Jonathan Coote in A Kingdom for a Stage Photo: Charlene Segeral

As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death Tony Diggle's new play imagines that the Bard is still around, sort of. He's in a writers limbo between heaven and hell.

There is an intimidating cockney Angel Gabriel (Christopher Knott) who keeps Shakespeare (Jonathan Coote) and fellow writers Ben Johnson (Alex Murphy), Christopher Marlowe (Edwin Wright) and George Bernard Shaw (Richard Ward) in line while Puck (Sue Appleby) tries to keep them out of line. Shakespeare, with Pucks help, wants to visit earth to see The Globe and check out his legacy and what he sees whilst there inspires him to write a new play much to the dismay of the other writers.

This is all well and good but in addition to the action flitting between 'heaven' and earth, Diggle also takes us back in time to Shakespeare as a young man (Dan Wheeler) on the cusp of success and then, later on, at the end of his life. Here we see Shakespeare conflicted between creative success and being at home where his family need him.

And here lies the problem. The individual elements are in themselves fine but as a collective it creates a play of such diverse tone that it is difficult to make out what exactly Diggle is trying to convey. When Shakespeare makes it to earth he quickly realises that certain things have not changed in 400 years but this feels almost perfunctory amid everything else that is going on.

If the choice was to slowly succumb to a debilitating and fatal disease such as Alzheimers or have your brain repaired but lose up to 15 years of your memories what would you do? If you were married to the person making that choice and your wife would unlikely remember you afterwards would you encourage them to have the operation?

At the beginning of the play we see the aftermath of that decision. Zoe Wanamaker's character has had the treatment and no longer recognises or remembers her wife (Barbara Flynn) and her doctor (Nina Sosanya) is trying to assist them both. Subsequent scenes, like snatches of memory, reveal what life was like before the operation and the lead up to the decision.

Set in the future Nick Payne imagines a set of new human conditions and dilemmas as the result of medical advances. The doctor represents the science side of the equation. She has problems explaining things without using medical terminology and also has problems with the emotional aspects of the procedure. The human dilemma, a loss of identity, a loss of a loved one mentally but not physically, the debate about whether it is the right answer to the medical condition comes through the story of the married women.

The detritus of several work lunches and an over flowing bin in an anonymous, functional break room. It is the perfect setting for the meeting of two people whose lives are full of emotional debris.

A young woman, Una (Michelle Williams) has come to confront Ray (Jeff Daniels) who raped her when she was a 12-years old. As the story of what happened between them is unravelled, feelings and hurt surface and the long term impact of those events are revealed. There is unfinished business between the two, questions to be answered.

The casting of this play is perfect. Michelle Williams' small frame and almost girlish dress teamed with stilettos works on several levels. A visual symbol, perhaps, of how part of her is frozen in time, part of her is still that 12-year old girl. And, given where the story goes, is it subconsciously calculated, a test of Ray's feelings? Jeff Daniels' bigger build contrasts so that its not that much of a stretch to see Una as a 12-year old girl. It makes the play all the more unnerving.

When Una recounts her version of events Williams' draws you in, takes you back in time. It's like you are reliving every moment and feeling with her. It is an utterly gripping performance and one during which you have to remember to breathe.

David Harrower's play delivers punches to the last. It is an intense and uncomfortable watch, it is daring and unflinching in its approach to this complex subject matter and it will haunt you.

Blackbird is one hour and 30 minutes without an interval and is on at the Belasco Theatre, New York until June 11.

On the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death it seems appropriate to do a list:

First Shakespeare I saw

Midsummer Night's Dream at Tolethorpe Hall - Performed by a local am dram society outside in the grounds, the stage skirted by trees and shrubbery it was quite magical. The cast would just melt into the darkness of the leaves and branches.

Last I saw

Coincidentally it was A Midsummer Night's Dream, this time at the Lyric Hammersmith and it was brilliantly funny.

Plays I studied

Henry IV part 1 for O-level, Richard II and The Tempest for A-level, Hamlet, Othello, Richard II, Richard III, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night for my degree.

The plays I've yet to see

Cymberline (booked to see in the Autumn), Antony and Cleopatra, Henry VI (seeing an abridged version as part of Ivo Van Hove's King's of War tomorrow), Henry VIII, Merry Wives of Windsor, Pericles and King John.

Favourite play

Hamlet. Always see something new in every production and I'm still waiting for the perfect Ophelia.

It is a calculated irony that Ivo Van Hove has set his modern-dress production of The Crucible in a school classroom.

Arthur Miller's play about a Salem witch hunt was written to reflect the hysteria and suspicion surrounding communism in 1950s America.

Today you can replace communism with any number of groups on whom a generalised suspicion and distrust falls. Nothing changes.

You could chalk it up on the blackboard at the back of the stage but the lesson hasn't been learnt.

Ivo Van Hove's cast, a mixture of American, English and Irish actors mostly speaking with their native accents, plays into this idea of prejudice and suspicion of outsiders.

Abigail, the spurned school girl and the first to plant the seed of suspicion that there are witches in Salem, is played by Irish/American actress Saoirse Ronan.

She is an orphan taken in by another family and has a different accent to her school friends.

There is a distinct sense of fighting to get attention, fighting to fit in and be accepted. 

Rev Samuel Parris (Jason Butler Harner) is also an outsider.

He's a university graduate and has had to fight hard to gain the respect of the community to which he ministers. As he starts to gain acceptance he will do anything to protect that.

There is also petty squabbling amongst the farming community which adds further kindling to the fire.

Disputes about land boundaries move from one courtroom to another when competition can be eliminated if the finger of witchcraft is pointed in the right direction.

Into this brittle environment steps John Proctor (Ben Whishaw), who lives slightly outside the community and doesn't attend church regularly.

He and his wife Elizabeth (Sophie Okenedo) have English accents. It is his relationship with Abigail which seals his fate and sets the community onto the destructive path.

He's a flawed and tragic hero. He seduced his young maid Abigail while his wife was sick and got caught.

Elizabeth dismisses Abigail who is ostracised by the community.

When caught dancing in the woods by Parris she explains it away as a witches influence, lighting the touchpaper.

It gives her the attention she craves and allows her to get her revenge on the Proctors.

John is contrite for his affair and has been trying to make amends.

In casting Ben Whishaw Ivo Van Hove has gone against type. Proctor is normally played by actors of bigger stature and build, a physical, manly man - I saw Richard Armitage play him at the Old Vic a couple of years ago.

By removing the overt manliness of Proctor you get a character who is no less passionate but certainly more sensitive, caring and a thinker.

You see it in the way he coaches Mary Warren (Tavi Gevinson) through her court evidence.

There is a gentleness and genuine concern in the way he smooths her hair out of her face or holds her protectively or rubs her back when she is afraid.

He treats her like a frightened child, not just a means of putting an end to the injustice that has enveloped the town.

It puts his affair with Abigail's in a different light and I'd love to know what they said about that in the rehearsal room.

Remember the sexy promo photo for Kenneth Branagh's production of Romeo & Juliet with Richard Madden and Lily? Well the rehearsal images are in, here's a selection:

Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company) - Richard Madden (Romeo), Lily James (Juliet) Credit Johan Persson

Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company) - Kenneth Branagh, Lily James (Juliet) Credit Johan Persson

Jenna Russell's (Mephistopheles) is sat on the stage, her legs intertwined with those of Kit Harington's (Dr Faustus). Her face is inches away from his: "I'm in hell," she says. "I'll bet you are," I think.

She is the genius casting in Jamie Lloyd's production of Dr Faustus. A woman, an older woman, with short cropped hair, dressed in an old lady's nightie seducing and tricking the pretty young Dr Faustus into damnation. Not that he is difficult to trick of course which more acutely exposes his human weaknesses. She is the strength of the play as is Forbes Masson who is a white-vest, white-pants wearing Lucifer. They make a brilliantly evil pair but I'm not sure it should be quite so much fun watching them toy with Faustus.

And this, perhaps, is part of the problem. The production puts its marker in the sand within minutes. The bored Faustus throws a can of drink over himself before delivering his first lines about how law, religion and medicine no longer hold any interest or intrigue for him. The chorus, all dressed in dirty white underclothes, with dark shadows under their eyes, watch ghoul-like from doorways and cupboards. Within minutes one of them has vomited up black stuff and another is foaming at the mouth and spitting it everywhere. Then a bucket of dirt comes out and then another with white powder both of which end up poured all over the floor of the living room set.

It continues with this level of destruction, mess and blood throughout. Which is probably why I found the ending a little disappointing but I'll come back to that. Like Kit Harington's performance (see below) there is very little light and shade, little subtlety and nothing to build towards. It is full on with snippets of music-video like dance routines, magic tricks and karaoke and it just feels like it is trying very, very hard.

There are some great set pieces. Jenna Russell does the karaoke which is a superbly cheesy montage of Kylie's Better the Devil You Know, Cliff Richard's Devil Woman and Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell (she locked eyes with Poly at one point). Tom Edden does a brilliant human embodiment of the seven deadly scenes and Forbes Masson miming Happy Birthday Mr President in the style of Marilyn Monroe (Jenna Russell does the vocals) is something you have to see.

Can't waiting to see this tomorrow night. PS for GoT fan's have you noticed he still hasn't cut his hair. #justsaying

Timothy Spall (Davies) in The Caretaker at The Old Vic. Photo by Manuel Harlan

People are kind enough to stop by this blog and leave a comment occasionally but my review of The Caretaker seemed to attract more interest than normal. The consensus of opinion from the comments seemed to be that the production is "dull and boring" - to quote one - although there was one person who really seemed to like it.

I too liked it, although it didn't warrant the long running time. In liking it I was accused by one person of fawning over Timothy Spall and raving about it because it was at the Old Vic. I don't think I did but I'm going to put that to one side because there is a whole separate post about how some people can't seem to disagree with others without sounding like they are personally affronted.

The play hadn't been seen by critics when these comments were written so I was curious as to whether it would divide opinion just as much. And  I think it is fair to say it hasn't gone down as a resounding success. There are more four star reviews than three star but there are three star reviews and it is interesting that the running time does get mentioned in a few:

There is a lot going on in the Almeida auditorium and Leo Butler's Boy hasn't even started. The performance space is in the middle and is a travellator that weaves in a wiggly loop through the audience. Actors sit at various points of the slowly moving track coming to within inches of those sat closest.

I say 'sit' because they don't have chairs or any outward sign of support. It is something that immediately fascinates and continues to do so after the play starts when the get up, walk around and then 'sit' on invisible chairs again.

Immediately opposite our seats is the production photographer. Whenever actors glide in front of us he seems to snap away - something that continues throughout. Once the play starts pieces of set are fixed onto the travellator and removed from two points one right next to use. That becomes fascinating to watch too.

And here is the problem. There is so much going on that isn't performance that the plays gets a little bit lost in it all. It doesn't help that the travellator is quite noisy and despite the actors having mics it is sometimes difficult to hear what is being said despite sitting so close.