Tag Archives: Hamlet

Sadness and the four humours in Shakespeare

The February 2014 meeting of the Stratford Shakespeare Club featured Dr Erin Sullivan, Lecturer and Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute, speaking on Beyond Melancholy – Sadness and Selfhood in Renaissance England. Even her title was a reminder of how much … Continue reading

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T S Eliot and Shakespeare

  Listening to Jeremy Irons’ reading of T S Eliot’s Four Quartets on Radio 4 last weekend reminded me of the power of Eliot’s poetry. The Poetry Foundation’s website includes some information about the reading, and here is an article about Irons’ … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s heroes on stage and screen

Shakespeare is never short of media attention, but just at the moment some of his heroes or at least his leading men, are much in the news. This week King Lear begins its previews at the National Theatre, featuring probably … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the charisma of acting

Since the the death of Peter O’Toole was announced on Sunday the media have been full of reminiscences of him. It’s noticeable that he is remembered for his larger-than-life character and skills as a raconteur almost as much as for his … Continue reading

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Shakespeare in Germany

No country outside the UK can boast a longer history of involvement with Shakespeare than Germany. During Shakespeare’s lifetime companies of English players performed at the courts of German princes, and there were even purpose-built playhouses remarkably like English playhouses … Continue reading

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Shakespeare’s crows and hateful ravens

When Shakespeare wanted to conjure up a sense of foreboding he often used the image of the birds of the crow family: crows, magpies, ravens and rooks. Lady Macbeth chillingly predicts the King’s murder: The raven himself is hoarse That … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the National Theatre

On 15 October it was announced that Rufus Norris was to be appointed to the most important job in UK theatre, as Artistic Director of the National Theatre, taking over in April 2015. Then next week, on 22nd October the … Continue reading

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Celebrating Stage Management Day

Rather late in the day I heard that 10 October 2013 is being celebrated as the first Stage Management Day. Stage managers are some of the unsung heroes of the theatre world, people who the audience rarely sees, but who … Continue reading

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Taking Hamlet to the world: Dominic Dromgoole’s “lunatic idea”

You have to hand it to Dominic Dromgoole, the Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe: he’s not afraid of a challenge. Looking to beat the 2012 Globe to Globe Festival project, his latest scheme is to take Hamlet on World Tour, … Continue reading

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World Listening Day: Shakespeare in concert

Today is World Listening Day, and although it’s mostly focused on hearing music and the sounds of nature, there is also a link with Shakespeare. Earlier this week a journalist, Rupert Christiansen, wrote a piece in the Telegraph expressing his wish … Continue reading

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