Monthly Archives: September 2015

Reporting War

On Saturday October 3rd the RSC is holding the latest in its series of debates on subjects raised by plays in its repertoire, Reporting War: Whose Truth is Told? The debate specifically accompanies the RSC’s new production of Hecuba, Marina … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s (un)happy families

Shakespeare rarely describes a really happy family: in The Taming of the Shrew and King Lear the sisters compete vigorously, their fathers failing to understand their daughters, in Henry IV the king misjudges his young son Hal, Juliet’s parents both … Continue reading

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The Battle of Waterloo: a Shakespeare connection

2015 is a good year for centenaries. 800 years on, Magna Carta is probably the most important of these, and towards the end of October we’ll be celebrating 600 years since the great victory of Agincourt. Both of these have … Continue reading

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Arms and armour on the stage

It’s rare for those who work behind the scenes in any entertainment industry to receive any attention from the media, so it was a great pleasure to hear Kirsty Lang’s feature on Alan Smith, the RSC’s Head of Armoury, on … Continue reading

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Suiting the word to the action: Dr Johnson and unsuitable language

You don’t have to look very far into Shakespeare’s works to find archaic words, or words difficult for us to understand. As well as coining new words, he made use of many that were probably already old-fashioned. Many words have … Continue reading

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Shakespeare on-screen news

There’s a real “back to school” feel around now with evenings drawing in and a chill in the air. A great moment then to get cheered up with the latest film about Shakespeare, Bill the Movie, released on 18 September … Continue reading

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Heritage Open Weekend 2015

It’s Heritage Open Weekend again and that means free or special access to some of our precious cultural history. In some places the weekend started as early as Thursday 10 September, but most events will be taking place over Saturday … Continue reading

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Queen Elizabeth’s record-breaking reign

On 9 September 2015 Queen Elizabeth II becomes officially the longest-reigning British monarch in history, having survived for over 63 years, just longer than Queen Victoria. The Queen has refused to mark the day in any way, but the press … Continue reading

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Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More, and the refugee migrants

The story of the week: in fact the story of the summer, has been the displacement of people from war-torn and impoverished parts of the Middle East and Africa to Europe. It’s been described as the biggest refugee crisis since … Continue reading

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The divine Sarah Bernhardt’s Hamlet

On Radio 4 Francine Stock is currently investigating the concept of charisma. This week in Pinning down the Butterfly: the It Factor, she looked at an actress whose fame spread across Europe and North America, the divine Sarah Bernhardt. Bernhardt … Continue reading

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