Richard III (and speaking to The Old Vic)

Photographs taken by Laura Mary Link taken at The Old Vic Theatre - workshop lead by current director of "Richard III) Bruce Guthrie

Spot the orange trousers... (that's me) 

And she was born for the theatre...

On Monday I stood on the stage at the Old Vic and spoke to the theatre. I miss the stage. Speaking makes me feel alive.  Shakespeare gives oneself a purpose. The genius is in the words.

 

"O, I have passed a miserable night,

So full of fearful dreams, of ugly sights,

That, as I am a Christian faithful man,

I would not spend another such night

Though 'twere to buy a world of happy days--

So full of dismal terror was the time.

Methoughts that I had broken from the Tower

And was embarked to cross the Bergundy,

And in my company my brother Gloucester,

Who from my cabin tempted me to walk

Upon the hatches: thence we looked toward England

And cited up a thousand heavy times,

During the wars of York and Lancaster,

That had befall'n us. As we paced along

Upon the giddy footing of the hatches,

Methought that Gloucester stumblèd, and in falling

Struck me (that thought to stay him) overboard

Into the tumbling billows of the main.

O Lord! methought what pain it was to drown!

What dreadful noise of waters in mine ears!

What sights of ugly death within mine eyes!

Methoughts I saw a thousand fearful wracks;

A thousand men that fishes gnawed upon;

Wedges of gold, great anchors, heaps of pearl,

Inestimable stones, unvaluèd jewels,

All scatt'red in the bottom of the sea:

Some lay in dead men's skulls, and in the holes

Where eyes did once inhabit, there were crept

(As 'twere in scorn of eyes) reflecting gems,

That wooed the slimy bottom of the deep

And mocked the dead bones that lay scatt'red by.

I passed (methought) the melancholy flood,

With that sour ferryman which poets write of,

Unto the kingdom of perpetual night.

The first that there did greet my stranger soul

Was my great father-in-law, renownèd Warwick,

Who spake aloud, 'What scourge for perjury

Can this dark monarchy afford false Clarence?'

And so he vanished. Then came wand'ring by

A shadow like an angel, with bright hair

Dabbled in blood, and he shrieked aloud,

'Clarence is come -- false, fleeting, perjured Clarence,

That stabbed me in the field by Tewkesbury:

Seize on him, Furies, take him unto torment!'

With that (methoughts) a legion of foul fiends

Environed me, and howlèd in mine ears

Such hideous cries that with the very noise

I, trembling, waked, and for a season after

Could not believe but that I was in hell,

Such terrible impression made my dream. " Clarence in William Shakespeare's Richard III

It is no secret I still want to run away with the circus...

I always have. I always will. And I will always hate my parents for not forcing me to go to circus school from the age of three... (only joking - I love them really)!
  However I do suffer from a major problem - whenever I go to see a play, a circus show, a concert... a cabaret I watch it, enjoy it and become consumed with jealousy that I am not in it.
  "Circa" by Wunderkammer at the Barbican was no exception. It really was a stunning, hilarious and talented performance. The amazing thing about this show was it's light heartedness. The acrobatics were exquisite but it was performed playfully. There was no elitism in the movement but a humbleness in the way it was presented - the troupe didn't take themselves seriously (in a good way) and this made the show.

"In this exquisite cabaret of the senses, a diva melts into a rope, balloons and bubble wrap discover their artistic souls while bodies twist and fly.  Seven performers of unbelievable ability bend the very fabric of reality. Sexy, funny and explosive, Circa presents a breathless cocktail of new circus, cabaret and vaudeville.  Control and abandon, skill and humour, lyricism and anarchy all meld into a sinuous fugue of profound beauty. "



Oh and not forgetting I do like a bit of nudity. It always goes down well and this was an excellent chance to perve.

School for scandal at the BARBICAN

Last night I yet again chose to make use of my age and got two free tickets to see School of Scandal at the Barbican. I love having my freeB tickets and this time I dragged James along to (in my opinion) the best performance at the Barbican I have seen yet. It was opening night and the new production of Richard Sheridan's classic was flawless. Directed by Deborah Warner the fresh production was wild, vibrant, big and relevant to modern day culture. Whereas you would expect to struggle with a four hour play written for an audience alive in 1777 Deborah converted the visuals and the meaning (although not the script) into "a scorching comedy with contemporary resonance as our own celebrity-obsessed culture collides with the gossip-ridden, high fashion world of eighteenth-century London."
  The acting was outstanding ( I mean really really brilliant) with big names taking leads such as Katherine Parkinson who we all know from her BAFTA award winning role in "The IT crown",  Harry Melling who played Dudley Dursely in "Harry Potter", Leo Bill who starred in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" and many many more. Every member of the 20 piece cast has an amazing list of credits (no surprise) and all trained at a very high level proving what drama school really can produce. The characterisations were hilarious and I would like to specially mention Gary Sefton and Adam Gillan whose pure physicality in characters was absolutely remarkable, fantastic and utterly hilarious. The energy coming from the cast and translating to the performance was really something else.
  The set, lighting, sound and costume are also really wonderful. Visually the production is completely and utterly gripping. The only hitch was a drunken member of audience dropping something down into the mechanisms under the stage during the interval resulting in a fairly long wait. Stupid old bag!
  After seeing this play my new favourite word is definitely "EGAD" ... I can't wait to use it! My love for acting and drama still remains. My strongest emotion.. however much I enjoyed watching it is still jealousy to the cast. And boy do I still want to be an actress. STOP. I am an actress.

Visit this sight for more http://www.barbican.org.uk/scandal/
AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GET A TICKET!

rhinocerous

Anyone wellcome..
It is a bit obsurd!

totem

Yesterday I was very lucky to  be able to see Cirque de Soleil's latest production "Totem" at The Royal Albert Hall with my Mum, Sister and Wolfie. It is fair to say it is a spectacular, visual, masterpiece and a breathtaking performance of effortless and spellbinding talent. It is the first time I have ever witnessed one of their shows and it was everything I thought it would be and more. I have always said I would have liked to run away with the circus and this certainly cements this view (as well as the fact I will never (most probably) ever come close to being able too). It really was flawless and exquisitely fun entertainment; everything a circus should be: daring, shocking, funny, clever and beautiful but on an impressively grand scale with fantastic set, costume, make-up and most wonderfully - a great live troupe of musicians.
  "Totem" is a story about humanity and the natural world set on a fictional island and randomly stringing together stories and pictures of evolution both scientific and factual.
     "TOTEM celebrates our infinite potential, and traces Man's journey from the very beginnings of life on Earth to out ultimate desire to fly. BREAK FREE FROM GRAVITY. "

Anyone who is going you will have a fab time!

Evermore

Yesterday I was lucky enough to go and see the production of Evermore ( the imaginary life of Edgar Allen Poe) by the canadian Catalyst theatre company. A gothic musical it played on te morbid the strange and the twisted.
It focused on doom and death... how we are intrinsically born a character a person whom perhaps we cannot escape from... are we condemmed to our disposition?
Arewe condemmed to our own thoughts trapped in a world that is just as unescapable as a nightmare ..becaue maybe life is a nightmare?
Does it even matter because death is always the end,an inevitable truth.. whether we die of our family codition, crippling mental illness, passion, or disease is death
release that only toments the living and is just the end of a dream for the dead?