Shakespeare Calling: November 2015

Monday, November 2, 2015

November 2015

The Henrys continue and we’ve finished reading Henry IV Part Two but still have a film to watch so no play analysis this time. Next time, I hope.

The problems of trying to learn to become a marketing expert continue. Publishing a book in Sweden and hoping to sell it internationally is truly not an easy task. But Shakespeare Calling – the book is out there. Below you will find the links for on-line purchase. Please encourage your local book shops and libraries to buy it! And once again, thank you all for visiting the blog throughout the years and for supporting this project.

Shakespeare Calling – the book

For those of you in the UK, Sweden and the rest of Europe:

https://www.vulkanmedia.se/butik/bocker/shakespeare-calling-the-book-av-ruby-jand-2/

http://www.bokus.com/bok/9789163782626/shakespeare-calling-the-book/

or Adlibris, CDON or Bibliotekstjänsten

For those of you in the rest of the world and/or those who usually shop at Amazon.com:http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Calling-book-Ruby-Jand/dp/9163782626/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436073737&sr=1-1&keywords=Ruby+Jand+shakespeare+calling Available soon (I hope) also as an e-book.

From Davis and Frankforter’s The Shakespeare Name Dictionary:

Vienna has been around for a long time, and belonged to the Celts when the Romans took over. It was a city on the edge of Asia and thus important in trade and war. In Shakespeare’s time it wasn’t as big as Paris, London or Rome but still a major city. It is mentioned in Hamlet and Measure for Measure.
Vulcan is the Roman god of fire and smithing. He was the husband of Venus – talk about a hot romance! – and he is mentioned in Titus Andronicus, Much Ado about Nothing, Twelfth Night, Troilus and Cressida and Hamlet.

Shakespeare sightings:

In Scaredy Cat by Mark Billingham the villain wonders if he should increase his violence and knock off more people who upset him, like a Shakespearean tragedy.
In Moriah McStay’s novel Everything that Makes You, college student Fiona will do anything, even go see Much Ado about Nothing, to fill her time.
On a popular talk show Sweden’s best Shakespearean actor Jonas Karlsson said he likes to mix playing Shakespeare with other things. He writes books too…
On the 5^th episode of the TV series Poldark there is a scene from All’s Well that Ends Well at a park theatre.
Have finally finished reading Beethoven biografin by Åke Holmquist. Here are the sightings:

It seems Beethoven put himself right up there with Michelangelo and Shakespeare. Well, why not?
He read Shakespeare often.
The Viennese public regarded Beethoven as difficult, as they did Shakespeare, preferring popular culture, like Viennese waltzes.
Beethoven’s nephew Karl also liked Shakespeare.
In considering material for a new opera Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet were considered. It didn’t happen.
Beethoven was considered by some to be the musical equivalent to Goethe (whom Beethoven met, though they did not become friends.)

On the TV cultural news it was reported that the film showing here in Sweden of Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch was embarrassingly badly subtitled. (see also below)
In the Swedish weekly newspaper Flamman there’s a cartoon on the debate of whether or not Sweden should join NATO: ‘To be or NATO be’.

Further since last time:

Finished reading aloud with Hal: Henry IV Part Two
Watched: the BBC version and the Hollow Crown versions of Henry IV Parts One and Two as well as My Own Private Idaho which is a spin-off of the two.
Missed: Because of a mix-up on dates the showing of the film of Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch. This time (you may remember something similar when the play was being done in a park in central Stockholm this last summer) it wasn’t because of my carelessness, but my friend’s, who had tickets and kindly asked me to go with her, but gave me the wrong date.
Shared: The Swedish Shakespeare Society has put the link to Shakespeare Calling – the book on their webpage http://shakespearesallskapet.se/
Ordered and received: James Shapiro’s The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606.