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Category Archives: Plays and Poems
Remembering Richard Pasco, Shakespearian actor
On Wednesday 12 November Richard Pasco became the third eminent Shakespeare actor with close associations to Stratford-upon-Avon to die in 2014. Sadly there has been little immediate media interest, unlike that which met the death of Donald Sinden, and, … Continue reading
Marking the centenary of World War 1 with Shakespeare
This week the marking of the centenary of the outbreak of World War 1 has reached its climax with Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day. The installation of the sea of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London has shown how … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged Charlecote Park, Christmas, Christopher Luscombe, Love's Labour's Lost, Love's Labour's Won, Much Ado About Nothing, Nigel Hess, The Christmas Truce, World War 1
Comments Off on Marking the centenary of World War 1 with Shakespeare
HyperHamlet
Hamlet has got to be the most frequently quoted or alluded to work of literature ever written. People may not even realise they are quoting from the play when they say “Neither a borrower or a lender be”, “more in … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems
Tagged Hamlet, HyperHamlet, Sixta Quassdorf, University of Basel
Comments Off on HyperHamlet
Shakespeare’s vision of apocalypse: King Lear at the National Theatre
As I write this on the afternoon of 6 June the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy are taking place. President Hollande, speaking into a microphone, has been talking about peace in Europe, in front … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged King Lear, National Theatre, Sam Mendes, Simon Russell Beale
1 Comment
King Lear and poverty
I’m finally getting to see Simon Russell Beale playing King Lear at the National Theatre this week. I’m not sure how much I’m going to agree with some of the interpretation, but with Beale you know, however difficult the play … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged foodbanks, King Lear, National Theatre, poeverty, Simon Russell Beale, Timon of Athens, Trussell Trust
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Celebrating Shakespeare and Purcell with the Orchestra of the Swan
Stratford-upon-Avon’s own chamber orchestra, the Orchestra of the Swan, is currently celebrating Shakespeare’s 450th anniversary by performing four concerts of music inspired by his work. The first concert, last Friday, included the lovely orchestral suite written by Henry Purcell for … Continue reading
Henry IV Part 1: relaying the live event
Earlier this week I attended the performance of Henry IV Part 1 performed at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, that was being simultaneously broadcast to cinemas around the UK, and is to be shown in schools, around the world and eventually … Continue reading
The Rape of Lucrece
Exactly 420 years ago, on 9 May 1594, Shakespeare’s long poem The Rape of Lucrece was registered before being published later that year. In the dedication to the poem he had written the year before, Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare sounds … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World
Tagged Ovid, poem, quarto, The Rape of Lucrece, Titian, Venus and Adonis
3 Comments
Staging the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet
In an earlier post on the subject of Juliet’s balcony, I talked about the original staging of this scene, and how the scene came to be known as “the balcony scene” even though in Elizabethan England the word balcony was … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged balcony, Juliet, Romeo, Romeo and Juliet, scene, set design, stage
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Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene
Over the past few weeks a lively discussion has been going on at the Shakespeare noticeboard SHAKSPER under the title “Balcony”. The so-called balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is probably Shakespeare’s most famous single scene, and no wonder as … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage, Sources
Tagged balcony, Brooke, Juliet Club, Lois Leveen, Peter Holland, Romeo and Juliet, Romeus and Juliet, SHAKSPER, Verona
4 Comments