Sunday, December 02, 2012

Richard III & Twelfth Night

The Aunts waited for us to catch double bill 'Richard III' and 'Twelfth Night, or What You Will' together. Admittedly, both aren't my favorite Shakespearean plays, no more than 'King Lear' or 'Hamlet' is; still, the reviews so far have been kind to both productions, and curiosity drove me to agree to watching both. I only wanted to watch Stephen Fry (as Malvolio) and Mark Rylance (as Olivia) in an all-male reviver of the last version a decade ago at the Globe.

Between the performances, we went to the British Museum to stroll through 'Shakespeare: Staging the World' before the close of the exhibition. (Read reviews here, here and here.) I totally admire the Bard. But he does bore me to tears at times. Am especially scarred by the years of having to endure him for examinations. But it meant that the walk-through of the objects, books and quotations fleshed out felt so familiar that I almost wished I had avenues to such 'animation' when I was in school.

'Richard III' was predictably enjoyable and competent. But it wasn't particularly memorable. Mark Rylance donned the robes of Richard III, and Samuel Barnett played Queen Elizabeth. With their dazzling facial expressions and command of the stage, the actors brought us back in time. Tim Carroll's production of 'Twelfth Night, Or What You Will' was surprisingly entertaining, and not the least bit of a slapstick as earlier feared. Mark Rylance totally nailed it as Olivia, in all the inflections of speech, and little tilt of the head and all. Delightful! Stephen Fry hadn't done a West End stage production for years after he walked out of Simon Gray's 'Cell Mates' in 1995.

So glad that there was no chance for me to embarrassingly nod off to sleep.

'Twelfth Night, Or What You Will': Act V Scene 1.

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