Update: Elsewhere in Agincourt

I had previously posted about BBC Two's Henry V, and now have more information to share! Richard Clothier will be playing the Earl of Salisbury in the television production, slated to broadcast this year.

Also, congratulations to Mr. Clothier for winning Best Actor in a Play (Large Theatre) for Richard III in the BWW Boston awards! A full list of winner can be found here.  [e]

Best of Beantown

Richard III and The Comedy of Errors ranked 3 and 4 on The Bay State Banner's best of Boston theater list, which called them "the kind of exuberant revivals that reassured jaded Shakespeare buffs."  [e]

Congrats!

Propeller has won Best Touring Production from Theatre Awards UK for Richard III and The Comedy of Errors. BBC News, Variety, Playbill and WhatsOnStage all have coverage.

Congratulations!  [e]

Tour de force

Richard III has been nominated for Best Touring Production by Theatre Awards UK, the awards given by the Theatrical Management Association. You can read the announcement on Propeller's website here, or read the full article (including a list of nominees) here.  [e]

Directory: Richard III

PREVIEWS

Laurie Anderson, Propeller among UMS 2010-11 theater season
AnnArbor.com, 05/25/2010
Huntington Theatre Company announces 2010-2011 Season including Two World Premieres and Shakespeare
Explore Boston Theater, Nicholas Peterson, 05/09/2010
All-male Propeller announces new season
TheStage.com, Natalie Woolman, 07/12/2010
Press Release
The Corner Shop PR, 07/12/2010
Edward Hall to Direct Three Shows for Propeller's 2010-2011 Season; U.S. Engagements Planned
TheaterMania.com, Andy Probst, 07/12/2010
Hall Propels All-male Comedy & Richard III Tours
WhatsOnStage.com, Terri Paddock, 07/13/2010
Edward Hall to Direct RICHARD III et al. for Propeller 2010-2011
BroadwayWorld.com, 07/15/2010
What to see: Lyn Gardner's Theatre Tips
The Guardian, Lyn Gardner, 11/12/2010
This week: a bloody, macabre and darkly funny Richard III, Propeller Theatre Company
Art Council England, 11/14/2010
The week's new theatre
The Guardian, Matt Cook and Lyn Gardner, 11/20/2010
Theatre: Coming soon
Edinburgh Evening News, Liam Rudden, 01/06/2011
This week's new theatre
The Guardian, Matt Cook and Lyn Gardner, 01/15/2011
Richard III and The Comedy of Errors At The Watermill Theatre 13 – 30 April 2011
Round & About, Press Release, 03/14/2011
UMS and Britain's all-male Propeller theater company bringing 'Richard III' and 'Comedy of Errors' to town
AnnArbor.com, Jenn McKee, 03/24/2011
All-Male Troupe Propeller Will Bring Shakespeare in Rep to Huntington Theatre
Playbill.com, Adam Hetrick, 04/26/2011
Acclaimed Propeller Theatre Company Comes to Boston
Broadway World, 04/26/2011
To do list
Boston Globe, June Wulff, 05/18/2011
Cranking Up Shakespeare at BU Theatre
BU Today, Susan Seligson, 05/18/2011
William Shakespeare mit Propeller: Richard III. und The Comedy of Errors (translated)
Shakespeare Festival at the Globe Neuss, 07/2011

REVIEWS

Episode 788: Propeller's Richard III
The Warwick Diaries, Ian Chung, 11/1920/10
“Richard III” by William Shakespeare
If I Chance To Talk A Little Wild..., Dan Hutton, 11/20/2010
Richard III – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
The Public Reviews, Catherine Love, 11/24/2010
Richard III
The British Theatre Guide, Sheila Connor, 11/24/2010
Richard III
Easy Ads, Ann St. Clair-Stannard, 11/24/2010
Innovative and compelling drama with blood and guts
Surrey Advertiser, Margaret Burgess, 11/26/2010
When that shark bites
Farnham Herald, Sandy Baker, 11/26/2010
Richard III
The Shakespeare Revue. Amanda Dumble, 11/27/2010
Review: Propeller's Richard III (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre; & touring)
Boycotting Trends, Alex Ramon, 11/28/10
Review: Richard III, Propeller at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre
There Ought to Be Clowns, Ian Foster, 11/28/2010
Ricard III: una gran obra teatral!! (translated)
Limes, Alex Hernandez Orellana, 12/04/2010
Macabra i irònica revisió (translated)
El Periódico, César López Rosell, 12/05/2010
Història d'un tirà (translated)
El Punt, Dani Chicano, 12/05/2010
Richard III, el rei diabòlic de Fleet Street (translated)
Diaride Girona, Marta Pallarès, 12/07/2010
Richard III
The British Theatre Guide, Velda Harries, 01/2011
Richard III (Sheffield)
WhatsOnStage.com, Ron Simpson, 01/25/2011
Richard III and The Comedy of Errors
DigYorkshire.com, Sarah Cockburn, 01/28/2011
Propeller: Richard III - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
The Public Reviews, Audrey Pointer, 01/29/2011
Great Theatre
Tony Kennick, 01/29/2011
The Comedy of Errors/ Richard III - review
The Guardian, Lyn Gardner, 01/30/2011
Richard III/The Comedy of Errors, Sheffield Lyceum, review
The Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish, 01/31/2011
The Comedy of Errors/Richard III, Theatre Royal, Newcastle, UK
Financial Times, Ian Shuttleworth, 01/31/2011
Richard III
The Stage, Michael Coveney, 01/31/2011
Richard III
musicOMH, John Murphy, 01/2011
A Keystone Cops take on Shakespeare - it's a hoot
The Times, Libby Purves, 01/31/2011
Richard III
Exeunt, John Murphy, 02/01/2011
Theatre Review - Richard III
One More at Dawn, Sarah, 02/02/2011
Review: Richard III, Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Chronicle Live, Kim Megson, 02/03/2011
Review: Richard lll at Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Journal Live, Barbara Hodgson, 02/04/2011
Richard III and Comedy of Errors
The Guardian Observer, Susannah Clapp, 02/06/2011
The Comedy of Errors / Richard III, Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
The Independent, Michael Coveney, 02/07/2011
Richard III (Propeller) @ The Belgrade, Coventry
The Bardathon, Peter Kirwan, 02/10/2011
Richard III - Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
The Public Reviews, Danny Kennedy, 02/12/2011
Bloody, Bloody Richard III
PlayShakespeare.com, Christopher Adams, 02/22/2011
REVIEW- Richard III, King's Theatre
Edinburgh Spotlight, Keith D., 02/24/2011
Richard III completes a majestic double dose of the bard at the Kings, Edinburgh
STV, Alan Chadwick, 02/24/2011
Richard III, King's Theatre, Edinburgh
The Herald Scotland, Neil Cooper, 02/25/2011
Theatre review: Richard III
Scotsman, Joyce McMillan, 02/26/2011
Propeller's Comedy of Errors & Richard III
Jildy Sauce, 03/08-09-2011
Richard III, Propeller: Everyman, Cheltenham, and touring
Oxford Times, Christopher Gray, 03/09/2011
Richard III- The Lowry, Salford
The Public Reviews, Helen Jones, 03/10/2011
Richard III - Review
Writings of a Pensive Observer, Sam Liu, 03/11/2011
13 and 14- Richard III and Comedy of Errors, Propeller
52 Plays, Ellie D., 03/15/2011
Propeller's slick 'Richard III' is a disconcertingly gleeful bloodbath
AnnArbor.com, Jenn McKee, 03/31/2011
REVIEW: Propeller’s Richard III at The Watermill- Not for the Faint Hearted
Marlborough People, Holly Berry, 04/15/2011
A bloody tale which pulls no punches
Gazette & Herald, Jo Bayne, 04/16/2011
Blood, guts, and kingdoms for horses
foodporn, 04/18/2011
Richard III
Edinburgh Journal, Ali Quaile, 04/23/2011
All-male troupe's Shakespeare outrageously entertaining
Cape Cod Times, Alicia Blaisdell-Bannon, 05/23/2011
Bravo for Bard's 'Comedy,' 'Richard'
Boston Herald, Daniel Gewertz, 05/23/2011
The Bard, light and dark, back to back
Boston Globe, Don Aucoin, 05/24/2011
Stage Review: Propeller's "Richard III" at the Huntington
Blast, Jason Rabin, 06/07/2011
Shakespeare Double Bill, Propeller, Hampstead Theatre
The Arts Desk, Matt Wolf, 06/26/2011
Review: Richard III, Hampstead Theatre
Carousel of Fantasies, Matt Trueman, 06/27/2011
Comedy of Errors/ Richard III, Propeller, Hampstead Theatre, review
The Telegraph, Charles Spencer, 06/27/2011
The Comedy of Errors/ Richard III, Hampstead Theatre, London
Financial Times, Sarah Hemming, 06/27/2011
Richard III / Comedy of Errors, Hampstead - review
London Evening Standard, Henry Hitchings, 06/27/2011
Review: The Comedy of Errors and Richard III
The Daily Express, Julie Carpenter, 06/29/2011
Theatre: Review- Richard III at Hampstead Theatre
Camden New Journal, Tom Foot, 06/30/2011
Propeller Revisited: Richard III & Comedy of Errors (Hampstead Theatre)
Boycotting Trends, Alex Ramon, 07/04/2011
Richards blutige Rache (translated)
NGZOnline, Helga Bittner, 07/16/2011
Richard III
The Irish Times, Peter Crawley, 07/22/2011

INTERVIEWS

Darkly-funny Dick on stage (Ed Hall)

West Sussex Gazette, 11/24/2010
Bard propelled in new directions (Richard Clothier)
Sheffield Telegraph, Ian Soutar, 01/13/2011
Dominic takes the good with the Bard (Dominic Tighe)
The Star, 01/14/2011
Edward Hall: chainsaws and pickled princes
The Guardian, Andrew Dickson, 01/18/2011
The king of comedy (Ed Hall)
The Northern Echo, Viv Hardwick, 01/27/2011
Interview: Ed Hall, director, The Comedy of Errors
Edinburgh Evening News, Liam Rudden, 02/17/2011
Edward Hall on 'Richard III,' bin Laden
Boston Globe Culture Desk, Laura Collins-Hughes, 05/04/2011
All-male Propeller Theatre return with Shakespearian 'soap operas' (Ed Hall)
The Connacht Tribune, Judy Murphy, 06/30/2011

ARTICLES

Propeller brings winds of change to theatre
Yorkshire Post, Edward Hall, 01/07/2011
The Bard in a Bustle
The Crack Magazine, Gail Nina-Anderson, 01/2011
A new spin on Shakespeare
The Independent, Alice Jones, 01/26/2011
Ed Hall's Propeller Party
WhatsOnStage.com, Michael Coveney, 01/30/2011
Propeller's peculiar spin on Shakespeare
Journal Live, Barbara Hodgson, 02/01/2011
On a wing and a prayer
The Herald Scotland, 02/22/2011
A LETTER FROM LONDON: From Ibsen to Miller to Shakespeare, It's Midsummer Madness in London
Playbill.com, Ruth Leon, 07/31/2011

PROGRAMS

Girona Festival Temporada Alta (Spain)
12/2010

PHOTOS

Rehearsal Photos
UMS Lobby
Rehearsal Photos
Drew Hart Photography Facebook Page
Rehearsal Photos
Helen Maybanks Photography
Production and Rehearsal Photos
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Facebook Page
Production and Rehearsal Photos
Propeller Official Site
Production Photos
Manuel Harlan

VIDEOS

Video trailer for Richard III
UMS reactions to Richard III

Creating the music for Richard III and Comedy of Errors

The chainsaw in Richard III

AUDIO

Huntington Audio Slideshow
Edward Hall on his Propeller double-bill
TheatreVoice.com, 01/29/2011
Propeller on Spain's Radio Nacional
02/12/2011

EDUCATION

Richard III Education Pack

Propeller Theater Company, 2010

BEHIND THE SCENES

Aiming high: the Richard III Requiem Mass
Jon Trenchard, 11/09/2010
Judgement Day: RICHARD III The Musical?
Jon Trenchard, 11/16/2010
Dispatch from across the pond: Shakespeare is on the way!
UMS Lobby, Mary Roeder, 11/19/2010
Diary of a Gossip, Week One: How Richard gave me back my Mojo
Tony Bell, 11/20/2010
UMS Blog Posts
UMS Lobby, Leslie Stainton and Jen Leija, 03/30/2011

TWITTER

Sweet Tweets: Nov. 19-24
Sweet Tweets: Nov. 26-29
Sweet Tweets: Jan. 23-26
Sweet Tweets: Jan. 29
Sweet Tweets: Feb. 1-5
Sweet Tweets: Feb. 8-12
Sweet Tweets: Feb. 15-20

AWARDS

Theatre Awards UK announces nominations
The Stage, Alistair Smith, 09/29/2011

A Letter From London

Over on Playbill.com, Ruth Leon has written a bit about Propeller in her occasional 'Letter From London'. After going to a full day of Comedy and Richard, Leon writes "while my posterior was complaining by 11 PM, my mind and emotions weren't". She also notes that part of the fun with Propeller is seeing actors play vastly different roles from show to show, singling out Richard Clothier for playing Richard with the "requisite degree of menace in the evening" as well as a "hilarious duke in the afternoon".

-cs

Deformed Power

The Irish Times seems unwilling to take a stand on the success of Richard III. While the review contends the production's bid for broad audience appeal threatens the clarity of the language, it doesn't say whether that appeal is achieved or whether the seeming trade-off is worth it. It does, however, remark on the skill of the actors, especially pointing out that "Jon Trenchard, Dominic Tighe, Tony Bell and Kelsey Brookfield are steely and undistracting in the female roles."  [e]

Reviews from Neuss

Helga Bittner of NGZOnline has reviews of The Comedy of Errors (original German and hilariously translated) and Richard III (original and translated).

Bittner says Comedy is "wonderfully fun", and calls the many slapstick scenes the "reincarnation of the legendary comedy troupe Monty Python". Tony Bell's Pinch is "simply delicious", and the pairing of Jon Trenchard and Richard Frame and Dugald Bruce-Lockhart and Sam Swainsbury is praised.

Richard III is a "caricature of the horror film genre" that goes "beyond the striking exhibit of brutal and mindless violence". Led by the "wonderful" Richard Clothier, the production finds the "right mix of funny, scary and moving images". Bittner also lauds the use of puppets to portray the two young princes, saying it is "masterfully done, so that they look almost the most human of all".

-cs

To Germany!

This post is mostly for posterity's sake, as I can tell you very little about this item from the Shakespeare Festival in Germany's homepage. From what I can gather reading the hilariously Google-translated version, it is a nice little introduction of Propeller and a look at the pairing/history of Comedy and Richard III. I apologize on behalf of Google to all German speakers.

-cs
[who almost asked the frail old German lady at her office to translate]

Some Quick Notes

Another blog review of Comedy of Errors thinks the production could do with a "touch of restraint", but is still "great fun" and recommended as an introduction to Shakespeare. Special mention is given to Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Sam Swainsbury, Jon Trenchard, and Richard Frame for being "well-matched twins", and Robert Hands and David Newman as the "delicious" Adriana and Luciana.

(This blog post has since become unavailable  [e])

Richard III and Comedy of Errors are briefly mentioned in Lyn Gardner's theatre tips, in a round-up of shows you may have missed, and again in a short piece about the Galway Arts Festival in the Irish Times.

-cs

Revisiting Favorites

Blogger Alex Ramon recently wrote about a second viewing of both Richard III and Comedy of Errors. Ramon had seen both productions earlier in the tour (see original review of Richard here and of Comedy here) and was, he says, a bit nervous to go again ("Will it be as good as I remember it?"). Happily, the productions "more than passed the test, having lost not an ounce of their freshness and exuberance in the intervening months". Having viewed both productions within a few days of each other this time around, Ramon found the "versatility, vitality and sheer damned brilliance of the ensemble even more apparent".

-cs

"Truly Extraordinary"

UMS audiences react to Richard III.  [e]

Hitting the Right Notes

A video from Propeller's stay at UMS wherein Ed Hall talks about creating the music for Richard III and Comedy of Errors.  [e]

Propeller Chainsaw Massacre

Nick Chesterfield talks about the chainsaw in Richard III during Propeller's stay at UMS.  [e]

Bloody, Bloody Brilliant

Matt Trueman's review of Richard III focuses in on Richard Clothier's performance and the acts of violence perpetrated on both the living and dead in a production that is "thrilling and guttural."  [e]

Sell Your Grandmother

Ellie D.'s 52 Plays blog recaps her experiences with Comedy of Errors and Richard III and, in a smart, funny posting gets to the heart of how Propeller connects with modern audiences.  Ed Hall is "a a genius" while Richard Clothier gives a "masterful performance," and readers are advised to "sell your grandmother, sell your house, travel to Madrid just BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW."   [e]

Not All Black and White

The boys head to Ireland for the Galway Arts festival later this month, and to prepare, The Connacht Tribune brings us a conversation with director Edward Hall. While mostly focusing on Richard III--the politics of the piece, and the notion of Richard not being a total "baddie"--the article does explore Hall's pairing of a comedy and a tragedy, noting that with these two particular plays, "you hardly think it's the same writer".

-cs

“It’s fantastic,” he quivered. “But gory.”

The Camden New Journal gives a thoughtful review of the "X-rated Shakespeare chainsaw massacre" that is Richard III. The "nod to modernity" offered by contemporary dress in the production is questioned, while the all-male company (a "nod to traditional Shakespeare") adds to the "strangeness of the spectacle". The reviewer recommends the show, noting that the "savage anarchy...may get closer to the heart of the play" than certain other productions of the same.

-cs

"Near-impossible not to be mesmerized"

The Arts Desk's review of the double-bill is appreciative of Comedy of Errors but utterly captivated by Richard III, saying "Hall and his superlative ensemble confront head-on a play that quite literally welcomes in "destruction, death and massacre" only to invigorate all three points of that toxic triangle anew."

A+ in Chemistry

The Evening Standard raves about Propeller's double bill. Comedy of Errors is "fused with demented energy, yet is perfectly controlled," with Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Richard Frame, Sam Swainsbury and Robert Hands getting specific mentions. Richard III, with particularly fine work from Richard Clothier and Dominic Tighe,  is "direct and engaging" with the entire ensemble contributing to a production that is "gruesomely realised in Michael Pavelka's structurally ingenious design."