Owen Davies was brought up in London but has Welsh roots. He was raised on chapel hymns, Handel oratorios and Mozart arias. He began going to the theatre in the 1960s and, as a teenager, used to stand at the back of the Old Vic stalls to watch Olivier's National Theatre productions. He also saw many RSC productions at the Aldwych in the 1960s. At this time he also began to see operas at Covent Garden and developed a love for Mozart, Verdi, and Richard Strauss. After a career as a social worker and a trade union officer, Owen has retired from paid employment but as a 'mature student' he has recently gained a certificate in Opera Studies from Rose Bruford College.
Oscar Wilde’s plays have a special place in British theatre so a stage adaptation of his only novel has a lot to live up to. To find the right tone fo...
This Noel Coward comedy from 1951 is a deceptive creation. Its form is a familiar one, the country house comedy. Its preoccupations - class, snobbery,...
Hidden is a series of short monologues and dialogues with a great deal of humour but with a dark centre. It is delivered with style and passion by its...
Alan Ayckbourn apparently hates being described as a political playwright but “A Small Family Business”, revived at the National Theatre 27 years afte...
Gounod’s version of the Faust legend could only have been written for Paris. This Faust is not a man in search of wisdom or knowledge or power. He is...
Mozart’s Magic Flute is so rich in music and in story that it can bear a hundred different interpretations. It can be a pantomime, a tragedy, a comedy...
Bloomington Indiananow has at least two claims to fame. It is the setting for “Breaking Away”, the wonderful and underrated film by Peter Yates, and i...
The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at the Globe opens with a splendid production of Webster’s “Duchess of Malfi”, featuring a stylish and moving performance ...
King Lear may have a reputation as the summit of Shakespeare’s craft as a tragedian but it is a play that too often eludes the director and exposes th...
