HAMLET (Bristol Old Vic)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/hamlet-on-demand

Available until: 29^th November 2022 (48 hour rental)

Content warning: Violence, blood, vomit, death, suicide, live gunshots, strobe lighting

Age rating: 14+ (I'm only 12. I've seen Hamlet lots of times so we forgot to check the age rating because it's not a new play. It's not as violent as some of the films I've watched at sleepovers but Hamlet probably isn't a good choice for your first ever Shakespeare play)

 

I haven’t written a review for a very long time. I hope I haven’t forgotten how because this is a really good production which deserves the best possible review I can write. But I am out of practice and I am still only twelve so there might be things I get wrong and things I don’t understand.

TITUS ANDRONICUS (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Alan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Content warning: This play is recommended for 16+ and contains some very sensitive content including violence, rape and murder which is done very realistically even on Zoom. If you think this play might not be for you, watch one of the others by Shake-Scene instead. You get sensitive people of all different ages and that’s totally fine. But if it is your sort of thing then watch it because it’s a good production.

Additional Warning: Maybe don’t watch this if you’re eating. Especially not if it’s pie.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 8: THE PLANETS PART II*****

 

By Megan

Link on website (with transcripts): https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-8-planets-part-ii

Also available on: ApplePodcasts    Buzzsprout    Google     ListenNotes    PlayerFM    Podchaser    Podtail    Spotify

Available until: Unknown

It’s been quite a while since the last episode but it was so worth the wait! Darragh Ennis’ science podcast is informative, it covers a range of subjects, it’s very interesting and it’s funny too. Even if you already know a lot about the subject (which I usually don’t because I’m only eleven), I’m sure you’ll learn new things and find the podcast really enjoyable.

CORIOLANUS (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Cal

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Before lockdown, all I knew about Coriolanus is that yes, the last two syllables usually are pronounced in the rude way. Now, I’m a bit more educated about Shakespeare (and maybe even a bit more mature) and other parts of this play are far more interesting to me – including how surprisingly enjoyable Coriolanus is.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Antony and Cleopatra is classed as a tragedy, but there is a lot more to it than that. It is also a sort of history play as it deals with real historical events and there are some very dramatic scenes with physical and verbal battles. Nobody would ever call it a comedy, but there are scenes in it which are very funny.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Tasha & Ry (The Twins!)

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare (sign up here to access this and loads more brilliant plays, they’re doing the whole lot!)

Available until: Unknown

We love this because it is about twins! And what is even better than one set of twins? Twin sets of twins!

This is a really funny play. It doesn’t all make sense because I think if you go looking for your twin somewhere and get mistaken for someone else then it’s just like obviously your twin isn’t it? But we don’t think that matters. I think it’s more important for plays to be entertaining than it is for them to make sense. Making sense is like so overrated.

HENRY VIII (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknow

Henry VIII is probably Shakespeare’s least-known history play. King John is another one that isn’t performed often, but I think people with an interest in Shakespeare usually know it exists. Before I started watching Shakespeare in lockdown, I didn’t even know there was a Henry VIII, but I’ve been lucky enough to see four productions in lockdown. It’s a very enjoyable play – especially with a cast like this – with interesting characters and so many really powerful moments.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (SupportBritish)*****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfL2t_VotoU

Available until: Unknown

Support British have produced a number of brilliant online productions during lockdown and A Christmas Carol is another opportunity to see a really entertaining play with some really excellent actors. It is also a good play for feeling Christmassy!

RICHARD III (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare (Shake-Scene recorded another Richard III in 2020. This is the one is from October 2021.)

Available until: Unknown

If you don’t know the normal British way of naming the Kings (which you might not if you don’t live in the UK), you might think Richard III is the third in a trilogy with Richard II being the second and Richard I… well maybe that got lost like Cardenio.

If you do know that Richard III is the third English King called Richard, you might think that Richard III is a standalone history play like King John.

OLIVER TWIST (Ramps on the Moon/Leeds Playhouse)*****

 

By Arran

Link: https://leedsplayhouse.org.uk/events/oliver-twist-at-home

Available until: 20^th November 2021. Available for 48 hours after the date and time of your showing.

Oliver Twist is a really brilliant play from Ramps on the Moon and it is a very important one too. I haven’t read the book (I don’t think even Megan has read it yet and she reads Shakespeare and Jane Austen) so I don’t know how close it is to the original though it is similar to the musical. But this production is not just about turning a book into a brilliant play. It is about showing how capable people with disabilities are.

HENRY VI PART III (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

The acting in Shake-Scene productions is always brilliant. The plots are really clear (though there are probably things I will understand better when I get older) and the actors perform with lots of enthusiasm. They are also the only company who uses cue scripts like Shakespeare did which gives them a real individuality. If you are interested in cue scripts you should definitely watch these plays. It is really interesting and cue scripts really do work.

HENRY VI PART II (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Henry VI Part II is believed to be Shakespeare’s first history play. It’s not King John, which is the earliest historically. It’s not Henry VI Part I, which you’d expect to come before Part II. It was Henry VI Part II (though it probably wasn’t called Part II at the time). Well, it was probably the first. It’s difficult to be completely sure with Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare might actually have liked it that way. I think he liked to keep people guessing.

HENRY VI PART I (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown

Half-term is traditionally a time when children have fun and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to watch the three parts of Shakespeare’s Henry VI over five days. It sounds quite a lot because even the shortest one (this one) is nearly four hours long but it’s by Shakespeare and it’s presented by Shake-Scene Shakespeare Theatre Company so I knew it was going to be really good.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE: PLANETS – PART 1*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.untanglingscience.com/blog/episode-7-planets-part-1

Also available on podcast sites including Spotify, Listen Notes, Buzzsprout, Apple, and Player FM.

Link to transcript: https://www.untanglingscience.com/blog/episode-7-planets-part-1

Planets Part 1 is about three of the first four planets in the solar system – Mercury, Venus and Mars. Earth gets a few mentions too because there are comparisons with Earth but we know a lot about Earth already from living here (and from listening to all the other podcasts) so the episode focuses on the other three planets.

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (Shake-Scene Shakespeare Company)****

 By Cal

 

Link: https://www.patreon.com/shakesceneshakespeare

Available until: Unknown 

The Merchant of Venice is definitely a problem play for me. There’s a lot here to make a modern audience very uncomfortable. 

Another problem is whose side you’re on. Nobody behaves all that well – and while this is a charge that could be levelled at a number of Shakespeare’s characters, the characters in The Merchant of Venice aren’t as easy to invest in as such incredible creations as Iago and the Macbeths.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 6: AN INTERVIEW WITH DALIA SCIENCE*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-6-interview-with-dalia-science

Link to transcript: not available and there might not be one as the episode wasn’t scripted but if someone does write a transcript you will find a link to it here https://www.untanglingscience.com/blog

The episode can also be found on podcast sites including Spotify, Listen Notes, Buzzsprout and Player FM.

Episode 6 of Untangling Science is different from the others but just as good. The other episodes focus on a scientific topic, including photosynthesis, the sun and the periodic table. Episode 6 is an interview with a PhD student at Oxford University called Dalia Gala who is known as Dalia Science on social media.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 5: PHOTOSYNTHESIS*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-5-photosynthesis (also available on Spotify, Listen Notes etc)

Link to transcript: https://www.untanglingscience.com/blog/episode-5-photosynthesis

Available until: Unknown

Untangling Science is a brilliant podcast by Darragh Ennis who is most famous for being a Chaser on the Chase but he’s also a scientist. He really wants to share science with other people and show them how interesting and important it is and he does a really good job of this.

EMERGING VOICES (Sandhill Theater Company/Thornhill Theatre Space)****

 

By Louise

Link: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/thornhill-theatre/audio-fringe-ttsfringe2-IgbFPcUSyOZ

Available until: Unknown

Emerging Voices is a collection of eight short plays by students from the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts, presented by Thornhill Theatre Space as part of #TTSFringe2. The plays were written when the students were in the 10^th-12th grades. If you’re in England or Wales, that’s Years 11-13 and if you’re in Scotland, that’s S4-S6. I’m in Year 10 and it is amazing to think some of these writers are only one year older than me, but they are already able to write really mature plays.

THE SIGNALMAN (Moth Sanctuary Productions)*****

By Cal

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHM--zjDQ14

Available until: Unknown

Charles Dickens is known for his larger-than-life characters with impossible names, but I first encountered him as the writer of a ghost story – A Christmas Carol. Although I had a feeling he’d written other stories with a spooky theme, I hadn’t read or heard any of them till listening to this reading of The Signalman.

A WHITE WHALE, OR: MOBY DICK (Thornhill Theatre Space/A Theater in the Dark)*****

 

By Jack

Link: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/thornhill-theatre/audio-fringe-ttsfringe2-a-RcL5D1ZVQ-s/

Available until: Unknown

I’ll listen to anything with Dick in the title. Especially if there’s a chance of people getting eaten by something other than zombies. But I wouldn’t give five stars based on that. It has to have other good bits in too and I’m not just talking about rude stuff.

I’ll try to keep it fairly serious in this review. I don’t want to cause offence. It’s fun to joke around a bit but the most important thing to get across is that A Theater in the Dark worked really hard on this project so I don’t want to show disrespect.