By Louise
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R1S8pRoOwY
Available until: Unknown
Some people are a bit disappointed with Julius Caesar because there isn’t very much for the female characters to do. Shakespeare has written a lot of brilliant female characters, but there are only two females in Julius Caesar and they’re not always presented in a very positive way.
By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmvB4heou2c
Available until: Unknown
There are a lot of plays which just seem to be about people treating each other badly. It’s become especially common in modern times and it can be seen not just in plays but in films, TV programmes, books, any media that contains stories also contains nastiness.
By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwhmGdjPKTk
Available until: Unknown
At just over thirty-three minutes
long, The Bear is much shorter than most of the International Actors
Ensemble’s projects, but it is no less brilliant. Anton Chekhov is known for
his miserable plays, which tend to feature a fair amount of crying and dying,
but this one is absolutely hilarious.
By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj1ge02w53o
Available until: Unknown
There’s just one problem with this
production of Richard III.
I don’t know how any other production
is ever going to live up to it.
By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIl4Chm_OKQ
Available until: Unknown
The final part of the Henry VI
trilogy is a triumph not just for the winner of the final battle but for the
International Actors Ensemble, Circle in the Sand, the Alex Theatre and everyone
else involved in this great series of productions.
And it isn’t over yet. Richard III
is still to come and judging from the cast list, it’s going to be great.
By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXZ5AKrieXQ
Available until: Unknown
The International Actors Ensemble
continue their Henry VI series with a really incredible production of
the second part. This play is seen by many as the best of the three and it’s
believed to be the first Shakespeare wrote. It shows a slightly older Henry,
trying to keep control of his kingdom as almost everyone he knows seems to be
against him.
By Cal
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLJEo339aYw
Available until: Unknown
The Henry VI plays aren’t performed very often. There are
three of them and they’re not exactly short and not many people will want or be
able to afford to go to three consecutive performances. It would be really
tough on the actors too!
By Dave
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsevrEUXJHo
Available until: Unknown
Henry IV Part 1 is a history play with a bit of everything.
Maybe not quite everything because there isn’t a romance, but it has drama
(including a lot of fighting at the end) and it has comedy. It has a lot of
great characters, with a great mixture of the historical and the (probably)
fictional. There was a real Sir John Falstaff, but he doesn’t seem to have been
very much like the one who appears in this play.
By Cal
Link to 29th November
performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHGXRWCb5JQ
Available until: Unknown, but there
are three recordings of this event. This is the 29th November
performance. There were also performances on 28th and 30th
November.
It’s always interesting watching plays
on Zoom and seeing into actors’ homes, but in this play, I really enjoyed the
use of backgrounds to give a sense of place. The International Actors Ensemble
has taken advantage of this option and although all the actors have slightly
different screens, it does look like they’re all in the same place. It worked
really well, especially as much of the play took place in a really lovely
bluebell wood. Wish I was there! I’ll happily swap November for summer.
