Exit Pursued by Bear

  I've missed the theatre more than anything these past months. It's my heaven on earth. So being able to go and see Jesus Christ Superstar at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre was a dream come true. With masks on, temperatures checked and social distanced seating was taken, the show began.   Overall, the production was fantastic and placed its emphasis on the individuality of the characters and their choices. With social distancing in place, certain difficulties arise in theatre, yet they were barely noticeable in this production. Two standouts for me were Judas and Pontius Pilate. Each filled their moments with emotion and drew the audience along in their indecisiveness.    During the Trial Before Pilate (Including the 39 lashes) each lash was accompanied by a fistful of glitter. Which was unexpected. The use of colour in the production was fascinating as Jesus was defined through a golden microphone holder, gold glitter and a white costume. Whereas Judas had a silver...

  I've been lucky to see over fifty theatre productions in my lifetime, the majority of which have been Shakespeare. There is comfort and security in going to see something I know that I already like. However, I do sprinkle in some non-Shakespeare stuff. Though, I don't tend to stray too far.  While I've only seen three of these live, the other two are among my most watched DVD's. EXIT THE KING by Eugène Ionesco Exit The King is an odd play for me to like because of its absurdist humour, and yet I saw it twice. Silly characters and situations follow the King on his journey to his death. His wives fight over everything and the cleaning lady believes the throne room to be no more than a living room. One simple set is the backdrop for these discussions of death and acceptance of mortality. Wordy funny and slapstick, Exit The King, forced me to confront what death meant to me while having me in stitches as the King is dragged around by his sceptre.   DOCTOR FAUSTUS by Ch...

I like Shakespeare. More than I like most things. But even within Shakespeare, there are plays that I am not too fond of and those that I love more than others. These are my top five. 1. Henry VIII An odd choice for my favourite Shakespeare play, it's one I came to only two years ago. It combines the policital drama with the personal turmoil of Henry's love life. Shakespeare creates an intriguing plot, both light-hearted in its humour and deeply entrenched in its opinion. While set on its religious position from the opening lines, Henry VIII still gives all its characters their dues. Henry VIII intrigues me because of the dynamics between characters, and the love story is a sub-plot. 2. The Tempest The Tempest was the first Shakespeare play that I ever studied. Then I found the magic the most intriguing element, but over time my focus has drifted to the character relationship, particularly the familiar ones. An open-ended play gives a lot of leeways for the audience to fill in ...

So, I've been watching a lot of Doctor Who recently and decided to rank my favourite Doctor's. As a show Doctor Who is something that I used to stay up to four in the morning watching because it gave me the escapism I needed. It taught me about myself and the world. It made me laugh and introduced me to characters and stories that would inspire me to create my own. I've always been more into the Classic series, which is reflected in this ranking. SECOND The Second Doctor was the Doctor that I was first drawn to because of his carefree and jolly nature. This was the Doctor that I would stay up till four o'clock, praying that the morning would never come. He was silly. He was interested in everything around him. He was himself. There's a bravery in this. It's something he taught me. When I felt alone, he was there to pull me into adventures against Cybermen, Yeti's and, Omega. There was nothing that this Doctor would not face. With his companions, recorder, an...

After watching the National Theatre's production of Jane Eyre, I decided that I would give the book another go. I had first read it for my 19th Century module in 2018. I did not overly enjoy it then, and this opinion held after my second reading. I will admit that I am not one for the Bronte's, finding their works a little dull. Yet, Jane Eyre started promisingly. A female narrator who saw her flaws and never held back her thoughts from the reader. Positively Jane remains level headed throughout much of the book. She sticks to her morals and listens to her head rather than her heart, something that endeared her to me. A strong lead character Jane weaves her way through her life entertainingly and descriptively. As a narrator, Jane felt like a natural, abit biased. She is never the naive little girl but stands up for her morals. Yet, throughout her love for Rochester seemed to alter her descriptions of him. I never felt that I was seeing the true Rochester. Instead of the ...

Most of my theatre trips are solo trips. It started with the National Theatre's production of Macbeth in June 2018. Since then I've been to the theatre sixteen times on my own. I love going with other people but that's not always possible. In all honesty I kinda perfer it this way, for three simple reasons. 1. Being completly in charge -                                                             I like to know what I'm doing every second of the day. So, being able to have complete control over what I'm doing and when, without having to check in with someone is incredibly freeing. Going to the theatre becomes a day out in London, exploring the parts of the city that I know well and discovering new places. It becomes a larger memory. 2. It's peaceful -              ...

Who Am I? I am Meg. A twenty-one year old student, recent English Literature and Creative Writing BA graduate, who is preparing to start an MA in Early Modern Literature. My time is spent reading, studying, watching theatre adaptations, writing and sleeping. A little more about me is that my favourite book is Doctor Thorne by Antony Trollope. My favourite film is The Princess Bride. Doctor Who is my favourite TV series, with Sherlock and Leverage vying for second place. Exit The King , The Tempest, and Henry VIII make up my favourite plays. Ivor Gurney my favourite poet and Evelyn de Morgan my favourite artist. Oh and I'm A-Spec. What Will I Write About? This blog will be made up of posts about theatre productions, literature reviews, character analysis, Shakespeare adaptations, with a few artwork analysis thrown in for fun. Why I Adore Shakespeare? When I was nine I went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream with my family. It was the first time I’d ever seen Sh...