Monday, October 28, 2013
The big event this week is that we saw Kung
Lear at Stadsteatern here in Stockholm. We’re still mulling over our
reaction. As a whole I liked it and will
write a short review of it with the Lear text which is slowly formulating
itself in my mind. We’ve also watched
Olivier’s King Lear; see the link below for my review on the Movie Blog.
From Davis and Frankforter’s The Shakespeare Name Dictionary.
- Dorothy wasn’t a popular name in the Middle Ages but came into fashion in Shakespeare’s day. He used it in Henry IV Part Two for Doll Tearsheet and a servant in Cymbeline. Not a name for a noblewoman, in other words.
- Dover and its white cliffs are now so connected to our image of England that probably no one hears the word Dover without immediately seeing those white cliffs in their mind. So it has been since ancient times. Surprisingly, perhaps, they only figure in three Shakespeare plays, Henry VI Part One, Henry V and King Lear.
Shakespeare sightings:
- Dagens Nyheter had a clever cartoon this week. Sweden’s conservative tax-reducing prime minister is shown dressed in Renaissance clothing and holding a skull thinking, “Welfare or not to welfare…that’s maybe an important question…” You might well ask, Fredrik.
- Dagens Nyheter again: An ad for Richard III, premiering at the Royal Dramatic Theater on February 27, 2014, starring Jonas Karlsson of Caliban fame. Oh I’d like to see that!... In fact, we just booked tickets for it in March.
- The Night Climbers is a novel by Ivo Stourton about a gang of students at Cambridge so of course there’s a Shakespeare sighting, but only one: “…since old Lord Soulford had shuffled off the mortal coil…”
- The Little Friend by Donna Tartt also has one (so far, I’m not finished) but unlike in the example above, I doubt the character even knows she’s quoting Shakespeare when she says, “Methinks the lady doth protest too much!”
Further this week:
- Started reading aloud with Hal: Harold Bloom’s analysis of King Lear.
- Watched: Olivier’s film.
- Attended: the play at Stadsteatern. If you live in Stockholm, it’s well worth seeing. It’s going until December.
Posted
this week:
- “Shylock Meets Morgana” under Ruby’s Reflections”
- Review of Olivier’s King Lear http://rubyjandsmovieblog.blogspot.se/2013/10/king-lear-olivier.html
- This Monday report.
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