Stratford Festival Reviews » Bartholomew Fair

A Ben Jonson rarity sparks Stratford Festival

Keith — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:10:16 +0000

Kuchwara selects Bartholomew Fair as one of the top shows: "They may call it the Stratford Shakespeare Festival but it is one of the Bard's contemporaries — Ben Jonson — who gets the most unexpected and satisfying showcase during the first half of the renown repertory theater's 2009 season."

A daring, energetic Bartholomew Fair

Keith — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:44:10 +0000

"...as a pageant of colourful characters, the play is very entertaining, as is Jonson's street-level language. While there are many compilations out there of Shakespeare's insults, Jonson – who lived a much more raucous life, complete with charges of treason and murder – out-bawds the Bard at every turn."

With the Bard out to pasture, it’s finally time to have fun

Keith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:14:27 +0000

Cushman notes that this is the play's North American premiere, 395 years after its British one, adding "... Jonsonian comedy, combining a thick text with the action of a farce, is a tough act; this is an encouraging start at cracking it."

Lewd, crude and over the top

Keith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:04:37 +0000

"Cimolino's production is high-octane, pedal-to-the-metal, from start to finish"

Bartholomew Fair is a wild ride worth taking

Keith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:57:24 +0000

"The astonishing thing about this script is that, in its portrait of a society wallowing in excess, it makes even more sense now than it did when first written in 1614."

‘Bartholomew Fair’ satire is a mess

Keith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:52:51 +0000

The headline is worse than the review:"... even though Cimolino turns... Bartholomew Fair into an extended visit to a poorly conceived theatrical funhouse, he has at least ensured that it is a funhouse of the highest quality construction. "

Bartholomew Fair

Keith — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:37:23 +0000