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Tag Archives: Macbeth
Speaking Shakespeare in 2018
The speaker at a recent meeting of the Shakespeare Club in Stratford-upon-Avon was actor Robert Lister. Never heard of him? Well Robert wouldn’t be hurt or surprised. He described himself as an “engine room actor” and in his talk, entitled … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged accent, Barrie Rutter, Chrisopher Eccleston, dialect, Laurence Olivier, Lenny Henry, Macbeth, Robert Lister, Shakespeare Club of Stratford-upon-Avon, speaking
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2018: The Year of Macbeth
Macbeth is known as Shakespeare’s unluckiest play. For generations it has been referred to by the superstitious as “The Scottish Play” because even speaking its name inside the theatre could bring down disaster. There are many stories of accidents and … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare on Stage
Tagged Anne-Marie Duff, Astor Place riots, Christopher Eccleston, film, Jonathan McGuinness, Katy Stephens, Kit Monkman, Macbeth, National Production Company, National Theatre, Niamh Cusack, opera, Out of Chaos, Phyllida Lloyd, Polly Findlay, Rory Kinnear, RSC, Rufus Norris, Tobacco Factory, Verdi
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Preserving Macbeth’s Birnam Wood
I’ve only just caught up with the story of the real Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood in Scotland dates back to medieval times, but now just two trees survive: the Birnam Oak, which is thought to date back around 500 … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy
Tagged Birnam Wood, Macbeth, Royal Shakespeare Company
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Reinterpreting Shakespeare – again
In 2013 Downton Abbey author Julian Fellowes was hauled over the coals for his film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, in which he rewrote large chunks of Shakespeare’s famous and much-loved play. His explanation just got him into more trouble: … Continue reading
Posted in Legacy
Tagged Anna Maxwell Martin, Anthony Hopkins, Antony Sher, Carrie Cracknell, Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen, Intermission Youth Theatre, John Heffernan, Julian Fellowes, Lucy Guerin, Macbeth, Mark Rylance, RSC Learning Performance Network, Stand Up for Shakespeare, Young Vic
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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
Posted in Legacy, Shakespeare's World
Tagged bawdy, Bowdler, Family Shakespeae, innuendo, knife, language, Macbeth, Monty Python, Samuel Johnson, Venus and Adonis
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Anticipating Macbeth on film
It doesn’t often happen that a Shakespeare film is dubbed “The “Most Anticipated Film” of the year, but this is how the adaptation of Macbeth directed by Justin Kurzel and starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard has been described. The … Continue reading
Posted in Plays and Poems
Tagged film, Justin Kurzel, Macbeth, Marion Cotillard, Michael Fassbender, Roman Polanski
1 Comment
Celebrating Shakespeare with Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh is best known as one of his generation’s finest Shakespearean actors and directors for both stage and film, so his latest project, a sweetly traditional film of the fairy tale Cinderella, comes as something of a surprise. It … Continue reading
Vivien Leigh, Shakespeare’s lass unparalleled
In the theatre gardens in Stratford-upon-Avon is a silver birch tree planted in memory of Vivien Leigh, one of several dedicated to people who have worked at the theatres. At its base is a stone tablet, with her dates of birth … Continue reading
Witchcraft on page and stage
The Royal Shakespeare Company is currently staging the multi-authored play The Witch of Edmonton, first performed in 1621. It’s easy to see how attractive the play is since its subject relates so closely to Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s play the weird … Continue reading
Posted in Shakespeare on Stage, Shakespeare's World, Sources
Tagged Gunpowder Plot, Holinshed, James 1, Macbeth, supernatural, The Witch of Edmonton, witchcraft
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The Gunpowder plot: terrorism in Shakespeare’s restless world
For over 400 years 5 November has been a day of celebration, though it’s now thought of as Bonfire Night with little reference to its origins with the 1605 plot to blow up the King, the Lords and the Commons … Continue reading