Shakespeare

[Iota]

Now, THAT is impressive 😁

I do occasionally watch Borgen or other Scandi Noir/Nordic dramas without the subs, because I find the sound world and linguistic formation, fascinating.

I did wonder, at first, whether Sidse Babette Knudsen had something to do with it, but thankfully, it is broader than that.

Mostly.

I loved Borgen (SBK was indeed brilliant) and most of the Scandi Noir series I've seen, and for me too the language is always a significant part of the charm and aura of the experience.

[SimonNZ]

Saw a production of King Lear last night.

Oswald was played as an android who talked and acted exactly like Kryten from Red Dwarf.

And that didn't even make my top 10 wtf?? of choices that were made.

[Karl Henning]

Saw a production of King Lear last night.

Oswald was played as an android who talked and acted exactly like Kryten from Red Dwarf.

And that didn't even make my top 10 wtf?? of choices that were made.

Oof! I have a Lear coming in, will report. Separately, I'm re-watching the victrola-&-bicycle Midsummer Night's Dream tonight. 

[Kalevala]

Saw a production of King Lear last night.

Oswald was played as an android who talked and acted exactly like Kryten from Red Dwarf.

And that didn't even make my top 10 wtf?? of choices that were made.

K

[Karl Henning]

Some considerable time ago, Larry ((poco) Sforzando -- a user name which baffles the "mention" utility) spoke of a similar purchase.  Recently as I was watching a BBC production of King Lear, I was visited, first, by the tangential thought that I had never seen The Tempest, and it was probably time that I did/do. and second, by the recollection of Larry's purchase. So, (an entirely differemt set, it must be) I made this impulse purchase. So far I have not yet watched The Tempest itself (though I watched an interview with the chap who plays Prospero in this production) but I've watched both Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night, loving them both.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Thanks for the mention, Karl, but I do not know what the "mention utility" means or why my name has baffled it.

[Karl Henning]

Thanks for the mention, Karl, but I do not know what the "mention utility" means or why my name has baffled it.

If one types the "at" symbol followed by a username: @ritter e.g. there is a link to that user's profile, and they receive an alert. I decided to call that a "mention utility," but it's probably not the industry-sanctioned designation. As to why your username proves an unusual challenge, that's more than I can speak to.

[ritter]

If one types the "at" symbol followed by a username: @ritter e.g. there is a link to that user's profile, and they receive an alert. I decided to call that a "mention utility," but it's probably not the industry-sanctioned designation. As to why your username proves an unusual challenge, that's more than I can speak to.

Has someone summoned me? 

"...nur Ruhe will ich,
nur Ruhe – ach! – der Müden.
Schlafen! – Oh, dass mich keiner wecke!..."

[JBS]

I think the parenthesis at the start of the user name throws the widget (or whatever it is) off.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I was once just Sforzando, but I thought that sounded a bit harsh, so I added the (poco). Which musically speaking makes very little sense; either you play the note sforzando, or you don't.

[Karl Henning]

I was once just Sforzando, but I thought that sounded a bit harsh, so I added the (poco). Which musically speaking makes very little sense; either you play the note sforzando, or you don't.

I enjoy that wry contradiction. 

[Karl Henning]

Seen on FB

Veteran actor and Shakespearean performer Brian Blessed has blasted the growing use of trigger warnings on Shakespeare productions, calling them "bulls--t " and thundered, "It's f--king Shakespeare!"

The 89-year-old star made his feelings known during a recent sci-fi convention appearance after learning that the National Theatre in London had begun adding content warnings to classic plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet.

Audiences attending Hamlet were recently cautioned about themes of "coercive behaviour," "grief, suicide and mental illness," while other plays now carry similar notes about violence and tragedy.

Blessed, who has performed in stage productions of Henry V, Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing, said such warnings insult both audiences and the legacy of the Bard.

"It's bs," he declared. "It's f--king Shakespeare! He's the greatest writer on the planet. People see his plays the length and breadth of this country and they're full of amazing things. There are so many ignorant pigs around."

To make his point, the Flash Gordon star quoted a famous line from The Tempest:

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."

He explained that the line perfectly captures the fleeting, dreamlike nature of life — and by extension, theatre itself.

"That's the point," he said. "Plays are supposed to move you, challenge you, even disturb you. That's why Shakespeare's lasted for centuries."

Known for his booming voice, commanding stage presence, and unforgettable turns in Flash Gordon, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and I, Claudius, Blessed remains one of Britain's most outspoken defenders of traditional theatre.

At 89, he shows no sign of softening — still roaring as passionately as ever in defence of the playwright who helped define his career.

#brianblessed #shakespeare

[KevinP]

Oof! I have a Lear coming in, will report. Separately, I'm re-watching the victrola-&-bicycle Midsummer Night's Dream tonight.

The Aly McBeal one?
It's not perfect, but it works. I show it in class and the students enjoy it.

[San Antone]

I've begun reading The Winters Tale, a play I've ignored until now.  It is a late play and considered among his best, but not often staged.  My recent interest was sparked by a YouTube of an individual's ranking of the plays. 

Pretty good commentary.

[SimonNZ]

Seen on FB

Veteran actor and Shakespearean performer Brian Blessed has blasted the growing use of trigger warnings on Shakespeare productions, calling them "bulls--t " and thundered, "It's f--king Shakespeare!"

The 89-year-old star made his feelings known during a recent sci-fi convention appearance after learning that the National Theatre in London had begun adding content warnings to classic plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet.

As I started reading I expected the examples to be Othello, Merchant Of Venice, and maybe Taming Of The Shrew. It would still be silly, though.

I've only ever heard announced warnings about strobe light effects.

Audiences attending Hamlet were recently cautioned about themes of "coercive behaviour," "grief, suicide and mental illness," while other plays now carry similar notes about violence and tragedy.

I'm quite tickled by the idea of seeing a poster that says "The Tragedy Of Richard III (Warning: Contains Tragedy)"


In other Shakespeare news: I finally managed to find a near new copy at a reasonable price of the facsimile Norton published of the first folio. An indulgence and I need a plinth to put it on to read it, but such a beautiful production. And I'll have a go soon at reading one of the history plays with the olde spellings.



From Norton's website:

"It was the first facsimile in which every page had been selected from a large number of copies in an attempt to find a clean, clear example with minimal show-through. Even more important, it offered the latest, most corrected state of pages known to vary from copy to copy because of correction at press."

[Karl Henning]

The Aly McBeal one?
It's not perfect, but it works. I show it in class and the students enjoy it.

Michael Hoffman. 

[SimonNZ]

Looking into the trigger warnings thing a bit further:

'Frankly ridiculous' trigger warning for Shakespeare's Hamlet: National Theatre cautions viewers over death, grief and madness

[...]"Roy Schwartz, a historian and author, told the Mail: 'A trigger warning is meant to alert that something contains potentially distressing material. It's gratuitous to include it in something that's well-known to have mature subject matter, and it's frankly ridiculous to include it in a classic like Hamlet. For that matter, why not have a trigger warning in every history book? Every Bible and Sunday sermon?

'Coddling audiences against reality only serves to infantilise culture. A trigger warning is fair when the audience might not expect something "triggering," not in the most famous play in history.'

Writer Simon Evans said: 'Trigger warnings are tiresome, infantilising and ultimately counterproductive as myriad research and indeed robust common sense and experience tells us. But to attach one to one of the supreme works of art in the western canon, a play that contains the single most quoted lines in the language, let alone on the subject of "self-slaughter", is risible in the extreme.

'Let all theatres bookshops and cinemas carry a single "trigger warning" henceforth. "Take Heed! - all human life is here. Proceed at your own peril"'.[...]


Looks like this is the National Theatre Live filming that will be showing here in February. I'll consider myself warned.

[KevinP]

Michael Hoffman.

That's the one. It's an enjoyable romp.

[Madiel]

37-dvd set to be released next week:



https://shop.rsc.org.uk/products/the-royal-shakespeare-company-37-x-dvd-collection-rsc-dvd-2025


edit: ordered. For some reason it was considerably cheaper to pre-order through AmazonUK from here.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DTP9YDTN?psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

Okay, so how is this? Better than the old BBC productions? A mixed bag?

I've also seen that Opus Arte has produced at least 2 different "The Globe Collection" DVD boxes (the second might just be an expansion for the first).

[SimonNZ]

Okay, so how is this? Better than the old BBC productions? A mixed bag?

I've also seen that Opus Arte has produced at least 2 different "The Globe Collection" DVD boxes (the second might just be an expansion for the first).

So far - I've only watched five or six through and sampled a few more - a mixed bag. But there's quite a big subjective element to that, because unlike some critics I liked the often somber and unhurried tone of the BBC set, and that they weren't trying to do much new with the staging but be the best elements of traditional. I especially like that they weren't trying to turn every slight hint of comedy into a thigh-slapper, but could let humour be quietly ironical or subtle.

I like how the RSC use their limited space and the acting is usually fine, but they're often trying to be bigger and faster. Perhaps some of that is just filmed vs. live. I was really glad to have the chance to see another All's Well, and all the Helena stuff is done well, but they crank all the Parolles stuff up to eleven, which makes the play disjointed and without a consistent overall mood.

What I've heard of the commentary tracks aren't trying to get into textual interpretation, but rather are more highlighting and congratulating all whose work appears on stage in one way or another - costumes, sets, lighting, music etc.

I'll try and make more of a point of commenting on the ones I really like in the near future as I continue with it. And its not like I've never changed my mind about something on a second viewing.

I certainly don't regret buying it.