Royal Shakespeare Company

Adult casting announced for Matilda UK Tour

Matilda the musical West End, News, Touring
Matilda The Muiscal in London

The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced the adult casting for the first five venues for the upcoming UK tour of Matilda the musical.  The Matilda UK Tour will launch at the Leicester Curve on 5 March 2018 and will visit Dublin, Sunderland, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff in 2018. Having now played Miss Trunchbull for three years in the West End, Craige Els will reprise the role on tour. He will be joined on stage by Carly Thomas as Miss Honey, Sebastian Torkia as Mr Wormwood and Rebecca Thornhill as Mrs Wormwood. The full adult cast includes Joe Atkinson, Peter Bindloss, Oliver Bingham, Emily Bull, Matthew Caputo, Samara Casteallo, Craige Els, Matt Gillett, Michelle Chantelle Hopewell, Sam Lathwood, Steffan Lloyd-Evans, Charlie Martin, Anu Ogunmefun, Carly Thoms, Rebecca Thornhill, Sebastien Torkia, Taylor Walker, Adam Vaughan and Dawn Williams. The children’s cast will be announced in due course. Matilda The Musical … Read more

Full casting announced for RSC’s Coriolanus

News, Regional, West End
Sope Dirisu to play Coriolanus in RSC production

The RSC has announced full casting for Angus Jackson’s upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. Presented as part of the Rome season, Coriolanus will join Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra and Titus Andronicus in the company’s repertoire before transferring to London’s Barbican Theatre from 6 November 2017. As previously announced playing the title role is Sope Dirisu, who most recently performed as Cassisus Clay in One Night in Miami (Donmar Warehouse) and ITV’s The Halcyon. He is joined by Haydn Gwynne who returns to the RSC after 11 years to play his mother, Volumnia. Haydn can currently be seen as Camilla in series two of Channel 4’s The Windsors. Her other credits include The Threepenny Opera (National Theatre); as Margaret Thatcher in The Audience and in TV’s Father Brown, Uncle and Death in Paradise. Also returning to the RSC is Associate Artist Paul Jesson who plays Menenius. Paul was last … Read more

REVIEW: Queen Anne, Theatre Royal Haymarket ✭✭✭✭

Reviews, West End
Queen Anne Tickets

Queen Anne offers an insightful and commendably believable depiction of the reign of one of England’s lesser known monarchs, and her complex relationship with childhood friend Sarah Churchill. Though the play takes time to get into its stride, the second Act is quite exceptional. Emma Cunniffe and Romola Garai give wonderful performances, and the play has an extremely satisfying payoff.

REVIEW: A Mad World My Masters, Barbican Theatre ✭✭

Off West End, Reviews, Touring
A Mad World My Masters at the Barbican Centre

It has everything: dirty, jazzy songs sung lustily; knob jokes; fake brawls; knickers tossed to the audience; knob jokes; sex scenes of all kinds; an altercation with a garbage bin; knob jokes; liquids tossed or splurged onto the audience; dress ups; knob jokes; raunchy scene changes; prostitutes masquerading as Nuns; knob jokes; big items being removed from small, dark places despite security measures including the penis on a small statue of David; fart jokes; and characters called Master Whopping Prospect, Penitent Brothel, Dick Follywit and Mr Littledick. Did I mention there were knob jokes?

REVIEW: Death Of A Salesman, Royal Shakespeare Theatre ✭✭✭

Regional, Reviews, West End
Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller at the Royal Shakespeare Company

The role of Willy Loman is very exacting, requiring great range and subtlety from the actor. The single greatest requirement, though, is for the actor to be Loman rather than to play him; there needs to be total immersion in the character, and the character’s different stages. It must be possible to see the Loman who so enthralled and impressed his sons, the Loman who believed in the Dream and to contrast that against the Loman who is engulfed, diminished, destroyed. Antony Sher gives a prickly, vigorous, erratically explosive performance. He might wear Loman’s skin but he never gets under it.

REVIEW: Love’s Sacrifice, The Swan Theatre ✭✭

Regional, Reviews
Love's Sacrifice at the Swan Theatre

Despite a delicious design from Anna Fleischle (the black velvet floor and beautifully detailed costumes especially) and some winning, often charming, performances from Catrin Stewart, Jamie Thomas King, Andy Apollo, Colin Ryan and Matthew Needham, Dunster’s production does not establish any case for Love’s Sacrifice to be revived.

REVIEW: Love’s Labour’s Won, Royal Shakespeare Theatre ✭✭✭✭

Regional, Reviews
The RSC production of Love's Labour's Won at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Christopher Luscombe’s very funny version of the Beatrice/Benedick show complete with magnificent, period set (Simon Highlett), some fabulous costumes, Nigel Hess’ delightful music and Jenny Arnold’s joyful movement. Setting the play in the post-World War 1 period works nicely; the sense of changing times is entirely appropriate. It’s a gentle but frisky time and you can almost hear the approach of the flappers.