Bardwatching: Spring 2 2023/24

These violent delights have violent ends

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is producing a 90-minute adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and delivering it to school halls and theatres around the country this year. As with other ‘First Encounters with Shakespeare’ productions, the show is aimed at young audiences, encouraging them to experience more Shakespeare.

Directed by Trybe House Theatre artistic director Philip J Morris, the show is using an abridged version of the script, edited by dramaturg Robin Belfield. At each destination, young people from RSC Associate Schools will be provided with carious opportunities,ed such as performances, workshops and shadowing technical staff.

Opening in Leamington on 30 January, the 12–week tour will travel to Northampton, Corby, Norwich, Cornwall, Bradford, Newcastle upon Tyne, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Hull, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Skegness.

Bless thee, Bottom! Bless thee!

Mathew Baynton is to make his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Bottom in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. The run opens on 30 January, and will continue until 30 March, marks Baynton's return to the stage for the first time since 2013. Bayton is most well-known for his roles in BBC series Ghosts and Horrible Histories.

‘I've always wanted to be part of a Shakespeare production and I've been hoping to return to the stage for quite some time too, so to be able to combine those two ambitions in one of the great ensemble comedies is a (midsummer night's) dream come true,’ said Baynton about the production.

The play will be directed by Eleanor Rhode, and will feature design by Lucy Osbourne.

All the world's a stage

Floorboards that Shakespeare is reported to have performed on have been discovered at a Norfolk venue, prompting its creative director to announce his ambitions to find the next generations of playwrights.

Creative director at St George's Guildhall, Tom FitzHingham, has said that finding the 15^th Century timber floorboards on the stage has had a ‘huge impact’ on the direction of the space. He now hopes the site will be able to add gallery and studio spaces to allow contemporary artists and theatre makers to create new work while surrounded by elements of history.

The stage was uncovered in September 2023, and has been dated to roughly 1417. The floorboards are large enough to cover the expanse of a tennis court, and have been covered up for 75 years after a replacement floor was installed.

Screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail

Macbeth, starring David Tennant and Cush Jumbo, has received a swathe of interesting reviews from across the sector. The show, taking place at Donmar Warehouse, was praised for its innovative use of sound, with audience members asked to wear headphones. Through these devices, those watching could head both the miked-up actors' dialogue and Gareth Fry's sound design.

Described by London Theatre as ‘groundbreaking’, by The Telegraph as ‘eerie’ and by The Guardian as ‘disturbing’, a number of members of the press thoroughly enjoyed it.

The show was directed by Max Webster, best known for his multi-award-winning adaptation of Life of Pi, which transferred from the Sheffield Cruciuble to the West End, then on to Broadway. He has previously worked at the Donmar Warehouse before, staging Henry V with Kit Harrington in early 2022.