On Beckett / In Screen Bill Irwin Click here to watch For a long time, the only mime any of us had ever heard of was Marcel Marceau and then along came the extraordinary Bill Irwin. For a long time, he didn’t talk at all, but performed wonderful one-man shows which appeared to have a cast of thousands, so expressive was his face and body. Somewhere in the past decade, he learned to speak (I’m joking) and starred on Broadway in a variety of plays, winning every possible award. He has a special affinity for the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett and here is his marvellous one-man show for New York’s Irish Rep. An exploration of the works of Samuel Beckett, Bill Irwin mines the physical and verbal skills acquired in his years as a master clown and Tony Award-winning actor to explore a performer’s relationship to Beckett. Irwin’s approach to the comic, the tragic, to every side of Beckett’s work – including Waiting for Godot, The Unnamable, and Texts for Nothing – allows the audience to experience the Nobel Prize winning playwright’s language in compelling new ways. For those of us in Europe, a word of warning. The Irish Rep is running this production online Nov 17-22 at 7pm and 8pm NY time, which is too late for most of us, but on the 18th, 21st and 22nd there will be 3pm matinees, (8pm in London) so I suggest you look for those. It’s free to watch but you have to register in advance. This is annoying but worth it. Macbeth – William Shakespeare Click here to watch Like many Shakespeare lovers, I went through a period of being Shakespeare-ed out, when I didn’t want to see another Hamlet or Macbeth or Romeo for a good long time. And then I saw Patrick Stewart in Rupert Goold’s radical take on this great play and it made me think again. Love it or hate it, this production with Kate Fleetwood as Lady Macbeth, will make you see the play as if for the first time. Music of Joy and Peace – Jeffrey Siegel Click here to watch This is a simple idea. Many people love classical music but wish they knew more about the works they hear. The concert pianist Jeffrey Siegel is now famous around the world for his Keyboard Conversations, concerts where he introduces the audience to the composer of the music he’s going to play, explains a little about what to listen out for, and then plays the piece. I have heard dozens of his concerts over the years and I’ve loved every one. More importantly, I’ve learned something new with every one. Simple ideas are the best. Talley’s Folly – Syracuse Stage Click here to watch Kate Hamill and Jason O’Connell star in Lanford Wilson’s lovely 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning play. On July 4, 1944, Matt Friedman, a 40+ Jewish accountant and in love for the first time in his life, drives 200 miles to the heart of Missouri farm country to propose to Sally Talley, ten years younger and seemingly not interested. Having been met at the door by Sally’s shotgun toting brother—Jews not welcome here—Matt takes refuge in a Victorian folly of a boathouse on the nearby river, where Sally finds him. What happens then is up to them. Nov 11-22. New York Times - (5 minutes that will make you love sopranos) Click here to listen I don’t know who at the august New York Times thought up this great idea of using their own columnists and other experts to share their favourite five-minute snippets of music. This one is sopranos, that high register that causes opera haters to cover their ears in horror. Until, that is, they hear the best and often, they’re converted. In this one, you can listen to Maria Callas, Jessye Norman, Leontyne Price, Renée Fleming and others, and find out why us opera lovers love them. But only for five minutes. National Gallery - Drinking in art Click here to watch Here is another of the National Gallery’s Closer Look series. A 10-minute look by Curator Chris Riopelle at some of the paintings which feature alcohol as their theme. From Sorolla to Manet via Singer Sargent and Meissonier. Always interesting. Carole J. Bufford concert Nov 22 at 5pm Click here to watch Carole J. Bufford, one of my favourite cabaret singers, has recorded this show which celebrates the songstresses of the 60’s & 70’s with music made famous by Janis Joplin, Dusty Springfield, Tina Turner, Carole King, Lesley Gore, Dionne Warwick, Cher and more. She doesn’t just sing these classic songs, she looks into their historical context, at a time of great change and transition in America and elsewhere. Note the time, 5pm US, 10pm UK. Marry Me a Little 19-22 Nov at 7.30 UK Click here to watch The charming and bittersweet one-act musical revue, by Craig Lucas and Norman René, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, follows two strangers as they explore their secret, unshared fantasies as they are left alone in their studio apartments on a Saturday night. Two urban singles (Rob Houchen and Celinde Schoenmaker) share a Saturday night of sweet fantasies and deep yearning while never leaving the confines of their solitary apartments. Together, they breathe new theatrical life and meaning into a collection of trunk songs that were culled from the final productions of Anyone Can Whistle, Follies, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and A Little Night Music. The Wind in the Willows: The Musical
Click here to watch This is a new streaming platform just coming online which could be just up my alley. Stage2view.com – it has just started and it is promising access to plays, musicals, and music, filmed during theatre performances. You can rent a show for £4.95 or $3.95 and watch it up to four times in 48 hours. It includes some delicious musicals such as 42nd St, Kinky Boots, An American in Paris, (not the original 1951 movie musical but the stage version, filmed) and some fine plays such as Alfred Molina in Red. I’ve chosen The Wind in the Willows for my first experiment with Stage2View. This is the hit musical from creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes, and award-winning composer and lyricist, George Stiles & Anthony Drewe. It stars Rufus Hound, Gary Wilmott, Simon Lipkin, Denise Welch and Neil McDermott. Join Ratty, Badger, Mole and the impulsive Toad on a series of riotous adventures spiralling from Toad's insatiable need for speed! Featuring eye-popping design, exuberant choreography and a glorious score, the show is packed with comedy, heart and thrills. Once you get used to the fact that you’re watching a film of a stage show, not a made-for-the-screen video, it works just fine. I wish stage2view much success. Check it out.
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AuthorRuth Leon is a writer and critic specialising in music and theatre. Archives
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