Wyrd Sisters

Brighton Festival is over for the year, and Brighton Fringe is reaching its final weekend.

I made loads of plans this year and saw a whole heap of shows! Yesterday evening was the last one: a production of Wyrd Sisters at the Brighthelm Church & Community Centre.

The play was adapted from Terry Pratchett's book of the same title, from his Discworld series, and was performed by Brighton University Drama Society. I went to see it with my parents, neither of whom have read the book (I may have pestered them a little to go to the play...)

I re-read the book recently, in order to refresh my memory of the storyline. It's been a while since I last read it and I'd been really looking forward to seeing this play.

Wyrd Sisters is something of a take on Macbeth, with some good old Terry Pratchett humour and quirkiness thrown in for good measure. It includes three witches, a dead king, a group of strolling players, a mad ruler and a fool.

An Audience with Henry VIII

Continuing with this month's massive injection of culture via Brighton Fringe, I went to see another play yesterday evening, this time with my Dad.

We saw An Audience with Henry VIII at The Lantern Theatre, a one man play performed by Ross Gurney-Randall.

I really enjoyed this play and would watch again if I had the chance!

The premise of the play is that King Henry VIII has been dead for 468 years, and is still waiting to meet God. But God is nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Henry has the audience, to whom he tells his story. He boasts, he grumbles, he laments, he shouts...occasionally interrupted by an infernal imp playing Greensleeves. The music maddens him--he didn't write it, he hates it, and it's there everywhere he goes!

Within his speech, Henry rattles off a list of some of the notable figures he bumped off, and gives reasons why the wives had to go. Also, he insists, he definitely did not have syphilis.

The show ends with Henry storming off into another room of his own personal purgatory, shouting for whoever is playing Greensleeves to shut up.

The pompous, boastful, short-tempered attitude of Ross Gurney-Randall's Henry VIII was a brilliant characterisation of England's most notorious king, with excellently-delivered lines that really made me chuckle.

Written by Ross Gurney-Randall and Pete Howells, An Audience with Henry VIII was a great show and very amusing, filled with little historical factlets--why don't they teach history like this?

If you're hankering after a little comedic Henry VIII, you can find out more information and get tickets on the Brighton Fringe website. The 30th May show is sold out, but there are tickets left for the 27th!

Shakespeare in the Garden: Henry V

Today I once again went to Brighton for another of the Fringe events. This time it was 'Shakespeare in the Garden', and Dad came along with me.

The Shakespeare in the Garden event is being run 12-13 and 15th May, with all productions by The BRIT School. Today the performance was Henry V, though according to the Fringe brochure, they will also be performing Coriolanus and A Comedy of Errors.

Vlad the Impaler @ The Rialto Theatre

Yesterday, I took another trip into Brighton for the second play on my Brighton Fringe 'Must See' list!

This time I saw Vlad the Impaler at The Rialto Theatre.

I've been past the theatre a few times, but aside from admiring the architecture, never realised that a theatre lay beyond those doors.

Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent photo of the venue as the traffic and parking in that area is endless!

Upon arrival at the theatre, everyone was directed into Bacall's, the theatre bar, which had lots of comfy seating and some nifty art deco style lighting!

After a few minutes wait, we were called to the auditorium. I was surprised to find not the usual kind of theatre seating, but instead small tables with chairs set around them, each with a candle burning behind red glass. Add to that the haze of smoke, and the scene was most definitely set!

Blithe Spirit @ Brighton Little Theatre

Brighton Fringe has begun, and on Saturday I went to the first of the events on my Fringe Itinerary: a production of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, at Brighton Little Theatre!

After meeting up with my friend Lianne, we sought out the venue.

Brighton Little Theatre is really central and close to the shopping centre, hidden away down a little lane of cottages.