AYLI Review!

Sandy Holt from The Stratford Herald sang praises for our production of As You Like It at the Shakespeare Institute.  Naming it our "best performance to date."

I got a small mention in the article concerning my performance as Rosalind, words of encouragement that I am happy to share with you today:

"Jamie Sowers provided a convincing Rosalind who worked well with a strongly cast Cecilia Kendall White as Celia. These two offered the audience just the right balance of heroine, quaintness, determination and grace."

Check out the article here.

An inventive Twelfth Night!

Kate Parson's new company, Squeezed, presents a 3 person adaptation of Twelfth Night coming to a pub near you! This innovative 1 hour production is sure to please with many laughs to go around.

Armed with two large baskets, hand puppets, and kazoos, these actors know how to put on a show.  This clever production, slap-stick at times, managed to evoke the touching love story central to the plot of the play. Parsons as actor and director made use of each actor's strengths.

Laura Young plays Viola, Sabastian, Maria, and a plethora of other characters.

Jon Harvey plays Orsino and Malvolio among others.

And the lovely Kate Parsons plays Olivia and everyone in between.

Make sure you don't miss this one!

10 Day Countdown for AYLI!

Only 10 days left until As You Like It opens, and the butterflies are fluttering. I am so excited for the opportunity to portray one of Shakespeare’s greatest heroines. We are working through the second half of the show in rehearsal today, putting the finishing touches on before run-throughs begin. The adrenaline is already kicking in. I know this one will be one to remember.

To all of my L.A. and state side friends, I wish you could be here with me, but I feel your positive energy all the way across the pond. Thank you for your love and support.

Love's Cure Performance

After standing in as Clara in the final dress rehearsal of Love's Cure, I was excited to see the show from the audience tonight in the Shakespeare Institute Hall.

This morning the play took its final shape, complete with set, costumes, and enthusiastic performances. The last staged performance of Love’s Cure, or The Martial Maid, was an extraordinary 400 years ago. This morning José Pérez Díez treated us to the staged reading of the play as part of his thesis project. Directed by Robert Ball, and written by John Fletcher (an apprentice and collaborator of William Shakespeare), this play was sure to please at the onset. None-the-less, Love's Cure delivered many delightful surprises along the way, including men in drag, sword fighting, and comical disguises.

The play takes place in the Spanish city of Seville and concerns a feud between two aristocratic houses, Don Pedro de Vitelli and Don Ferdinando de Alvarez.  The family of Alvarez proves the most "dysfunctional" as his daughter, Clara, has been raised as a boy and his son, Lucio, has been raised as a girl. When the two siblings are united early in the play, they must cast off their upbringing and return to their proper gender roles. To complicate matters further, Clara instantly falls in love with Vitelli. Love triangles and mistaken identities are abound in this play, full of gender dysphoria.

Robert Ball has cleverly staged this production with original practices in mind, employing an all male cast, live music, classical costumes, and a three entrance set.

Through my brief involvement with the production I have fallen in love with this gem of a play. Congratulations to all on a job well done.

Richard III at the RSC!

When I think of Shakespeare's Richard III, I think of darkness, manipulation, murder, and deceit; Roxana Silbert's RSC production delivers all these. Jonjo O'Neill provides an engaging Richard, both the powerful and humorous in his depiction of Shakespeare's hunchback king. His humor is chilling and his command of the language renders is colloquial, easily understood and delivered. He smiles in the face of his own villainy, a daring choice which has created mixed reviews. However, I am inclined to accept and embrace this choice, because it allows to audience to participate more wholly in the action. We are able to feel the fun and excitment that Richard feels, while the voiceover plays in the back of our minds, "This is wrong. This is horrible. This is madness."

Pippa Nixon as Lady Ann, in contrast to her amazing performances this season in Cardenio and King John, appears masculine, stiff, and uninspiring. Paola Dionisotti as Queen Margaret and Siobhan Redmond as Elizabeth stand out as the strongest female leads this season. Dionisotti in particular gives a rather youthful bodied Margaret, spritly and battle ready - another bold choice that works well against the modern military backdrop of the play.



Read more reviews at:
The Gaurdian
The Stage
Year of Shakespeare

Alan Cumming's Macbeth

Tonight I had the privilege to see Alan Cumming in his one (well-almost one) man Macbeth at the National Theatre in Glasgow.  The Tramway was packed tonight and full of the heat of excitement. So much so, that a woman fainting during the performance and had to be ushered out the the theatre.

Cummings harrowing interpretation of Macbeth stems from a madman mentality, as he negotiates the setting of a dilapidated mental asylum. Co-directed by John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg, this is Macbeth done in solitary confinement. Two mostly silent actors (Ali Craig and Myra McFadyen) find thier way onto the stage as hospital orderlies, caring for their patient and leaving Cumming to play every major role in Shakespeare's tragedy. Cumming plays a character beyond the text, allowing Shakespeare’s character to inhabit his mind and body. Devlivering striking vulnerability, Cumming plays each character distinctly in what must be an exhausting performance.

Cumming certainly gave an award winning performance. I wouldn't be surprised if he were nominated for multiple awards this season.

Julius Caesar at the RSC!

The Royal Shakespeare Company's new production of Julius Caesar, directed by Gregory Doran, opens against the desert landscape of modern Africa. I am pleased that the RSC took the chance to showcase the amazing African-British talent available in this country, even employing amateurs for the crowd scenes.

Like Africa, Shakespeare's Rome is no stranger to outrageous dictators and power struggles. Doran's imagined setting brings modern context to ethical debate of political murder in today's world. The play, which can often be slow going in parts, had new-found urgency in this production - keeping the action moving throughout the performance.

Paterson Joseph's Brutus was fresh and idealistic - the perfect combination for a serious political blunderer. Cyril Nri's Antony was a bit one-note, passionate and loud, but with no real depth of character. Adjoa Andoh and Ann Ogbomo, as Portia and Calpurnia gave stunningly beautiful performances and are certainly two of the best female actresses at the RSC this season.

Overall, a great night at the theatre!