Stage-to-screen review: All's Well That Ends Well(RSC / Sky Arts)

Last year, like this year, a couple of my planned theatre trips outside of That London got scuppered by rail strikes; one of them was Blanche McIntyre's production of All's Well That Ends Well at the RSC. It was a particular shame because McIntyre has been an interesting director of some of the more obscure, more problematic Shakespeare plays, and you don't get many that fit both descriptions better than this one. Rarely performed (arguably with good reason,) it was even included in the original trio of Problem Plays whose tone made them difficult to categorise (like Measure for Measure, which McIntyre's also tackled before, this one got lumped in with the Comedies by the First Folio.) The fact that its lead romantic couple are actually meant to lack any hint of sexual chemistry is the least of the issues which has kept it on the expanded list of plays with seriously problematic elements for a modern audience.

Theatre review: Our American Cousin

Not all of the Finborough's lost classics were always unappreciated: Occasionally they revive a play that enjoyed lengthy international success before disappearing into obscurity. They were often victims of their own success - Outward Bound's signature twist became a cliché, while the chocolates named after Quality Street's much-loved characters ended up upstaging them entirely. But the hit run of Tom Taylor's Our American Cousin ended in darker fashion when, 150 years ago this month, it went down in history as the play Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. It's that notoriety that now sees it revived to commemorate the anniversary. Sir Edward (Andrew McDonald) has lost all his money, as unbeknownst to him his steward Coyle (Daniel York) has been ripping him off for years. But there's still someone in the family with money - the titular distant cousin Asa (Solomon Mousley,) who's about to visit England for the first time.