Measure for Measure

I loved the production at the National! I thought it was absolutely fantastic, I was completely gripped throughout. I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time - not the most comfortable way to spend 2 and a half hours though! Have to admit I was a bit wary when I heard it was modern, with CCTV, TV screens and George Bush references, but it worked perfectly.

I loved Angelo above all (not literally obv!). He was just so tall and cowering and, as my English teacher put it, screwed up. Even better, we saw him afterwards on the way to the station. He didn't seem nearly so tall or uncomfortable in the flesh - was actually rather good-looking (though tragically married). Oh, and the Provost was fantastic too. His character's never stood out to me that much before.

My only, one, phwee gripe would be Isabella. She was clearly a good actress, but at times it did seem a little over the top and I felt that kinda spoilt some scenes, especially when she hears about Claudio's "death". I don't know, maybe you felt differently. Would love to hear what you made of it.

Seriously though, I did love it. I know it's a chliche but it really brought the play to life for me.

I am doing it and saw it at the national, and overall I thought it was very good. However, there were some aspects that I thought were questionable. The George Bush thing was too easy, too indulgent imo. The whole shock value thing I actually agreed with, it put the rest of the play on edge for me, which gave it a pretty gritty vibe which I enjoyed (i don't agree with the predominantly comic take the Globe did recently). But yeah, IM really up for discussing the play, i do find it a difficult one to make any clear judgement on.

i think isabella uses relgion to repress her sexuality (i always go on about this, im hoping someone will agree soon)

Well apart from the mispell of religion (lol)! I can agree to a point. There are some intresting things about her religion which might point us towards this judgement. In the Duke disguising himself as a friar, he puts the righteousness of religion in question. Also, in Isabella being a nun, and therefore representing the Catholic faith (correct me if this is wrong about the nuns, please!) we must bear in mind the suspicion a Protestant audience might harbour towards someone like that.

I would like to hear other peoples views on this and other aspects of the play. I especially am intrigued as to others views of the Duke.

What qualities of Lucio's do you find admirable?

However, the helicopter thing was cool!

Why is it that we tend to see Isabella as relatively good and Angelo as relatively evil. In both cases it is their obsessive virtue that actually drives them away from their humanity. You could argue that, were it not for the Duke, Isabella would have been as much her brother's killer as Angelo would have been. Personally I cannot emphatise with her at all. Does anyone else see Isabella as an equally unlovable charachter?