The Show Must Go Online: Henry VI, part two

Exit Joan of Arc and enter Jack Cade, as The Show Must Go Online barrels from Henry VI, part one straight into Henry VI, part two. Commonly viewed as the best instalment of this particular trilogy, and with the largest collection of characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays, the production was billed with this description: “Illicit affairs. […]

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 […]

Play by Candlelight 2019/20: preview

With the summer season over, we now retreat into the cosier confines of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for the next winter season at Shakespeare’s Globe: She Wolves and Shrews. As well as several offerings from the Bard, there will also be a contribution from one of his close collaborators, plus a couple of pieces of […]

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; […]

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: Henry IV part 1, or Hotspur

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 […]