Anna Laycock reviews King Lear at the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Directed by David Farr

Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Friday 25th February 2011

Although I did not know King Lear well, I still was very keen to watch it being performed at the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre last week. I was most excited to see one of the first performances on the new stage, and to see for myself whether the thrust layout really is much more effective than the proscenium arch.

From the moment I walked into the foyer of the new theatre I knew that I was entering into something very grand, the front of house area really has been transformed and is much more spacious. Instead of being cramped into one space, audience members can browse in the shop located by the box office, or wonder round the corner to the cafe, explore an exhibition room, have a bite to eat at the Rooftop Restaurant or just simply wait by the theatre bar and admire the view over the river basin. Touches like, projecting photographs from past productions onto the wall beside the cafe and the opportunity to add your message to a web of words keep audience members waiting to take their seats entertained.

When I took my seat at the back row of the upper circle I knew I did not have to worry about not hearing or seeing the action as even being right at the back I was no more than 15 feet away from the stage, much closer than the back seats of the old theatre. Also, the thrust stage made the special effects involved so much more effective such as the rain falling on Lear and sandbags falling from the ceiling, effects that would not have worked as well at all in a proscenium arch space. Furthermore, the play made good use of the space, playing to all sides of the auditorium so that all audience members felt involved.

Greg Hicks made a brilliant King Lear, his portrayal of an authoritive leader descended into madness always had an element of black comedy as well as tragedy. Sophie Russell made a highly entertaining Fool, often making the audience laugh. Another stand-out performance was Tunji Kasim as the manipulative Edmund, who with his cunning words almost managed to win over the audience.

Overall, my experience at the new RST was highly enjoyable and will certainly be an experience I will be having many times again!

Anna Laycock, age 19

Photo by Manual Harlan

Keeping a Blog by Jude Evans

I began my ‘Book Blog’ towards the end of 2010, after having kept other blogs over the past couple of years. With this new blog I’ve finally found my niche. Keeping this blog allows me to channel my passion for literature into something productive. I’m able to keep up what I love doing – combining my love of reading and watching novels and poetry, films and theatre productions, with my love of analysing literature. My blog is also a space for me to keep a record of all that I read and see, and to develop my skills as a writer. Friends and family are also able to read about what I’ve been doing – and I don’t need to chew their ears off about the latest book I’ve read!

Having blogged for the past couple of years, and having read the blogs of others, it seems a brilliant thing to do. It’s your own space to write about pretty much whatever you want, and to be creative in designing it. It can range from being a journal-type blog, a literature-based blog (Dan Hutton's theatre blog is fantastic), to one charting a personal project (take a peek at Samantha Edwards’ ‘Bard-a-thon’). A lot of bloggers, and indeed non-bloggers, enjoy reading and discovering other people’s blogs (it’s amazing the variety out there). Ultimately, blogging is fun, and it can be a really satisfying thing to do!

You can take a peek at my blog at: www.thebookblogger-fairophelia.blogspot.com

Jude Evans, age 22

Liberty Jackson reviews Matilda, A Musical

Directed by Matthew Warchus

Royal Shakespeare Company, The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

I remember when I first found out that the RSC were staging a musical production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda. I had just sat down to watch their 2009 production of Arabian Nights. I opened the programme and was flicking through when I suddenly saw an A4 poster advert for Matilda. I was 16 at the time, (I’m 17 now) and my dad turned to me and said, ‘Won’t you be too old then?’ I looked at him like he was mad – my favourite book, my favourite film, being put on stage, and as a musical... I was so excited! I enjoyed Arabian Nights immensely, but throughout I couldn’t quite get over the fact that Matilda was being made into a musical – in my hometown!

Fast forward to November 2010 when Matilda, A Musical opened.  With the book and indeed, film adaptation as iconic works in the arts industry, I was intrigued to find out how Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin would make their mark on the RSC’s new production.

I feel privileged in two ways; not only was I lucky enough to see Matilda five times, I was also fortunate to see each team perform! My first visit to the Courtyard to see Matilda, I saw the team headed by Kerry Ingram as Matilda. Even as I was walking to take my seat, I was in awe of the set, and couldn’t help looking up until I spotted the swings. I had already seen the RSC’s promotional video, so I knew what the swings were used for – but I couldn’t wait to see it live! From the opening bars of the band, until the concluding cartwheel, I was covered from head to toe in goose bumps and was taken away, encapsulated in this wonderful story.

Kerry’s portrayal of Matilda was a completely unique take of the character. Her vulnerability instantaneously won the hearts of the audience, whilst still maintaining Matilda’s feisty character, as demonstrated particularly well in Matilda’s first solo song, Naughty. Joining Kerry was an unbelievably talented bunch of children, or should I say actors, who had every ounce of professionalism held by their older colleagues; namely, James Beesley, who played Bruce. His character could be that of a ‘disgusting criminal’ as supposed by Bertie Carvel’s fabulous, show stealing portrayal of Miss Trunchbull. However, his cheeky smile and sensational voice won me over in an instant. Tim Minchin’s lyrics for Revolting Children suited his personality perfectly, and as we had previously fallen in love with Kerry, we fell for James.

About a week later, I came to the courtyard again, this time to see Josie Griffiths as Matilda. Her confidence was second to none, and despite a few slip ups she had the audience as putty in her hands. Again, her supporting cast was faultless and Rebecca Stoll’s performance as Lavender, Matilda’s feisty best friend, was exceptional. Lauren Ward’s portrayal of Miss Honey was enchanting, and at the end of her solo number, My House, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Once again, Mr and Mrs Wormwood were real life caricatures, played to perfection by Paul Kaye and Josie Walker. Their comedic value echoed that of Matilda’s parents in the film adaptation, played by Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman.

Adrianna Bertola’s interpretation of Matilda was enchanting; she had complete command of the stage right from her opening song, Miracle. Her confidence convinced the audience the RSC had made the right decision in letting children take on the lead roles, where before they would’ve been given to adults. Matthew Malthouse’s character Rudolpho was becoming more hilarious with each visit. (Two words: Energy – Flow!) The stunning setting, which on the surface seemed simple, was incredibly versatile, transforming seamlessly from the Wormwoods house to Mrs Phelps library and beyond. Melanie La Barrie’s Mrs Phelps was exceedingly good, winning over every single audience, and I’m sure, cast member, acting as our internal monologue on stage. The carefully crafted storyline, the ideal casting and delightful songs left every person I know stunned. Male friends of mine cringed with embarrassment telling me that, actually, they really enjoyed the performance.

Matilda is a production that will leave an impression on everyone who has the opportunity to see it, and I’m sure will be entertaining audiences for years to come. It has something for everyone, and in the opening number of Act Two, When I Grow Up, these seem to blend together. Adults and children alike are left, not only in awe at the skill of the swingers, but reminiscing and realising ambitions. It is an example of why we should never doubt theatre’s ability to amaze, as confirmed with the Amanda Thripp scene. The choreography, stunts and voices are something that I thought previously could only be achieved in films after months of editing. Well done RSC!

Liberty Jackson, age 17

Tips for Entering Our Photography Competition by Drew Forsyth

Hello there, and welcome to the guide to entering the RSC’s photography competition. I’ll try to help you out by showing you how to enter, as well as some tips and tricks to helping your photography skills – and don’t worry if you don’t have an expensive camera. For this exercise, I’m going to be using my mobile phone – a Samsung Galaxy S, with a five megapixel camera.

If you don’t have an expensive phone, any phone will do, as long as it has a camera. Seriously.

Now, you need to chose your quote.  There’s five available, and so I’ve chosen ‘Did my heart love 'til now?’ from Romeo & Juliet.

So I’ve got my camera, and I’ve got my quote, what next?

Well, now you need to work out what you think best symbolizes the quote. I had a long think about what I wanted, and in the end I decided that I wanted to show someone alone, but with the implication that someone else had been there – something along those lines.

I find the best way to work out what I want, is to write down a list of ideas that you think might work, then settle on one or two in particular…

So, for me, the quote invoked this idea of love, but at the same time loneliness. So, I chose the ‘sitting alone’ idea. Now, the next thing I wanted to check out was what shot I wanted – what did that picture look like in my head?

Again, the best way to work this out for me, is to draw out what ideas I have in my head (it doesn’t matter if the pictures are rubbish – it’s just a rough guide for you!)

The next thing I had to do was work out where I wanted to take the pictures, and with whom. Now, I knew there was park bench near my house, so I thought I would start there. I called up a friend of mine (who had never done modeling before!) and together we walked down to the park and sat on the bench.

Now, the best time of day to take your photographs (if you’re shooting outside), is either early in the morning, or late in the afternoon. We decided that we wanted lie-ins, and chose the later option.

The sun was just going down when we arrived, and so we only had around fifteen minutes to take the photos we wanted. I started by just taking a few pictures of the bench in its own, to see what it looked like…

I liked it, and so I asked my friend to sit down and I snapped a few shots

I was quite happy with the ones I had taken, and so I thanked my friend, and headed home.

When I got in, I had a look on my phone at the ones I had taken, and I was pretty pleased, but I wanted to make them stand out a bit more. Now, don’t worry if you have never edited a photo before – it’s very straightforward!

If you are lucky enough to have a smart phone, there are a whole host of free apps available to download on both Android and from the App Store on the iPhone. The best one I could find was Adobe Photoshop Express, which can be found here: http://mobile.photoshop.com/. The app has a very simple to understand interface, and makes editing your shots easy! With just a little bit of contrast and saturation, I got the results I wanted:

If you don’t have a smart phone, and don’t want to shell out for Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro, there is no shortage of free photo editing software online. The best include http://www.picnik.com/ and http://pixlr.com/editor/

Both are easy to use and easy to understand.

So, now I’m happy with my shot, what next?

Okay, so you’ve got your shot, now all you have to do is download an entry form here, fill it out, and you’re on your way to becoming a winner! Simple!

Top 5: A few tips and tricks…

1. Try something different!

Where you might have submitted a picture in colour, why not try black and white?

As you can see, the black and white adds real drama to the shot, and makes it a lot more interesting!

2. Move it from the middle.

Moving your subject off centre really can help your photo!

3. Try vertical!

From pictures of the Eiffell Tower to pictures of your mates, try shifting the camera to a vertical position – it can really change a photo!

4. When you’re taking pictures of people, try going for a plain background.

Try to choose a plain background so your subject is the centre of attention!

5. Don’t be afraid!

If you’re taking a picture of someone and they’re not smiling enough, tell them!

Simple!!

Good luck!



Drew, Marketing Interm at RSC and Photographer

Being a Marketing Intern at the RSC by Emma Dodd

Hi Blog readers and RSC Key Members, I’m Emma and I am just finishing my Marketing Internship at The Royal Shakespeare Company. The new set will start in April and the vacancies are now listed on the website, so check it out here:  http://www.rsc.org.uk/about-us/work/marketing.aspx

If you want to know a little bit about the kind of things you might get to do and what the experience is like then here is my quick summary of what it was like to be an RSC Marketing intern:

 My role revolved around 16-25 Audience Development and I got the chance to be responsible for my own individual project (developing the RSC Key Forum) and lots of other fun things to promote ‘The RSC Key’ and the RSC’s productions in general. A few of you may have met me or one of the other interns at Fresher’s Fairs where we got loads of contacts so we could reach as many people as possible with our discounts and events. Me and Ellie also got to be ‘Maltilda’s Mates’, promoting the show locally by taking bookmarks and print around to local Stratford businesses so as many people as possible would get the Matilda ‘bug’! 

 I also developed and led the Forum which was used to communicate with our younger audiences and find out the best ways to reach them with our RSC Key Scheme. I put a lot of thought and effort into planning them, but never thought I would get to lead them on my own! It is a great opportunity to find out what people in the 16-25 age group actually want from the theatre and to use this to develop events, and also create things like the newsletter and this blog.

It was an unbeatable experience getting to be creative and learn from this awe-inspiring company, and it is so satisfying to see all of the ideas I had actually coming into being.  I think we have started to reach out to the younger generation of  RSC fans and are finding the community of people out there who love to see great theatre (at cheap prices!). But it’s time to hand the baton on and who wants to take continue the challenge...?!

Sita Thomas interviews Toby Thompson, cast member of Sound and Fury

Sita Thomas interviews Dizraeli, cast member of Sound and Fury