Tag Archives: olivier

Twelfth Night, National Theatre

Posted on February 23, 2017 by mkmswain

Suffused with grief and unrequited love, Twelfth Night is often played as an anti-comedy – more melancholy than mirthful. Not so in Simon Godwin’s brash, gender-bending, utterly joyful rendering, which takes loss as a cue to embrace life. Read my … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged broadwayworld, daniel rigby, malvolia, national theatre, oliver chris, olivier, phoebe fox, review, shakespeare, simon godwin, tamsin greig, tim mcmullan, Twelfth Night | 1 Comment

Women triumph in Branagh’s starry rep

Posted on November 13, 2015 by mkmswain

Continuing the Olivier comparisons, Kenneth Branagh has established an eponymous rep company and year-long Garrick season. It opens with a problematic Shakespeare problem play and incongruous Rattigan double bill – material made financially viable by a starry cast of veterans … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged all on her own, branagh, celebrity, drama, garrick theatre, ham and high, harlequinade, jessie buckley, judi dench, kenneth branagh, king, london, olivier, play, problem play, rattigan, review, rob ashford, shakespeare, star, the winters tale, theatre, west end, zoe wanamaker | Leave a comment

The Winter’s Tale, Harlequinade/All On Her Own, Garrick Theatre

Posted on November 9, 2015 by mkmswain

What exactly is the level of Kenneth Branagh’s self-awareness? He’s certainly conscious of inviting comparison with Olivier once again by presenting a year-long season of plays at the refurbished Garrick under the auspices of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company – … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged all on her own, backstage, christmas, comedy, company, daughter, death, drama, exit pursued by a bear, family, father, garrick theatre, grief, harlequinade, husband, jessie buckley, judi dench, kenneth branagh, kiss me kate, london, loss, noises off, nutcracker, olivier, play, rattigan, rep, review, rob ashford, romeo and juliet, shakespeare, the arts desk, the winters tale, theartsdesk, theatre, west end, widow, wife, zoe wanamaker | Leave a comment

Listed: Suffragettes portrayed

Posted on October 11, 2015 by mkmswain

Following the release of film Suffragette, theartsdesk explores other depictions of the women’s movement, from fiction and drama to documentary and song. Read the full theartsdesk article here

Posted in Art, Fiction, Journalism, Theatre, TV | Tagged abi morgan, bfi, bicycle, book, carey mulligan, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, comedy, cycling, drama, emeline pankhurst, fallings angels, feminism, feminist, fiction, film, her naked skin, hg wells, independence, meryl streep, movie, mr selfridge, mrs warrens profession, national theatre, no surrender, novel, olivier, pankhurst, parades end, play, protest, read, rebecca lenkiewicz, sarah gavron, shoulder to shoulder, song, suffrage, suffragette, the arts desk, theartsdesk, theatre, tv, up the women, vote, votes for women, war, woman, women, womens movement | Leave a comment

10 Questions For Actress Pippa Bennett-Warner

Posted on May 18, 2015 by mkmswain

At just 26, Pippa Bennett-Warner has already achieved many actors’ goals, from treading the boards at the National and having a part written specially for her to sharing scenes with luminaries like Derek Jacobi and Eddie Redmayne. She debuted aged … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre, TV | Tagged abi morgan, acting, actor, actress, black, colour blind casting, comedy, corset, costume drama, derek jacobi, diversity, doctor who, drama, eddie redmayne, farquhar, female, feminism, hamlet, interview, king lear, london, love, michael grandage, national theatre, olivier, part, patrick marber, period, pippa bennett-warner, play, race, rada, restoration comedy, richard ii, river, role, romance, royal court, samuel barnett, school, shakespeare, south bank, susannah fielding, the beaux stratagem, the lion king, theatre, tis pity shes a whore, tv, women | Leave a comment

Everyman, National Theatre

Posted on April 30, 2015 by mkmswain

As we stagger towards electoral chaos, isn’t it comforting to think there might be a master plan at work? That Russell Brand’s meddling is preordained, or Cameron’s ‘brain fade’ an act of divine intervention? The second play in Rufus Norris’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged 12 years a slave, 15th century, artistic director, carol ann duffy, chiwetel ejiofor, christianity, dance, dancing, david cameron, death, divine, don draper, drama, ed miliband, election, everyman, faith, god, javier de frutos, london, mad men, morality play, movement, nation, national, national theatre, olivier, play, poet, poet laureate, poetry, religion, review, rufus norris, russell brand, salvation, sharon d clarke, singing, song, state of the nation, the arts desk, theartsdesk, theatre | Leave a comment

Solid but unremarkable Lear does what it says on the tin

Posted on March 21, 2014 by mkmswain

Indefatigable character actor David Ryall, stalwart of Olivier’s Old Vic and Peter Hall’s National, now best known to youngsters as Dumbledore’s pal and Grandad in Outnumbered, finally graduates to leading man in Darker Purpose Theatre’s King Lear at The Cockpit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged cockpit, darker purpose, david ryall, ham & high, harry potter, king lear, london, national theatre, old vic, olivier, outnumbered, peter hall, play, review, ronseal, sam mendes, shakespeare, stage, theatre | Leave a comment

Going through the motions

Posted on March 13, 2014 by mkmswain

There are two main paths you can take when staging a classic: honour its roots with a traditional production, or attempt to shed new light on it with a bold, novel interpretation. Darker Purpose Theatre’s King Lear at The Cockpit aims for … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged bargain, bargain theatreland, cockpit, darker purpose, david ryall, king lear, london, national theatre, old vic, olivier, outnumbered, peter hall, play, review, sam mendes, shakespeare, simon russell beale, theatre | 1 Comment

Wonderfully lucid Lear with a licence to thrill

Posted on January 31, 2014 by mkmswain

Fresh from Skyfall triumph, Sam Mendes swaps Bond for the Bard and Daniel Craig for long-time collaborator Simon Russell Beale in a wonderfully lucid King Lear, certain to please aficionados and win over newcomers. Mendes’s Lear is the tyrant of … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Theatre | Tagged Adrian Scarborough, anna maxwell martin, drama, ham & high, james bond, king lear, london, national theatre, olivier, play, review, sam mendes, shakespeare, simon russell beale, skyfall, theatre, wheel of fortune | 1 Comment

Tag Archives: olivier

Twelfth Night, National Theatre

Women triumph in Branagh’s starry rep

The Winter’s Tale, Harlequinade/All On Her Own, Garrick Theatre

Listed: Suffragettes portrayed

10 Questions For Actress Pippa Bennett-Warner

Everyman, National Theatre

Solid but unremarkable Lear does what it says on the tin

Going through the motions

Wonderfully lucid Lear with a licence to thrill

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