Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
The action made brilliant use of the natural surroundings, which greatly contributed to the eerie and dreamlike quality of the play, and also provided opportunities for a creative and imaginative set. Little did I know how much could be achieved by simply tying a length of rope between two trees. This was so much more than a poorly constructed hammock, this was a ship, battling its way through the fiercest of storms, a ship that was about to sink.
the talent of the actors and singers shone through with impressive performances throughout.
It was oddly fitting that it started to rain during the performance, and whilst this initially seemed humorously ironic, it began to make both audience and actors uncomfortably cold and wet. The Minster bells also served as an unwelcome interruption as the actors sometimes struggled to be heard above them.
Noise and natural phenomena aside, the talent of the actors and singers shone through with impressive performances throughout. Not being a keen fan of Shakespeare myself, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the production, and especially surprised at how easy it was to follow. Hopefully, this was down to the skill of the actors and not because I could identify with the drunken stumbling and waking up with no knowledge of the occurrences of the night before.
For the reasonable price of five pounds, ‘The Tempest’ was definitely worthwhile and I would strongly recommend next year’s productions by York’s talented drama group ‘Hit The Switch Theatre’. Whether you are familiar with a particular play or just interested in doing something a little different, an evening of performance in the picturesque surroundings of York Minster Residence Gardens is not to be missed.
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