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Yearly Archives: 2011
Stephen Fry and the English language
Stephen Fry has just reached the end of his five-part series Fry’s Planet Word, in praise of the English language. Saving the best until last Fry looked at English story-telling through poetry, drama, fiction and even songwriting. It’s available now on … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy
Tagged Blackadder, English, Fry's Planet Word, Hamlet, Hugh Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, Shakespeare, Stephen Fry
1 Comment
What next for the Royal Shakespeare Company?
A few days away from mobile phones, TV and radio combined with the aftermath of a cold have played havoc with posts to my blog. Now back on track, I find that not only has Michael Boyd announced that he … Continue reading
Stratford-upon-Avon in autumn
Autumn is really on its way now, and although it’s a beautiful time of year there’s always a feeling of sadness because summer’s past and the cold harsh days of winter are on the way. Shakespeare’s most often-quoted passage about … Continue reading
Very like a whale: Adventures in the far North, Part 2
In Part 1 I looked at some of Shakespeare’s references to whales, and the history of whaling in Spitsbergen. This time I’m looking at the stories of adventurers who headed north. The very first English trading company was established by … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged hunting, Love's Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, Shakespeare, Spitsbergen, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Troilus and Cressida, whaling, William Barents
Comments Off on Very like a whale: Adventures in the far North, Part 2
Stratford-upon-Avon’s Mop Fair
For a few days every October the residents of Stratford-upon-Avon have the history of the town brought home to them. The centre of the town literally comes to a standstill, all the cars, buses and lorries that pound the streets … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged agriculture, Autolycus, fair, Mop Fair, Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, The Winter's Tale
1 Comment
Very like a whale: Adventures in the far North, Part 1
Most people are familiar with the phrase “very like a whale”, used nowadays to indicate a mocking disbelief. It is, of course, Shakespeare, from the scene in which Hamlet, in his antic disposition, taunts the “tedious old fool” Polonius by … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare's World
Tagged Arctic, Pericles, sea monster, Shakespeare, Spitsbergen, whaling
1 Comment
Paul Robeson, Othello and Mixed Britannia
The BBC has just begun a mixed race season, examining how over the past 100 years Britain has come to be a country in which inter-racial partnerships are commonplace. The first documentary in the series Mixed Britannia looked at the … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage, Stratford-upon-Avon
Tagged Ira Aldridge, Mixed Britannia, Othello, Paul Robeson, Peggy Ashcroft
Comments Off on Paul Robeson, Othello and Mixed Britannia
Shakespeare and National Poetry Day
Thursday 6 October is National Poetry Day in the UK. With so much economic gloom in the news, and to mark the day, here are a couple of pieces of Shakespeare’s most beautiful poetry. The first one comes from near … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems
Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, National Poetry Day, poetry, Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
2 Comments
Seeing the spider
Autumn’s coming round, and that means we are all seeing more spiders in homes, gardens and in the countryside. Spiders have always got a bad press. In folklore they’re associated with evil, malevolence, and rumoured to be venomous. Spiders don’t … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged folklore, insect, Richard III, Shakespeare, spider, superstition, The Winter's Tale
2 Comments
Shakespearian stars 3: John Gielgud as Hamlet
If asked to name the greatest Hamlet of the mid-twentieth century most people would suggest Laurence Olivier. It was, though John Gielgud who received more critical acclaim and who, for people alive at the time, was most closely associated with … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged Hamlet, John Gielgud, London, New York, Shakespeare
1 Comment