REVIEW: Richard III, Alexandra Palace Theatre ✭✭✭
Tim Hochstrasser reviews Headlong’s new production of William Shakespeare’s Richard III now playing at the newly restored Alexandra Palace Theatre.
Stefan Adegbola
Cast Announced For Gate’s The Christians
Casting has been announced for the UK Premiere of The Christians by Lucas Hnath which forms part of the Gate’s Icons and Idols Season. The company of The Christians includes William Gaminara (Pastor), Jaye Griffiths (Pastor’s Wife), Stefan Adegbola (Associate Pastor), Lucy Ellinson (Congregant) and David Calvitto (Elder). For the last twenty years, Pastor Paul has been building his church. Starting in a modest storefront, he now presides over a flock of thousands. Idolised by his followers, today should be a day for joy and celebration. But the sermon that Paul is about to preach will shake the very foundations of his followers’ beliefs. As fractures spread throughout his congregation, Paul must fight to prevent his church from tearing itself apart. This is the UK première of Lucas Hnath’s remarkable exploration of faith and community in the modern world. Featuring a full-scale community choir, it asks profound questions about what … Read more
REVIEW: The Merchant Of Venice, Shakespeare’s Globe ✭✭✭✭
Set firmly in its time, circa 1597, with costumes and accoutrements which establish an exotic, far away and, most importantly, bygone era, Munby avoids the great questions of the play and steers a course through the waters of sympathy, self-interest and capitalism. The result is a richly amusing take on the play, which is involving and clear, but which never achieves great heights of lyricism or drama, happily accepting “everyday” as its overall pulse. The high point of poetry for the evening comes with Jonathan Pryce’s heartfelt “Hath not a Jew eyes?” speech, the words wrenched from his very soul.
