Sitting In The Cheap Seats

Ahead of  Headlong ‘s new production of ‘This House’ heading to the West End we dispatched Emma van Kooperen to check it out in the cosy confines of Chichester’s Minerva Theatre.

Photo: Tristram Kenton Cymbeline has long been regarded as perhaps the most challenging of Shakespeare’s “problem plays”, a hodge-podge of plots thrown together without any consistency of tone or style – it’s almost like a series of sketches more than a coherent play. It’s normally best presented as comedy or fairy tale, but this gritty new production decides to dwell in the earthiness of the character’s relationships.

FUNNY GIRL by Styne, , Music – Jule Styne, Lyrics – Bob Merril, Director – Michael Mayer, Choreographer – Lynne Page, Set Michael Pavelka, Costumes – Matthew Wright, Lighting – Mark Henderson, Savoy Theatre, London, 2016, Credit: Johan Persson/ We didn’t get to see  Funny Girl at the Menier and somehow missed it when it transferred too, so we were glad to hear the production would be heading out on tour. Imagine our delight when we heard  Sheridan Smith would be appearing when it stops off down the road at the  Mayflower too!

Due to overwhelming demand, Sonia Friedman Productions  is delighted to announce that the West End transfer of  Mark Rylance  and  Louis Jenkins’  critically-acclaimed new comic play  Nice Fish , will extend its run by 3 weeks, and will now play at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 11 February 2017. The West End production will open in November 2016 at the  Harold Pinter Theatre,  with a press night on Friday 25 November. Tickets for the extension go on sale today.

Photo by Helen Maybanks (c) RSC After two nights of pretty intense action from the Royal Shakespeare Company I was glad to be seeing something a little lighter on my return visit to the Barbican Centre (we were in Stratford-Upon-Avon on Monday to see their new production of King Lear before heading to London and you can read our review of Tuesday night’s Doctor Faustus here ).

It’s a rare feeling to sit in the audience for a play and feel you truly don’t know what to expect – in the age of social media it’s impossible not to have a good idea what to expect, but when two men walk onto the stage at the beginning of Faustus, stare each other in the eye and light a match cast, crew and audience will all find out together who will take the titular role.

Photo by Tara Moore. Image Courtesy of Kevin Francis Gray Studio. It’s just our luck… we go away for a few days break in Stratford-upon-Avon to check out the Royal Shakespeare Company ‘s  King Lear and they go and announce their 2017 season. Well, it’s a good one so just in case you haven’t heard already, here’s the news:

We’re confirmed fans of  Chichester Festival Theatre  here, and for us their announcement of a new season is a bit like Christmas! The Winter 2016 season has a great range of entertainment and there’s sure to be something for everyone’s tastes!