REVIEW: Twelfth Night (Pop-up Globe)

March 1, 2016

[Drowning in Illyria] It seems appropriate that a play which revolves around two shipwrecked siblings is victim to Auckland’s inconstant elements. While a rain-soaked atmosphere won’t be part of everyone’s Twelfth Night experience, the unpredictability of the weather is an integral part of attending the Pop-up Globe, especially for the exposed groundlings. The actors, despite having to compete with the […]

REVIEW: Henry V (Pop-up Globe)

March 1, 2016

[An Incomplete Herstory] They say history is written by the winners, yet Shakespeare, for all the nationalism evoked in Henry V, is conscious of the moral predicament that his hero (if he can be called that) faces. It’s important, then, where the production stands on the subject. Is this an anti-war narrative, a celebration, a history lesson or something else […]

SCENE BY JAMES: The Pop-up Globe Experience

February 29, 2016

[A Worthy Scaffold] The original Globe theatre has a terrific origin story. Shakespeare and co were leasing ‘The Theatre’ in Shoreditch, but they didn’t like their landlord. A careful reading of the lease revealed that while they didn’t own the land, they did own the playhouse.  A few days after a white Christmas of 1598, the acting company turned up […]

REVIEW: Romeo and Juliet (Pop-up Globe)

February 29, 2016

[This is not Romeo] Romeo & Juliet is a tragedy. An early twenties (arguably late teens) knave and a 13 year old girl become infatuated with each other, and in less than a working week six people including themselves are dead. While that may come across as an amusingly black read at first, it belies the tragedy by which these […]

Theatre Scenes Turns 5

January 24, 2016

5 years ago to the day, I launched Theatre Scenes with a post that asked “Why Theatre, Why Now?“, a question that continues to grow in urgency. I had finished my Honours in Drama and would no longer be the Theatre Editor of Auckland Uni’s Craccum Magazine. I hoped that by starting Theatre Scenes I’d be able to keep reviewing and […]

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