Henry VI: Wars of the Roses

Running in rep alongside Henry VI: Rebellion (a.k.a. Henry VI, part two), the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre is also currently home to Henry VI, part three. As with the previous part, this third play in Shakespeare’s first Henriad has been renamed – going under the title Henry VI: Wars of the Roses. It picks […]

Henry VI: Rebellion

Following a successful open dress rehearsal project developing Henry VI, part one, the Royal Shakespeare Company is now mounting full productions of Henry VI, part two and Henry VI, part three in its Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Rather than sticking to the traditional numerical names, this second part of Shakespeare’s first Henriad has been renamed Henry VI: […]

Play By Candlelight: Hamlet (2022)

You caught me red-handed. As soon as Hamlet was announced as part of the 2021-22 winter season my eyes rolled so hard I nearly saw the inside of my eye sockets. Unlike the current government, I’m not going to try and cover that up or pretend I held the opposite opinion – in fact, I’m […]

Globe 2021: “Pomp, pageantry, politics & power”

The day is finally here – it seems like we’ve been made to wait an inordinately long time for this announcement, but it was definitely worth it as far as I’m concerned. In the words of Artistic Director, Michelle Terry: “The world beyond may be uncertain, but these plays are sure to guide us through […]

Play by Candlelight 2021-22: preview

You know things are starting to feel a bit more normal when Shakespeare’s Globe is able to announce their winter season, with a return to the beautiful candlelit surroundings of the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Intriguingly, this will be the first time that £5 tickets for productions in this performance space, with 48 standing tickets available in […]

#MindTheBard 2021: round-up

You know what? I think this hybrid form of challenge week might be here to stay. Despite the fact that it’s taken me almost a week to write this round-up post, it’s actually felt pretty manageable – and I don’t know whether I’ll have the energy to go out to the theatre every single night […]

This Wooden O: Romeo & Juliet (2021)

“Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” The traditional view of Romeo & Juliet is that of a tragic love story, but is that all it ever has to be? Not if you’re Ola Ince. Her brand new production of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, having been delayed by COVID in 2020, has finally […]

#MindTheBard: Broken Heart (Romeo & Juliet)

Let’s just say this hasn’t been the most typical of weeks, as far as the Giant Microbes are concerned, as the final pick is ‘broken heart’ – inspired by Romeo & Juliet. Though the two lovers don’t die of broken hearts, the combination of living in the pressure cooker of a familial feud (the Montagues & […]

#MindTheBard: Pox (All’s Well That Ends Well)

The great pox, or syphilis, crops up a fair amount in Shakespeare – ‘pox’ appears 23 times across 15 plays, basically thanks to it being a byword for ‘curse’ (kind of like ‘fuck this’ or ‘screw that’ now). Giant Microbes went for All’s Well That Ends Well, which I’m glad about as I’ve only seen it […]

#MindTheBard: Blood (Macbeth)

Obviously blood isn’t a disease, but its presence or absence is clearly a key difference between life & death – or, if you’re one of the Macbeths, a guilty reminder of the foul deeds on their CV. There is an awful lot of bloodshed in the Scottish Play, be it in battle, a guestroom regicide, […]