Double Shakespeare

A Time Out magazine special offer gave me the opportunity to see two Shakespeare plays in the New Year break. The Royal Shakespeare Company are playing a double bill of Much Ado about Nothing (or Love's Labour's Won) and Love's Labour's Lost.

Much Ado about Nothing is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. I first saw it performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford with Derek Jacobi as Benedick and Sinéad Cusack as Beatrice. Love's Labour's Lost was new to me apart from a few snippets. The versions at the Theatre Royal Haymarket bring the plots forward in time to periods before and after the First World War.

Much Ado remains a timeless classic for me. It doesn't matter that all the funny lines are well-known and anticipated in advance. I still laugh at the repartee between Benedick and Beatrice. It took me rather longer to warm to Love's Labour's Lost. I'm afraid that I found much of the early banter immature and irritating. The play was simply too wordy for my tastes. Too much word play eventually becomes tiresome, especially when the language has dated. Having said that, I did enjoy the role of the overly pedantic schoolmaster immensely.

The country house set is used to great effect in both plays. The Much Ado set even boasted a Christmas tree. It provided Benedick's hiding place in his famous eavesdropping scene. 

The RSC's Much Ado About Nothing set with Christmas tree

It was amazing to watch how the elaborate scenery slid in, out and across the stage to create different settings both inside and outside. It made an interesting contrast with the digital scenery that I saw last year at the Barbican and in Paris.

The RSC's opening set for Love's Labour's Lost

For Love's Labour's Lost, I enjoyed being much closer to the action in the Royal Circle, whereas my head was up with the chandelier for Much Ado.

Chandelier as seen from Upper Circle at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

A number of theatre-goers seemed to have difficulties with the alarmingly steep slope down to seats. After the steep climb to the Upper Circle, it made you dizzy to look down. The usher was available to hold your hand if required. Still, I was surprised that there wasn't even a handrail for elderly visitors to hold on to, especially given stringent health and safety rules these days. I did note that audio equipment was available for the hard-of-hearing. 

The Theatre Royal Haymarket looks great from the outside, but inside it could do with some modernisation. There would probably be fewer  empty weekday seats if the elderly felt comfortable reaching and leaving their seats. It's hard to see how some of London's more ancient theatres can be updated to modern accessibility standards.

I have always loved the way that Shakespeare mixes tragedy in comedy and comedy in tragedy. It seems much more true to life that way. Still, the end of Love's Labour's Lost catches you by surprise. The death of the Princess's father brings the merriment to an end. It is chilling to see the four male suitors dressed in military uniforms at the end. It leaves you regretting your earlier irritation with them and fearing for their fates in the bitter war to come. Comedy over.

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in marketing and project management.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

The Three Musketeers

Un pour tous, tous pour un ! One for all and all for one!

Dome of the Palais des Sports, Paris

The refrain from Les Trois Mousquetaires or The Three Musketeers is as familiar in English as in French. The historical adventure story by Alexandre Dumas remains popular to this day. It has seen countless film productions. 

I welcomed the opportunity to see the latest musical production in French at the Palais des Sports in Paris.

The role of D’Artagnan was played by the decidedly dishy French-Canadian Olivier Dion. However, as befits the famous togetherness motto, he was not the only star in the show. All the leading roles showed star quality. The show plays to the strengths of each cast member. The songs are catchy. Voices are strong. The staging is stunning. The choreography and dancing are superb.

The young, hot-headed D’Artagnan heads for Paris to seek his fortune. His long journey is portrayed in an unsophisticated way. It provides an amusing contrast of his regional origins with the capital ahead and the otherwise highly modern production. Barely has D’Artagnan arrived than he finds himself called to duels by all 3 of the famed musketeers. We know the story in advance. Yet, the pace and acting still deliver the humour as if totally fresh to the audience.

The '4' Musketeers poster on the roof of the Palais des Sports

The production provides each star with a chance to shine. It is difficult to select all my favourite moments without spoiling all the surprises. Nonetheless, some moments stand out in my memory weeks later. The production of the evil Milady’s main scene is outstanding. The technology and fire combine to convey a very hot, menacing scene. Her cunning pursuit of the musketeers is as portrayed with simplicity and pace.

Although we know the story in advance, the actors keep us guessing until the last minute. Will the diamond necklace be returned from England in time? We still half expect another twist in the plot, as Richelieu waits ready to pounce on a hapless queen. Victoria enters the stage. She owns the stage as the triumphant, dazzling Queen of France. Her dress shimmers, her crown catches the light and the troublesome diamonds sparkle victory at her throat.

As the story is so familiar, it might even be possible to enjoy the production even if you don’t speak French. Les 3 Mousquetaires is a must-see spectacle. The whole cast received a lengthy and well-deserved standing ovation.

Les 3 Mousquetaires remains in Paris until 8th January 2017. It will then go on tour around France in 2017 – starting in Rouen in early February and currently finishing in Nice in July. I’m sorely tempted to see it again. 

This spectacle impresses and uplifts. A treat to celebrate a special occasion. With the right backing and a professional English translation for the script and lyrics, I believe that this musicial theatre production has potential for a successful international transfer. West End and Broadway next stops?

Showcase video:

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator/transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in marketing and project management.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English

The Peony Pavilion

The National Ballet of China completed a short season at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London on Saturday. I attended the mesmerising final matinée. Although previously unknown to me, the ballet is a shortened version of a famous story in Chinese literature. An epic Chinese opera has been transformed into a two-act ballet blending Western and Chinese influences.

Chinese literature is not well-known in the West. The programme's synopsis was greatly appreciated by the audience. It helped us to understand that the three principal characters on stage conveyed different aspects of Du Liniang. The dancing, choreography and intense colours of the production were mesmerising. The stage bore minimal yet striking scenery. The colour palette was equally minimalist: white, red, an intense blue and black. The costumes were both sumptuous and graceful by contrast.

Audience emerging from Sadler's Wells after the performance

The Kunqu opera singer was intriguing. Chinese opera has a very distinct sound. The beautiful Chinese singing was regrettably just a stream of sound to the largely Western audience. Jia Pengfei still succeeded in conveying a wide range of emotions in the story. Her performance was excellent. It was like being offered the best of an unfamiliar cuisine for the first time. It offered a great foretaste that left you wanting to understand, experience and appreciate more fully in future.

Act II Scene 2 is particularly striking after the dreamy sequences of the first Act. The stage is black to denote the Underworld. The dancers are largely dressed in black. The only relief is the intense red of the Infernal Judge’s long beard. Here punishment fits the crime. An arrogant man sits on the judge’s chair, but leaves the stage humbled on all fours as a dog.

Our heroine returns to the world above. The stage and its costumed dancers are a vivid peony-red. The wedding procession is accompanied by triumphal music. Peony petals fall from above onto the stage. They form a spectacular feast for the eyes at the finale. 

The audience’s ovation continued for a long while – especially in appreciation of the main performers.

A few red peony petals remained in front of the curtains on stage at the end - lingering reminders of a memorable performance and spectacle.

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in marketing and project management.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

The Shakespeare Walk

London staged a special walk as part of the 400^th Shakespeare Anniversary Celebrations. A total of 37 specially-made short films played on the South Bank between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge. The event's title was The Complete Walk.

A special map showed where the 37 screens could be found. Each short film lasted about 10 minutes. Many had been filmed in Shakespeare’s chosen locations:

•  Hamlet at Elsinore in Denmark
•  Macbeth at Glamis Castle in Scotland
• Henry V at the Agincourt Battlefield in France
• The Tempest in Bermuda
• Anthony and Cleopatra at the Red Pyramid in Egypt
• The Merchant of Venice in Venice, Italy
• Othello at Othello’s Tower in Famagusta, North Cyprus
• Troilus and Cressida at the Ruins of Troy in Turkey
• Romeo & Juliet at Juliet’s Tomb, Verona, Italy

… and many more.

There were lots of people following the walk. At times there were so many that you had to wait for the next 10-minute screening. Each film played in a loop, so you didn’t have to wait long for the next screening of the most popular plays.

The walk took me past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, a replica of the original theatre. President Obama had apparently visited earlier that day and wondered about the absence of a roof if it rained. I was more concerned about the very chill wind blowing off the Thames that day.

There was quite a bottleneck near the Financial Times on Bankside, where Measure for Measure was playing. Isabella’s entreaties were very powerful. The large crowd demonstrated that Shakespeare can still capture our attention and connect with us today.

I encountered another large crowd near the Clink Street Bridge Arch. Here Twelfth Night was playing just a stone’s throw from the site of the old Clink Prison. The prison dates 200 years further back than Shakespeare.

All's Well That Ends Well at Southwark Cathedral

Sadly not all the screens were working as I passed and I missed some of my favourite plays. However, that meant that I enjoyed plays that were not so familiar to me. I welcomed the seating in the Millennium Courtyard at Southwark Cathedral. Here I saw great acting filmed at the Château de Lourmarin in France for All’s Well that Ends Well.

Karen Andrews runs
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