Tag Archives: Rae Smith

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Rufus Norris Reviewer: Joan Phillips Raven-black and using the full depth of Theatre Royal Plymouth's deep stage, designer Rae Smith's cavernous, almost subterranean set, ominously establishes the doomed atmosphere that permeates throughout the National Theatre's production of Macbeth. A huge arched bridge descends sharply to the front of the stage at floor level, and ascending to ...

Writer: Brian Friel Director: Ian Rickson Reviewer: Scott Matthewman In the latest episode of his podcast Lexicon Valley, linguistics professor John McWhorter considers what it may take for one language to become universal. Dismissing both Mandarin Chinese and Esperanto’s prospects – the former relying too much on intonation of the same vowel sounds to form completely different words, the latter ...

Writer: Barney Norris Director: Laurie Sansom Reviewer: Maryam Philpott Opening in October last year, the new Bridge Theatre created plenty of excitement, particularly with its plan to focus primarily on new work. The stunning revival of Julius Caesar aside, two new shows in and all that early promise is waning. In the time that Nicholas Hytner’s new auditorium was conceived and ...

Writer: Nick Stafford From the novel by: Michael Morpurgo Directors: Marianne Elliott and Tom Morris Reviewer: Gareth Davies More than a decade after first galloping onto the stage, the National Theatre's production of War Horse has been a major theatrical export, having played to over seven million around the world. In the centenary year of the end of the war ...

Writer: James Graham Director: Jeremy Herrin Reviewer: Selwyn Knight The mid-to-late 1970s was a turbulent time for British politics. The Conservative Government under Ted Heath had already had a torrid time with two miners’ strikes, power blackouts and the Three-Day week; in 1974 Heath called a snap election to get a new mandate. It was a miscalculation: the result was ...

Writer: James Graham Director: Jeremy Herrin Reviewer: Dave Smith Local boy James Graham (who is from the village of Annesley and used to work at the Royal Centre as a doorman) has become not only one of this country’s most successful playwrights in recent years, he’s almost certainly been the most prolific. In just the last 12 months, he’s had ...

Writer: Nick Stafford, from the book by Michael Morpurgo Directors: Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris Reviewer: Dave Smith Since it first opened at the National Theatre in 2007 – an adaptation Michael Morpurgo, the writer of the source novel, thought “they must be mad” to even attempt - War Horse has been playing somewhere in the world almost continually. In that time it ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Rufus Norris Reviewer: Scott Matthewman If there was such a thing as a National Theatre acting company any more, Rory Kinnear would be at its head through longevity, if nothing else. Macbeth marks his tenth leading role for the South Bank venue. His costar, Anne-Marie Duff, is not far behind, on her ninth. So for this ...