Tip-top Rooftop

Brick-donor, Bard boy and all-round long-term RSC booster, Mr Gnome was unable to suppress a variety of emotions yesterday on entering the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre as its four-year closure-for-metamorphisis comes to an end.

Accompanied by two human acolytes, Mr G was privileged to enjoy a 'preview' evening at the spanking new Rooftop Restaurant, 'helping' staff to rehearse seating and service before the opening night and the arrival of the full-on pre-show dinner rush.

His verdict? Delicious food, friendly and efficient service - and surroundings with an appropriately theatrical mixture of modern glitz set against a background of distressed brickwork and cleverly recycled elements of the 'old' theatre. For example, many will instantly recognise the old auditorium's glorious art deco marquetry doors put to stylish use in the restaurant's bars.

Hurrah!

No chance to snoop farther - the new auditorium remains out of bounds until the official opening later this month.

The vibe is good. Mr Gnome and his associates are a-tremble with anticipation of all that lies ahead. He predicts that the renewed theatre will prove to be the theatrical/architectural triumph of the year, possibly the decade.

Mr Gnome will return.

Homecoming? Gnomecoming..

After three-and-a-half years of intense labour, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's transformation project is almost complete.

The hoardings that have surrounded the site are gone, enabling Mr G to pose shamelessly against a background of shimmering glass and many new bricks, one of which he is proud to have sponsored.

Later this week he's privileged to have been invited to 'test' (with others) the new Rooftop Restaurant, as staff check that systems are in order before the official opening later this month.

Coming home...

Mr Gnome shamelessly flaunts his invitation to one of many top-notch events celebrating the opening of the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Closed for over three years, the riverside complex has been massively re-shaped and upgraded. Sources suggest that the gigantic project is coming in on time and on budget. No mean feat.

Better still, the buzz hints that the new spaces (public and performance) will outstrip all expectations.

Bricked up

Back in 2009 Mr Gnome did his small-scale bit for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's hugely exciting Transformation Project. He sponsored a brick.


A year on BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire sent ace reporter Nicki Murphy to probe the motivation behind the brick.


Along the way, we revealed our 40+ years of Bard behaviour at Stratford, celebrated an inspiring teacher  and came close to revealing the age of the peerless Dame Helen Mirren.


And Mr Bowie made a supporting appearance...

This material is © BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire and is an excerpt from a programme to be aired shortly.

Radio daze...

Mr Gnome breezed through today's RSC-related media opportunity with BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire, capriciously (and predictably) leaving all the talking to his human associate.


Alerted by the Royal Shakespeare Company's press office, reporter Nicki Murphy probed the motivation behind Mr Gnome's status as (probably) the smallest and least human dedicatee of a sponsored brick, a popular element of the massive Transformation Project that is, er, transforming the Company's Stratford home to a renewed theatre space that will cause an international sensation when it opens in 2011.

Or so Mr Gnome predicts.

Broadcast goes out next week.

Nice of them to ask us. Perhaps Sir Ian and Dame Judi were busy?

Good times, Bard times...

Absent from the blogosphere for far too long, Mr Gnome returns to boost up his 'home team' - the splendidly tip-top Royal Shakespeare Company.


Pens mightier than Mr G's have reviewed the current crop of productions. Once again, the Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer displays an almost spooky ability to channel Mr Gnome's reactions to each new offering on the stage of the Courtyard Theatre. With exceptions.

So with the stage taken care of, Mr Gnome turns his attention to that essential adjunct to any theatre - the cafe.

The Courtyard Theatre cafe, housed in the barn-like structure to the left of the main foyer, gains several robust hurrahs on Mr Gnome's scale of customer satisfaction.

This efficiently run eatery would deserve to be a top-notch Stratford attraction - even if it was not grafted on to an internationally celebrated theatre company.

Friendly, unpretentious and offering great value for money, the Courtyard cafe's relaxed ambience (free newspapers) is enhanced by the cheerful, attentive and thoughtful staff.

Mr Gnome owns up to having a bit of  a 'thing' for the coronation chicken baked potato with salad.

Not really a 'celeb spotter' himself, Mr Gnome readily acknowledges that this is a top venue for a bit of classical star gazing. Varied luminaries have wafted into his field of vision in recent months: Frances Barber, Bette Bourne and Sir Donald Sinden (puffing on cig at an outside table).

Added value?

For a resume of RSC-related blog posts, please click here.

Micro-brew. Micro-fan

Mr Gnome could not be more excited to be the recipient of this splendid gift - which here engulfs his hat in an amber nimbus.

Emanating from the Tunnel Brewey, Warwickshire's newest micro-brewery, Sanctuary celebrates the 800th anniversary of Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, which is hosting a year-long programme of special events.

Setting a Bard example

No stranger to the commendation 'You're a brick', Mr Gnome has impulsively turned metaphor to reality by sponsoring a 'brick in the wall' of the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

To be frank, Mr G's action is motivated by equal measures of charity and exasperation.

For months he's been overhearing my frequently repeated statement: 'I must get around to making a donation to the RST's Transformation project.'

Justifiably piqued by human procrastination, Mr G has taken matters into his own small but capable hands - and, voila, a brick has been laid, and a rather charming certificate issued.

And, shamed by a gnome, I have finally done the right thing and sponsored a brick on my own behalf, requesting that it be dedicated to Dom Gregory Miller, about whom more later...

Open house

A Bard time was had by all today at the splendid RSC Open Day jamboree at Stratford-upon-Avon.

Visitors not in the know may have needed shock treatment, given the on-street prevalence of so many men, women and children suffering from hideous facial scarring - and all of them smiling contentedly. Casualties (bottom right) were all, of course, courtesy of the RSC makeup department.

In past years, the town has been awash with thespian Sirs and Dames participating in the Open Day's dizzying array of activities - everything from scholarly text sessions to revelatory exposures of the intimate ministrations of the Company's small army of backstage dressers.

But this time, canny RSC executive director Vikki Heywood (top left) managed to pull off a truly star-trumping coup de theatre.

She welcomed visitors, for the very first time, to a privileged glimpse of what's going on within the Royal Shakespeare Theatre itself, currently undergoing a massive three-year transformation project.

So today I was able to stand on what will be the Company's main stage (top right) and view the auditorium that has replaced the vast 1930s theatre where I've seen dozens of performances since my first RSC show in, ahem, 1967.

And it looks to me as if Ms Heywood and her team are well on their way to making good their promise of creating a major 'theatre space' that will be simultaneously epic and intimate. The acting area is vast, but it is encompassed on three sides by a three-level 'audience space' in which everyone is remarkably close to the action.

I'm excited.

It'll be a while before the players are able to tread the renewed boards: the contractors are due to hand over the building to the Company in July 2010.

Middle row shows friendly architect Alasdair McKenzie (right) and Tim Court (project manager) on site to answer questions.

Bottom left: Open Day ended with the company director Greg Doran ruffing up the partcipants in the annual Great Shakespeare Quiz.

Jolly folly

Born plain Mary Mackay in Glasgow, the writer Marie Corelli was, in terms of sales and celebrity, the Jilly Cooper of the Edwardian book trade.

In her later years she settled at Mason Croft in Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon, where she relished the role of the grandest of local grandes dames.

As befitted a life of such dizzying upward mobility, Corelli had constructed in her graden this charming folly, where, ensconced above the elm trees, she could muse and pen her next bestseller.

Possibly less idyllic when viewed from point of view of the servant who had to climb the stairs in all weathers to clean the grate and re-fill the coal scuttle.

Ever hospitable, Madame Corelli hosted parties on the Avon aboard her gondola, imported from Venice.

Bringing a Venetian gondola to Warwickshire betokens a certain level of style.

Madame Corelli went a step further - and imported the gondolier as well.

And that, for me , equals chutzpah.

His beautiful laundrette

Community-spirited, minimalist and squeaky clean, Mr Gnome is unashamedly a massive fan of that splendid institution the launderette.

Havens of warmth and well-thumbed magazines, laundromats continue to provide valued service to the community - where else to take one's double duvets for their monthly/quarterly/annual wash?

Mr G is particularely fond of the Sparklean Laundrette in Stratford-upon-Avon's charming Old Town, conveniently sited on the corner of Bull Street and Sanctus Street.

The establishment offers 'added value' inasmuch as it is patronised by members of the nearby Royal Shakespeare Company - thespians have the same laundry needs as lesser mortals.

Where else is it entirely possible to encounter Lady Macbeth applying a squirt of Vanish to a well-worn T-shirt ('Out damned spot!')?

Mr Gnome once found himself co-laundering with a leading actress from the popular telly series The House of Elliot.

Something about which to get in a lather?

Bard, birtrhday and bunny

To Stratford-upon-Avon on a breezy blue Saturday for the celebrations of William Shakespeare's 445th birthday.

Delegates from a selection of London embassies (some excitingly costumed) join theatre luminaries, local dignitaries, academics and troupes of local schoolchildren for a cheerful round-the-town parade.

Most wear a sprigs of rosemary ('that's for remembrance') and carry a posies of spring flowers, which are laid on the grave in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church - the end of the procession.

The atmosphere is celebratory, good-humoured and far from po-faced. Very English, I guess.

Later, I saw the brand-new production of As You Like It in the Courtyard Theatre.

Perhaps the show's most memorable effect came during the interval, expressive of the rustic themes of daily life in the Forest of Arden.

As the audience returned for the second half, Corin the shepherd was busily occupied skinning and butchering a freshly caught rabbit. The creature had been pre-gutted.

I felt this chimed with the production, which had suffered a few cuts of its own: some very familar chunks of the text were missing.

Fortunately, the 'Seven Ages' speech ('All the world's a stage') was spared the chop, and was performed brilliantly by the fine actor Forbes Masson (top centre).

Here's Charles Spencer's review from the Daily Telegraph.

Progress

Mr Gnome cheered himself today by inspecting the 'transformation' project at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon.

The new thrust-stage auditorium is in place, as is the framework for the public areas that will link the main theatre with the smaller Swan auditorium.

And the core of the controversial 'viewing tower' is up. We're reserving judgement (on the tower) until all is complete.

Meanwhile a new company of actors is gathering to open the 2009 season in the temporary Courtyard Theater up the street. They are on long-term contract and will stay in town to open the renewed theatre in 2010.

One is excited.

Stage by stage

I'm keeping a record of the massive building project that is transforming the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon.

Most of the original Victorian building was destroyed by fire in the 1920s.

It was followed by Elisabeth Scott's Odeon-style building which butted on to what was left of the original fabric at the western end - you can see a fair chunk of the original building to the right of the top picture.

By the 1980s the building housed two auditoriums: the 'main house' seating roughly 1100 people - and the 450-seater Swan Theatre, housed in the horseshoe-shaped space at the back of the original building.

Last spring, the building closed for redevelopment.

• October 2007 (top): The whole of the main auditorium is removed, but Scott's facade and foyer will be retained.
• July 2008 (middle): Demolition complete - a huge cavity where stage and auditorium once were.
• September 2008: Work is well under way on the galleries that will surround the new thrust-stage performing space.

On the Avon side, the building is being stripped bak to its original 1930s aspect - and there will be a new, accessible riverside promenade.

I've been relishing performances here since August 1967.

Sad about the changes? Not at all. I've a strong feeling that the renewed building is going to be a massive success when it opens in 2010.

Read more here: Theatre transformation.

Marco distinction

To tell or not to tell? Mr Gnome has been in two minds about trumpeting the delights of Marco's Deli and Bistro, Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon.

After all, having discovered a treasure, one might be forgiven for not broadcasting the map reference to all and sundry.

Anguished moment over. Here goes.

Marco's is one of those family-run, small-scale, high-quality, low-price eateries that you may have been tempted to believe had gone the way of the dinosaur.

Fear not. Marco's is alive and kicking, a byword for quality to shoppers, office workers and the staff and students of the Shakespeare Institute (just across the street).

Breakfasts, lunches (not open in the evening) and snacks. Delicious bread baked on premises.

Service is prompt and cheery. You'll probably be addressed as 'Darling'.

And the bacon rolls. Words fail us. The fresh bread. The dizzying aroma of the bacon. The outrageous generosity of the bacon-to-roll ratio. Heaven.

Ditto the roast beef sandwich - carved and carved again from the just-roasted joint. Can so much pleasure be morally justifiable? Whatever. Tuck in.

Go. Try. Tell.

Friendly Opposition

Despite being a regular visitor to Stratford, Mr Gnome has yet to comment on the tip-top eateries of Bardsville-upon-Avon. Here comes the first of several enthusiastic recommendations.

The Opposition, on Sheep Street, is just around the corner from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

This cheerful restaurant is justly popular with both theatre-goers and non-kulcha-vulchas.

Mr Gnome recently joined a post-Hamlet party of nine for a late-night supper - and in-depth discussion of David Tennant's performance as the puzzled prince.

Mr G relished a delicious Caesar salad while his co-diners tucked in to a wide selection from the menu.

The food was terrific. Plenty of it, well presented and hot. Hurrah!

Service was speedy, upbeat and friendly. Staff seemed genuinely interested in our opinions of the production.

Three cheers for The Opposition.

More info at: The Oppo

Seize the day - and the dog...

Mr Gnome admires the skill and creativity of all in the hairdressing business.

Browsing through the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, his eye lighted on these intriguing ads.

Hurrah for Linda who trims those so-mobile pooches. A challenging task when a crisp 'Sit!' proves ineffective.

And three cheers for Brian, Matt and their new venture.

I'm sure they'll seize the day, and their scissors, with style.

But Carpedeum?

Seize the god?

Sigh.

Dream on

Our early heatwave provided a balmy evening for Saturday's preview performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the RSC's Courtyard Theatre.

Director Gregory Doran and his production team create an onstage world of shadows, reflections and surprises in which a tip-top team of actors are set free to bring an ancient text vividly and hilariously to life.

The four lovers (Lysander is a dead ringer for the young Rupert Everett) are crisply characterised, with Kathryn Drysdale providing a memorable mighty atom as Hermia.

The punky fairies have the requisite allure and hint of danger, each one manipulating a tiny 'daemon' in the form of a jointed doll. Titania's Indian boy (the cause of her big-time fall-out with husband Oberon) is an exquisite life-sized puppet, manipulated with great delicacy by the cast.

Joe Dixon's Bottom is, er, magnificent - as are all his fellow 'actors' in the interlude of Pyramus and Thisbe - with special mention to Ricky Champ whose underwear-related issues as the all-important Wall bring the house down.

Note to RSC gift shop: 'Stock up on red Y-fronts now - you'll make a fortune.'

In short, a glorious, magical Dream. Hurrah!

Mass wisteria

Mr Gnome hitched a ride today aboard the HB's bicycle for a sunny excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Parts of the town were a-shimmer with delicate mauve beauty.

Mr G refused to leave before posing with this splendid specimen that clings to the exterior of the Shakespeare Institute in Church Street.

Merchant of, er, Venice?

Shakespeare producttions and London buses - nothing for ages, then a whole bunch at once...

Over to Stratford on a breezy, blue spring evening for the first show in the new season.

You've guessed: that tricky one, the M of V, with a mainly very young cast directed by Tim Carroll, a new name to moi.

Carroll and his designer have gone for the more or less modern-dress option in a minimalist pinky-red setting.

Not much differentiation between the plays two settings: masculine world of Venice and Portia's upmarket base of Belmont. The famous casket scenes (when suitors attempt to solve the riddles that will allow them to win the sparky uber-heiress) appear to be set in an industrial deep freeze. (I'll check Bill's stage directions.)

And there was little attempt to acknowledge the play's central confrontation between Jewish and Gentile culture and faith.

Directorial approach reminded me of a nervous vet donning thick gauntlets to examine an unpredictable moggie - scared in case it bites or scratches.

So in terms of 'selling' the show to us, it was all down to the actors. They were perfectly adequate and audible: but to me they seemed underpowered and lacking confidence.

Shylock is many, many things. But reticent? Please.

But.... In the interval I overhear a boy (perhaps thirteen) asking mother: 'Is Shylock as baddie?'

As his mother said: 'That's a very good question.'

And if that one lad wants to come back for more Shakespeare, then I'm happy. There'll be many more shows for him to relish and which won't short-change him as this one has done.

Benedict Nightingale's review in The Times is spot-on.