The Life and Death of Marina Abramović at the Lowrie Theatre.

I like the lighting... oh, and the live dogs at the beginning. Otherwise, unless you enjoy being surprised by loud ticks and thumps to keep you awake while watching actors paid to behave like electronically controlled puppets then I suggest you save yourselves a lot of money and just buy the programme - the write-up and the photographs more or less tell it all.

Shakespeare, the death of Hamnet, his son, Judith's twin

TWINS AND SHAKESPEARE’S RECONSTRUCTED FAMILY

- I have just added this article to my 'Pages' that are to be found in the column to the right of this...


I am very interested in the creative power of grief - sadness can be such a healthful and benign power, and so very different to depression -

flarepath by terence rattigan

wonderful! Visited London to see this wartime play - all my grumbles faded away.  Clear diction. Well thought out, well acted.  Happy now!

I spent the evening with friends -  a psychiatrist and a psychologist - they are very worried about what the Gvt is planning to do with the National Health Service.  I do hope the powers that be calm down and allow themselves more thinking time. More Cogitation and a little less adrenaline please!

voice, this time its the bbc - a grump

I am puzzled. I listened to the beginning of a BBC 3rd Programme play on Sunday - w'therin' 'ites by that Bronte lass  -  and then, on a nod from my partner, we agreed to turn it off.  Not because of the naughty words but becaause of the poor voices. I was looking foward to hearing the local dialects being richly spoken.  My dad had a marvellous Yorshire dialect.  We would far rather have had the words said with love of them even if a bit iffy on the side of being correctly Yorkshire than what we were given.  I'm intrigued by the lack of good voices coming out of drama schools.  I value dialects - Think Northern Broadside  - but....come on you voice teachers, do your stuff!

Here, for fun, is Horatio in Hamlet - paingting in progress

Shakespeare again

My partner and I had a great experience at the Lowrie recently when we saw a production of The Comedy of Errors - heard every word, laughed, and came away reassured there's life in British theatre. 

I've beem off line thinking about Hamlet - having long coversations with Shakespeare - he's very argumentative.  However, I dare to say we're beginning to agree with each other. Or, to be accurate, I'm beginning to agree with him.  He's thought to have been the first to take the part of The Ghost because he could produce an unearthly voice.  Here he is in acrylic paint. It isn't finished... a little greenish blue to push the figure back maybe to emphasise the directive finger as he pronounces the word "Swear!"...