Return of the King – Huzzah!

Great news from Leicester that the bones found beneath a car park belong to Richard III, last of the Plantagenet kings. I’m chuffed pink that he’s been found, and hope the discovery breathes new life into the question of whether he was a Bad King, as portrayed by that shameless Tudor propagandist, William Shakespeare. Here’s a video of the dig from the University of Leicester, who did a brilliant job.

I will admit to being somewhat influenced in my historical perspective by this splendid song from Horrible Histories.

According to the news reports, he died a horrible, brutal death, which prompts reflection on the fact that kings and queens, the high and mighty in general, are only human. All that swank and swagger is merely whistling in the dark. This scene from Richard II, says it all. Yes, I know it’s the wrong Richard, but the words are spot on.

Here is Shakespeare’s character assassination, as portrayed by Laurence Olivier in the 1955 film.

And for something completely different, a trailer for the 1995 film, with Ian McKellen in the title role. I want to see this.

Beautiful Railway Bridge: 2012 In Review

Many thanks to the WordPress Flying Helper Monkeys for putting our yearly statistics together. (Dubya, is that you?) All year round they bang away on their typewriters, just to keep the code flowing so we can enjoy a seamless blogging experience. We don’t ask for the complete works of Shakespeare, and they don’t supply it, but they and the Orwellian Happiness Engineers keep the WordPress ship afloat.

I’m probably a customer service representative’s worst nightmare – impatient, ungrateful, quick to assume it must be the fault of WordPress, and profoundly ignorant of the cause of a problem.

Well, I’m often wrong.

One of my resolutions was to show a bit of humility in 2013. That was it. Normal service will now be resumed.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 45,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 10 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Thursday Theatre: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a companion piece to David Tennant’s Hamlet, telling the story from the point of view of the hapless attendant lords, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern. They’re a metaphor for the human condition, blundering about in a world not of their making and summoned by circumstances beyond their control. Based on a play by Tom Stoppard, this witty, ironic, and self-referential film is irresistible. Perfectly chimes with my view of the world as a theatre of the absurd.

One of the drawbacks of having a feature devoted to theatre is that most YouTube videos don’t give you the whole nine yards. So I posted Part 1 and provided links to the rest, if you’re hooked on the first bit.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

Thursday Theatre: Hamlet

Woohoo! The David Tennant version of Hamlet. I’ve wanted to see this ever since I heard about him playing the role. Can’t wait to see how the Doctor plays the Dane. Get it while you can – the copyright hawks might swoop at any minute.

Thursday Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A 3-part animation of Shakespeare’s romcom in the woods. I once played Bottom in a Shakespeare class production. Best part in the world because it’s impossible to overact.

Daily Video: Henry V

The BBC recently broadcast four of Shakespeare’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V – in the Hollow Crown series. Here are the complete videos, spread out over 4 posts.

Daily Video: Henry IV Part 2

The BBC recently broadcast four of Shakespeare’s history plays – Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V – in the Hollow Crown series. Here are the complete videos, spread out over 4 posts.