Natey Jones Archives - North West End UK

Director Max Webster arrives In Stratford to direct his first production for the Royal Shakespeare Company hot on the heels of recent critical and popular success with Macbeth at the Donmar and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at the National Theatre. For his debut with the company he has given us a glorious interpretation of ‘Titus Andronicus’ which, whilst sparing none of the blood and gore associated with Shakespeare’s bloody revenge tragedy, also manages to encompass the filial love at the heart of the play. The Costume Design by Joanna Scotcher places this ‘Titus’ somewhere in the present; a gorgeous grey-black palette suffuses the stage with long luxuriant coats and smart suits replacing the martial uniform of Imperial Rome. Scotcher also designed the set, the action played out o...

For a novel written almost 100 years ago, the parallels with today are striking. A family of overcrowded refugees trying to make their way to safety, to employment and a home. Yet along the way people won’t even recognise them as human and are happy to cheat them, underpay them and generally take advantage of them. The systemic exploitation of the desperate hasn’t changed from the 1930s until today. Inevitably adaptations sacrifice depth for brevity. Frank Galati’s 1990 adaptation making its London debut under director Carrie Cracknell suffers from this, particularly in character development leading to less impact when some characters don’t make it to the end of the long drive. We are told about Tom’s great relationship with his grandpa but spend so little time in it that it does n...

Tag: Natey Jones

Titus Andronicus – Swan Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon

The Grapes Of Wrath – National Theatre