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    Shakespeare on Toast – Talk in NYC – November 12th 2012 – POSTPONED

    Unfortunately, due to family emergency, my talk in New York today has been postponed. More news on a new date to come anon.

    Shakespeare on Toast – Talk in NYC – November 12th 2012

    THRILLED to announce that Shakespeare on Toast will be available in all good bookshops – and as an eBook – in the United States from October 16th, 2012, published by Icon Books.

    In celebration, I’m joining forces with The Shakespeare Forum and will be giving a public talk at 8pmMonday 12th November at the über cool and über central-Manhattan Hartley House, 413 West 46th St (b/w 9th & 10th Ave), NY 10036.

    Shakespeare on Toast will be available at a discounted price, there’ll be wine, there’ll be cheese, there’ll be laughter, there’ll be tears…

    Actor and author Ben Crystal makes sense of Shakespeare by putting him back into context.

    First exploring what a trip to a Shakespearean Theatre in 1600 would be like…

    …an incredibly quick master-class on the poetry style Shakespeare wrote in that you’ll be talking about for days…

    …and a fascinating look at Original Pronunciation – the accent Shakespeare and his actors would have spoken in – and how it can shake loose a piece of Shakespeare…

    This evening is for anyone from 8-80: for apprentice bard-o-holics experiencing the Bard for the first time, for the Will-haters, through to audience members who love Shakespeare and want to learn something new…

     

    Head to The Shakespeare Forum or message their twitter feed for more.

     

    To request a review copy of Shakespeare on Toast or discuss interview or features, please contact

    Henry Lord, Publicity Manager at Icon Books

    Shakespeare on Toast – Coming to USA – October 16th 2012

    THRILLED to announce that Shakespeare on Toast will be available in all good bookshops – and as an eBook – in the United States from October 16th, 2012, published by Icon Books.

    In celebration, I’m joining forces with The Shakespeare Forum and will be giving a talk open to the public, on the evening of Monday 12th November (venue in Manhattan TBC).

    Further details of NYC-happenings will be posted shortly.

     

    To request a review copy or discuss interview or features, please contact

    Henry Lord, Publicity Manager at Icon Books

    “One of the most-shared, most popular performances” – Shakespeare Sonnets

    Very nice to hear, from Henry Volans at Faber & Faber:

    Ben Crystal’s reading of Sonnet 141 in Original Pronunciation is one of the most-shared, most popular performances in the app…

    More on Wired.com’s interview with the creators of the Shakespeare Sonnets iPad App here

    Shakespeare Sonnets – DVD

    The DVD of the Shakespeare Sonnets App arrived today.

    As close to the App as possible, it’s been lushly produced, and so for those of you who are iPad-less but want to explore the Sonnets in performance, in Quarto, and from a number of critical, theatrical, and academic points of view, you can snag the DVD here:

    Shakespeare Sonnets on DVD from Amazon

    Produced by Illuminations Media, Faber and Faber, Arden Shakespeare and Touch Press, and features Sir Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, Fiona Shaw, Kim Cattrell, Dominic West, scholars James Shapiro and Katherine Duncan-Jones, and the poet Don Paterson, amongst many others.

    Shakespeare Sonnets iPad App – “Wonderful… Extraordinary… A treat!”

    The Shakespeare Sonnets iPad App came out a couple of weeks ago, to great acclaim:

    Ben Crystal’s reading of Sonnet 141 in Original Pronunciation is a treat – theverge.com

    Ben Crystal’s reading of Sonnet 141, delivered in Original Pronunciation, is a salutary reminder of the warmth and unpretentiousness of our national poet – Poor Rude Lines

    A digital delight – Ben Crystal gives his approximation of Shakespeare’s own pronunciation, rugged and lilting at once – The Independent

    An extraordindary achievement – The Times

    A wonderful app that will provide hours of enjoyment –
    The Telegraph

    Faber’s app commissioner now wields as much power as the person who decides where to open a new Waitrose –
    The Guardian

    Just a wonderful iPad App… An absolute star for classrooms – iPadinsight.com

    The App is produced by Illuminations Media, Faber and Faber, Arden Shakespeare and Touch Press, and features Sir Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, Fiona Shaw, Kim Cattrell, Dominic West, scholars James Shapiro and Katherine Duncan-Jones, and the poet Don Paterson, amongst many others.

    I act Sonnet 141 – In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes in Original Pronunciation – take a look at the video here:

    And you can download the App now from iTunes UK or iTunes US

    Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation – Live! – The British Library – May 4th, 6.30pm

    First, a very happy 448th birthday to Will… Your work never ceases to amaze. Well done. Take the rest of the day off.

    Now! This coming Star Wars Day, I’ll be giving a talk at the British Library based on the CD of Shakespeare sonnets, speeches and scenes I curated for the BL.

    Together with a fab line-up of actors, we’ll intercut the blah-blah-blah by performing speeches & scenes from Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation. Some will be from the CD, some won’t have been heard in OP for over 400 years… Come one, come all…!

    For details of the event, and to purchase tickets, click here

    How did Shakespeare sound to the audiences of the day?

    Ben Crystal, together with actors from the company formed for the new British Library Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation CD, offer us a rare chance to hear new meanings uncovered, new jokes revealed and poetic effects enhanced.

     

    ‘Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation’ is currently available on CD & to Download here.

    You can have a sneak preview to Sonnet 116, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet here

     

    Shakespeare’s Sonnets – iPad App – from Iluminations Media

    Last month I recorded Sonnet 141 for an amazing forthcoming iPad App featuring Sir Patrick Stewart, David Tennant and Fiona Shaw.

    Produced by Illuminations Media, Faber and Faber, Arden Shakespeare and Touch Press:

    Faber and Faber, Touch Press, Illuminations and The Arden Shakespeare are delighted to announce that they are in the final stages of producing a spectacular edition of Shakespeare’s Sonnets for the Apple iPad. The title features specially filmed performances of all 154 sonnets by a stellar cast that includes Fiona Shaw, Sir Patrick Stewart and David Tennant. It also features the complete Arden notes, providing unsurpassed commentary on the poems.

    This digital edition follows Touch Press and Faber’s iPad app The Waste Land that presents T. S. Eliot’s great poem in an innovative and widely praised interactive format.

    Click here for the full Press Release

    Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation – CD Available Now

    The first ever CD of Shakespeare sonnets, speeches and scenes that I curated for the British Library launched yesterday. Click here for the full press release.

    It’s now available to buy, and the Live event will take place on May 4th, 2012, at the British Library.

    The Telegraph ran a feature on it with some extracts to listen to, as did the New Statesman, and Mark Lawson interviewed me on BBC Radio 4’s Frontrow last night (available to download as a podcast, dated 14th March 2012).

    Enjoy!

    Hamlet – Year of the Prince

    Photos of the Contemporary World Premiere of Hamlet in the Original Pronunciation can now be seen here:
    www.YearOfThePrince.com