Ajaxpost Plays: Beyond The Game

On this day Before The Lockdown, we have a clutch of fresh faces: in 2007 I had seen the film version many years previously but this was the first time I would see Equus on stage (currently at three and counting 😎). The Gielgud theatre in London achieved quite a coup, by getting Daniel Radcliffe to star in his first significant stage role during a break in filming the Harry Potter series. He had already done some other TV work but live in a theatre is quite a different skill. Without the magic of cameras and post-production could he convince as a live actor? In the company of well respected and well-versed stage veterans like the excellent  Richard Griffiths and Jenny Agutter this was a very daring move by the young actor. The problem I have now is that this was thirteen years ago and in 2019 I saw a wholly new version of the play was was simply outstanding and will etched in my memory for years to come. But I cannot recall any specific emotions I felt for this first produ...

Some days appear to have been very idle, others, like April 9th, seem to be rather eventful. In 2005 I believe this was the first " post Harry Potter " performance I saw by any of the main actors from the Harry Potter films. On this occasion it was Sean Biggerstaff  (Oliver Wood, in case you need reminding) in The Girl With Red Hair at the Hampstead Theatre in London. Now, to be honest I don't remember much about it apart from it being a quite evocative of a small coastal Scottish community trying to dealing with their emotions. In 2018 I managed to get a seat at the Theatre Royal Bath to see Mary Stuart one of the biggest hits of the year. At the time I wrote " The reviews are right! Mary Stuart is theatre at it's most beautiful; the exquisite wordplay, the toing & froing of plot and empathy, the superb performances, the stark, focused, staging. " The play opens with the toss of a coin to decide which of the two leads, Juliet Steven...