Favourite female performances of 2019

As with last year, there were too many brilliant performances to restrict this to one combined list – so once again I’ve split them up into male and female performances. It was a particularly strong field this year, I thought, which makes for quite a cosy female performances subs bench: Kara Lily Hayworth (Maggie May […]

Mind the Blog ‘on tour’ 2019

Even though I’ve become quite tired this year, and have tried to keep some sort of balance in there, I couldn’t resist nipping out of London every five minutes to see what was going on in theatres across the country. I even managed to start my 2019 theatregoing with a trip to Paris, courtesy of […]

#MindTheBard 2019: round-up

Well then. I think it’s safe to say that this particular challenge week didn’t go according to plan! I did do a Shakespeare thing every day, to be fair, and this was the first challenge week to head outside of London for the last couple of shows – so that’s an achievement. I was on […]

#MindTheBard 2019: Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre

Stratford-upon-Avon and London may be the best known links to Shakespeare, with major theatres in each dedicated to performing his works, but now York is beginning to associate itself with the Bard. Last year a popup replica of the Rose Theatre arrived in York, and it has made its return for a second season this […]

Day 7: Playing Shakespeare

William Shakespeare continues to be one of the most influential figures in literature & the arts, with his birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon a popular tourist destination (as well as the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company). He has reached out into our daily lives, as many words & phrases that he included in his works still figure […]

Day 1: “Frailty, thy name is woman”

Ever since I started frequenting the Globe in 2016 and ramped up my Shakespeare intake, I’ve found myself embroiled in arguments over casting – more specifically, gender switches. I know I should leave well alone in the majority of cases, but it can be really hard not to challenge some of the ignorance people spout; […]

Challenge Week 2019: Mind The Bard

Hopefully you can remember back as far as April, when I had my first challenge week of the year: Mind The Musicals. Next up is something else close to my heart, as I delve back a few centuries and take on the might of a certain William Shakespeare! A bit of a spin-off from my […]

Henry V (The Barn Theatre)

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!” Following hot on the heels of the Globe’s summer production, The Barn Theatre in Cirencester also takes on one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays: Henry V. Over the past few years ‘patriotism’ has become something of a watchword, appealing to the far right factions and leaving many […]

Globe 2019: Henry V, or Harry England

Kicking off the new summer season at Shakespeare’s Globe is a continuance of the history plays sequence which began in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse over the winter. Following on from Marlowe’s Edward II and Shakespeare’s Richard II, we head into Henry territory, with Henry IV parts 1 & 2 and Henry V on offer; the […]

Globe 2019: Henriad Trilogy Day

When the new season was announced, I have to admit I was rather pleased; not only were we finally about to see some history plays in the main Globe Theatre, but I’d also get to tick off another couple from the Shakespeare list while I was at it. When the RSC brought their Henry cycle to […]