Henry VI part 2, 3, Noises Off in the West End, & Henry IV part 2:

In the last few days I’ve managed to catch 4 plays. The histories aren’t the easiest plays to watch in another language other than English, to be honest. All very interesting takes on the plays, though after seeing them all they are all a bit of a wash in my mind. Lots of weird costume choices. Funky hair colours, adidas track pants... strange things, wasn’t quite sure of the meaning behind some of the choices, but ah well. I managed to squeeze in a West End production of ‘Noises Off’ on Monday night in between my Globe marathon. What a treat!! This was a transfer from the Old Vic to the beautiful Novello Theatre. While it is your traditional proscenium stage, which isn’t usually my favourite type of theatre, the Novello managed to have an exquisite grandeur of a well kept theatre from 1905. So gorgeous with it’s three balconies, but what I loved the most was even though it was so grand in scale and probably fit hundreds and hundred of people, it felt very intimate. The balconies wrapped around so the hugged the proscenium arch, and they were never too far back, simply higher. Almost like the idea at the Globe where they’d rather go higher, than further back. So anyways, I love the theatre! The play was quite brilliant. Sharp, fast-paced, high stakes. These actors knew exactly how to play this classic farce about a group of actors and a director putting on a farce. It was like watching a sporting event it was so physical. The actors were also so true in their characters that when the stakes rose as the play and the antics progressed, I became more and more invested in the ensuing action. So much fun. The best part of it all was it was only 12 pounds!!! Under 25’s get 12 pound tickets for ant ‘Old Vic’ show! I’ll definitely be seeing everything they produce for the next year, while I can!

‘King John’ in Armenian tomorrow, followed by the much anticipate King Lear in Belarusian, not only because I just directed King Lear, but because the Belarusian ‘Free Theatre’ has quite the company history and is not legally allowed to perform in their own country!