'The Winter's Tale' - Royal Ballet Rehearsal at the Royal Opera House

I went to see a rehearsal of 'The Winter's Tale' by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, my first rehearsal so I wasn't too sure what to expect. What we got was a full run through of the ballet in full costume and with a full orchestra. The only difference from a 'real' performance was that the orchestra were in civvies (including the conductor), the bar was shut and there were no ice cream sellers (that I saw). Other than that, wow!

I saw 'The Winter's Tale' a couple of years ago and was delighted with Itziar Mendizabal dancing Paulina so I was very excited to be seeing her dance that role again in the rehearsal. She is the epitome of grace and strength and is a wonder to watch.

It was great to see that moment when jealousy emerges when Hermione places Leontes' hand onto her pregnant belly as well as Polixenes' hand, his great friend and the action stops except for Leontes dancing around his wife and friend as the jealousy takes hold. That moment is so powerful in dance. Thiago Soares danced Leontes and Marianela Nunez danced an impressive Hermione. But it's Itziar who won the day with her graceful lines and movement and it's Itziar who closed the performance being the last left on stage as the curtains closed.

I'm looking forward to more rehearsals now!

'The Winter's Tale' at The Royal Opera House

Last week I went to see a stunning performance of 'The Winter's Tale' by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House. This is my third production of 'The Winter's Tale' in five months (Kenneth Branagh's version followed by the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse production) so I am very familiar with the story of jealousy and reconciliation, a jealousy that emerges from nowhere and destroys people and families. But how would Christopher Wheeldon and the Royal Ballet tell this story? How do you dance jealousy?

The production starts with an energetic and joyful prelude, showing the three protagonists as younger versions of themselves, dancing up a storm before moving to the present day when the boys are kings and Hermione is a queen. Leontes and Hermione have one son and another child is on the way as Hermione dances with her prominent baby bump. Polixenes of Bohemia is, again, a guest and enjoying dancing with his two friends when Leontes starts having suspicions that his wife and friend are lovers and we see his mad jealousy as they dance in the garden of statues and we see through is eyes. That is all the proof he needs and he fights his old friend and arrests his wife on grounds of treason. You know the rest - Hermione gives birth and appears to die while the infant is sent away to die on a foreign shore but is rescued by a shepherd and grows up to fall in love with the prince who just happens to be Politeness' son and they flee back to Sicilia for the big reveal.

The story is relatively straight-forward in that respect but it's underpinned by the nature of kingship, the evils of jealousy and loss, love and reconciliation. But it's how they get there that's fascinating in this production with some great stage effects and plot twists. I loved the 'silkwork' that brought the bear at the end of the first act to life in terrifying form, I loved the sea chases as the young lovers flee to Sicilia and I loved the tree. O yes, what a marvellous tree at the centre of the stage for the celebrations in Bohemia where we have Florizel and Perdita dancing their youthful love. It was a lovely change from the formality of the first half with the natural scene and vivid costumes, the young people dancing and celebrating while the few old folks watched on.

Florizel and Perdita take most of the dancing but are often joined by their young friends, showing off and showing their skills, an elaborate courtship dance.

After a sea chase the young couple seek sanctuary with Leontes and, unlike in the play, we see the big reveal that Perdita is actually his daughter when Paulina recognises that a piece of jewellery she wears was her mothers that she had hidden in the baby's basket when she was taken away. But there is another reveal when Pauline shows Leontes the statue of Hermione and her dead son but, magically, Hermione is still alive and dances a stately forgiveness of her stupid husband. She finally meets her daughter and leaves the stage with just Leontes and Pauline. Leontes touches the statue of his son to see if he will come alive too...

This is a marvellous re-telling of the old tale of winter in the heart, magically re-invented by Christopher Wheeldon and the Royal Ballet. It's a new ballet first performed in 2014 and this was the 15th ever stage performance (it said so on the cast list). The dancers were, of course, marvellous, but I must single out Itziar Mendizabal as the brave Paulina who was the epitome of grace on that stage, every movement building on her character and story and a joy to behold. I'm so pleased I saw her Paulina. Also great praise for Marianela Nunez as Hermione and Bennet Gartside as the wretched Leontes. Vadim Muntagirov and Beatriz Stix- Brunell were also lovely as our young lovers Florizel and Perdita.

As ever, the staging was wonderful, as were the costumes, lighting and music. The music was by Joby Talbot, designer was Bob Crowley and the magnificent silk effects (for the bear and sea chase) were by Basil Twist. This really is a marvellous and magical production and I'm so tempted to go back again if I can get tickets... See this production if you can - you might think you don't like ballet but this could well change your mind.

End of the Winter Season at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

The winter season at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe is coming to an end with its final production, 'The Tempest'. I've seen all the plays this season - 'Pericles', 'Cymbeline' (see earlier blogs) and 'The Winter's Tale' - and a good season it's been.  The Sam Wanamaker is the indoor theatre at the Globe with it's beautiful, golden, panelled wood stage and backdrop, it's cushioned benches and the candles to light the stage, all very atmospheric and delightful. Now that the days are getting longer and (at least in theory) warmer, it's time to start readying the open-air Globe for its glorious summer. But not just yet.

I saw both 'Pericles' and 'Cymbeline' earlier the season and saw 'The Winter's Tale' a few weeks ago. I saw Kenneth Branagh's version with Judi Dench before Christmas and loved that production, opening with a Christmas set and carol singing just in time for that great time of year. I've seen it before (there was an awful production at the Old Vic 6-7 years ago) and it's not one of my favourite plays. In part, that's due to the characters.

We have Leontes of Sicilia who grows insanely jealous of his wife with no reason whatsoever, turns on a lifelong friend and forces a servant to try to kill him, imprisons his heavily pregnant wife and, when the Oracle at Delphi says she's innocent, refuses to believe her and his son dies. What a pleasant man. There are lots of ways of playing this role, almost slyly like Branagh or in wild fits of rage as in this production. I liked the rage.

I also find Hermione a bit problematic, Leontes wife who sees a loving and tender husband grow into a green monster overnight. And while denying adultery, she accepts everything her husband does to her, including imprisonment. Um, c'mon lass, have some backbone. And then, when she hears her son has died and she swoons into a feint and is pronounced dead to save her, she hides away for 16 years despite the whole kingdom being aware of Leontes grief and remorse at her passing. And in the end, she still loves him. O come on.

We also have Paulina, wife of Leontes chief aid, who is right about everything and I do mean everything. It can either be a powerhouse of a role or a damp squib of righteousness coupled with game playing and pulling the wool over Leontes eyes. It's not an easy role.

'The Winter's Tale' also has some of the most annoying 'rustics' in the whole of Shakespeare (and he wrote quite a few). We meet them endlessly in the second half of the play set in rural Bohemia with its farmers and farm girls, it's country dances and annoying accents. The vagabond rogue gulling daft farmers right, left and centre, making his fortune only to lose it again. O yes, it's all in there somewhere.

But at the heart of the play are two love stories, stories about friendship and trust and, as ever with Shakespeare, consequences. If you pay attention you'll learn a lot about jealousy and unthinking rage, about relationships and friendships and about love. It's always seemed strange to me that the big reconciliation scene takes place off stage and we simply have it reported by courtiers afterwards. Why is that? But it paves the way to the next reconciliation scene when Leontes and Hermione finally meet again after 16 years (and don't appear to have aged much, strangely) after she poses as an unloving statue only for Leontes to touch her and she comes alive.

John Light as Leontes, Rachael Stirling as Hermione and Niamh Cusack as Paulina were all excellent as were, to be fair, the rest of the cast (yes, even the annoying rustics). If I had to pick one word to describe this production it would be visceral.

'The Tempest' is very different territory and one of my favourites, a tale of magic and mystery, of revenge and love and of freedom and slavery.

You know the tale of Prospero, Duke of Milan, who is deposed by his brother who is supported by the King of Naples, and set sail only to be shipwrecked on a noisome  island where he raises his daughter Miranda. He finds Caliban already on the island and frees Ariel, a magical creatures from incarceration in an oak tree to do his bidding. His brother and the King are sailing nearby and Prospero calls up a tempest to shipwreck them on his island so he can take his revenge. The King's son falls in love with Miranda and she with him and they are betrothed before the gods so Prospero can forgive his former enemies, renounce his magic and return to his dukedom. The end.

It's a simple - and quite a lovely - tale, the kind of play it's easy to see an older man writing but there's a lot packed into it such as the nature of slavery with Caliban and Ariel, power and corruption with the King of Naples' brother plotting to emulate what happened in Milan, with drunken colonists and how they treat the native populations, o yes, there's so much to explore in this play.

I have great admiration for the set designer and the sheer imagination let loose on this play. The Tempest demands magic and there's not much scope for special effects in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse so creativity is required. I loved the opening scene when Prospero summons the storm and an ornately painted sea-scape is brought onto the stage with two people rocking the waves and the boats by hand - loved it! And I loved the actors falling en masse from one side of the stage to the other to simulate the rocking of the ship. So simple and yet so effective. And later when Ariel descended from the ceiling on ropes with her cape as wings like a vengeful angel to berate the King's company. And later still, we see the gods descend in similar fashion. Very impressive and unexpected.

There were also more simple techniques of bringing on stage a miniature island and using it as a prop in various scenes. For each scene, the island was turned round lightly to make it clear that the scene  was taking place in a different part of the island. Very simple and yet very clever that!

I suppose you're getting the impression that I liked this production? Well, you're right, I thought it was smashing and the best and least pretentious version of the play I've seen! It's marvellous! It brings out some of the humour in the play that's easily missed, such as Miranda's admiration at her first sight of men even though we in the audience can see they're nothing much and the actors feign embarrassment at the praise. And Ferdinand reminding Miranda with a gesture that she's forgotten to take a log off stage when he's completing the tasks demanded by Prospero. There was a good chuckle there.

There's marvellous storytelling and beautiful poetry in this play, as well as some harsh political lessons. Every now and then the poetry just shines from that stage and you marvel at it, wanting to roll it round your tongue and speak the lines.

Full fathom five thy father lies, of his bones are coral made. Those are pearls that were his eyes, nothing of him that doth fade, but doth suffer a sea change into something rich and strange...

There are hints at magic and the ceremonies of John Dee, of the empire to come in strange, far off lands, of exploration and danger that make this one of Shakespeare's more interesting plays, at least to me.

Phoebe Pryce and Dharmesh Patel made a nice couple as Miranda and Ferdinand, our young lovers, Joseph Marcell was a solid Gonzalo (he also plays Cymbeline in the play of the same name) and Paul Rider was a trustworthy Alonso, King of Naples (who is also in 'Cymbeline'). A shout-out also to Dominic Dromgoole as Director of the production and Jonathan Fensom, the designer.

I wasn't terribly taken with Tim McMullen as Prospero or Fisayo Akinade as Caliban but I was quickly won over by Pippa Nixon's Ariel. I liked how she switched from almost magisterial in some scenes to a puzzled aborigine in others, marvelling at these strange creatures that have invaded her island. In other scenes she was almost a wild animal padding round her potential prey and, at the end when she is finally freed by Prospero, she stops and turns round once to check that he's not playing some game, before fleeing quicksilver-fast without a word. I wasn't sure at first but she's a powerful and potent Ariel. Well done Pippa!

The winter season is only on for another three weeks so, if you can, you'd be well advised to try to get tickets for either of these two plays. For me, I'm looking forward to the new summer season at The Globe, the Wonder season, with 'The Taming of the Shrew' in the first week of June.