The Old Vic, London Nobody can deny that The Old Vic, located by Waterloo Road near the Southbank, is one of the most prominent theatres on the London scene. With its consistently high-quality productions, great location and grade II-listed building, The Old Vic is a refreshing and exciting alternative to the West End, a fact that few would disagree with. What many people may not know however, is that from its humble beginnings as a second-class theatre in 1818, and ...
Read More »Monthly Archives: March 2011
Spotlight: Jonny Lee Miller
Hackers (1995) was Lee Miller’s big break. Frankenstein, the latest production to take its place in the National Theatre’s Olivier auditorium, has set the London Theatre scene abuzz. Ever since it was announced that Danny Boyle, a director who has gone from strength to strength over the past few years and who has practically achieved superstar status, would be taking the reins for this new take on Mary Shelley’s timeless classic, theatre-lovers have been wondering what tricks he would have ...
Read More »Frankenstein, National Theatre
Nick Dear, adapted from Mary ShelleyDirected by Danny Boyle ★★★★★ Courtesy of National Theatre Danny Boyle’s return to the London theatre scene has been much talked about. Looking at the list of cast and creatives it is easy to understand why; the Oscar winning director coupled with the increasingly popular Benedict Cumberbatch the much admired Jonny Lee Miller begun turning heads as soon as it was announced. The question on everybody’s lips with these ‘big name’ productions is always the ...
Read More »The National Theatre, London
The National Theatre, London Southbank More commonly known as the National Theatre, or more affectionately known as the National, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain is the leading subsidised theatre in the UK. It was founded in 1963, and was originally based in The Old Vic. In 1976 the current premises on the South Bank, designed by architects Sir Dennis Lasden and Peter Softley, was opened with three different performance spaces: the Olivier, the Lyttleton and the Cottesloe. Today, ...
Read More »Greenland, National Theatre
Moira Buffini, Matt Charman, Penelope Skinner & Jack ThorneDirected by Bijan Sheibani★★ Courtesy of National Theatre Climate change is no longer a controversial topic. The vast majority of people agree that it is a reality, and know that in the future it could create irreversible damage. This makes it hard to write a script to challenge viewpoints and stimulate debate on the subject – all that such scripts can achieve is to further raise awareness about the problem. However, since ...
Read More »A Flea in Her Ear, The Old Vic
Georges Feydeau, translation by John Mortimer Directed by Sir Richard Eyre ★★★★ Courtesy of The Old Vic The Old Vic is very good at creating slick and well-polished productions, and one of the few able to consistently deliver genuinely funny comedies. Last season’s Design for Living was a perfect example of comic drama masterfully executed. Their follow up is their third production of A Flea in Her Ear, a play which first premiered at the Old Vic in ...
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