The Other Place Tour and The Two Noble Kinsmen at the RSC

THE OTHER PLACE TOUR

A day in Stratford-upon-Avon started at 11 am with a tour of the newly opened The Other Place. It incorporates three rehearsal rooms and a 200 seat studio theatre. It also house a huge costume store. I loved the collection of helmets and armour.

Our tour guide started with a description of how The Other Place had changed over the years. Originally the tin shed in the picture above, it was closed in 1989 for two years of rebuilding, and reopened its doors in 1991 with a permanent brick building. This is the building with blue cladding in the picture below. This is how I remembered it in the year 2000 when I went to see a modern dress Richard II. It was still a rectangular box with 200 banquet seats on three sides. In my front row you could feel the actor's breath they were that close. Samuel West was Richard and David Troughton was Bolinbroke. This was the first play in the complete history plays performed that season. Why it started in the tiny Other Place before a transfer to The Barbican, I shall never know.

This building later closed in 2005 to be adapted as a foyer to The Courtyard Theatre (the rusty tin shed at the back) which allowed performances to continue during the transformation of the Royal Shakespeare and Swan theatres from 2006 - 2010. The shell of The Courtyard Theatre's auditorium was kept and used to create a new The Other Place.

We followed our guide as he took us through the building, ending up at the Studio Theatre which in some way replicates the original space. This tour is a must for anyone who loves theatre.

LUNCH AT HUFFKINS

Alison came with me to Stratford and after my tour we met for lunch. Their website says:
Huffkins in Stratford sits inside a glorious grade II listed building positioned directly opposite M&S on Bridge Street and a stone's throw from the home of the RSC. The tearooms seat around 85 indoors with a further 8 seats outside in the sun-trapped Red Lion Court. The tearooms are split across a ground and mezzanine level with the most wonderful exposed beams - many still marked in wax from their former life as ships' timber. You will find a large bakery shop stocking a full selection of freshly made cakes made by hand in our Oxfordshire craft bakery and delivered fresh every morning. We offer a great selection of hot and cold dishes, breakfasts and afternoon teas freshly prepared to order.

We had a superb lunch at this independent cafe. Highly recommended.


THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN

As I came new to this rarely performed play, I wasn't at all sure what we were in for when the first lengthy scene seemed a garbled and rushed introduction. The three widowed queens begging Theseus for the return of their husband's bodies seemed to go on and on. Fortunately things got decidedly better at the end of that scene with the entrance of the two cousins (the kinsmen) Palamon and Arcite. There scenes together are excellent all through the play.

They are both very athletic performers, especially when they climb the walls of their prison. The minimalist, modern set by designer Anna Fleischle is outstanding, with concrete straight from the brutalism of the sixties National Theatre.

I also liked Francis McNamee as Emelia, the object of their desire.

But the stand out performance was that of Danusia Samal as the Jailer's Daughter. Her soliloquies were a delight. Looking at the reviews, I wasn't the only one who was bowled over by this young actress. Her plight is described in the programme:
For women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, love and attraction were dangerous things: strong enough to lead men to fight each other (the kinsmen over Emelia) : powerful enough to send women (the Jailer's Daughter, over one of the kinsmen) mad. If only the writers could have stuck to this, the main theme of the play.

It was just a shame that Shakespeare and Fletcher couldn't have come up with a better ending. No wonder it is rarely performed. Such a shame, as some of the dialogue is brilliant.