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Post by Weyland on Dec 12, 2010 13:45:45 GMT
Cultcha tonite, bigtime! 19:30 - BBC4 - Macbeth, starring Captain Patrick "Jean-Luc" Stewart. Make it so!
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Post by Patrick on Dec 12, 2010 14:14:32 GMT
He gave a dignified interview on Midweek this week. Graciously pointing out that (looking back) it was classical acting gave him the experience to play Jean Luc. He has proved those wrong who said he'd never work/be taken seriously again after it.
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Post by Weyland on Dec 12, 2010 14:21:21 GMT
He gave a dignified interview on Midweek this week. Graciously pointing out that (looking back) it was classical acting gave him the experience to play Jean Luc. He has proved those wrong who said he'd never work/be taken seriously again after it. I heard it, Pat. He boldly went, etc. (Wouldn't normally listen to Midweek. Ms Purves gets right up my nose. And her smarmy husband.) |
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Post by swl on Dec 12, 2010 14:48:14 GMT
But will it be performed in the original Klingon?
Don't laugh, there's a Hamlet that's been restored -
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Post by Weyland on Dec 12, 2010 15:33:01 GMT
But will it be performed in the original Klingon? Unfortunately not. Not even in the celebrated Gaelic translation. In fact not even in Rabbie's Scots! Q'pla! |
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Post by everso on Dec 12, 2010 23:31:37 GMT
A few years ago my daughter and I had a girlie weekend away in Stratford Upon Avon and booked seats at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre to see "Twelfth Night". Great atmosphere, shame about the play. What a load of twaddle. I mean, why can't they do it in English? ;D
No, really, it was completely incomprehensible and, because of that, not funny, but that didn't stop the highbrows in the audience laughing in all the right places.
We never got to grips with Shakespeare at our school, although I remember once doing The Merchant of Venice, but it was never disected and discussed.
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Post by swl on Dec 12, 2010 23:43:22 GMT
The trick to Shakespeare is not to try too hard to figure it out. For most people, the first few minutes of Shakespeare is difficult but if you relax and let the rythym of the sonnets sink in it becomes easier. Many times, you don't need to know the meanings of specific words.
It's like opera - I can't speak a word of Italian but it's very easy to follow the story of an opera by the emotions and actions.
Genius is an over-used term, but Shakespeare certainly qualifies.
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Post by Patrick on Dec 12, 2010 23:48:01 GMT
I was confused with this - the 'modern setting' that is. One minute it looked like the early 1900's with the uniforms etc, next there's Gestapo style leather jackets and then the late model, late 60's Tatra 603!  I gave up because outside of a theatre you just don't get the claustrophobia that Macbeth needs to highlight his slow dive into madness. |
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Post by swl on Dec 12, 2010 23:53:46 GMT
For instance - Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shall I compare you to a summer's day? You are more lovely and not so changeable, Winds can be rough And the sun too hot Or hidden by clouds And everything beautiful will lose it's beauty by accident or by nature. But your youth will never fade Nor will you lose your beauty And death cannot claim you Because in this eternal verse you will live forever So long as there are people on this earth So long will this poem live on - making you immortal. |
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Post by everso on Dec 12, 2010 23:57:30 GMT
The trick to Shakespeare is not to try too hard to figure it out. For most people, the first few minutes of Shakespeare is difficult but if you relax and let the rythym of the sonnets sink in it becomes easier. Many times, you don't need to know the meanings of specific words. It's like opera - I can't speak a word of Italian but it's very easy to follow the story of an opera by the emotions and actions. Genius is an over-used term, but Shakespeare certainly qualifies. Oh, I agree. And had I lived in Elizabethan times I'd most probably have been his biggest fan. Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of keeping Shakespearean theatre alive, but I just need to get to grips with it. I was joking when I said they should be done in English. Even when you can't understand what he's on about, you can still get the beauty of the language. I'm not, however, in favour of the plays being given a modern twist. I prefer them to be kept in the age in which they were written. |
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Post by everso on Dec 13, 2010 0:03:08 GMT
For instance - Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shall I compare you to a summer's day? You are more lovely and not so changeable, Winds can be rough And the sun too hot Or hidden by clouds And everything beautiful will lose it's beauty by accident or by nature. But your youth will never fade Nor will you lose your beauty And death cannot claim you Because in this eternal verse you will live forever So long as there are people on this earth So long will this poem live on - making you immortal. Swl, it's amazing how many of our everyday sayings originate from Shakespeare. |
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Post by trubble on Dec 13, 2010 7:03:59 GMT
For instance - Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shall I compare you to a summer's day? You are more lovely and not so changeable, Winds can be rough And the sun too hot Or hidden by clouds And everything beautiful will lose it's beauty by accident or by nature. But your youth will never fade Nor will you lose your beauty And death cannot claim you Because in this eternal verse you will live forever So long as there are people on this earth So long will this poem live on - making you immortal. Yours is as good as his. |
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Post by trubble on Dec 13, 2010 7:31:29 GMT
I was confused with this - the 'modern setting' that is. One minute it looked like the early 1900's with the uniforms etc, next there's Gestapo style leather jackets and then the late model, late 60's Tatra 603! I gave up because outside of a theatre you just don't get the claustrophobia that Macbeth needs to highlight his slow dive into madness. I am liking it so far. I've watched as far as Lady M telling bloody Maccers to Man Up You Infirm Fool and waltzing off with the daggers in her hand, then arriving back so covered in blood that she must have fallen atop the murder scene and rolled in it for a while. I wouldn't put it past her. I thought the whole 'bunker' style setting was pretty claustrophobic! what with the colour scheme adding the feeling of being in an artistic sewer. I liked all that part of it. I like modern settings when they work. I. Love. The. Witches. Picard...hm.. I am not sure how I feel about him yet. I don't know why he seems so forceful and leadership quality one minute, and a jibbering panicker the next. I saw Jonathon Price playing it originally and although he got mixed reviews for playing it a bit too wimpy, his will always be the real Macbeth to me. My criticism is that Picard (or they) are playing too much with some of the lines to add further meaning to them given the setting. It's probably clever but... I am just finding it irksome. For example, he said
Stars, hide your fires!
Let not light see my black and deep desireswhich is perfectly lovely the way it is, referring to the night sky stars, but the way it was done it also referred to the star medals of honour they'd all just been given. You see? Clever but it detracts from the strength of the original meaning. I know.  I'm being awkward. But.. There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust. ...was so full of Picard's special actorry voice and some added reference to art -- ''there's no ART (dramatic pause)'' was spat out leaving me in confusion about the lines. In fact, they are wonderful lines and he ruined them. I'm being picky.  It's very good. Better than Hamlet last year with Dr Who. |
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Post by trubble on Dec 13, 2010 7:34:37 GMT
Cultcha tonite, bigtime! 19:30 - BBC4 - Macbeth, starring Captain Patrick "Jean-Luc" Stewart. Make it so!  Thanks for notifying us. I would have missed it. |
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Post by trubble on Dec 13, 2010 7:39:15 GMT
The trick to Shakespeare is not to try too hard to figure it out. Yeah but no but. That's all good advice but I only really like the plays that I know something about, that I've tried to study to some extent. I think the real trick to Shakespeare is to figure it out beforehand. Then you can really relax. |
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Post by trubble on Dec 13, 2010 7:39:53 GMT
Same with opera.
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Post by Weyland on Dec 13, 2010 10:23:50 GMT
My criticism is that Picard (or they) are playing too much with some of the lines to add further meaning to them given the setting. It's probably clever but... I am just finding it irksome. Agree with that. He was over-acting. He's usually pretty good in whatever he does, but "trying too hard" seems to sum up that Macbeth performance. I still enjoyed it, though, especially the setting. Maybe he should stick to the Classics, such as Encounter at Farpoint*. ~ ~ ~ First time I went to Stratford, late 60s, we had to stand at the back for A Winter's Tale (that's just what happened to be on at the time) with Judi Dench. (She was in it, not standing at the back.) Stunningly boring, and they wouldn't let us take ice-creams into the auditorium. It's a wonder I wasn't put off Bill for life. The rest is silence. _________ * TNG episode one. |
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