"The Most Wonderful Of Shrews...."

IF they'd produced it, the RSC would've been proud of this production. Mighty proud.
And here it was 12 miles from home.
I was lucky enough to see it at Theatr Clwyd, Mold, North Wales, a couple of weeks ago.
It was one of the best, if not THE BEST, event I've seen at Theatr C. And believe me, I've made visits to Theatr Clwyd for ( ahem!) many years....

The evening was a riot of laughter and colour and superb drama. Terry Hands as Director totally excelled. AS did Designer, Composer, and everyone else. I'm not exagerrating...

The stage was constantly alive: with laughter and storytelling provided by a cast of superb actors, who wove the tale of lovely Bianca and crazy Katherina... with many touches of sheer MAGIC.

The principal stars were Aberystwyth born Hedydd Dylan as the most unforgettable of Shrews AND also of course the exceptional Steven Meo, equally unforgettable as Petruccio.

My friends and I loved it. And again, I'm not exagerrating: THIS WAS A BREATHTAKINGLY BRILLIANTLY MEMORABLE evening....

"Carnival of Giants Parades Through Chester...."

Chester is now officially UK City of Giants.

And as I was once a child who gorged on Giant stories... ...Fee! Fie! Fo! Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman...... I HAD to watch their spectacular parade through our city streets yesterday.

This parade was part of MBNA's Chestival ( see http://www.chesterfestivals.co.uk/), which tied in with a session the previous day when the 1st ever world Giant Conference met in Chester. Notting Hill Carnival organiser , Pax Nindi, talked about the fantastic part that Giants can play in both community/ international events. It's also hoped that Giants will parade the streets of East London during the Olympics next summer....

Yesterday was a visual and auditory feast! We saw 100 splendid Giants ( many produced by and representing local clubs, organisations etc...eg. Oxfam, Chester F C, Chester Zoo, Kings School, etc) and at least 5 bands, including samba, provided suitable lively music...

Lots more vivid and vivacious events are more than welcome...

" Two Special Visitors......"

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge loomed rather large in Eastgate today.....

" Recognise Anyone?"

Chester had some major-major VIP's in the city today. They were incredibly smiley, despite the rain. And all appeared such good friends.

More about this soon.

"Mr Morrissey's Macbeth in Merseyside"

The wonderful Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, closes its doors shortly while its massive £28m revamp takes place.
The new Everyman , hopefully " A New Everyman For Everyone", will emerge in 2013. You can check out developments on http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/

And the final major performance before closure, was given to Liverpudlian David Morrissey, playing a passionate Macbeth in Gemma Bodinetz's ambitious production , now on stage at the Everyman until June 11th.

Lots of unusual touches (which I know didn't work for everyone, although most did for me) ....
AND as well as enigmatic Mr Morrissey, long time favourite, there was a strong cast, including Richard Bremmer ( fine as Duncan, Doctor, and particularly fine as Porter) plus the superb Gillian Kearney, who played a seductive witch ( who nearly drowned at one exciting point!) and a perfect Lady Macduff.

Mention must be made too of Julia Ford, who stepped in 3 weeks before the play's opening, because Jemma Redgrave left the cast. Ford was firstly a gentle and sweet, soft spoken Lady Macbeth ( almost TOO subdued in neat Jean Muir type navy dress!) but by the end, Ford produced a compellingly psychotic and very bloody Lady M which astounded us all..

An innovative production.
I'm sure Everyone looks forward to our new Everyman with much pleasure...