Obviously I've been under the spell of the angel/dæmon of theater lately. But I assure you that my priority is study. (I'm a scholar of life. Ahahaha!)
The hottest ticket in town?I saw Othello for the second time this year in London. Yep, Shakespeare deserves to be retold watched again. If are reports to be believed, this Donmar Warehouse production is the hottest ticket in the country, with tickets are being offered for £350 on eBay up to as much as £2,000. You gotta be crazy, or crazy enough for Ewan McGregor to fork over that much.
This review almost made me stay away, but other papers like the IHT, The Independent, Evening Standard and The Guardian had something else to say, so I gave the play a shot. And what did it take to get hold of those very limited tickets? Two and a half hours of standing in the rain for day seats. It's not easy to hold an umbrella in one hand and a book in the other, so I gave it up at talked to someone in the queue instead. I arrived at five minutes before 8am and I was 12th in line, which was good enough, as I got a pretty good £20 seat in the stalls for the matinee.[The whole run sold out in one day but there are 10 seats and 20 standing places available for every show, available only at the box office from 10:30am. Two tickets per person, payable by credit/debit card only.]
Worth it
Yes, it was a good show. But not because of McGregor. I was unconvinced when he said, "I hate the Moor." He can do Shakespeare, now we know, but he lacks the villainy of an Iago. Probably I'm comparing him to Tim McInnerny's evil portrayal at the Globe this summer. But Chiwetel Ejiofor's Othello completely makes up for him. (You've probably seen him somewhere: American Gangster, Children of Men, Amistad, Love Actually as Keira Knightley's hubby.) I think I under-appreciate Kelly Reilly as Desdemona because her deep-set eyes are small and I can't connect to her though she sometimes reminds me of Pinay thesp Ana Bitong. At least she was nothing like her roles in Pride & Prejudice and L'Auberge Espagnole. Her barely sung "Willow" was a treat.
Michelle Fairley as Emilia and Tom Hiddleston as Cassio also deliver strong performances. Too bad Edward Bennett's Roderigo didn't match the level of the other supports.
The cast was tight and the staging simple, with beautiful lighting and a very filmic score, both of which work for such a tiny venue. (It took a few minutes for me to get over that fact that the actors were so close that I could reach their legs if I stretched my arm a bit.) I love the way the stage looked so damp when the performance started. Such a fine quality of mist, too, thatlets you see the sweat on Ewan's brow.
Donmar West End 2008-2009
Let's toast to a bigger theater with Donmar prices. Next year's Wyndham's Theatre lineup looks promising: Kenneth Branagh in a Tom Stoppard version of Chekhov, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night, Judi Dench in Madame de Sade, Jude Law in Hamlet directed by Kenneth Branagh... I have reservations about the last one because Branagh's Hamlet is my favorite. I cannot see Jude Law getting anywhere close to that, but let's hope he proves me wrong. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll be lucky enough to be in London then.
Worth it
Yes, it was a good show. But not because of McGregor. I was unconvinced when he said, "I hate the Moor." He can do Shakespeare, now we know, but he lacks the villainy of an Iago. Probably I'm comparing him to Tim McInnerny's evil portrayal at the Globe this summer. But Chiwetel Ejiofor's Othello completely makes up for him. (You've probably seen him somewhere: American Gangster, Children of Men, Amistad, Love Actually as Keira Knightley's hubby.) I think I under-appreciate Kelly Reilly as Desdemona because her deep-set eyes are small and I can't connect to her though she sometimes reminds me of Pinay thesp Ana Bitong. At least she was nothing like her roles in Pride & Prejudice and L'Auberge Espagnole. Her barely sung "Willow" was a treat.
Michelle Fairley as Emilia and Tom Hiddleston as Cassio also deliver strong performances. Too bad Edward Bennett's Roderigo didn't match the level of the other supports.
The cast was tight and the staging simple, with beautiful lighting and a very filmic score, both of which work for such a tiny venue. (It took a few minutes for me to get over that fact that the actors were so close that I could reach their legs if I stretched my arm a bit.) I love the way the stage looked so damp when the performance started. Such a fine quality of mist, too, thatlets you see the sweat on Ewan's brow.
Donmar West End 2008-2009
Let's toast to a bigger theater with Donmar prices. Next year's Wyndham's Theatre lineup looks promising: Kenneth Branagh in a Tom Stoppard version of Chekhov, Derek Jacobi in Twelfth Night, Judi Dench in Madame de Sade, Jude Law in Hamlet directed by Kenneth Branagh... I have reservations about the last one because Branagh's Hamlet is my favorite. I cannot see Jude Law getting anywhere close to that, but let's hope he proves me wrong. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I'll be lucky enough to be in London then.
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