a minature renaissance.
Please come and share in our excitement at this new season.
Dominic Dromgoole
Artistic Director

Liam Brennan and other Globe alumni

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:24:21 GMT

Just another little boast ! Some of you may know Liam got astounding reviews for Tom Fool the rather grim play he did in Scotland last Nov - it is transferring to the Bush Theatre in London in March & April so another globe alumni for us to go and see - He also got some great write-ups in the Scots press end of year theatre round ups: (mostly in the last paragraphs of the following!!)

The Scotsman: http://living.scotsman.com/performing.cfm?id=1886032006
The Herald: http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/77554.html
The Sunday Herald: http://www.sundayherald.com/culture/arts/display.var.1089928.0.2006_cultural_review_theatre.php
Liam is also in a new play at the Traverse in Edinburgh in February before he comes to London for Tom Fool. Gary Collins (who was in various roles in Coriolanus at the Globe) is in that too.

Other Globe actors news: Juliet Rylance and David Sturzaker (The WInter's Tale), are in "Bash" at the Trafalgar studios from 10th Jan.
Mark Rylance, as you will know is in Boeing Boeing in the West End in the Spring.
Peter Shorey is in panto till the end of this week at Watford.
Paul Chahidi and Simon Trinder are in "Merry Wives the musical" at the RSC in Stratford - there are vague rumours that it will come into London at some point.
The RSC are also bringing in Richard III with the Henries into Stratford and hopefully by the end of this year, will also be doing both tetrologies with lots of Globe and RSC alumni!

Also (not quite so Globe related but with a few potential OBAs), Edward Hall's all male company, Propeller, are bringing "The Taming of the Shrew" and "12th Night" into the Old Vic from this weekend onwards - they are usually good but I still have such fond memories of the Globe's, they will have to work hard to impress me :-) )

Mark on Stage Again

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:26:50 GMT

Mark in West end play at Comedy: February 3rd to April 28th

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/news/display?contentId=92016

Globe Alumni

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:48:57 GMT

Hi

Only one review in so far for Liam but signs are promising for his new play "Tom Fool" in Glasgow.

Simon Trinder (Puck 2002) and Paul Chahidi (Maria also 2002) are in Merry Wives in Stratford with Judi Dench and Simon Callow (Des Barrit has had to pull out sadly) but Callow is apparently looking forward to being Falstaff. I can't believe it's Callow's first role with the RSC.

Michael Brown is in Summer & Smoke in the West End

Edward Hogg is off to New York in the revival of Wozyeck

Peter Shorey has just finished in rep at the Theatre on the Lake in Keswick in the Lakew District and is going into panto as Widow Twankey - definately worth an expedition :-)

Who've I missed out? Any other news?

Woyzeck!

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:50:06 GMT

Ten days till Edward at St. Ann's!!!!!

hey new member

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 12:58:46 GMT

hallo all .. new memebr here ... I'm a huge Globe fan ... and also a HUGE Mark Rylance fan ... I was wondering whether anyone had any pictures of him .. as there are so few on the internet ... :D

Love and other shakepearean things xxx

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:23:24 GMT

Hi Globe fans,

I finally got around to seeing In Extremis this weekend, and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. For those of you that haven't seen it, I highly recommend it- it's a very moving story and well acted, if a bit losely written at the beginning. For those of you have seen all or most of the productions of this season, which was your favorite or one you thought the most well done? Mine's a tie between Titus and Comedy of Errors, because they are so different to each other that it's hard to compare the writing/production styles, however I think they were the most solid productions of the seasons.

And another question: have any of you auditioned for the Globe before? I won't be submitting my materials for next season because I'll be on tour from January to May, but want to the year after. I don't know anyone personally who's submitted to the casting calls and been invited to audition, and was wondering what the process was like, how long it lasted, etc.

Thanks muchly!

Octavius and Antony - like Harry and Voldemort, in a way.

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:15:16 GMT

Despite living in London I've been alternately too lazy/busy travelling to get to the Globe at all this season, and I found myself having seen no plays with only a week left before I go back to university. I had to make a hard decision as to which I'd see the only free night I had left (tonight). I went for Antony and Cleo because I was going with friends that I studied the play with three years ago at A level, so it has a certain sentimental value. I'm annoyed I won't get to see Titus now, but I suppose I've only myself to blame!

Anyway, it was great. Frances Barber was indeed fantastic as Cleopatra. Nicholas Jones was a bit of a nonentity. It wasn't that he was awful, it was just that he didn't make Antony particularly memorable as a character, which in Antony and Cleopatra obviously isn't ideal. There was no real sense of greatness in his Antony.

Also, if you haven't been to the Globe yet and you're planning to go next season, or for the end of this one, two things to remember:

1. One of the best things about the Globe is coming out after the performance to a perfect view of St Paul's Cathedral illuminated on the other side of the river. Stop and savour it.

2. Don't buy the sandwiches they sell off the carts in the courtyard. They are not only ridiculously overpriced, they are vile. I, sadly, only learnt this today.

Bill Stewart

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:37:27 GMT

Dear all

Not sure if you have heard but sad news. Bill Stewart (Duke of York in Globe's Richard II and Sir Toby Belch in the beautiful Twelfth Night) died unexpectedly last week. This is his obituary in the Times : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2347372.html

Michael Brown

Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:35:07 GMT

Michael Brown's got another gig in Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke in the West End. The production, directed by Adrian Noble, will open in London at the Apollo Theatre on October 18 (with previews from October 12).

http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=534953

All the best to him!