Tag Archives: Kenneth Branagh

Our revels now are ended: The Tempest, Olympics and Paralympics

2012 has been the year of The Tempest. During this year of the World Shakespeare Festival at least three productions have been seen in the UK, and the play featured in the opening ceremonies for both the Olympics and Paralympics. … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare on Stage | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Opening the Olympics: Danny Boyle’s debt to William Blake

Danny Boyle’s Olympic opening ceremony has set off so much discussion that John Wyver of Illuminations has now posted three blog posts each listing ten different pieces that have appeared in the press looking at the event from different viewpoints. Here’s the … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Opening the Olympics: Danny Boyle’s debt to William Blake

Stratford to Stratford: Opening the Olympics with Shakespeare

At last the London Olympics are about to begin. It’s estimated that a billion people worldwide will watch the opening ceremony on Friday 27 July. No pressure then on film director Danny Boyle, its creator. Clues about the ceremony have … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Stratford-upon-Avon | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sir Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare

This year The Queen’s Birthday Honours list has recognised a bumper crop of people in the arts. For me the most pleasing was the knighthood which has been awarded to Kenneth Branagh. His association with Shakespeare goes back to his … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Shakespeare’s minds diseased: mental illness and its treatment

Shakespeare was clearly fascinated by mental illness, many characters displaying a variety of symptoms from Lear’s madness, Jaques’ melancholy, Timon’s bitter cursing, Macbeth’s visions and Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking, to the obsessiveness of Leontes.  It’s usually accepted that Shakespeare was influenced in medical matters by … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Legacy, Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World, Stratford-upon-Avon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Share
Posted in Shakespeare on Stage, Stratford-upon-Avon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Henry V, star of England

31 August is the anniversary of the death of that “star of England”, King Henry V. He died in France, where he had been on a military campaign to capture more of the country, in 1422 aged only 35.  If … Continue reading

Share
Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare on Stage, Sources | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments