Tezza's Theatre Place

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/197762/review-macbeth-olivier-theatre-national-theatre/ Macbeth: Royal National Theatre London – Credit Brinkhoff/Mögenburg Once again Shakespeare has come into my life. This time it is the turn of ‘The Scottish Play’ to be given a makeover and presented in a new format to the theatregoing public. So, off I go to the South Bank and the National Theatre to see  Macbeth . In the wilds of Scotland, three witches (Hannah Hutch, Anna-Maria Nabirye and Beatrice Scirocchi) are preparing mischief. They meet with Macbeth (Rory Kinnear), Thane (Duke) of Glamis and his bosom friend Banquo (Kevin Harvey). Hailing Macbeth first they tell him that he shall be “Thane of Cawdor,” and “be King hereafter”. When Banquo asks for a prophecy for himself, the witches answer “that he will be less than Macbeth, yet happier, less successful, yet more. He will father a line of kings though he himself will not be one.” the witches disappear and another Thane runs in d...

https://www.lastminutetheatretickets.com/londonwestend/carmen-1808-union-theatre-london-review/ Carmen – Credit Scott Rylander Ah, the classics. As everyone knows there are two types of performances that involve people singing on stage. There is opera – grand stories, big voices, elitist and not for the plebs – and there is musical theatre – shallow plots, jazz hands, available to the Saturday night, ‘gotta catch a show crowd’. And as everyone really knows, the last sentence is rubbish. Opera can be accessible and musical theatre can be amazingly deep in plot and composition. And, of course the two genres can be mixed which is precisely what Phil Willmott has done with  Carmen 1808  at the Union Theatre. Spain in 1808 is under the control of Napoleon Bonaparte and his troops. Our narrator, the painter Francisco Goya (Alexander Barria) sets the scene. The Spanish nobility have accepted France’s rule and the French army – along with their new comrades in the Span...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/186923/review-antigone-greenwich-theatre-london/ You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family the saying goes. Given the number of dysfunctional families that seem to inhabit the plays of the ancient Greek writers, I can really empathise with this. To give an example, take the tale of  Antigone  which is currently on a UK tour and which I saw recently at the Greenwich Theatre. The battle for Thebes is over and, as the dust settles the cost is counted. As well as the loss of lives in general, the leaders of the two opposing forces – Eteocles and Polyneices – are also among the dead, having fought and killed each other. This would be a tragedy in normal circumstances but, what makes it worse is that these two were brothers – cursed sons of Oedipus and Jocasta – and with their death, it is now up to their uncle Creon (Nicholas Cass-Beggs) to take up the mantle of ruler of Thebes. One of his first moves is to declare Polyne...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/186047/review-richard-iii-cockpit-theatre/ As Napoleon once said, “ Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them .” And nowhere is the idea of ambition explored in greater style than in William Shakespeare’s  Richard III . This tragic story can be seen in a new production by Front Foot Theatre at the Cockpit Theatre. Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Km Hardy) has a simple wish. He wants to be King of England. The problem is that between Richard and the throne is his brother George, Duke of Clarence (Thomas Walker Barron), the current king, and another brother, Edward IV (Oliver Hewett) and his two sons, the Prince of Wales and Duke of York. However, Richard is not going to let a minor thing like this stop him achieving his ambition and, he quickly puts his Machiavellian brain to work on the problem. Clarence is soon dispatched an...

https://www.londontheatre1.com/news/171657/review-romeo-juliet-union-theatre/ Karl Marx famously said ‘religion is the opium of the people’ however, he was wrong. For many people, there is one thing more important that religion and that is football. The beautiful game can divide families, communities and even countries. In extreme cases, supporters of one team in a town may never speak to or even acknowledge supporters of the local rival team. This sporting tension is the backdrop used for Victor Harvey Productions new version of  Romeo & Juliet  at the Union Theatre. In fair Verona, there are two football teams, Montague and Capulet and in each, there is a young player working his way into the world of football. In Montague, there is Romeo Abram Rooney), while in Capulet, young Juliet (Sam Perry) is the rising star. The two of them meet when Benvolio (Celeste De Veazey), Mercutio (Jack J Fairley) and Romeo sneak into a pub where the Montagues are watching a match. A...