I circled that RSC store about 3 times for some 20-30 minutes each before I'd made up my mind what to get. Actually I would have loved to take home virtually the entire store!
Green with envy here. I used to live just outside Stratford and spent many happy times at the RSC. Off the top of my head I remember seeing Antony Sher as Iago, Ian McKellan as King Lear, Patrick Stewart as Prospero, and Alan Bates and Frances de la Tour as Antony and Cleopatra. Oh, and a pre Doctor Who David Tenant in A Comedy of Errors.
It's not bad is it? McKellan would alternate between Lear and The Seagull (he played Sorin) which must have tough for him. Both excellent productions BTW. And another non-Shakespeare production I saw was Ibsen's Brand with Ralph Fiennes in the lead role. God, that was depressing.
Perfectly cast, then -- somehow Ralph Fiennes always seems to look (and be) at his best when cast in a depressing role. (Unlike his brother.) McKellen in The Seagull must have been fascinating, too (though depressing as heck as well!)
Yeah, Ibsen and Chekhov have been nicknamed the Chuckle Brothers by my husband. I blithely announce that I've booked tickets for various plays and his first questions are always "how long does it last?", and "are there any laughs in it?" He drew the line at accompanying me to a couple of Chekhov plays (Uncle Vanya, and Three Sisters) performed by the St Petersburg Theatre Company. Yep, they were in Russian, but with sur-titles.
The Globe are bringing their production of King Lear to Boston in October. I've already booked my tickets.
It's at the Arts Emerson which is a really nice theatre. And for all his whinging, my husband does actually enjoy a good Shakespearian tragedy, so he's definitely coming with me. I've not told him yet that there's no intermission though. It's 90 minutes of uninterrupted doom and gloom.
Interesting -- they're changing the format from the London performances, then. Att the Globe, there always is an intermission ... which in the case of King Lear, I'm sure not only the audience appreciates!
Sounds lovely; I'm trying not to be jealous! Shakespeare's Restless World is, as far as I read the first time, really good. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of these, particularly Shakespeare on Stage! That sounds lovely.
It's truly interesting. I haven't read it cover to cover yet (have a feeling this is one of those books where I'll just be reading odd bits and pieces at random), but what I already like is that not all of the actor/role match-ups are the ones you'd expect. E.g., Derek Jacobi is NOT interviewed about Hamlet or Richard II (for which he is probably best known), but about Malvolio ...
Interesting. Have you seen the documentary, Shakespeare Uncovered? It's on Netflix right now and every episode has an actor well known talking about a specific character. I think Jacobi's was Richard II... It's really good, I've learned a lot.
Yes, I bought it chiefly because I'd seen your review -- not everybody seems to like it, though. I'm curious what I'll be making of it eventually. Anyway, there are so few biographies of ANY description of Henry VII, I figured it's probably worth having for that reason alone!
I circled that RSC store about 3 times for some 20-30 minutes each before I'd made up my mind what to get. Actually I would have loved to take home virtually the entire store!
The Globe are bringing their production of King Lear to Boston in October. I've already booked my tickets.
The Winter King has a strange organization, but was very interesting.