Welcome to the Oxford Shakespeare Company
Specialising in site-specific event theatre, we produce Shakespearean and other classic texts to both loyal and new audiences of all ages and nationalities; predominantly in the Oxfordshire and London areas, always in remarkable places.
HAMPTON COURT. We are currently at Hampton Court Palace East Front Gardens with performances of The Tempset each night until Monday 30th August. Tickets can be booked on 020 7609 1800 or purchased at the venue on the day
REVIEWS FOR THE TEMPEST
Lyn Gardner in The Guardian
Clear, punchy and abbreviated, Mick Gordon's 90-minute version of The Tempest, designed to be played outdoors, may not be a substantial evening, but it's a real little charmer. A large, beaten-metal cone provides the only nod towards scenery and instead Gordon relies on a magic circle of flaming torches and the natural beauty of the surroundings. A cut above most summer chardonnay-and-Shakespeare picnic experiences, this has its own rough magic, particularly in the second half, in which the betrothal of Miranda and Ferdinand and the traditional masque becomes a delicious hoedown featuring yards and yards of pink silk.
Other crowd-pleasing touches include an entertaining double act, Trinculo and Stephano, who turn up in flippers, snorkels and dinner jackets, and a fire-eating Ariel, whose haunting Full Fathom Five is delivered in eerie fashion via an old-fashioned megaphone. Nick Lloyd Webber (definitely a relation: son) keeps the magic quotient high with his original score.
This is rough and ready stuff, but Michael Hadley gets the measure of the verse as a benign Prospero, and there is some nifty doubling, lots of energy and a direct playing style that connects actors and audience. It's not all just fun, either: Gordon suggests that the isle is like a theatre where that great actor Prospero conjures stories, from the attempted rape of Miranda by Caliban to the usurping of his dukedom.
This isn't an evening that's going to give you any real new insights into the play, but it will surely give a great deal of pleasure.
Time Out Critics' Choice - "Smart, funny, reworking of Shakespeare's late play"
Gordon presents it in a more sprightly fashion, with a touch of camp. It’s a fresh strategy, and the original score by Nick Lloyd Webber (son of Andrew) has a puckish quality" Evening Standard
Read the review from The Evening Standard
"overall, this is a thoroughly entertaining evening. It’s performed with brio and some humour by a hard-working cast: a perfect antidote to the World Cup." Whats On Stage
Read the review from Whats On Stage
"There is a strong reliance on the skills of the actors and the illustrative quality of their costumes to establish the scene and fortunately both are first rate...The musical accompaniment is refreshing and innovative in the capable hands of composer Nick Lloyd Webber" The Stage
Read the review from The Stage
William Shakespeare's The Tempest
NOW ON: 9 June – 30 August 2010
Oxford Tickets: 01865 305 305
Hampton Court: 020 7609 1800
The Walks of Gray’s Inn London, The Observatory Garden, Greenwich Royal Park, Wadham College Oxford and Hampton Court Palace.
Mick Gordon directs The Tempest to mark the 400th anniversary of the play and the founding of Wadham College, of which Mick is an alumnus and is the Oxford home of the OSC. This in-the-round production will celebrate this great last work with a musical score written by Nick Lloyd Webber.
Noël Coward’s Private Lives
25 July to 20 August 2010 playing in rep at Wadham College Oxford.
Tickets: 01865 305 305
OSC’s Nicholas Green, directs Coward’s classic 1930’s comedy of manners. Full of wit and razor sharp dialogue, Private Lives remains one of the most successful and popular comedies ever written.