I have returned!
I am polishing up the next chapter of Held in Trust, so I promise it is on its way soon, very soon.
But in the mean time, a couple orders of business.
1. Children of Time awards. Nominations close in a week if I am not mistaken, so if you haven't submitted any yet, by all means go and do so. Meanwhile, the indefatigable azriona has created cot_reviews , a community where various people will be reading and reviewing the nominees in each round of the awards.
2. My review of Hamlet, for those who haven't seen it yet, is unlocked here at my regular LJ. Suffice it to say that it was unforgettable. You can also see some pictures (none of DT in the flesh, alas) from my trip here.
And just because, here have some Hamlet picspam:
Oh god those jeans. The first time he comes out in the jeans-and-t-shirt ensemble (which is obviously not what he's got on here because I don't think any pictures actually exist of that costume, alas for the poor fangirls) he honestly manages to look like he's about 16 years old. Hamlet in the play is actually not supposed to be as young as so many people knee-jerk claim that he is (while saying Tennant was too old to play him), but still he was able to play "young" so remarkably well. I think Hamlet's supposed to be 32 or some such, but Tennant plays him as sort of an ageless man-boy. Incredibly young, impossibly old, all at once.
How heart-breaking this scene was, and on the night I went I thought head-and-shoulders Penny Downie's best performance of the evening. The walls totally come down between Gertrude and Hamlet and then when the ghost shows up again? It was just gut-wrenching. That Billy Shakespeare bloke, he really knew what he was doing.
You would not like Hamlet when he's angry. Well no actually that's not true. He's perfeclty justified in being upset and people keep just poking him more and more. Stop doing that, people! But I loved how everyone at Elsinore have perfectly good, if very selfish, reasons for doing what they do. No one is just mustache-twirling Eeeeviiiillll. Not even Claudius. It's just that Hamlet is so sharp, he sees through everyone's self-deceptions regarding their own actions. You do wind up just loving the hell out of Hamlet, and I don't recall ever seeing a production before that worked so hard to do that. It does so heighten the tragedy though. A tragedy isn't moving if by the end you still don't care if the characters live or die.
Anyway, for further Hamlet thoughts, visit my other journal.
And in no particular order, the Who-related things that happened on my trip that were awesome:
1. Going in to Boots to pick up some pain-killer (I injured my knee somehow) and coming across several shelves of half-price Who stuff. I picked up a fob watch, but I was sorely tempted to also get the toothbrush and cup set!
2. Finding a signed copy of The Writer's Tale at Forbidden Planet. Everyone told me to just order that book off Amazon as it's so huge and heavy and would be difficult to transport back. But they don't have signed copies at Amazon, nosir!
3. The very existence of Sci-Fi Collectors at the Stamp Centre (Jack action figure for my nephew, a set of badges, a set of postcards and a TARDIS air freshener that spins!)
4. My very first encounter with a British person on British soil was a long conversation about Who, David Tennant and Matt Smith with the border security agent at Heathrow.
5. Hamlet fangirl after-party with "Guess Doctor Who" (serioulsy, afraid_of_dark , the BBC needs to buy the copyright for this off you--you'l be rich!) and the best game of Marry/Shag/Cliff ever.
And the best non-Who thing about my trip? Hard cider, on draft, everywhere. Seriously, USA, get with the program on this one. Nothing goes with chips better than a pint of Strongbow. Nothing.
But in the mean time, a couple orders of business.
1. Children of Time awards. Nominations close in a week if I am not mistaken, so if you haven't submitted any yet, by all means go and do so. Meanwhile, the indefatigable azriona has created cot_reviews , a community where various people will be reading and reviewing the nominees in each round of the awards.
2. My review of Hamlet, for those who haven't seen it yet, is unlocked here at my regular LJ. Suffice it to say that it was unforgettable. You can also see some pictures (none of DT in the flesh, alas) from my trip here.
And just because, here have some Hamlet picspam:
Oh god those jeans. The first time he comes out in the jeans-and-t-shirt ensemble (which is obviously not what he's got on here because I don't think any pictures actually exist of that costume, alas for the poor fangirls) he honestly manages to look like he's about 16 years old. Hamlet in the play is actually not supposed to be as young as so many people knee-jerk claim that he is (while saying Tennant was too old to play him), but still he was able to play "young" so remarkably well. I think Hamlet's supposed to be 32 or some such, but Tennant plays him as sort of an ageless man-boy. Incredibly young, impossibly old, all at once.
How heart-breaking this scene was, and on the night I went I thought head-and-shoulders Penny Downie's best performance of the evening. The walls totally come down between Gertrude and Hamlet and then when the ghost shows up again? It was just gut-wrenching. That Billy Shakespeare bloke, he really knew what he was doing.
You would not like Hamlet when he's angry. Well no actually that's not true. He's perfeclty justified in being upset and people keep just poking him more and more. Stop doing that, people! But I loved how everyone at Elsinore have perfectly good, if very selfish, reasons for doing what they do. No one is just mustache-twirling Eeeeviiiillll. Not even Claudius. It's just that Hamlet is so sharp, he sees through everyone's self-deceptions regarding their own actions. You do wind up just loving the hell out of Hamlet, and I don't recall ever seeing a production before that worked so hard to do that. It does so heighten the tragedy though. A tragedy isn't moving if by the end you still don't care if the characters live or die.
Anyway, for further Hamlet thoughts, visit my other journal.
And in no particular order, the Who-related things that happened on my trip that were awesome:
1. Going in to Boots to pick up some pain-killer (I injured my knee somehow) and coming across several shelves of half-price Who stuff. I picked up a fob watch, but I was sorely tempted to also get the toothbrush and cup set!
2. Finding a signed copy of The Writer's Tale at Forbidden Planet. Everyone told me to just order that book off Amazon as it's so huge and heavy and would be difficult to transport back. But they don't have signed copies at Amazon, nosir!
3. The very existence of Sci-Fi Collectors at the Stamp Centre (Jack action figure for my nephew, a set of badges, a set of postcards and a TARDIS air freshener that spins!)
4. My very first encounter with a British person on British soil was a long conversation about Who, David Tennant and Matt Smith with the border security agent at Heathrow.
5. Hamlet fangirl after-party with "Guess Doctor Who" (serioulsy, afraid_of_dark , the BBC needs to buy the copyright for this off you--you'l be rich!) and the best game of Marry/Shag/Cliff ever.
And the best non-Who thing about my trip? Hard cider, on draft, everywhere. Seriously, USA, get with the program on this one. Nothing goes with chips better than a pint of Strongbow. Nothing.