Chris

Three plays with a #Shakespeare theme this week:
- As You Like It (Harriet Walter, directed by Ralph Fiennes) in Bath
- Twelfth Night at the Globe
- Born With Teeth (Ncuti Gatwa as Marlowe and Edward Bluemel as Shakespeare) in the West End

Would recommend all three!

Not sure I can cope with another platform, and I don’t really do Instagram. If Threads is more active than this and X, I might have another look at some point. 👍🏻

Need to remember to keep logging back in over here. I keep naturally using the ‘other’ app despite it being a lot less fun and interactive than it used to be!

Appreciate the updates on the long-running contractual/ownership news, because it’s obviously important to the franchise but I don’t think I’d have enough capacity to read articles on it/keep up with it on my own steam! 😅

Here’s what I’ve seen in June/July.
Highlights were definitely Here We Are (Sondheim) at the National and Evita (Jamie Lloyd). Unexpected other highlights were The Globe’s The Crucible and Intimate Apparel at the Donmar.
#Theatre

Forgot I was keeping this Bluesky thread going, so anyway here’s what I’ve seen since Much Ado closed in April.
The top three highlights were probably:
#DearEngland at the National Theatre
#Ghosts at Lyric, Hammersmith
#Retrograde in its West End transfer

Tonight's Manic Street Preachers setlist from Wolverhampton Civic Hall 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 25/04/2025

#MuchAdoAboutNothing at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which I saw for a second time on 5 April - closing night:
Perhaps because it was closing night, but the atmosphere was somehow even more fun. The whole cast were brilliant once again, and was a privilege to see this from the front row!

#QuestTV showing #MotoGP live this weekend,
Timings are
Saturday
Sprint (delayed) 7pm - 8pm

Sunday
Race (Moto3+ Moto2+ GP)
2pm - 7pm
- motoGP is ~17:15 - 7pm

Not available on Discovery's free Quest Catchup service, (unlike last year on ITVX) so if you can't watch it live, record it. 😉

#TheYears, which I saw the day before it won multiple Olivier Awards:
This really deserves all the praise it’s received. It’s really well adapted for stage, and the staging and acting itself is very powerful!

I thought this was amazing - and thanks to how the show builds up/starts, I can now say I’ve been on stage at the RSC! 👍🏻😄

#Elektra, starring Brie Larson:
Dear Lord, this was something else.
Would I recommend it?
🎶Nooooo!🎶
Was it worth the £1 row B seat?
🎶Nooooo!🎶

Royal Court reveals complete 2025 season - including new plays starring Nicola Walker and Ambika Mod www.whatsonstage.com/news/royal-c...

#Punch at the Young Vic:
I first saw Punch last year at Nottingham Playhouse & thought it was incredible. Seeing the London transfer with the same cast, it was even more impactful the second time. Writing & acting are flawless; being in the audience is such an emotional journey that stays with you.

#EdwardII at the RSC:
Daniel Evans is amazing in this very daring production. I liked how it didn’t have an interval, so the tension built, and built… and built. It was also a nice immersive start to allow the audience to walk across the stage as part of the lying in state that sets the scene.

#Hamlet at the RSC (which I saw for the second time as part of a two-show visit alongside #EdwardII):
Loved seeing this again. Luke Thallon gave another great performance, which was subtly different from the first time I saw it. Enjoyed seeing the staging from a different perspective too!

Romeo and Juliet at Belgrade Theatre, Coventry:
Described as “the original play, originally scored – with rap and R&B”, it’s well worth seeing when it moves to Bristol and Hackney. It’s got a lot of nice ideas in terms of staging - down to the programmes and atmosphere in the theatre beforehand.

Buffy Revamped, as part of its UK tour:
It’s described as ‘7 seasons in 70 minutes’, and it’s a really fun recap of the whole Buffy story told from Spike’s perspective. Lots of 90s references and Buffy Easter eggs! Great fun! #BuffyRevamped

I might or might not have (I definitely have) booked for a second visit!

(It is being filmed though I believe!)

Seeing this tomorrow. From the photos I’ve seen online, the sets and costumes look amazing! Look forward to seeing it!

Girls & Boys, starring Aisling Loftus at Nottingham Playhouse:
One actor, an hour and 45 minutes. Definitely the kind of play where it works best the least you know. It’s a really difficult watch at times - but v/impressive: layered writing, great acting and set design.
#Girls&Boys #GirlsAndBoys

Great venue! Saw Suede and Johnny Marr there last year! Keen to make a return trip!!!

#AStreetcarNamedDesire, starring Paul Mescal:
Was excited to see this based on it being a return to the West End for a limited run before moving to Broadway. The acting was brilliant, but at times I felt the staging didn’t quite work for me. I might be in the minority though based on the reviews!

#InsideNo9 / #StageFright, based on the Inside No. 9 TV series:
Thought this was a lot of fun! Packed with references to the TV series, as well as lots of meta West End references and nods to the fact it’s a stage play. Won’t post any spoilers at all - but great fun for fans of the TV series!

#Hamlet at the RSC, directed by Rupert Goold and starring Luke Thallon, Jared Harris, Anton Lesser, Eliot Levey, Nancy Carroll:
This was amazing: play of the year so far for me. Brilliantly staged; an incredible cast led by Thallon who puts in a masterclass performance walking the lines of madness.

ℹ️ The National Theatre has announced the tour of its smash-hit production, DEAR ENGLAND.

🔹The Olivier Award-winning ‘Best New Play’ will tour to 16 venues across England opening in September at the Theatre Royal Plymouth

🎟️ dearenglandonstage.com sign-up now open

#⃣ #DearEnglandOnStage

This reply is off-topic, but just shared this ⬇️ & saw your post. Know your QL pod understandably concluded, but I’m loving seeing Mason owning London’s West End right now. Gone from The Tempest with Sigourney Weaver to Much Ado with Tom Hiddleston and crushing it! bsky.app/profile/chri...

#HenryVIII at Guildhall School’s Milton Court Theatre:
Directed by Owen Horsley, using an adaptation of Henry VIII by Hannah Khalil (originally performed at The Globe in 2022), this was really well staged with fantastic costume, set and lighting design - and a great young cast.

#MuchAdoAboutNothing at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, starring Tom Hiddleston & Hayley Atwell:
The two headline stars were great, as were whole cast - including those returning from The Tempest. Mason Alexander Park steals the show again, and the curtain call is pure joy!

#OfMiceAndMen at Derby Theatre:
My first time visiting to @derbytheatre.bsky.social, and found this to be a really well-staged production that was inclusively cast and engaging throughout. Well worth seeking out!