AFTER 38 years, Dorset Opera has finally succumbed to Richard Wagner, in celebration of the composer’s bicentenary, and mounted two performances of his most accessible work The Flying Dutchman at the Coade Hall at Bryanston School. The other production also marked a bicentenary, of Guiseppi Verdi, with his La Traviata directed by Jonathan Miller. The…
THIS year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Brownsea Open Air Theatre production, after founding director Joyce Caton visited the National Trust open air theatre at Polesden Lacey (established in 1951) and thought “I could do this … and how about on Brownsea Island.” Would health and safety legislation allow the idea if it…
DIRECTOR Peter Kelly had an idea for his production of the world’s most famous love story at Studio Theatre in Salisbury this week, and he showed his wardrobe mistress Pam Hanan a picture of the Japanese animation house Manga’s idea of Romeo and Juliet. “I don’t want it to be LIKE this, but it’s a…
DUSTIN Hoffman made his directorial debut at the age of 73 with a film version of Ronald Harwood’s 1999 play Quartet, and it has been one of the surprise hits of this year – as well as raising the hackles of the thespian community as Hoffman totally ignored the fact that it had started life…
FOR all those people who think live theatre is only for pensioners and luvvies, Bristol Old Vic’s family shows at Christmas and in the summer must be an unwelcome sight. Once again the street outside the theatre has been closed off, a makeshift auditorium erected and a show created to delight people of all ages,…
ANYONE who has been to a television recording session will know that the slick and seamless stuff we watch on the box in the sitting room represents only a tiny fraction of the time spent filming (unless it was Mrs Brown’s Boys, that is!) That is the main problem for drama companies embarking on performances…
BOURNEMOUTH Shakespeare Players celebrates its 35th anniversary this year with a production of one of the Bard’s most difficult plays, Measure for Measure, in the grounds of Christchurch Priory House. After the downpours of 2012, this balmy summer is a welcome gift from the weather gods, and Tuesday’s opening night was a perfect a setting…
ALAN Bennett’s partially autobiographical play The Lady in the Van follows a strand of his life over 20 years – that part that was involved with a strange woman who moved her yellow van into his garden in Islington, and stayed. The writing emphasises a criticism he levels at himself, that he is always “in…
WHAT a difference a year makes, as regular Covent Garden Dance Company audiences at Hatch House discovered with a vengeance on Friday. The 2012 event was notable not only for spectacular dancing but for torrential rains that cascaded off the stretch marquees and flooded the parking areas. This year’s performances co-incided with some of the…
Floods in the Tithe Barn THE beautiful Wiltshire town of Bradford on Avon knows all about floods – most recently last year. The river has been at the heart of the town’s long history, made it an important centre of agriculture, wool and transport, powered its mills and provided the water for its industrial canals….