The Once & Future Shakespeare – Oxford Lit Fest – 27th March 2014
Come & see my new talk next week – The Once & Future Shakespeare – 12pm, Thurs 26th March
As we approach Shakespeare’s 450th birthday celebration, what do the next 50 years hold for his works?
Actor and producer Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast, Springboard Shakespeare, and co-author of Shakespeare’s Words and the Shakespeare’s Miscellany) discusses why our current approach to Shakespeare’s works may need to change, how we can learn from the practices of the past to see our way forward, and the dramatic effect these lessons may have on the existing canon.
Excerpts from Shakespeare will be performed by Ben and members of his Shakespeare ensemble. all trained in cue-script rehearsal techniques, where each is only given their lines, and the first encounter with one’s fellow actors is on stage, in front of a paying audience…
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
e henry.lord@iconbooks.co.uk / twitter @MrHenryLord
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 TelegraphFaber’s app commissioner now wields as much power as the person who decides where to open a new Waitrose –
The GuardianJust 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, Language & the Elizabethan Mind – 25th Feb, British Library
Been looking forward to this for a while. My new talk coming soon to the British Library:
What would it have been like to go to the theatre in Shakespeare’s time? How did his plays tap into his audience’s views on life and love? How did the social, cultural and political developments of the time shape his writing? Just as the English language was going through great change, so was the city of London. The world was rocked too by the death of Elizabeth, and James’s accession to the English throne.
Shakespeare’s audience had a tremendous ability to suspend their disbelief, and a great appetite for story-telling; they would have been thrilled by his language play, by the new words he invented and by the semi-familiar worlds he and his actors took them to. His works are revitalised when seen through the eyes and minds of the people he was trying to entertain.
Actor and author Ben Crystal (Shakespeare’s Words, Shakespeare on Toast) dives into the hearts, minds, ears and words of Shakespeare’s world.
1-2pm, Friday 25th, The British Library – Shakespeare, Language & the Elizabethan Mind…
Video clips from the Poland Talks…
From the series of talks I gave last week for Macmillan Poland…
Discussing the difference between performing Shakespeare in RP vs OP (Shakespeare’s accent); then performing Sonnet 116 in RP, and OP; and then reading from the opening chapter of Toast, Schwarzengger’s Hamlet…
Toast on CNN – Watch it here…
CNN segment on YouTube:
“Humourous, unpretentious and fascinating” — The Independent On Sunday
Last weekend’s Independent on Sunday chose Toast as one of their Christmas Stocking Fillers, going as far as to say:
Ben Crystal, a professional actor, wrote the zippy, anecdotal Shakespeare on Toast (Icon £11.99) to give the reader “the ability to go to any Shakespeare play and feel comfortable reading or watching it”.
He’s succeeded. It’s humourous, unpretentious and fascinating.
Welcome to Shakespeare on Toast – Getting a Taste for the Bard
Hi, and welcome to the Shakespeare on Toast website.
I’ve set this site up as a base for my new book Shakespeare on Toast – Getting a Taste for the Bard, published by Icon Books in September 2008.
In times to come, there’ll be details of literary festival talks, reviews, and anything else interesting I can think of.
There’s also a Facebook group that’s been set up, for those of you that do, and a space there for a discussion forum.
If you’d like to hear more about the book, and exactly why it’s different from all the other books on Shakespeare, click here for the video I recorded for Meet the Author, or you can click on the Amazon link over to the right under Toast Links, to pre-order the book.
Thanks for visiting…
Ben
