FOR THOSE OF YOU IN A RUSH HERE’S THE CONDENSED VERSION! But do scroll to the end of the longer version to see how YOU can get involved…

Fairytales and Shakespeare collide to dazzling affect in the National Theatre’s production of ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’

A truly beautiful production, the direction, costume and staging of the play serve to bring out the subtleties of the script itself. The play seems to be a traditional love story, yet scratch the surface and the statement that ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ seems almost forced.

We follow a young and beautiful orphan, Helena, whose father was a great doctor; she has been adopted into an eminent family and raised by the Countess Rossillion whose husband has died. The Countess has one son, the handsome and conceited Count Bertram. It seems inevitable that our heroine should fall in love with the unworthy Count. But will he ever be able to see beyond his pride to value her merits? Helena herself compares Bertram to a sparkling star,

‘Twere all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me:’

A magical image of gold and glitter that is echoed in the staging and costume of the play. But is Bertram’s shine a sign of true beauty?

The Director mixes film, theatre and costume in such an original way, that I’ve rarely seen in Shakespeare on the stage, in fact the visual feast reminded me of Baz Lurhman’s Romeo and Juliet. There is something over the top in both, that still manages to create a delicate beauty. For example, Marianne Elliott, the Director employs the use of slow motion as the actors move in silent jubilation, their golden clothes glittering under the lights. Then at the closing scene of the play the characters pose for the camera, yet the bright light of the flash seems to bring the artificial nature of the play into sharp relief serving to isolate the characters from one another, beneath the ‘happily ever after’, perhaps all is not as it seems.

‘All’s Well That Ends Well’, at the National Theatre until 30^th September 2009

IF YOU HAVE A BIT MORE TIME SETTLE IN AND ENJOY…

Fairytales and Shakespeare collide to dazzling affect in the National Theatre’s production of ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’

A truly beautiful production, the direction, costume and staging of the play serve to bring out the subtleties of the script itself. The play seems to be a traditional love story, yet scratch the surface and the statement that ‘All’s Well That Ends Well’ seems almost forced.

We follow a young and beautiful orphan, Helena, whose father was a great doctor; she has been adopted into an eminent family and raised by the Countess Rossillion whose husband has died. The Countess has one son, the handsome and conceited Count Bertram. It seems inevitable that our heroine should fall in love with the unworthy Count. But will he ever be able to see beyond his pride to value her merits? Helena herself compares Bertram to a sparkling star,

‘Twere all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me:’

A magical image of gold and glitter that is echoed in the staging and costume of the play. But is Bertram’s shine a sign of true beauty?

Count Bertram leaves for court and Helena is left desolate, then news reaches them that the King is ill and nothing seems to cure him. The resourceful Helena, acted with wit and strength by Michelle Terry, recalls one of her father’s famous cures and hits upon a plan to save the King and get him to grant her, her heart’s desire in return. She hurries off into the night her red velvet cloak and hood streaming behind her…  Like Little Red Riding Hood out to face down the wolf.

Thus begins the strong theme of fairytale, which seems to be used to show the contrast between the glossy, seemingly light surface and the troubles that bubble underneath. The stage and costume represent this idea; the set appears to be both a mythical castle and a dark tree, with an ever changing backdrop. The background is in fact animated, something I have never seen before, and which adds to the filmic, surreal quality of the play, just outside of the castle owls flutter and wolves prowl. The main doors continue the fairytale theme, they seem almost part of the tree like castle, they are made of heavy silver inlaid with golden leaves.

There seems to be references to other fairytales, after Red runs into the night, Helena is transformed into Cinderella; as at her wedding she is given a stunning glittering gown and shoes, beneath the lights these sparkle, yet almost seem to mock her when the Count will barely consent to hold her hand. Importantly the fairytale is in some ways turned on its head as it the ‘princess’ which pursues and captures the ‘prince’.

The show also uses lighting to great effect, when Helena saves the King the backdrop is lit up creating distinct silhouettes; they stand in happy poses holding hands, looking exactly like an illustration from a story book. Later after her marriage to Bertram the same artificial poses are employed as petals fall. Yet the Count will immediately seek to escape from Helena by running away to war, he leaves her with this charge, if she can get his ring and herself pregnant with his child then he will honour their marriage, a seemingly impossible challenge.

Interestingly in the second half the outfits change from a strict Victorian style, which seems to emphasise Helena’s virginity, to the fashion of rock n roll and the rebellious 50s. This reflects the sexier content of the second half, I also think the changing costumes serve to emphasise the changing and contrasting images of women, from the idealised virgins and princess to whores.

The Director mixes film, theatre and costume in such an original way, that I’ve rarely seen in Shakespeare on the stage, in fact the visual feast reminded me of Baz Lurhman’s Romeo and Juliet. There is something over the top in both, that still manages to create a delicate beauty. For example, Marianne Elliott, the Director employs the use of slow motion as the actors move in silent jubilation, their golden clothes glittering under the lights. Then at the closing scene of the play the characters pose for the camera, yet the bright light of the flash seems to bring the artificial nature of the play into sharp relief serving to isolate the characters from one another, beneath the ‘happily ever after’, perhaps all is not as it seems.

‘All’s Well That Ends Well’, at the National Theatre until 30^th September 2009

GET INVOLVED

Now here’s your chance to see Shakespeare’s First folio for yourself, the British Library have a copy on exhibition. Which is the first edition of Shakespeare’s plays published in 1623 only seven years after his death.

To find out more click here:

Or if you’d like to get more hands on – why not visit the Royal Shakespeare Company Open Day on 19^th July 2009. There are loads of fantastic activities to choose from, including a behind the scenes tour! You can also learn about the many different careers in the theatre at no charge. There’s a chance to strut your stuff for FREE with stage fighting and a dressing up box! And once you’ve finished perfecting your sword skills you can make it look you’ve been in a real battle, with help from the makeup experts you’ll soon have a black eye and split lip to be proud of!

To find out more click here:

FOR THOSE OF YOU IN A RUSH HERE’S THE CONDENSED VERSION! But do scroll down to the end of the longer version to see how YOU can get involved…

As the lights dim, the stage is lit from behind, showing the dancers in stark silhouette; they are each wearing a slick white suit and trilby hat, posing on separate tiers of scaffolding. They slowly begin their samba steps and we are soon shown the journey of Brazil, from the more European influence, through to the many dance forms and cultures that have come from such diverse places as Africa and the native Brazilian Indians themselves. The show ends with a celebration of life and each of the dancers clothed in fluorescent flowers!

Balé de Rua translates as ‘Ballet of the street’ and this is what they seek to combine, including samba, capoeira, and break dancing. There are 15 dancers, 14 men and one woman, they have all practised street dance and hip hop, none have been selected from traditional dance classes. There passion for dance is evident!

In spite of their great energy and optimism, Balé de Rua are keen to dispel the misconception of the Brazilian who is only interested in partying and having a good time without any cares. Fernando Narduchi, one of the founders, argues that in order to keep their identity the poor needed that release from a life of hardship. Therefore the performance also focuses on Brazil’s dark past of slavery.

At the end of the show, just as I thought it was all over, the dancers came down off the stage and pulled some of the audience onto their feet, I was one of those chosen! I did my best to follow the steps… but I didn’t let that bother me as by this point the exuberant spirit was totally infectious.

Here’s a video montage of Balé de Rua in action at their different performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqVSNIltFPw&feature=related

IF YOU HAVE A BIT MORE TIME SETTLE IN AND ENJOY

As the lights dim, the stage is lit from behind, showing the dancers in stark silhouette; they are each wearing a slick white suit and trilby hat, posing on separate tiers of scaffolding. They slowly begin their samba steps and we are soon shown the journey of Brazil, from the more European influence, through to the many dance forms and cultures that have come from such diverse places as Africa and the native Brazilian Indians themselves. The show ends with a celebration of life and each of the dancers clothed in fluorescent flowers!

Balé de Rua translates as ‘Ballet of the street’ and this is what they seek to combine, including samba, capoeira, and break dancing. There are 15 dancers, 14 men and one woman, they have all practised street dance and hip hop, none have been selected from traditional dance classes. There passion for dance is evident!

In spite of their great energy and optimism, Balé de Rua are keen to dispel the misconception of the Brazilian who is only interested in partying and having a good time without any cares. Fernando Narduchi, one of the founders, argues that in order to keep their identity the poor needed that release from a life of hardship. Therefore the show also focuses on Brazil’s dark past of slavery.

Brazil had slaves for over 350 years and when these individuals were finally granted their freedom, more than 3.5 million people from Africa had been forced into a life of slavery. This represents the biggest ever forced transfer of individuals in history.

There were many poignant and painful scenes to convey this history;  one that was particularly striking involved one dancer in the centre, representing the spirit of the black slave, whilst the other dancers spat different couloured paint onto him, red, blue, yellow, green, a physical representation of their insults and his suffering. He became multicoloured and somehow beautiful, perhaps a representation of Brazil’s own multicultural society and a celebration of it.

At the end of the show, just as I thought it was all over, the dancers came down off the stage and pulled some of the audience onto their feet, I was one of those chosen! I did my best to follow the steps… but I didn’t let that bother me as by this point the exuberant spirit was totally infectious.

Here’s a video montage of Balé de Rua in action at their different performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqVSNIltFPw&feature=related

I’ve always been interested in capoeira and now I’m even more so, it’s a Brazilian martial art that some say was developed by the slaves of Brazil. It has evolved as a mixture of dance and martial art because the early practitioners had to disguise the fighting element as this was forbidden.

GET INVOLVED

If you’re interested in capoeira – here’s your chance… If you’re a member of your local leisure centre in one of the London boroughs, there are free classes – if you’re not a member you can pay a one off fee for the classes, check it out:

http://www.gll.org/

Or there are loads of classes across the UK.

The UK government is running an amazing scheme called, ‘ A Night Less Ordinary’; which gives all young people under the age of 26 the opportunity to view theatre for FREE including circus, dance, tragedy, comedy, modern mime, and a whole lot more!  All the major theatres are participating and the programme is spread across the UK including over 200 theatres…

Here’s a link to the website, so that you can check out the possibilities… http://www.anightlessordinary.org.uk/

Maybe you’re an aspiring actor, dancer, writer, singer, set designer, or have an interest in the theatre, here’s a great opportunity to start viewing the best of what UK culture has to offer.

I’ll be reviewing the shows available, and where possible I’ll look at ways for young people to learn the art forms involved. If something captures your interest I’ll be placing info on how to get started at the end of my article.

So if you think the theatre is only for the older generation, I’ll be proving otherwise. It’s time to throwaway your TV remote… because entertainment has moved to the stage!