The History of England

from Celts through 20th century

Archives for the ‘Theatre’ Category

THEATRE

Category: Theatre

The roots of modern English drama stretch back into the past, and often the process of its development is plain enough to trace. The widespread dramatization of fiction in the twentieth century is yet another link with literary tradition. There have been dramas based on the life and work of the Brontes, such as Jane […]



The Shakespeare Festival

Category: Theatre

In 1742 Charles Macklin and David Garrick came to New Place (house built on the site of Shakespeare’s own house) and sat in Shakespeare’s garden under the famous mulberry tree that Shakespeare is said to have planted with his own hands. It is evidently after this that Garrick decided to “take Shakespeare into partnership’’, as […]



THE ECLIPSE OF THE THEATRE

Category: Theatre

Among  the  general  amenities  of  the  modern  town  the  chief  are  the  free  library,  the  swimming  bath,  the  ice-rink,  the  dance-  hall,  the  museum  and  the  “art  gallery”  —  a  term  which  is  given  liber­al  construction.  These  are  as  regular  features  of  all  towns  of  any  size  as  cinemas  are  of  towns  both  large  and  […]



The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon

Category: Theatre

The  season  of  Shakespeare’s  plays  which  is  held  annually  at  the  Shakespeare  Memorial  Theatre  has  become  so  established  that  it  now  carries  the  reputation  of  an  English  tradition.  In  1874,  Charles  Edward  Flower,  a  prominent  resident  of Stratford,  began  a  scheme  for  building  a  theatre  for  the  town,  and  he  presented  a  two-acre  site  on  the  […]



NINETY-NINTH SEASON AT STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Category: Theatre

Since  1950  only  five  plays  have  been  presented  each  year.  The  programme  for  1958  contains  four  firm  favourites  and  one  apocryphal  rarity.  Romeo  and  Juliet,  Twelfth  Night  and  Hamlet  are  now  running.  Pericles  will  open  on  8th  July  and  Much  Ado  about  Nothing  will  be  presented  on  26th  August.



MEASURE FOR MEASURE. ROYAL SHAKESPEARE, STRATFORD-ON-AVON

Category: Theatre

Intellectually  fashionable  since  the  end  of  the  war,  Measure  for  Measure  has  undergone  a  total  reversal  of  meaning  from  a  parable  on  divine  justice  to  a  fable  of  social  oppression.  [...] Any  interpretation  of  the  play  hinges  on  the  enigmatic  figure  of  the  Duke,  whose  role  consists  of  a  string  of  unanswered  questions.  Unsurprisingly,  Mr  […]



OPERA AND BALLET

Category: Theatre

Ondine The  premiere  of  a  new  three-act  ballet  is  always  a  great  occasion  at  Covent  Garden,  and  Frederick  Ashton’s  new  work,  Ondine  which  the  Royal  Ballet  presented  on  27th  October,  was  no  excep­tion.  Mr  Ashton  freely  adapted  the  scenario  from  the  story  by  Friedrich  de la  Motte  Fouque.  The  music  by  Werner  Heuze  was  specially  composed,  […]



IRINA ARKHIPOVA’S DEBUT

Category: Theatre

The  old  saying  that  all  you  need  for  a  successful  production  of  II  Trovatore  are  the  four  great­est  singers  in  the  world  sums  up  what  most  people  pay  their  money  for  —  not  the  scenery,  not  the  acting,  and  certainly  not  the  improbable  and  melodramatic  plot,  but  Verdi’s  music  and  espe­cially  the  singing.



WHAT WENT ON IN THE BALLET WORLD…

Category: Theatre

Thanks  to  the  management  of  the  Sadler’s  Wells  Theatre,  who  make  available  seats  in  the  front  stalls  at  knockdown  prices  to  parties  of  local  schoolchildren. I  sat  in  the  middle  of  a  row  full  of  junior  secondary  boys  and  girls  at  a  near-perfect  performance  of  Giselle  last  week  and  the  con­centration  and  enjoyment  were  intense.



THE ROYAL BALLET AT THE LONDON COLISEUM

Category: Theatre

One  of  the  arguments  that  has  been  put  forward  against  the  idea  that  the  Royal  Ballet  ought  to  have  theatre  of  its  own  where  it  could  dance  every  night  has  been  that  it  would,  lose  the  benefit  of  sharing  the  Covent  Garden    Orchestra.  The  sort  of  playing  we  get  from  that  sometimes  illustrious  orchestra  on  […]