Shakespeare Magazine 11
The shiny new-look Shakespeare Magazine 11 is adorned with a stunning cover image of Lily James and Richard Madden in Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. Also in Issue 11, SK Moore tells us about his compelling new graphic novel of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, while broadcaster Samira Ahmed turns her magnificently mercurial mind to the subject of Shakespeare. We have words with Pub Landlord comedian Al Murray about his recent brush with the Bard (and Judi Dench) at RSC Shakespeare Live. And our Editor raves about a 3-DVD box set of 1960s TV Shakespeare classic The Wars of the Roses. We chat with the great Don Warrington, star of Talawa Theatre’s earth-shaking King Lear at Manchester’s Royal Exchange – youthful co-star Alfred Enoch joins in too. Also this issue: we imagine what Tom Hiddleston’s Hamlet would look like, we explore the life of Elizabeth Siddal, Victorian Ophelia, and Bristol’s Insane Root scare the living daylights out of us with their Macbeth!
The shiny new-look Shakespeare Magazine 11 is adorned with a stunning cover image of Lily James and Richard Madden in Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. Also in Issue 11, SK Moore tells us about his compelling new graphic novel of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, while broadcaster Samira Ahmed turns her magnificently mercurial mind to the subject of Shakespeare. We have words with Pub Landlord comedian Al Murray about his recent brush with the Bard (and Judi Dench) at RSC Shakespeare Live. And our Editor raves about a 3-DVD box set of 1960s TV Shakespeare classic The Wars of the Roses. We chat with the great Don Warrington, star of Talawa Theatre’s earth-shaking King Lear at Manchester’s Royal Exchange – youthful co-star Alfred Enoch joins in too. Also this issue: we imagine what Tom Hiddleston’s Hamlet would look like, we explore the life of Elizabeth Siddal, Victorian Ophelia, and Bristol’s Insane Root scare the living daylights out of us with their Macbeth!
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Romeo and Juliet <br />
“The charismatic Richard Madden’s run as Romeo<br />
was cut short by an acutely painful ankle injury”<br />
Juliet (Lily James) takes the<br />
microphone for a suitably<br />
stylish musical interlude.<br />
nevertheless, a pleasing bit of characterisation. It<br />
is Sir Derek Jacobi’s mature Mercutio, however –<br />
reputedly based on an ageing Oscar Wilde – that<br />
is the production’s biggest triumph. His advancing<br />
years give new interpretation to some of the lines,<br />
bringing hindsight and wisdom to the fore.<br />
Stealing the show, Jacobi’s Queen Mab speech<br />
is faultless and like a <strong>Shakespeare</strong>an masterclass in<br />
articulation. It is only in Mercutio’s death scene<br />
that the tragedy of ‘a young life cut short’ is lost.<br />
Sadly, also cut short was the charismatic Richard<br />
Madden’s run as Romeo. Suffering an acutely<br />
painful ankle injury, Madden was later replaced by<br />
Freddie Fox (after understudy Tom Hanson also<br />
injured his leg). Having recently played Romeo at<br />
Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, Fox was praised for<br />
stepping in at such short notice. His performance<br />
met with critical acclaim and allowed the run to<br />
seamlessly continue.<br />
Adding this to his long list of <strong>Shakespeare</strong>an<br />
successes, Branagh delivers a sublimely watchable<br />
production of Romeo and Juliet. Far from biting our<br />
thumb at him, we can only hope that Sir Ken’s next<br />
<strong>Shakespeare</strong>an adaptation isn’t far away.<br />
<br />
shakespeare magazine <strong>11</strong>
Change language