So apparently the Beeb is doing some kind of Shakespeare season in 2012, on the grounds that the London Olympics are an occasion for cultural showing-off, and Shakespeare is surely the best thing to come out of England, and also because the Tennant Hamlet was deservedly a big hit ( Read more... )

Those of you in the States all remember what's on tonight?

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMLET!

A graphical representation of my mental state:


( Read more... )

...of the 1960 BBC miniseries An Age of Kings. Which I don't think I have ever properly posted about. It is good stuff.

'This English blood': Richard II
'Die all, die merrily': 1 Henry IV
'Uneasy lies the head': 2 Henry IV
'We happy few': Henry V
'Between the red rose and the white': 1 Henry VIThe reviewer does not seem to have gone any further ( Read more... )

From Margaret Shewring's book on Richard II in performance, some comments on Maurice Evans' televised 1954 production:

By concentrating on the play's changing balance in power between Richard and Bolingbroke, the broadcast version offered a clarity of through-line. Marvin Rosenberg draws attention to a Californian newspaper review which 'noted ( Read more... )

During the airing of King Lear I received several text messages from commodorified which I did not notice until just now because I had my phone off. For posterity, I present them here in all their glory ( Read more... )

that I am now a hysterical sobbing wreck. THANK YOU VERY MUCH SIR IAN MCKELLEN.

(holy shit you guys it was SO FUCKING GOOD YOU MUST WATCH IT ON THE INTERNET WHEN IT GOES UP)

There is no elderly Shakespearean cock. Since there is a break for the good people at PBS to ask us to give them money, I thought I would take advantage of it to tell you this.

ALSO HOLY SHIT IT IS SO GOOD I AM GOING TO BE A COMPLETE EMOTIONAL WRECK AT THE END OF IT.

OMG FOOL NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

...okay it's back on now. OMG EYEGOUGING IS COMING

Which is to remind everyone who is reading this from the States to watch the McKellen Lear on PBS this Wednesday. Because ZOMG SIR IAN SIR IAN SIR IAN.

Also awesome: apparently after the broadcast you can watch it on the website too.

Via fuunsaiki:

Speaking at a lunch held at the Haymarket Hotel, Oliver Ford Davies, 69, who was nominated for his portrayal of Polonius, tells me: "We are intending to film it over two or three weeks in June. It won't be a full feature film as there isn't time but it will certainly be more than just the filming of the stage. It will be fantastic to work ( Read more... )

So I am watching that Playing Shakespeare ep where John Barton talks with Patrick Stewart and David Suchet about playing Shylock (it's class prep).

OMG, the voice Stewart uses for Shylock is even plummier than his normal voice. (He says in the video he played Shylock as the sort of foreigner who speaks the language better than the natives, whereas ( Read more... )