Cara Lea Shockley’s profile
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Seen, or going to see
- This user has not listed any production as yet.
- Joined 25th February 2015.
- Last logged in on 3rd September 2023.
Last five observations
- To National Theatre production of The Oresteia, by Aeschylus, National Theatre - Olivier, National Theatre, started 20th November 1981: “Since the entire company were behind identical masks, no one who wasn’t part of the production knows for certain who played which role. I’m 90% certain that Jim Carter played Clytemnestra. Whether or not I’m right, Clytemnestra in the first play, Agamemnon, was the high point of the day. The chorus work on The Eumenides was excellent. The Libation Bearers had a couple of good moments, but really hasn’t stuck with me the way the first and third plays of the trilogy have. I saw it twice, both times in full six hour runs with a dinner break. The stagecraft of Agamemnon’s body with the regal Clytemnestra standing beside was the most striking visual of the plays. Cassandra’s moment of prophecy and the chorus completely getting it and then completely forgetting her words was another great moment in the first play. The courtroom drama of The Eumenides was a little static, but had excellent chorus work and an interesting Athena. I’ve seen scenes from it in another context and know it could have been far more compelling, but the chorus, Athena, and the Procession to close the trilogy were excellently done.”
- To National Theatre production of The Mayor of Zalamea, by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, National Theatre - Cottesloe Theatre (now National Theatre - Dorfman), National Theatre, London, National Theatre - Olivier, National Theatre, and other locations, 4th August 1981 - 10th February 1982: “I saw this production at the Cottesloe. The background and costumes were both dark which made some scenes difficult. Daniel Massey oozed arrogance as Don Alvaro. He was defiant and entitled which was perfect for the role. It wasn’t the first role that I’d seen him in, so his abilities didn’t surprise me. Michael Bryant was cheerful and jovial as the Mayor until the moment when he became vengeance personified. It was the first play, possibly the first role, that I’d seen Bryant in. He played a man so relaxed and comfortable with his station in life that he could eat sunflower seeds while talking to Don Alvaro. It was an astonishing performance and the ending scene has stuck with me because he went from relaxed to taut so quickly. I saw many plays at the National in the early 1980s. Most I couldn’t name today, but The Mayor of Zalamea has vivid moments that I’ll never forget.”
- To Royal Shakespeare Company production of As You Like It, by William Shakespeare, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 3rd April 1980 (press night): “I was lucky enough to see this production when it moved to The Aldwych Theatre. Guy Woolfenden’s music as sung by Philip Dennis was wonderful and is still what I hear in my head when I read the play. The most striking visuals of the production were from the black, white, and silver of the early court scenes to the ever more colorful rural “court” of the usurped Duke. Joe Melia’s Touchstone ended up in a grass skirt with a floral crown. It was truly magical.”
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