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.

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.

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.

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.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Shake-Scene Theatre Company)****

 

By Megan

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

Available until: Unknown

Lots of theatres are reopening all over the country but there is still lots of online theatre to be enjoyed and one company who has said they will keep going because they are enjoying it so much is Shake-Scene Theatre Company. They have already started their King Henry VI cycle with the final part coming next month. We will be reviewing all three close together like we did with Henry IV.

AVANT ALICE (Thornhill Theatre Space)****

   

By Megan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwH3OFeoeNw

Available until: Unknown

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a story that has been adapted lots of times in lockdown and it has been really interesting to see all the different ways the story has been presented. It’s a story a lot of people really identify with at the moment. The whole idea of being in a new world where everything seems slightly off is one most of us can relate to.

ZOOM, A PLAY FOR LOCKDOWN (Thornhill Theatre Space)****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXRViqvsCO0&t=16s

Available until: Unknown

I’m really enjoying Thornhill Theatre Space’s #TTSFringe2. It has so many different types of performances about different subjects and in different styles from all over the world. #TTSFringe2 is a really nice celebration of digital theatre which is something that has been really important to a lot of people for the last eighteen months.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 4 - THE SUN*****

 

By Megan

Links: https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-4-the-sun

Transcript: https://www.untanglingscience.com/blog/episode-4-the-sun

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-4-the-sun/id1573107927?i=1000530964648

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fuoMDNFbDPZEpsT1czeet

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1804642/8973120-episode-4-the-sun?client_source=small_player&iframe=true&referrer=https://www.buzzsprout.com/1804642/8973120-episode-4-the-sun.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-8973120&player=small#

Untangling Science is so brilliantly put together. The four episodes so far have covered very different subjects (DNA, viruses, the periodic table and the Sun) so if you look at the list you might think it’s jumping around all over the place but it’s really not and the things you learn in previous episodes turn out to be really useful for future episodes.

LA TRAVIATA (Glyndebourne Festival Opera)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcIwYTkaB0M

Available until: Sunday 29^th August 2021, 5pm

Glyndebourne Festival Opera is going ahead this year which is brilliant but they are still very kindly putting some of their previous productions on their YouTube channel for us to enjoy. Or get very sad about in this case.

La traviata is one of the best-known operas with really gorgeous, emotional music and a story which is easy to follow and which actually makes sense most of the time. (There are subtitles if you don’t speak Italian.) It is based on Alexandre Dumas fils’ novel La Dame aux Camélias. The opera is set in the past world of courtesans and consumption but I think it is very relatable to the present day. A lot of people know what it’s like to be separated from someone you love and I think the whole world knows how cruel illness can be.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 3 – ATOMS AND ELEMENTS*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-3-atoms-and-elements (also available on other podcast sites)

Available until: Unknown

I think these episodes get better every week so I might have to invent six star reviews. I feel like I learn so much and it is so much fun to listen to, it doesn’t feel like I am working at all. Darragh Ennis is really brilliant at these podcasts because he makes science sound exciting. Science is very exciting but not everyone has the ability to bring that across. It really helps to learn about it from someone who finds it exciting themselves and really wants to tell us about it.

DON GIOVANNI (Royal Opera)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://stream.roh.org.uk/packages/don-giovanni/videos/don-giovanni-1

Available until: 15^th August 2021

Don Giovanni is not like Mozart’s other main characters. There are some who do things which aren’t the best idea like the characters in Così fan tutte. There are characters who get themselves into really serious difficulties like the title character in Idomeneo (who makes a promise he really regrets) and Tito in La clemenza di Tito (who expects his best friend not to want to kill him). Even in the lighter operas, the characters get themselves into serious trouble. But we like all these main characters and we hope for a happy ending for them.

AS YOU LIKE IT (Worldwide Shakespeare)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/william-shakespeares-as-you-like-it-recording-tickets-163768011531

Available until: 26^th July 2021

The first production I ever reviewed was a production of As You Like It and that was nearly a whole year ago! I hope I’m better at reviewing than I was then. I write a lot more on my own now. I was only nine when I wrote my first review and I will be eleven in seven weeks.

Worldwide Shakespeare’s production of As You Like It was originally livestreamed just once but now it has been made available for another week. It is not free but it is Pay What You Can and whatever you pay, it will be worth it because it is a great production.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 2 – VIRUSES*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-2-viruses

Available until: Unknown

Episode 2 of Untangling Science, presented by Darragh Ennis, is really good. It asks questions like what viruses are, how they get into our bodies and make us feel so completely horrible and what kind of research scientists are doing in order to prevent viruses from doing that.

DOCTOR FAVSTVS (The Show Must Go Online)*****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.patreon.com/TheShowMustGoOnline/posts                                                                                                                 

Available until: Unknown

Content warnings: This production contains noises and images that may be startling, sexual references and reference to suicide, along with depictions of self-harm and the occult.

Doctor Favstvs is the last full-length play in the Month of Marlowe and TSMGO give a brilliant performance just like they always do.

UNTANGLING SCIENCE EPISODE 1 - DNA*****

By Megan 

Link: https://www.untanglingscience.com/episode-1-dna

Available until: Unknown

I usually review plays and this is a scientific podcast so I might review it in completely the wrong sort of way but I hope it will encourage people to listen to this podcast and to all the other podcasts in this series when they are released because Episode 1 is really good.

THE GIANT PACIFIC OCTUPUS MARITIME SCHOOL (Forty-Five North/Ellie Keel Productions)****

 

By Megan

Link: https://www.forty-fivenorth.com/the-giant-pacific-octopus-maratime-school

Available until: Unknown

A lot of people wonder what might happen if it wasn’t possible to live on Earth anymore. The usual solution which people come up with is that we should all get into a spaceship and find another planet to live on but The Giant Pacific Octopus Maritime School has another idea. We should all go and live underwater.