Thursday, November 21

Tag: Helen Edmundson

Anna Karenina – Crucible Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

Anna Karenina – Crucible Theatre

As the house lights go down, a series of spotlights reveal a lone figure: Anna Karenina. “This is my story”, she says. But she is not in this alone. Two main stories are intertwined. The titular character, Anna, an unfulfilled wife and mother, meets Count Vronsky, an officer in the Russian army; they begin a passionate affair, and the consequences are dramatic. At the same time, Constantin Levin, an idealistic young landowner, is courting Kitty, Anna’s sister-in-law, and is learning what it means to experience heartbreak and learn responsibility. Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of the epic novel by Leo Tolstoy takes a story that we think we are familiar with – but probably don’t know as well as we think we do and makes it accessible to a new generation. “Where are you now?” Anna and Lev...
Small Island – National Theatre Live
London

Small Island – National Theatre Live

Andrea Levy’s Small Island is one of those novels which drags you in and doesn’t let you go and Helen Edmundson’s theatrical adaptation has perfectly captured its spirit. Directed by Rufus Norris, this is a vibrant piece of drama which beautifully tells the story of Hortense, Queenie, Bernard and Gilbert and their lives in 1940s Jamaica and Britain. Opening with a vintage film about the Caribbean, the play has an immersive atmosphere from the start as the actors step out of the film onto the stage. A revolving stage and exits and entrances through the stage floor create a sense of space as the projected scenery beautifully creates the various places the characters inhabit, from the busy streets of Kingston to the bombed out landscape of London’s post-war streets. The first character ...