Michael Langham and Dramatic Criticism

This summer I had the pleasure of attending six productions performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival: The Grapes of Wrath, Richard III, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Jesus Christ Superstar, Camelot and Twelfth Night. I was also able to add to my collection of Stratford books, and am now the proud owner of a book of Tanya Moiseiwitsch designs as well as Stratford Papers on Shakespeare from 1961 and 1963. In each volume of Stratford Papers, Michael Langham (Stratford's artistic director from 1955-1967) contributes an article. In the volume from 1963 he writes on dramatic criticism stating: "Is it possible to arrive at a considered judgement on a production- that perhaps took six months to create- within the space of one or two hours? I do not believe it" (Langham, 1964: 32). Well I have certainly given myself time to reflect over the productions I attended (most of which were seen in early June). I cannot guarantee that this will result in a deeper understanding of what was viewed, nor will I actually critically review the productions I have seen (not really my thing). I will however, spend the next few weeks talking about the productions I saw, and what I learned from them.