Monthly Archives: August 2015

Last call for Magna Carta at the British Library

2015 has been the eight-hundredth anniversary of the great document Magna Carta, one of the world’s most famous documents, which is still controversial. Is it, as the British Library’s website asks, the “foundation of democracy or rallying cry for modern … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the Book of Common Prayer

On Radio 4 on 26 August 2015 Quentin Letts asked “What’s the point of the Book of Common Prayer?” This little book, written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, was originally published in 1549 during the brief but emphatically protestant reign of King Edward … Continue reading

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Outdoor Shakespeare

The summer of 2015 has been mostly chilly and often damp, with just the occasional hot days. These conditions must have been trying for all those companies that now put on outdoor theatre productions in the UK. Many of them … Continue reading

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“To be or not to be”: Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet

So Benedict Cumberbatch, playing Hamlet in Lyndsey Turner’s production of the play at the Barbican Theatre in London, has bowed to pressure by moving “To be or not to be” from the beginning of the play to its usual place. … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the British Renaissance

James Fox’s three-part documentary series A Very British Renaissance has just finished on BBC 4. It was first shown in 2014, and having missed it first time I’m very pleased to have caught up with it. The presenter, an art historian, … Continue reading

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Fred J Kormis’s Everyman in Stratford-upon-Avon

Passing the jewellery shop at the top of Sheep Street in Stratford-upon-Avon, I’ve often wondered about the statue of a young man who looks across the road towards the Town Hall. I had always assumed it must have a Shakespeare … Continue reading

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Shakespeare with a twist

Shakespeare in Stratford isn’t just about the RSC and in fact the town has a number of venues, and several theatre groups, performing a wide range of drama including some by our very own playwright. Sometimes, too, we see plays … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson

Today, Monday 10 August 2015 , an exhibition opens at Dr Johnson’s House in London to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Samuel Johnson’s edition of William Shakespeare’s works published in 1765. In the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Johnson is … Continue reading

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Jumping through the hoop: Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet

By the time this post goes live, the latest production of Hamlet to be staged in London will have received its first two performances. I’m writing of course about Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre. It was to be … Continue reading

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The legend of Shakespeare’s crabtree

I recently wrote about the doggerel rhyme, alleged to have been written by Shakespeare, naming several of the villages near Stratford. The rhyme relates to Shakespeare’s Crab, an old crab-apple tree under which Shakespeare is supposed to have slept, which … Continue reading

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