Mozart in 1978.
Nigel Wrench writes: "The Royal Shakespeare Company is a bit grand for pantomime.
So instead this Christmas they've turned to Mozart. A radical re-imagining of his opera about the philandering nobleman Don Giovanni, set in the winter of discontent, and on PM this evening.
The show is called Don John, staged by Kneehigh Theatre in association with the RSC, and headed on a national tour after a run in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
The first performance is tomorrow. I met the cast in rehearsals at the RSC's temporary rehearsal facility, formerly a car showroom. Here they are singing one of the bespoke songs from the show.
Don John does include some Mozart but there are also some chart hits from 1978. Quite a mix, especially when you add in the politics of the time.
Kneehigh are from Cornwall where they work up the basics of their shows in the converted barns that the company uses as its base.
On the walls in rehearsal some tacked-up paper sheets give an insight to their work on this production."
Listen to PM
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~08~RS~)
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First they updated Shakespeare. Now they're updating Mozart. What next - Greek plays?
Oh, of course - that's already been done - Pygmalion has been updated numerous times, including Shakespeare (Winter's Tale), Shaw (Pygmalion - which also borrowed from "King Cophetua and the beggar maid") and My Fair Lady (based on Shaw's version).
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The benefits of hindsight...
The above sounds unduly negative. Apply a liberal scattering of smileys to the above, and interpret "they" as writers / directors / producers in general, not just RSC ones (!)
Hopefully that'll do the trick...
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Try youtube mozart's 40th symphony with rollerblades and wine bottles.
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