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…
Spent a fine morning being filmed running around the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre with Dad: he explaining the origins of the Original Pronunciation experiments, me acting some examples.
Performed excerpts from Henry V, Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and all of Sonnet 116 – which sounds SO different in Shakespeare’s accent – then were interviewed about our work together.
All for an Open University film. Lovely to work with Dad again. Lovely to be back in that terrific space.
Now to Poland to give a series of Shakespeare talks, Ash Cloud permitting… (has it really been capitalised?)
I’m very pleased to announce that the very excellent Fairtrade company Cafedirect is sponsoring my talk at the Guardian Hay Literature Festival 2009.
The talk is at 9am on Sunday 31st May, and Cafedirect will be kindly providing free coffee – and I think I may be able to rustle up some toast and jam, too…
I’ll be giving a preview reading on the afternoon of Saturday 30th, and there’s a competition to win copies of Toast and more…
Cafedirect are UK’s leading Fairtrade hot drinks company.
As well as being 100% Fairtrade, Cafedirect invest over half of their profits into the businesses of their grower partners. This goes into training and development programmes so that they can become experts in their trade. This unique, direct and long-term relationship, with 39 partners across 13 countries, has resulted in a range of excellent quality and great tasting coffees, teas and hot chocolate.
This has been recognised by numerous awarding bodies e.g. recently Cafedirect won eight Great Taste Awards – the highest number awarded to any hot beverage company by the Guild of Fine Foods!
For more info please visit www.cafedirect.co.uk
Gearing up to head to Poland next week, giving three talks in three cities in three days, for Macmillan Poland, and their new Global course.
More details can be found on Macmillan’s site here…
The kind folks over at www.playshakespeare.com (who’re also responsible for the Shakespeare iPhone App) have had their annual Falstaff Awards, and Shakespeare on Toast was nominated for their Best Book or Publication category.
Up against some steely competition, including Andrew Gurr’s Shakespeare’s Opposites and AD Cousins’ The Shakespeare Encyclopedia, I’m touched and honoured Toast was up for consideration.
Full details of the other categories, including Jude Law’s Hamlet win for Best Principal Performance, can all be found here…
In celebration of Shakespeare’s birthday, there are a whole bunch of events and performances across the country today.
They can all be found at www.shakespeare2012.com, a project which says:
The idea is for everyone throughout the United Kingdom to have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to have fun with Shakespeare
Great stuff. I’m a supporter of the organisation, if there’s an event near you today, pop along…
I was asked recently to put some ‘unfettered’ thoughts together about the first edition of a new graphic novel, Kill Shakespeare!
First off, I think it’s *beautifully* drawn. Reminds me of Hellboy, particularly the ghosts and witches. It looks great, has a good pace, and is exciting to read. I like the story too: it’s a nice twist – one I’d been toying with for a while – and it left me wanting to read more.
Click here to read the review in full – though you will have to read past another’s vitriol to get to my thoughts.
Congrats to Anthony & Conor, and all else responsible…
Apologies for the lateness in this post, but last week was somewhat frenetic.
Following on from the great gig at Peter Parker’s Rock’n’Roll Club last Monday, I had been kindly invited to give the after-dinner speech at the British Psychological Society’s 2010 Conference in the ever-beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon. A terrific evening, with much fascinating post-dinner in-depth analysis of Life, the Universe and Everything Shakespeare with some of the delegates.
Then on Friday I whisked myself over to Tolethorpe Hall – a beautiful manor near Stamford, with a wonderful open-air theatre where the Stamford Shakespeare Society perform, to speak at the Cambridge Welland Valley branch of the English Speaking Union for their annual Shakespeare Literary Lunch!
Last, but by no means least, a wonderful day in London’s Regent’s Park yesterday, running a workshop on Acting Shakespeare for a terrific bunch of young American actors, all members of the Rebel Shakespeare Company, from Salem, MA.
Phew!
Speaking tonight at Peter Parker’s Rock’n’Roll Club, 4 Denmark Street, with David Whitehouse, Joe Stretch & Dockers MC…
A clip from BBC Blast’s film about the Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company’s production of Othello Retold, which I worked on last year…
