Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Macbeth at Roundhouse - TV

Dark, dramatic (at first it seemed a bit much) but very gripping.

Monday, May 7, 2012

The King and the Playwright - TV

A BBC 4 TV series about how Shakespeare developed after 1603 and the death of Queen Elizabeth I.
His plays reflect the turbulence of the reign of James I, with the Gunpowder Plot, Enclosures of land, and James's need to legitimise his position as rightful king of England, united with Scotland.

Plays such as Measure for Measure (corruption and lawlessness) ,  Timon of Athens (money and greed), and King Lear (inheritance and divided kingdoms. Then the theme of 'equivocation' with Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and Coriolanus, the commander who couldn't equivocate, and didn't win the love of his people.

Food for thought.

Finally the third episode - Legacy, includes The Winters Tale, The Tempest and Henry VIII, in collaboration with John Fletcher.  In parallel with James's concerns about the survival of his dynasty, the death of his very popular son, Prince Henry, after bathing in the Thames, and the marriage of his daughter Elisabeth to the King of Bohemia. She became known as the Winter Queen, after the couple were overthrown and exiled.

I has certainly helped me to see the plays in a wider context.

 

Eve Loiseau as Piaf

with Fiona Barrow on violin and Edward Jay on piano accordion. Arrangements by Edward Jay.

At Uppingham Theatre on Friday May 4th.

Well worth watching - she sang the songs with duende, and had the necessary stage presence. A lovely evening.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Shakespeare in Italy (TV)

Is this where Will spent those 'lost years'?
Shakespeare in Italy

Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice, Othello.

Crollalanza - a Sicilian name!!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Merchant of Venice Film

from 1973, with Laurence Olivier as Shylock, Joan Plowright as Portia.  Raises the usual questions about anti-Semitism, context etc.  Always gripping.
A stronger than usual hint that Shylock has died with the last scene of Jessica holding a letter and in the background kaddish is sung.