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| Rory Kinnear......... |
"I'll admit I may have seen better days, but I'm still not to be had for the price of a cocktail, "(Margo Channing)
Hamlet....
Message to self.......don't go to see a long, Shakespearean tragedy when over tired and hungry (Chris) and when not really in the mood for the complicated old world language of the Bard (me)....we sneaked off in the interval after 2 hours of angst, madness, grief and anger, and even though I would happily admit that many of the scenes either confused me or lost me completely (I studied Catcher in the Rye in my English o levels)....I generally kept up with the story thanks primarily to the sheer brilliance of leading man Rory Kinnear (son of the late comic Roy) whose bright, intelligent and intensely captivating performance kept a Shakespearean dunce like me, watching ...well at least to the interval that is.
I doubt I will ever appreciate Shakespeare properly.....it is just not my cup of tea... Oh sure I loved Emma Thompson's warm turn as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, but that's' about it for me......hey ho...I am just a lightweight radio 4 listener I guess.......
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Roy was a bit of a sad character, and I always cringed to watch him, talented though he was. He spent a while bashing himself over the head with a tea-tray, which was very difficult to watch. What's the most horrible line in Shakespeare? "Oh horrible, most horrible..."
ReplyDeleteBoom boom.
Oh, too bad, and I was jealous....
ReplyDeleteWhile we lived in Atlanta, I, who thought she should impart Shakespeare to her Canadian-born-living-in-America-children, sent them to see a performance of Macbeth (I really do like that play). Turned out to be an all-black modern-day version, with my kids 14 & 16 the only white girls in the audience.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare can be dangerous as well as boring!
What impressed me about seeing Hamlet was the sheer quantity of lines the actor had to memorize!
ReplyDelete"This above all: to thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day; Thou canst not then be false to any man. Hamlet - Act I, Scene iii
ReplyDeleteBut I really loved some of the "Stage directions" in Shakespeare's plays - such as:
Exit, pursued by a bear., Stage direction in "The Winter's Tale" - of course you'd bloody exit, and quickly too!
Oh well...at least you got a change of scenery for a bit. Hope tomorrow is a better day :)
ReplyDeleteDear John,
ReplyDeleteno need to apologize for that, I think! At a rare occasion I loved Hamlet - when students of "Cultural Studies' of the University at Hildesheim did it as a stunning performance (I remember their song "Who put the cookies in the cookie jar?" till today) - but otherwise I try only to see (or read) things I like. If a book after 30 pages still bores me - I put it away. If a film after 20 minutes still annoys me - I leave, according the motto "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom". If I want to I can depress myself (but why should I?) and don't need any Art to help me. So I don't look at brutal scenes (having a very good eye-memory). Husband's main work is about Entertainment - and let's face it: even 'Pride and Prejudice' has been good entertainment in its days too - and luckily till now!
So, you like neither the Beatles nor Shakespeare.
ReplyDelete:-o
John, I despair of you sometimes.
[Nigel exits stage left, bashing head with tray]
Nx
Was this the same performance as Andew Collins saw in the cinema?
ReplyDeletehttp://wherediditallgorightblog.wordpress.com/2010/12/10/theatre-pass-the-popcorn/
Nigel!
ReplyDeleteawwww dont be angry with me! I cannot be a total "REBECCA OF sUNNYBROOK FARM" and love EVERYTHING!!! (even though I try)
DAN
Yes it is the one and the same.......I absolutely LOVE Andrew Collins' work... his book on grOWing up in the 1970WHERE DID IT ALL GO RIGHT? ( where he idolises Shelley Winters in the POSEIDON ADVENTURE)was a delight!!!!
Right, here's the plan: When we next meet, the following topics are banned from conversation: films, animals, The Archers, other people's relationships, and apocalypticism.
ReplyDeleteInstead, we will talk about CONTEMPORARY MUSIC. You will, I know, attempt to hijack the conversation by talking about film scores and show tunes (ouch, the truth hurts).
But I am determined to succeed. I will make you read Q magazine. You will become familiar with the concept of vinyl vs. MP3. You will not only know what alt.folk.rock is, but you will also enjoy it.
Then, and only then, will I allow you to talk about the 'abilities' or otherwise of Mr Crowe, the life of Jennifer Aldridge and (if you're good) the soon-to-be abbreviated career of Matt McArdle.
LOL
Nx
nige nige nige
ReplyDeleteyou KNOW damm well that we will have a gossip about rubbish, I will have a brief moan about life..you will then get angry about something or other and then we will have a bitch about someone we both know
xxx
A frighteningly accurate summary...
ReplyDeleteLOL
Nx
Hey, I like Radio 4! I listen online.
ReplyDeleteSeriously?! You don't like the Beatle's either? Oh honey...
ReplyDelete