THEATRE TALK: A Sunny Shakespearian Summer Beckons

So Much Shakespeare

If you like Shakespeare and you live in or within travelling distance of London, you're really in for a treat this summer. First up is Shakesepeare's Globe's intriguingly mixed season, where Henry IV Part 1, starring Roger Allam (recently of La Cage) and Jamie Parker (recently of... Shakespeare's Globe), is a real gem of a piece - funny, silly, full of action and fast-paced. Henry IV Part 2 starts very soon and there are a few dates this summer where, if you are a glutton for punishment like me, you can watch one after the other. Soon, too, Howard Brenton's new play about Anne Boleyn will take flight - I spoke to lead Miranda Raison recently, so keep an eye out for that.

If you want your Shakespeare a little more traditional, I've just returned from Sam Mendes' As You Like It at the Old Vic as part of the three-year Bridge Project (the piece is paired with the Tempest) and can thoroughly recommend it. It's very different to the Globe's production of the same play last summer - for one thing, there is much more scope for complex set design, and as a consequence it's much more stylised - but in a good way. The humour is very different, perhaps a consequence of an Anglo-American cast, or simply different line readings, and it could benefit from a few judicious cuts (always a contentious issue) but it's a very pleasant way to spend a summer afternoon or evening and there are some terrific performances.

Find out more about the Bridge Project here

Suffrage Steals The Show

Not Shakespeare, but equally as fun (plus it finishes on Saturday, so I must be quick in telling you about it) - there's a real gem of a production currently playing at the Union Theatre in Southwark. Knickerbocker Glories was put together by actress Naomi Paxton, who uncovered a load of plays written by suffragettes in the late 19th and early 20th century and has staged three of these in the intimate Union. But wait, don't go away, it might sound a bit dry, but these are actually completely brilliant and very, very funny. The plays are just one act in length - lasting around twenty or thirty minutes each - and cleverly subvert the anti-suffrage societies extant during that period with witty repartee and good humour on the part of the suffragettes.

This show is not like anything you'll have seen on the stage in recent times, but perhaps that's the point. Plus, it's so hard to do good comedy that it's almost shocking how easy it was for these suffragette writers to write laugh-out-loud comedic moments - though perhaps it wasn't quite as funny when women were actually suffering from the oppression of not having a vote! There are no big names in the show but some really excellent performances - particularly from Karen Fisher-Pollard and Charlotte Moore, both of whom show off wonderfully nuanced comic skills. Do try and catch it while you still can - and here's hoping the show has a life beyond the Union. It worked for Pirates Of Penzance...

Buy tickets for Knickerbocker Glories here

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