Going to see Backstairs Billy in January, Penelope Wilton plays the Queen Mother. They have £10 tickets available for each performance on first come first served basis if anyone’s interested
This November is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first folio of the collected plays of William Shakespeare. Many are antagonistic or indifferent to Shakespeare, frequently because of the crass ‘education’ about Shakespeare overseen by stupid educationalists who forced people to study only the ‘text’ divorced from the action. Many others however recognise the pure genius of the work, genius that I believe grew from the collaborative nature of the Theatre at the time of Shakespeare, and both the conscious and unconscious instinctive brilliance of the man. 400 years and an actress such as Judi Dench will still refer to Shakespeare as the man that pays the rent. To create a body of work that remains a kind of living organism for 400 years is regarded by me with awe.
A great Briton who emerged as a cultural and enlightened gift to the world, like Confucius or Plato or da Vinci and others. We are at a time of remembrance, so a quiet nod in the direction of a great great man seems appropriate. Naturally Shakespeare had a lot to say about it, but maybe ‘Memory, the warder of the brain’ will do.
This November is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first folio of the collected plays of William Shakespeare. Many are antagonistic or indifferent to Shakespeare, frequently because of the crass ‘education’ about Shakespeare overseen by stupid educationalists who forced people to study only the ‘text’ divorced from the action. Many others however recognise the pure genius of the work, genius that I believe grew from the collaborative nature of the Theatre at the time of Shakespeare, and both the conscious and unconscious instinctive brilliance of the man. 400 years and an actress such as Judi Dench will still refer to Shakespeare as the man that pays the rent. To create a body of work that remains a kind of living organism for 400 years is regarded by me with awe.
A great Briton who emerged as a cultural and enlightened gift to the world, like Confucius or Plato or da Vinci and others. We are at a time of remembrance, so a quiet nod in the direction of a great great man seems appropriate. Naturally Shakespeare had a lot to say about it, but maybe ‘Memory, the warder of the brain’ will do.
This three-part docuseries, Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius, looks well worth a watch - - https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/45/shakespeare-rise-of-a-genius As they say, it is incredible that a glover’s son from rural Stratford went on to become the greatest writer who ever lived. It features, amongst others, people like Judi Dench, Brian Cox, Adrian Lester, Helen Mirren and various academics and writers
Enjoyed Dear England last weekend. Different sort of stage show. Well put together, funny in parts and stirs the emotions of England's attempts at World/European Championship glory. Excellent caricatures of Southgate and Kane. 8/10
Enjoyed Dear England last weekend. Different sort of stage show. Well put together, funny in parts and stirs the emotions of England's attempts at World/European Championship glory. Excellent caricatures of Southgate and Kane. 8/10
We've been given tickets for this for Mr F's birthday last Saturday from a dear Addick friend.
Enjoyed Dear England last weekend. Different sort of stage show. Well put together, funny in parts and stirs the emotions of England's attempts at World/European Championship glory. Excellent caricatures of Southgate and Kane. 8/10
We've been given tickets for this for Mr F's birthday last Saturday from a dear Addick friend.
Enjoyed Dear England last weekend. Different sort of stage show. Well put together, funny in parts and stirs the emotions of England's attempts at World/European Championship glory. Excellent caricatures of Southgate and Kane. 8/10
We've been given tickets for this for Mr F's birthday last Saturday from a dear Addick friend.
Saw The Little Big Things at Soho Place a week or so ago. Excellent. Based on the book by Henry Fraser which details his life after breaking his back and becoming paralysed at the age of 17.
Tom Allen at Hammersmith next week and then the new Stranger Things in a couple of weeks.
Saw The Little Big Things at Soho Place a week or so ago. Excellent. Based on the book by Henry Fraser which details his life after breaking his back and becoming paralysed at the age of 17.
Tom Allen at Hammersmith next week and then the new Stranger Things in a couple of weeks.
Saw Tom Allen at The Churchill last week.
Very good and entertaining. His support (Louise Allen) was only ‘so so’ - not a criticism.
Saw The Little Big Things at Soho Place a week or so ago. Excellent. Based on the book by Henry Fraser which details his life after breaking his back and becoming paralysed at the age of 17.
Tom Allen at Hammersmith next week and then the new Stranger Things in a couple of weeks.
Saw Tom Allen at The Churchill last week.
Very good and entertaining. His support (Louise Allen) was only ‘so so’ - not a criticism.
I was there too. Louise Allen was less than so so, very poor. Tom Allen was vaguely amusing and like most comics with hardly any jokes, much of his act revolved around talking to the front row.
Saw The Little Big Things at Soho Place a week or so ago. Excellent. Based on the book by Henry Fraser which details his life after breaking his back and becoming paralysed at the age of 17.
Tom Allen at Hammersmith next week and then the new Stranger Things in a couple of weeks.
Saw Tom Allen at The Churchill last week.
Very good and entertaining. His support (Louise Allen) was only ‘so so’ - not a criticism.
I was there too. Louise Allen was less than so so, very poor. Tom Allen was vaguely amusing and like most comics with hardly any jokes, much of his act revolved around talking to the front row.
He had ‘home advantage’ to make the ad libs with the front row work 😉
Saw The Little Big Things at Soho Place a week or so ago. Excellent. Based on the book by Henry Fraser which details his life after breaking his back and becoming paralysed at the age of 17.
Tom Allen at Hammersmith next week and then the new Stranger Things in a couple of weeks.
Ooh, interested to hear if Stranger Things is worth buying tickets for.
Not sure if Dave Mehmet has been to see it yet but thought he had tickets.
Saw the stage adaption of Irvine Welsh's Porno at the Arts Theatre this evening.6.5/10. Difficult book to adapt to the stage, but this was a decent stab. Just couldn't warm to a couple of members of the cast. Sickboy and Spud were just nowhere near Johnny Lee Miller and Ewan Brenner.
Saw Porno tonight too. First one up standing ovation applause at the end was Irvine Welsh himself! Stood next to us during interval and heard him praising it. Enjoyed it. I thought spud was incredible.
Old Vic tonight for A Christmas Carrol. We go each year and we know the ending but its a good story. The lead actors always put their stamp on it which makes it worth seeing. We look on this play as the start of our Christmas.
Went to see the Mongol Khan on opening night at the London Coliseum this evening. Not sure how to describe it other than to say it was amazing. It’s only in London for a couple of weeks so don’t miss it if it tickles your interest.
Going to see Backstairs Billy in January, Penelope Wilton plays the Queen Mother. They have £10 tickets available for each performance on first come first served basis if anyone’s interested
I went last night on a £10 ticket. Yes, the view was very slightly restricted but just a small part of the stage out of view, a part where nothing happened!
Really enjoyed it and Penelope Wilton is fab as the Queen Mother, as is the guy playing Billy Tallon.
I only went because I'd met Billy a few times; he was a family friend af one of my best mates. Glad I did.
Been to Dear England tonight. V good. Slightly bemused by the fact that there were only ever 10 or 8 or 9 players on stage / in the team. No wonder we struggle to win anything!
My daughter took me to see Chess. I was surprised how good it was. My prior knowledge was the song One Night in Bangkok and I had the idea that all the songs would be in a similar vein which it isn't, thank goodness. It was performed by an amateur group and I really liked it. The sets were phenomenal. A really good show.
My daughter took me to see Chess. I was surprised how good it was. My prior knowledge was the song One Night in Bangkok and I had the idea that all the songs would be in a similar vein which it isn't, thank goodness. It was performed by an amateur group and I really liked it. The sets were phenomenal. A really good show.
I mean a review of Chess without even trying to incorporate “Wasn’t it good? (Oh so good)” …..five on ten
Comments
They have £10 tickets available for each performance on first come first served basis if anyone’s interested
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/backstairs-billy/duke-of-yorks-theatre/?_gl=1*1jpgm5u*_ga*NTEzOTA0NzMxLjE2OTc4Njg3OTM.*_ga_WKD535V1SW*MTY5Nzg2ODc5My4xLjEuMTY5Nzg2ODgxMS40Mi4wLjA.
Many are antagonistic or indifferent to Shakespeare, frequently because of the crass ‘education’ about Shakespeare overseen by stupid educationalists who forced people to study only the ‘text’ divorced from the action.
Many others however recognise the pure genius of the work, genius that I believe grew from the collaborative nature of the Theatre at the time of Shakespeare, and both the conscious and unconscious instinctive brilliance of the man.
400 years and an actress such as Judi Dench will still refer to Shakespeare as the man that pays the rent.
To create a body of work that remains a kind of living organism for 400 years is regarded by me with awe.
We are at a time of remembrance, so a quiet nod in the direction of a great great man seems appropriate. Naturally Shakespeare had a lot to say about it, but maybe ‘Memory, the warder of the brain’ will do.
It's on BBC2 tonight at 9:00pm but all three parts are available to watch now on iPlayer - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0gjkzvc/shakespeare-rise-of-a-genius-series-1-episode-1
Incidentally, I see that The Hollow Crown, the magnificent 2012 adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays is also currently available on BBC iPlayer -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b07bqgjn/the-hollow-crown
Looking forward to it .
Noises Off next week with Felicity Kendal & Matthew Horne.
Only thing that spoilt it was getting caught up with the Palestinian protest at Charing cross 🙄
Tom Allen was vaguely amusing and like most comics with hardly any jokes, much of his act revolved around talking to the front row.
Not sure if Dave Mehmet has been to see it yet but thought he had tickets.
2nd of December for me. No spoilers, but the internet has gone into melt down after the opening night last night.
Bookings started yesterday for next May.
Really enjoyed it and Penelope Wilton is fab as the Queen Mother, as is the guy playing Billy Tallon.
I only went because I'd met Billy a few times; he was a family friend af one of my best mates. Glad I did.
It was performed by an amateur group and I really liked it. The sets were phenomenal. A really good show.