RSC Open Day - Sunday 31st August

Photo from Shakespeare And Me today by unknown photographer posted on OG

I had an early 5.00am start today for my drive up the M40. Unfortunately it was quite foggy in places but thankfully I'd left plenty of time so I had time to stop for some breakfast on the way.

I met my friend at 9.30am and we walked to Chapel Lane where we were due to meet for the theatre tour. I only did the first part of the tour but my friend did the whole tour and really enjoyed it especially as it ended with them performing a short tech performance actually on the stage in the Courtyard Theatre! (They had covered the stage so that it was not shiny.)

As I walked back to the Courtyard Theatre I noticed that people coming towards me were all looking over their shoulders and I realised that Patrick Stewart was walking just in front of me!

My second event was Shakespeare And Me which was basically a Q&A with Gregory Doran, David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. There were lots of interesting questions asked and it was very amusing! I managed to record it (even changing tapes with a RSC guy crouched near me with a microphone!). DT said that the previous evening the lights had come up earlier than expected after the interval and that he and PS were still trying to get into their places!

Rather than typing it all out, here are some parts that people posted on OG:

Rehearsals for LLL have started, David will apparently be wearing tights (he claims this is why it's a short run as they really don't suit him, GD concurs). Asked why he wanted to do Hamlet he gave a long and interesting reply, paused and then added "It's quite a good play. Quite well written." Which sounded a lot funnier in person.

It was overall a very funny hour - David and Patrick you expect to bring the humour in a situation like that, Greg Doran probably not so much and as it turned out he was probably the funniest of the three. The last 20 mins or so they took questions from the audience and thankfully no one embarrassed themselves and the questions were pretty evenly aimed between the three of them.

Miscellaneous stuff: They were sitting at the back of the stage and left to right (facing the stage) they were in order; Patrick, Nick, David, Greg. They all had big hand mics, Patrick's was black, Nick's yellow, David's green and Greg's red. Patrick kept putting his down and forgetting to pick it up when answering a question. David said it made them look like Westlife and they were going to finish by singing a particularly nasty ballad. I didn't go round to the stage door but am told that David came out the fire exit, got in a car and was driven off. I don't know if he did any autographs.

- Discussing Gregory Doran as a director: Patrick Stewart said that, as any person with major talent, he makes it look easy. DT said that there is also a slight of hand, he makes you think that you built up the role yourself, so you feel ownership of it, but he steers you in the right direction without you realising.

- Discussing the Courtyard theatre: PT said that he 'd been warned he might not like the thrust stage, but he fell in love with it, acting among the audience, he never wants to go back to the proscenium stage. DT reminded him that they are going to the Novello. DT said that the Courtyard theatre is such a gift for an actor, especially when doing the soliloquies, because it makes the connection with the audience so much more powerful. (I think that's the difference between actors and the rest of us: I would find being on that stage, by myself, delivering a soliloquy, being able to look 1000 people in the eye absolutely terrifying).

- Discussing whether the play changes during performance, especially the soliloquies, whether DT does them differently: PT said that he and Oliver Ford Davies sit backstage in silence, listening to the "To be or not to be" every night, what a privilege to listen to this piece of great drama every night for free, and yes, DT does it differently. DT was asked whether he is aware of it, he said that he is aware to a certain extent (implying that he can't dissect the differences precisely), but this comes natural if you keep the text alive in the moment.

My next event was watching an ensemble of actors and a director (Tim Carroll) having their first read through of a Shakespeare play which was fascinating to watch! They also showed us things they do to make the lines run more like throwing a ball up at the end of one line and catching it at the beginning of the next line.

I then met up with my friend for lunch and a chat about what we had both done so far before I went to see Working With The Works with Gregory Doran and Jonathan Bate who is co-editor of the RSC Complete Works.

This was very interesting but I was most interested by the first discussion as it was about the your / our debate! A post from OG explains it as:

The RSC Complete Works of Shakespeare as co-edited by Bate was published last year and on 5 September individual paperback editions of the plays are published with additional material - notes, interviews, comments). These editions on the cover have a quote from the play. For Hamlet it is:
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in our philosophy."
This is not the most common version of the quote: usually the quote goes: "Than are dreamt of in your philosophy". Very often in performance the emphasis is in "your", making it clear that Hamlet and Horatio have a different approach to life, Horatio more logical, Hamlet more emotional and instinctive. As with many things in Shakespeare, there is no definitive text, and this edition has "our" instead of "your".

Jonathan Bate said that the publishers did a limited edition hardback of Hamlet and they wanted David Tennant to have one. Bate gave it to Doran to give to David. This is quite recent, the last few days. The same day this happened, Bate got an email from David saying that looking at the cover, he has been thinking and he thinks that "our" makes much more sense, it's not a division between Hamlet and Horatio and he will change it in performance. Bate asked Doran if indeed this has been changed, Doran said that he hasn't seen the play since, he 'll find out and let him know.
Doran also pointed out that in their production from the begining, the emphasis was always on "philosophy", and "your" was much more general than about Horatio. But "our" makes it clearer that this is a moment of change for Hamlet, the logical approach was his approach as well and now Hamlet's world (mind?) starts falling apart.

Another comment from Jonathan Bate: on discussing Shakespeare's preoccupation with acting and theatre and performance, plays within the plays, exploring whether acting is as important as real life, whether people perform in real life. And these themes are more prevalent in Hamlet than any other play. And he made the comment that after Yorick's death, this is a court without jester, which is quite inconceivable. And one of the brilliant things about DT's performance is that he makes Hamlet the court jester, something that he (Jonathan Bate) hasn't seen done before.

I had a free half hour and then I saw the performance of the second theatre group which really wasn't very good followed by the quick change of costume demonstration which was interesting as they showed Ryan Gage getting into his Player Queen outfit - I had no idea that there were so many layers to the costume!

After some tea with my friend I saw an interview with Oliver Ford Davies who plays Polonius in Hamlet which was fascinating. I saw him earlier this year at the National Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and he really knows his Shakespeare!

My final event was the Shakespeare Quiz which was hilarious! Gregory Doran has such an extensive knowledge of all of Shakespeare's plays! I was quite pleased that I actually knew the answers to 5 of the questions!

I left Stratford at about 9.00pm and got home just before midnight after a long but fun day!

Under The Blue Sky and the Novello Theatre

A friend and I went to see Catherine Tate today in Under The Blue Sky which was totally different! I enjoyed it but I would have preferred some interaction between the three couples.

Earlier we had wandered over to find the Novello Theatre to check it out and there was obviously a matinee about to start as the place was crawling with young girl fans! They were streaming across the road waiting for the star (whose name I forget) to arrive so I'm sure the theatre will be well prepared for when Tennant-mania erupts on 3rd December!

Hamlet - Monday 25th August

22nd Performance of Hamlet (my 6th)

Photo of DT running out of the stage door on Saturday night (Photographer unknown as it was posted on OG)

I had a lovely relaxing day before this performance as I wandered around Stratford-Upon-Avon for a while after I'd visited Anne Hathaway's cottage which was interesting. I had dinner in the town and then wandered along to the theatre back to my H5 seat.

I got chatting to the lady in the seat next to me and apparently she was a scholar of Shakespeare and had even written papers on Hamlet! Her comment before the start of the play was that she was surprised that there were so many children in the audience as it wasn't a comedy.

Tonight I think there was a tuberculosis ward in the theatre as I couldn't believe all the coughing that went on! I know people have to cough but it seemed very excessive today which was quite off-putting for me (and I'm sure the actors too).

I listened very carefully tonight during the "So therefore as a stranger give it welcome" speech and DT definitely said "in our philosophy Horatio" and not "your philosophy" which is the version I know.

People always applaud at the interval and I kept an eye on the lady next to me but she took ages before she started applauding so I had quite a bit of trepidation before I asked her what she thought of the production. Thankfully she said that she really loved it! She especially liked the fact that they emphasised different parts to other productions that she's seen. For example she said that she had not seen a production before that indicated that the audience here were the groundlings which really brought us into the play! We then had quite a nice chat about the different lines that they've cut and it was so interesting being able to speak to someone who knows the play quite well.

I've now tuned my ears to listening to what is happening behind the audience when some of the actors (mainly DT!) are off stage and you can clearly hearing them running or walking around at times! David Tennant has two very fast changes of costume and my friend's daughter who came to watch it in August said that she saw a hand come out to grab Yorrick's skull as he exited the stage at that point because he changes into different clothes quite quickly ready for the fencing scene.

Tonight it took Hamlet a staggering four attempts to get the recorder into his pocket!

At the end of the play the lady next to me shot out of her seat to give a standing ovation so she obviously really liked the production!

I didn't go to the stage door again (I read online the next day that nobody came out anyway) so instead I went back to my car and got home by 1.30am.

Next performance of Hamlet for me: Friday 5th September (but I have Shakespeare and Me on Sunday!)

Hamlet - Saturday 23rd August

21st Performance of Hamlet (my 5th)

Photo of DT at the stage door tonight (Photographer unknown as it was posted on OG)

I booked this seat through the RSC website once they went on sale online as I decided a year ago that I fancied a Hamlet weekend (as it's a Bank Holiday weekend). By coincidence I booked exactly the same seat for both nights (and for a couple of other performances in the run). It is supposed to be one of the best seats in the theatre as it's H5 and there's no seats in front of it, just the aisle down to the centre of the stage so it feels as though sometimes they are looking right at you when the actors say some of their lines. Plus there's the added bonus that David Tennant walks right past the seat just before the eggshell scene!

It was nice to be able to drive up the M40 at leisure today and I managed to find my hotel in Birmingham quite easily. I left at 6.00pm and managed to find somewhere quite near the theatre to park that was free at that time.

The audience tonight were obviously in quite a jolly mood and really seemed to enjoy the comedy in the play which created a good atmosphere. That's all except the guy who sat next to me as he barely watched the play but instead was following the lines in a book and then writing comments! He may have been from the production but I doubt it as he was crossing out the omitted lines as they played the scenes.

Tonight, even more than the other performances I've seen, I was struck by David Tennant's energy on stage! He really did bounce around the stage for the whole performance which was brilliant to watch.

I'm currently learning the "So therefore as a stranger give it welcome" speech that Hamlet says soon after he's seen the ghost and there's a line that starts "There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy" but tonight I was pretty sure that DT said "in our philosophy Horatio" so I'll have to double check that on Monday.

Tonight it took DT two attempts to get his recorder into his pocket!

Although I knew the part was coming my heart still ended up in my mouth when I saw David Tennant walking along our aisle (stepping over the person's feet next to me) to walk to the front of the stage!

Afterwards I decided to go to the backstage door and I'm glad that I finally plucked up the courage as it was fascinating watching David Tennant interacting with people! At one point somebody French spoke to him and he said that "Bonjour" was about all he could say in the language. I'm not into autographs so I just stood back and watched (and it was too dark for me to take photos) but he just bounded out and signed autographs for everybody who was at the barrier. Once he'd finished he ran back in and almost everybody left immediately!

It was nice to only have to drive for about 30 minutes to get back to my hotel (although I was too wired to get to sleep immediately).

Next performance for me: Monday 25th August - only 2 days!!!

Hamlet - Saturday 9th August (matinee)

14th Performance of Hamlet (my 4th)

We booked this performance through a RSC postal booking so that my friend's 10 years old daughter could see it. She's well behaved and has already seen a different production of Hamlet so knew what to expect. What we didn't tell her was that she would be sat right beside the stage right (the entrance) walkway which is where Hamlet and Horatio crouch down to watch Ophelia's funeral!

It rained most of the drive up there but I stopped at my usual place but today instead for a late breakfast! Unfortunately I'd forgotten my umbrella and I parked in the Swan Nest car park the other side of the river so I was soaked by the time that I arrived at the theatre! I knew I'd be dry by the end of the play though.

I'm glad I saw the first matinee of the run as they audience definitely laughed in different places to where an evening audience laugh which made an interesting perspective.

I really listened today and the part they've cut from the To be or not to be speech is from "The Oppressors wrong" part so DT says "For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, But that the dread of something after death" and they omit the lines:
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life.

One part I noticed the other day was that Hamlet says Wormwood, Wormwood a coupe of times during the play within the play so I looked that up and apparently it was a bitter plant at that time so fits in well.

It took DT 2 attempts to get the recorder in his pocket tonight!

My friend's daughter's face was a picture when she realised that David Tennant was kneeling just in front of her!

I'm going to Denmark myself next weekend so the comments in the play about the country made me laugh today!

Afterwards we went to the stage door (as my friend's daughter wanted to get DT's autograph). There was quite a crowd there but they were well behaved and there were barriers up so it was quite civilised. I stood back on a small wall just to watch while the other two tried to get near the front. Unfortunately David Tennant didn't come out but she managed to get autographs from Patrick Stewart's and Oliver Ford Davies (who plays Polonius).

It made a nice change to be able to drive home in the daylight after seeing Hamlet!

Next performance for me: Saturday 23rd August!!!

Hamlet Press Night - Tuesday 5th August

11th Performance of Hamlet (my 3rd)

Photo of DT at the stage door by Recaf (on another night)

I really found it hard to settle at work this morning as I was surprisingly nervous for this Press Night performance! I've enjoyed this production so much and I really want it to get good reviews. I am concerned though that, as it emphasises the humour in the play, that the critics won't like it.

Thankfully the journey up was quite uneventful and I had time to stop at my usual place for some dinner. I had booked this ticket as a postal application with the RSC when they first went on sale so I had a brilliant seat! It was in the second row right next to the stage left (the exit) walkway (B16). It also meant that David Tennant stood right beside me for several minutes during the reception (second scene) and again when he's talking to Ophelia. He has the most amazing toes!

I was sitting next to (both literally and physically) a little old lady who told me that she had seen Hamlet about 100 times (various productions) over the years and her first one was when she was sixteen which was 70 years ago! She said that she had even seen Lawrence Olivier in the role! Of course I had to ask her afterwards what she thought about this production and she said that she had really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the best that she had seen!

There seemed to be a lot of nervous energy on stage tonight (that's just my subjective opinion!) but it was a great performance! Tonight the gun firing and mirror shattering sound all worked perfectly in time (and the correct order!).

The fight scene is still spectacular each time I watch but I think I've managed to work out how they "cut" Hamlet. As soon as he's cut Horatio goes up to him and I'm pretty sure that's when he's palmed the blood vial as it's after that that DT grabs his neck and that's when the blood is there. (We worked out during the first performance how he "cuts" his hand after he's seen the ghost as he puts both hands in the pockets of his coat, supposedly to search for his knife but in his left hand he must pull out a blood vial.) Now I have to work out how Laertes is "cut".

Another thing I've noticed that's changed from the first night is that when Laertes is told that Ophelia has drowned, he no longer falls to the ground.

Due to the angle that I was sitting at tonight, I could see David Tennant's face really clearly during the "count...try matters" line and he looks really mischievous at that part!

I did realise tonight that David Ajala (who plays the servant Reynaldo) also plays the guy who descends from the ceiling during the dumb show). It's amazing what a difference just ruffling up his hair a lot makes!

You could tell from the looks between the actors in the bows tonight that they thought they'd given a great performance so that was good to see.

I didn't do the stage door thing again (I really don't understand all the autograph thing but that may be because a semi-famous friend of mine often gets asked for his autograph when I'm with him and I don't understand that either plus it can be invasive at times) but instead I went straight back to my car and got home at 1.30am.

I couldn't resist going online to look at the reviews and, except the Daily Mail, my fears were totally unfounded as they received really good reviews!

Next performance for me: Saturday 9th (first matinee!)