Alas, Mr. Bump, I knew him, Horatio …

‘Does he think he’s effing Mr Tickle?’, I scribbled feverishly in the dark …

BH andrew scott 2
My sixth-formers commented on the extended nipple arousal … because why WOULDN’T they – we were all 16/17 years-old once …

[Andrew Scott is Hamlet:  director, Robert Icke]

Part One: a six-period day (out of a maximum of six); full of allergies, and C5 full of pupils I sometimes I wonder if I am allergic to; then the first half of this, in my classroom, accompanied by some of my lovely sixth-formers.  By the way:  if you didn’t come along, that doesn’t mean you’re unlovely – it means I missed having you along for the ride.

We had fun.  And you can too, if you come on Monday to see the final half …

Nowadays, I look on Shakespeare performances as ‘cover versions‘ of classic songs. Before we discuss this one, I need to talk about two things:

Continue reading “Alas, Mr. Bump, I knew him, Horatio …”

Crimes Against Shakespeare 010: On ‘Dumbing Down’

This has been on my mind for a while …

BH dumbing down

This is a long read – I say that on a blog where posts often hit 1,300 words, against ‘accepted wisdom’ – so apologies in advance.  YOUR blog is your blog; my blog is MY blog, and I write for catharsis and as a kind of journal, not ‘popularity’, ‘followers’, or ‘influence’.  I was tempted to temper my words with a gallery of pictures, but that didn’t feel right, either.  This post feels a little more personal than most.

In spite of, or maybe because of, constant trawling for Shakespeare-related content, I have only just found this.  Last April, Peter Marks wrote a piece for The Washington Post  (link below) suggesting that Americans are too ‘intellectually lazy’ to appreciate Shakespeare, and fearing for the future popularity of the plays.  My immediate response was ‘you think it’s bad in the US?  Try over here, where Shakespeare was born!’

Continue reading “Crimes Against Shakespeare 010: On ‘Dumbing Down’”

BBC/RSC Live Anniversary show

Did anyone else watch the BBC’s RSC Live show last night?

Continue reading “BBC/RSC Live Anniversary show”

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