WHAT’S GOOD ON THE INTERNET THIS WEEK? This week is dominated by drama. And what drama. Short plays by great playwrights exercising their chops in lockdown, great actors sitting at home making plays, great directors working in smaller form than they have for years, drama in camera, drama on film, drama as we haven’t seen it before. Plays we know reimagined for the small screen, plays we don’t know invented for the form and, before anyone says it, necessity has mothered all this explosion of dramatic invention. Here is some of the best of it this week. And, of course, there’s also art, dance, music, and the reappearance of an annual festival in virtual form. Scenes for Survival https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/scenes-for-survival The National Theatte of Scotland was among the first theatres to announce a lockdown programme of work responding to the pandemic. Its growing collection of 40 short films by more than 100 leading artists is designed to offer audiences “hope and joy”. I don't know about universal hope and joy but dramatic skill and know-how is here in abundance. I haven’t watched all of them but the ones I’ve looked at have been truly excellent. There’s Brian Cox as Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh detective John Rebus, Jonathan Watson as a shipyard electrician suffering from exposure to asbestos and Kate Dickie as brilliant as ever in a monologue by Jenni Fagan. Don’t miss Mark Bonnar’s monologue as the Government advisor who didn’t take his own advice, a masterclass in understated acting technique. The lineup of Scottish talent is extraordinary and each film has been created by a quarantined creative team, made up of a performer, writer and director and filmed by the performers, in their homes. There are more to come so you can keep checking back to see what has been added. Watching Rosie https://originaltheatreonline.com/productions/3/watching-rosie Wonderful Miriam Margolyes stars in this short play by Louise Coulthard, exploring dementia in lockdown. It is based on Coulthard’s debut drama, Cockamamy, an award-winner at the Edinburgh fringe in 2017. The playwright also co-stars, along with Amit Shah, and the film is directed by Michael Fentiman. It's available online until 30 September, free to view, but donations are encouraged in support of Dementia UK. Death of a Hunter – Finborough Theatre https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwJXfprTRqPqBhMGbxnWvFCRxvV Radical German playwright Rolf Hochhuth explores the final hour in the life of the American writer, Ernest Hemingway, in which he confronts his demons, questions old certainties, and comes face to face with the ghosts of his past. Rose – Hope Mill Theatre https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/events/rose One of our finest actors, Maureen Lipman, stars as Rose in Martin Sherman’s one-person play for Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre. Rose is slightly surprised to find herself, at eighty, able to look back at most of the last century. She offers an intimate and, at times, humorous account of the 20th century, and the ultimate triumph of humanity. Tickets are £8 plus the ever-present booking fee of £1.50. Part of the proceeds (why don’t they ever tell you how much?) will go to Age Concern, The Fed & UK Jewish Film. Sept 10/11/12 The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Blackeyed Theatre https://blackeyedtheatre.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/jekyllandhyde This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s dark psychological fantasy, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde is from the innovative theatre company that gave us last year’s Jane Eyre. It immerses you in the myth and mystery of 19th century London’s fog-bound streets where love, betrayal and murder lurk at every chilling twist and turn. Gripping, stylish and thought-provoking, this should be excellent theatre. livestreamed on Sept 18th, at 7.15pm, one time only. Tickets are £15. The Iceman Cometh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etEFM_B9YS0 With all this new drama and new production techniques on offer, it might seem strange to be suggesting a very old TV production of a classic play (written in 1949) but I saw this production when it was new in 1960 and, young as I was, I have never forgotten being stunned by both the play and the acting from Jason Robards Jr in the leading role. It wasn’t a very suitable play for a child but even then I knew that Robards was the great Eugene O’Neill interpreter and I’m not alone in believing that, in his long subsequent career on the stage and film, he never did anything better than this performance. Miscast – Sept. 13 https://www.youtube.com/user/mcctheater https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwJXfsJvRpqdjXxbbDsZngvvrXq https://www.youtube.com/user/mcctheater Miscast is a goofy annual celebration of what makes us love theatre. It gives some of the finest actors and singers the opportunity to perform roles they would never be cast in in the ‘real world’. Every performer, no matter how distinguished, has a role they’re burning to play but they know that no director, no matter how crazy, would ever cast them to play it. They’re too old, too short, too female, too male, too famous. For whatever reason, they’re totally wrong for the part they most covet. Miscast lets them, in fact, encourages them to perform songs they’ll never sing in the production for which they were written. My favourite so far is Jonathan Groff’s wonderful version of Anything Goes from, well, Anything Goes. This year is, of course, virtual, and the lineup is a Who’s Who of everybody important in the theatre, many famous stars, and a few you’ve never heard of. I don’t know what gems will emerge from this year’s Miscast but I, for one, will be glued to my screen so as not to miss a single one. In the meantime, here’s Jonathan Groff to be going on with. The live stream is on Sunday, Sept 13 at 8pm EST so it’s bound to be available on the MCC YouTube channel after that for those of us who live in places where 8pm equals 1am. Harold Sanditen’s Open Mic Party on Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86727996132?pwd=dTl1cE9KdVpKL1FlZFpZL1pJV2NJZz09 Don’t forget Harold Sanditen’s Open Mic on Sept 10th. All his artists make their own videos instead of performing live on his show which does cut down on delays and technical hitches. As ever, he’ll be inviting an international array of good singers from all over the world and he introduces each show with his usual panache. This week the lineup includes Linda Purl, Shelley Goldstein, Jason Graae, and Sean Patrick Murtagh. His regular musicians are Michael Roulston on piano, Robert Rickenberg on bass, and Jonathan “Kitch” Kitching on drums. This show is always fun to watch. If you miss it live on Zoom you can find it on Harold’s Facebook and YouTube pages. The Swan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWairKgESbc This is my show of the week, Saint-Sans’ The Swan from Carnival of the Animals as you’ve never seen it before. I don’t know who this young dancer is and I can’t seem to find out but I am mesmerised by it and can’t stop watching it. Caravaggio (as you’ve never seen him either) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hypDyTBIlPs And to finish, a truly strange piece of video from Italy but, like the Swan, totally addictive.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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