Stay updated with breaking news from Pamela crichton. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Rating: Verdict: More commendable than enjoyable Shakespeare s The Winter’s Tale is sometimes categorised as a ‘problem’ play. The problem is that some scholars think it’s an unhappy mix of tragedy and comedy. All’s not well that doesn’t end as they like it, in the story of jealous King Leontes, who turns on his innocent wife, puts her on trial for adultery and abandons their newborn babe on a mountain. The real problem, though, is how to help an audience enjoy a story that’s a freewheeling yarn playing fast and loose with time, space and a prophetic Oracle to achieve its magical conclusion. ....
Brian Beacom JOHN Byrne has Zoomed into the room, and the first impression is the artist/writer certainly hasn’t surrendered to the sartorial ordinariness of a man born at the beginning of the Blitz. His traditional two-tone jacket, the louche silk scarf on neck still suggests a retired rock star, or a mid-20th century dandy. Byrne, thank goodness, still loves to dress to the tens. What’s missing, however, is the almost omnipresent roll-up which dangled from his lips like a limp, recently hanged man. And the Frank Zappa combed-back dark hair is now a soft silver shading, as is his goatee. Yet, still Byrne looks commanding. Defiant. Like a subject in search of an artist, a task he has often taken upon himself. ....