A Small Mind At The Theatre

Regular readers of this fair blog will be aware that I am not overly keen on pantomimes, although I always at this time of year end up inexplicably in the vicinity of more than one (and this year I am destined for six I believe!). So, despite Dracula (or A Pain in the Neck) , not officially being billed as a panto, that is very much the vibe of this Playhouse Theatre adaptation of the Bram Stoker classic. A company of actors (well, aristocrats) in the 1920s have assembled to put on a little show, their own version of Dracula (or something like Harker of Whitby meets the Count) for us, the "willing" audience. Our host is Sir Simon Smee (Simon Rye) who will play Jonathan Harker during this little performance. What follows is for the best part a slightly loose version of the Stoker classic, which does definitely at times get a little complicated in the way it tells the story, not made easier by the playing of characters playing characters explanation. However, this is, be...

Bernie Wood (Cleopatra) & Matt Fell (Antony) Unless you are one of the gold chain rattling members and higher echelons at the top of The Globe theatre and planning on evicting your innovative artistic director, the good old Bard is currently rife for exploiting in setting, gender and dynamics of theatre, and for me perhaps he should be. It is not as if after 400 odd years there haven't been enough opportunities to see "pure" Shakespeare. Hence why long before I made my way to see Masque Theatre's production of Antony & Cleopatra this week at Abington Park museum, I was already pretty excited to see it. The very reason is that having had the privilege of seeing female Malcolm's and Richard II's in the last few years via the University of Northampton shows, a nicely split gender balance from this show thanks to innovative casting by director John Myhill was on the cards. Throw in a bit of Mike Oldfield to open proceedings and you are going somewher...

While you often feel you should be sitting admiring R.C. Sherriff's Journey's End, rather than enjoying it, you simply can't help it at times. For so much of the play, especially in the first half, it is rife with so much humour that you find yourself laughing at this group of men, who despite potentially being moments from death, are living life through companionship and laughter. Most of the comedy rather interestingly comes from the trials of food and drink and the often ineffectiveness of Mason the cook (Kevin Pinks). Set in the trenches in early 1918, Sherriff's play centres around a company of men commanded by Stanhope (Tristan Smith) and the gradual build-up to the battle at St. Quentin. It is a stark believable world, which comes as no surprise as the writer saw service himself in the East Surrey Regiment. As is often the case with Masque Theatre productions, this has a very strong cast. Tristan Smith is a cold, quietly brooding Stanhope, at times seemingly ...