Blogs dated August 2012

Bouncing ahead

In Tim Crouch's edit of King Lear the storytelling is pacy, and he applies a similar momentum in the rehearsal room. It's the end of day 3 of the first week and rehearsals are bouncing ahead – with big scenes and events examined already.

by Caroline Byrne  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

London

So, after a week off, we are back to the world of the play. Lovely to see the Caesar family again. It is a little like a family. There are tensions and laughter. And love.

by Andrew French  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

Shawshanking Shakespeare

With our first couple of shows out the way, our second week in Stratford kicked off with the arrival of the guru. The greatest voice coach of 'em all. The legend that is, Cicely Berry.

by Muzz Khan  |  2 comments  |  Read this entry

Traffic

It's time to get back to the hotel. As it is not very far away we decide to take one of the little tuk-tuk taxis, known here as hop-hops', for the way they lurch and jerk along like a rabbit trying to escape a fox.

by Greg Doran  |  1 comment  |  Read this entry

'If you like it: it's worth it!'

We wander down narrow alleyways jammed with stalls selling mechanical birds singing in cages; the tiny silk embroidered shoes which presumably used to cover the bound feet of Qing dynasty ladies; bronze Buddhas and bamboo chopsticks.

by Greg Doran  |  1 comment  |  Read this entry

'Ecky Thump, Love, We're in T'Stratford

Wow. We've arrived. We've got excited chills. And they're multiplying.

Arriving in Stratford-upon-Avon at the start of the week was a dream come true. Every time I've been up to Stratford in the past, it's always inspired me profusely as a theatre-goer, as an actor/writer and as someone who loves woodbeams and thatched roofs(!)

by Muzz Khan  |  2 comments  |  Read this entry

The Panjianyuan Market

One of the students who has been showing us around is Xu ('you can me Sue') Yaning. Xu is a stage designer herself and has promised to show Niki a huge 'antiques' market where she herself always goes to buy props for any show she is doing.

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

We have now opened...

The tech and preview period has been so hectic that there hasn't been time to draw breath, let alone type!

by Tom Piper  |  1 comment  |  Read this entry

The Forbidden City

When the Jesuit missionary, Fr Matteo Ricci reached Peking on 24 January 1601, he had waited a long time to get here. He had already spent 19 years in China waiting for his opportunity to meet the emperor and gain his approval to preach the gospel.

by Greg Doran  |  1 comment  |  Read this entry

The Ding Ling Tombs

Having walked up the Spirit Way, we arrive at the Ding Ling tombs. The Wan Li emperor's tomb was excavated back in the 1950s, and today you can visit the mysterious underground palace, buried under a wooded hillside.

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry