ArtwordBlog

Category: Theatre

  • August 4: Miss Littlewood

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    Ronald Weihs

    Amanda Ayeh as Joan 2, Amanda Hadingue as Nick, Photo by Topher McGrillis Joan Littlewood was a theatre innovator who had a huge influence on how theatre is made. A tough cockney who  quit RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)and walked from London to Manchester, she joined with young Jimmy Miller (later AKA Ewan McColl)…

  • August 3: Duchess of Malfi at Stratford-upon-Avon

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    Ronald Weihs

    Joan Iyiola, Alexander Cobb, he Duchess of Malfi We made it to the closing night of The Duchess of Malfi at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. Judith got a seat, and I had standing room not far away. In many ways, a stunning production. The Duchess was played by the electrifying Joan Iyiola, at the…

  • August 2: Biker Gang Opera at Wilton’s Music Hall

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    Ronald Weihs

    Outside Wilton’s Music Hall Wilton’s Music Hall is our local theatre, a ten minute walk from our east-end London flat. It operated as a music hall in the 1860s and 70s, and subsequently became a Methodist Mission (1888 to 1956). It was abandoned and derelict for decades, with periodic efforts by local activists to revitalize…

  • A vintage panto at Wilton’s Music Hall

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    Ronald Weihs

    Day one in London, Thursday December 15. Despite potential jet lag, went to  our local theatre space, Wilton’s Musical Hall. Derelict for years, the nineteenth century musical hall has been restored not to its former glory, but to a faded and tattered state that confronts its age with honour. The play was a panto, Mother…

  • The Artword Story 1: Why “Artword”?

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    Ronald Weihs

    Judith Sandiford paintings at Erindale Art Gallery, 1986. “Paintings from the Virtual Museum”. Judith and I close down Artword Artbar every August and every January. These are times to reflect, re-energize and see some shows that aren’t our own. I also thought it would be a good time to tell you some things you may…

  • Stratford-Upon-Avon: Othello

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    Ronald Weihs

    Shakespeare’s funerary monument, Holy Trinity Church. We had seen a remarkable Othello two years ago at the National Theatre, with Adrian Lester as Othello and Rory Kinnear as Iago, set in a contemporary military garrison resembling those in Iraq or Afghanistan. We almost decided to skip Othello this time, so as not to overlay our…