![]() ![]() A mainly black cast catapult – or should that be teleport? – the action to a fairly bonkers “Afro-futurist” setting that looks rather as if the Marvel superhero film Black Panther had been crossed with Return to the Forbidden Planet, the 1980s musical sci-fi reworking of The Tempest. His Much Ado twinkles light-years away from the post-First World War Downton-esque caper that Christopher Luscombe enchanted audiences with here in 2014. How does it move with the times without losing traditionalists? The Bard’s place in the theatre culture suddenly feels less certain.įaced with the daunting task of providing a reset moment for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, compounded by a last-minute production upset – Michael Balogun, who was cast as Benedick, dropped out a week ago, for health reasons – RSC debutant director Roy Alexander Weise passes with flying colours. ![]() And questions about its purpose and relevance are bubbling with renewed intensity. Other regional venues are freshly envious of the RSC’s level of subsidy, especially relative to the size of its local population. ![]() Given that it’s nearly two years since the pandemic closed the country’s theatres, the time for a loud whoop of delight at this major milestone has probably passed it’s more a sigh of exhausted relief.īig challenges now lie ahead. At long last, Shakespeare is back on the Stratford main-stage, and playing to full houses. ![]()
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