I could probably afford the occasional trip to the theatre, but the prospect does not appeal. And what definitely does not appeal, because this I definitely cannot afford, is to acquire the theatre habit.
But for those who would appreciate regular theatre criticism from an elegantly conservative viewpoint, there is now Professor Kenneth Minogue to turn to. He is now this blog's theatre correspondent.
Here's a taste of his recent review of a recent Globe Theatre production of Much Ado About Nothing:
Thespians in Britain have long since taken up a moral doctrine in which the identities of actors must be subordinated to a generic humanity. By something like a kind of brainwashing, we are to be trained barely to notice and certainly not to respond to the physical identity of the actors. This may be politically admirable, but it makes for terrible Shakespeare, and often for feebly spoken verse. Physical details are important. Falstaff has to have a pillow in his belly, Helena must be taller than Hermia, and a Richard III calling 'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!' from the turret of a tank (as happened in a recently film) cannot but bring one up short. The effect of this kind of political correctness at the Globe is just to make its performances look like end of term productions.
The polite but deadly skewering is a Minogue speciality.
Picture of the skewered production:
A quibble though. Is Minogue perchance referring to the (relatively) recent Ian McKellen film of Richard III? Maybe he isn't. But if he is, then that line was – according to my recollection – spoken not from a tank but from a jeep, the wheels of which were rotating futilely in the mud. Richard's cry sounded a little odd, but not illogical. A tank was (memorably) involved at the beginning of this movie, when a tank smashed through the wall of a library, again very effectively. In general, I loved that McKellen Richard III. Cursory googling reveals no Richard III movies since that one.
If it was another movie that Minogue was thinking of, my apologies. If I'm right that it was this particular Richard (and that it was a jeep) then the point that Minogue is making is still a good one, even if imperfectly illustrated.
Later: yes. I have the McKellen Richard III DVD. I checked. It was a jeep. But the wheels were not stuck in the mud. The jeep was just stuck futilely over a concrete overhang, denying the back wheels any purchase on the ground beneath.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Professor.
