Next summer, the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford is presenting Hamlet.
David Tennant is playing Hamlet, and Patrick Stewart is playing Claudius.
I'm going to be living in England next year.
Tickets go on sale on Monday.
Major Geek Meltdown - Check it out on PBS.org
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Eaquae Legit
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Major Geek Meltdown - Check it out on PBS.org
Last edited by Eaquae Legit on Thu Apr 29, 2010 12:43 am, edited 3 times in total.
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
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mr_thebrain
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Eaquae Legit
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To buy or not to buy?
For better or for worse, the answer is "to buy."
I knew I'd have to move fast to get Hamlet tickets, so it's just as well I was called in to work tonight. They went on sale to the general public at 4am, or 9am over there. I checked in at 5am.
Tickets are already selling fast, and it took a good deal of searching to be able to get a pair of decent seats together. I did, though! I booked a pair for late July, when it opens, and another pair for mid August. Two parties have expressed very serious interest in coming to visit me (you know who you are!) and seeing the play, so I just went ahead and got the tickets.
I figure if plans fall through I won't have too much trouble reselling them, but if I waited, I might not get them at all.
Done, then.
Oh man I am so excited.
For better or for worse, the answer is "to buy."
I knew I'd have to move fast to get Hamlet tickets, so it's just as well I was called in to work tonight. They went on sale to the general public at 4am, or 9am over there. I checked in at 5am.
Tickets are already selling fast, and it took a good deal of searching to be able to get a pair of decent seats together. I did, though! I booked a pair for late July, when it opens, and another pair for mid August. Two parties have expressed very serious interest in coming to visit me (you know who you are!) and seeing the play, so I just went ahead and got the tickets.
I figure if plans fall through I won't have too much trouble reselling them, but if I waited, I might not get them at all.
Done, then.
Oh man I am so excited.
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
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Eaquae Legit
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NWS, the August ones are pretty solid. If they fall through it will be because of a death or hijacking or something equally dramatic. Besides, you already got tickets, you! As for flights, you should check out kayak.com and possibly flyzoom.com (although flyzoom has limited options and may not work for you). They're far and away the cheapest I've seen.
One of my coworkers (a Brit girl born and bred) was so excited and/or jealous that when I told her this morning (and that I was actually moving there) that she could barely speak to me. It was funny and cute.
One of my coworkers (a Brit girl born and bred) was so excited and/or jealous that when I told her this morning (and that I was actually moving there) that she could barely speak to me. It was funny and cute.
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
I know I'm covered. I'm just always willing to trade up. *grin*
I have and I think I'll wait 2 months and check again, Kayak turned up the same Continental flights I'd already found.
The last time that Picard and a Time Lord met in Denmark, I watched from as far away as my high school English class.
I have and I think I'll wait 2 months and check again, Kayak turned up the same Continental flights I'd already found.
The last time that Picard and a Time Lord met in Denmark, I watched from as far away as my high school English class.
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Eaquae Legit
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Should be amazing. It's weird... three months ago, this would've meant much less. But I've been abroad now for almost three months (less than two weeks left). Among many many other productions we've seen for the program, I saw the Macbeth production starring Patrick Stewart. It was phenomenal and madly astoundingly outlandish. Let's just say it took place in Soviet Russia, and the witches were in the form of nurses and it was ridiculous (the witches "rapped" bubble, bubble toil and trouble). Nuts. Stewart is pretty nice too. We just hung out afterward and he of course anticipates signing a few autographs for excited fans (unless you're like one of my friends who says of celebrities, "they're just people like everyone else"). But even if you can't catch him cause he's in a hurry out some night, you can always return another.
Not to mention that I've now seen Ian Mckellen's penis in person (a 'show-er' in any sense of the word). We saw the production in which he plays Lear in King Lear. Fantastic. Also a nice guy. Also starred Jonathan Hyde (aka hunter in Jumanji, butler in Ritchie Rich), who when we were once again standing outside the theatre, kindly informed all of us "He'll be out soon!" of Sir Ian.
Also saw P. Stewart strolling with a chiquita neat Tower Bridge. Didn't care to disturb him then.
Anyways, I'm still jealous of you EL. It'll be amazing. England is, to say little, sweet.
Not to mention that I've now seen Ian Mckellen's penis in person (a 'show-er' in any sense of the word). We saw the production in which he plays Lear in King Lear. Fantastic. Also a nice guy. Also starred Jonathan Hyde (aka hunter in Jumanji, butler in Ritchie Rich), who when we were once again standing outside the theatre, kindly informed all of us "He'll be out soon!" of Sir Ian.
Also saw P. Stewart strolling with a chiquita neat Tower Bridge. Didn't care to disturb him then.
Anyways, I'm still jealous of you EL. It'll be amazing. England is, to say little, sweet.
It is not the sound of victory;
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.
-Moses
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear.
-Moses
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Eaquae Legit
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Eaquae Legit
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Okay. Deep breaths.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeee what a fabulous play!
Everyone - everyone - did a fabulous job.
It was staged with a theme of mirrors. The backdrop was a huge wall of mirrors that doubled as doors and wall hangings (i.e. for people to hide behind), and the floor was reflective, too. Since we were up on the second balcony, the floor really affected how we viewed the play. (I get to go back in a fortnight, sitting face-on, and I can't wait to see how that changes it.) There were a lot of other little uses of mirrors as well. When the Ghost first appears, and then disappears, they used body doubles and made it seems like a house of mirrors as Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus chase it.
The pantomime that precedes the Murder of Gonzago was simply brilliant. I honestly can't imagine a more authentic staging of how that sort of thing probably went. It was racy and over-done and had a guy pretending to be a dwarf. So hilariously accurate.
On to the cast.
The guy who played Polonius absolutely nailed the doddering old windbag part. I couldn't believe how much hilarity he put into that role. At one point, he may or may not have forgotten his lines (I think ours was still a preview performance) - it was hard to tell if he genuinely forgot or if it was just part of being Polonius. I would just love to see that actor play Lear. Him, or the man who played the Player Leader.
Horatio was good, though a bit more... high-strung than I've always imagined him. I got his signature on my copy of the play after. Woot.
Ophelia was very good as well. She was played as a more lively person in her opening exchange with Laertes, which made her subsequent decline a bit harder to understand, but she played it so well that it was quite heart-rending. Her madness and sing-song was brilliant. I got her signature, too.
Laertes was a bit of a ponce. A little arrogant, and a little pretentious. You didn't like him (or at least, I didn't), but at the same time he was kind of endearing.
Osric was a toady and a prat, and he did it perfectly.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern made me understand, for the first time, how Hamlet could call them friends and then send them to their deaths. You clearly see them as once-friends, now the king's men. Friends who think they know what's best for you, friends who are only spending time with you because they've been asked to for a reward. Incidentally, one of the comic moments in the play was when they appeared and Claudius thanks them as "Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern." In the text, Gertrude follows this with "Our thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz." I don't know how it's usually played, but in this case, they played it was Gertrude correcting Claudius, who can't really remember who is who.
And now to the part I'm sure most people actually care about: Patrick Stewart and David Tennant.
Patrick Stewart was nothing less than the consummate actor he is. He played a great Claudius, very straightforward. It was quite the contrast to Tennant (more on that in a moment). His regret in Act III, Scene III was so well-played. You understand his dilemma completely, and you really have compassion for him.
And David Tennant. Aside from his role as the Doctor, he is a Shakespearian-trained actor, and played with the RSC for 5 years or so before heading to the big time. And he did a very, very good job of Hamlet. He really was as excellent as I thought he would be. He played Hamlet entirely sane - at least, after his conversation with the Ghost. During the first few scenes he does a remarkable job of a young man who's watched his world fall apart around him, and can't do anything about it. After, he is energised, and plays Hamlet with a sort of manic purpose.
Honestly, I never thought Hamlet could be so downright goofy.
Fans of Doctor Who will recognise some familiar mannerisms, but they really work. Hamlet has such a purpose, and is so disconnected from those around him, so bitter, that his assumed madness takes the form of outright mockery of others. And it's just plain funny. It's almost like he despairs, and so hides nothing. The main exception to this is his encounter with Ophelia, which broke my heart (Act III, Scene I). His speech to her ("Get thee to a nunnery") is played, as far as I can tell, as if he does not know about Polonius and Claudius eavesdropping. It comes across more as a condemnation of himself and humanity in general than a condemnation of Ophelia. But then there's a noise, and he asks "Where's your father?" and we see him change, get angry. It's very sad to watch the relationship they might have had break apart in that instant. Again, I don't know how it's usually staged. It's been far, far too long since I've had the chance to watch top-notch actors do it. But this was excellent.
The play is excellent. All of it. Believe me, you wish you were there.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeee what a fabulous play!
Everyone - everyone - did a fabulous job.
It was staged with a theme of mirrors. The backdrop was a huge wall of mirrors that doubled as doors and wall hangings (i.e. for people to hide behind), and the floor was reflective, too. Since we were up on the second balcony, the floor really affected how we viewed the play. (I get to go back in a fortnight, sitting face-on, and I can't wait to see how that changes it.) There were a lot of other little uses of mirrors as well. When the Ghost first appears, and then disappears, they used body doubles and made it seems like a house of mirrors as Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus chase it.
The pantomime that precedes the Murder of Gonzago was simply brilliant. I honestly can't imagine a more authentic staging of how that sort of thing probably went. It was racy and over-done and had a guy pretending to be a dwarf. So hilariously accurate.
On to the cast.
The guy who played Polonius absolutely nailed the doddering old windbag part. I couldn't believe how much hilarity he put into that role. At one point, he may or may not have forgotten his lines (I think ours was still a preview performance) - it was hard to tell if he genuinely forgot or if it was just part of being Polonius. I would just love to see that actor play Lear. Him, or the man who played the Player Leader.
Horatio was good, though a bit more... high-strung than I've always imagined him. I got his signature on my copy of the play after. Woot.
Ophelia was very good as well. She was played as a more lively person in her opening exchange with Laertes, which made her subsequent decline a bit harder to understand, but she played it so well that it was quite heart-rending. Her madness and sing-song was brilliant. I got her signature, too.
Laertes was a bit of a ponce. A little arrogant, and a little pretentious. You didn't like him (or at least, I didn't), but at the same time he was kind of endearing.
Osric was a toady and a prat, and he did it perfectly.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern made me understand, for the first time, how Hamlet could call them friends and then send them to their deaths. You clearly see them as once-friends, now the king's men. Friends who think they know what's best for you, friends who are only spending time with you because they've been asked to for a reward. Incidentally, one of the comic moments in the play was when they appeared and Claudius thanks them as "Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern." In the text, Gertrude follows this with "Our thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz." I don't know how it's usually played, but in this case, they played it was Gertrude correcting Claudius, who can't really remember who is who.
And now to the part I'm sure most people actually care about: Patrick Stewart and David Tennant.
Patrick Stewart was nothing less than the consummate actor he is. He played a great Claudius, very straightforward. It was quite the contrast to Tennant (more on that in a moment). His regret in Act III, Scene III was so well-played. You understand his dilemma completely, and you really have compassion for him.
And David Tennant. Aside from his role as the Doctor, he is a Shakespearian-trained actor, and played with the RSC for 5 years or so before heading to the big time. And he did a very, very good job of Hamlet. He really was as excellent as I thought he would be. He played Hamlet entirely sane - at least, after his conversation with the Ghost. During the first few scenes he does a remarkable job of a young man who's watched his world fall apart around him, and can't do anything about it. After, he is energised, and plays Hamlet with a sort of manic purpose.
Honestly, I never thought Hamlet could be so downright goofy.
Fans of Doctor Who will recognise some familiar mannerisms, but they really work. Hamlet has such a purpose, and is so disconnected from those around him, so bitter, that his assumed madness takes the form of outright mockery of others. And it's just plain funny. It's almost like he despairs, and so hides nothing. The main exception to this is his encounter with Ophelia, which broke my heart (Act III, Scene I). His speech to her ("Get thee to a nunnery") is played, as far as I can tell, as if he does not know about Polonius and Claudius eavesdropping. It comes across more as a condemnation of himself and humanity in general than a condemnation of Ophelia. But then there's a noise, and he asks "Where's your father?" and we see him change, get angry. It's very sad to watch the relationship they might have had break apart in that instant. Again, I don't know how it's usually staged. It's been far, far too long since I've had the chance to watch top-notch actors do it. But this was excellent.
The play is excellent. All of it. Believe me, you wish you were there.
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
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Eaquae Legit
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Jebus
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I refuse to have a geek meltdown until George RR Martin comes out with his next book, or SW: TOR comes out. And nothing you can sa can convince me otherwise.
But the DVD does sound ultra cool. Will it beat Mel Gibson's version though? Gibson undeniably being the father of modern Hamlet reproductions.
But the DVD does sound ultra cool. Will it beat Mel Gibson's version though? Gibson undeniably being the father of modern Hamlet reproductions.
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elfprince13
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Major awesomesauce. It better be worth David Tennant skipping out on 11 episodes of Doctor Who during his last season though...-
Eaquae Legit
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elfprince13
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Good lord. That was hands down the WORST thing I read/was forced to perform in my entire AP English class, and there were some doozies (Black Girl/White Girl anyone? EPIC FAIL).On a similar note, I'm going to see Stewart and Ian Mckellen in Waiting for Godot some time this month.
"But the conversation of the mind was truer than any language, and they knew each other better than they ever could have by use of mere sight and touch."
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Eaquae Legit
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I have Slinky Penis Man's autograph. Tennant was hard to get at and Stewart was sneaky, but I did the best I could, eh?
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
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Eaquae Legit
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DVD now out for pre-order! I've got mine already ordered. Can't wait!
https://www.rsc.org.uk/buyonline/shopon ... code=63110
https://www.rsc.org.uk/buyonline/shopon ... code=63110
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
On a Patrick Stewart note, Kryten seems to be interviewing him on a carpool interview webshow. I don't know why, I just know it's fantastic.
http://www.llewtube.com
http://www.llewtube.com
Yebra: A cross between a zebra and something that fancied a zebra.
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Eaquae Legit
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Ours finally arrived (also we saw it on the bbc). It is a wonderful production, very accessible and emotive. It really should be used in high schools - in this production it is very easy to understand Hamlet and relate to him, something not every actor manages (I'm looking at YOU, Gibson!).
"Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul." -- Pope John XXIII
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Mich
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I am finally watching this and it is fantastic, just like you said, EL. I never should have doubted.
More after I finish it, maybe. Just wanted to tell those Mich fans who dote on my every word that it has my seal of approval.
Edit: Yebra's link made me at first go "What" and then go "Ludicrous."
More after I finish it, maybe. Just wanted to tell those Mich fans who dote on my every word that it has my seal of approval.
Edit: Yebra's link made me at first go "What" and then go "Ludicrous."
Shell the unshellable, crawl the uncrawlible.
Row--row.
Row--row.
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