I am not denying the incidental pleasures of going to the theatre to
see S or read him. I took up writing "poetry" through a love of Romeo
& Juliet.
"a lot of new theatres writing" - all true. Still, I'd like to
revivals of shakespeare rather than this continuous main-lining of
something which really needs to sleep. New theatre as an adjunct to S.
Not a good thing. Kind of implies a weakness on the part of new
theatre. A continual failure of nerve maybe?
As for s being vital to the survival of THEATRE, no art-form has a
right to continue regardless. If people don't want to see it or do it
then really it should be put to rest.
Roger
On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 3:43 AM, Heather Taylor <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I guess you have to think about it this way - a company who does new writing
> is taking a big risk - especially on unknowns. In London there are a lot of
> new writing theatres (definitely not in the West End but there is the
> National Theatre after all and they are all about getting lots of Arts
> Council funding) Smaller companies might do a Shakespeare production to make
> money so that they can do the new modern plays...What's bad about Theatre
> doing well regardless if it's modern or not? The Globe usually does (I
> think) 4 Shakespeare and 2 modern in a season that is accessible financially
> and artistically and they also run educational projects to get people of all
> ages interested in theatre (not just Shakespeare).
>
> Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet inspired my sister so much that she bought the
> play text and read it at 15 - the first book she ever read that wasn't a
> school book. She's never stopped reading since. So for that, I'm glad that
> Shakespeare is going strong. Controversial but maybe modern playwrights
> have to just write better...or wait 400 odd years to see if they last the
> test of time.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: andrew burke [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 07 June 2008 02:14
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Some bits
>
> Hey, Roger, as a once-upon-a-time surrealistic playwright in 70s I can
> understand you preferring modern plays, but I was in London two years back,
> walking to the Tate Modern when I spyed the Globe: amazing. So I went in -
> five pounds, as someone has pointed out and a full-on traditional version of
> Coriolanus, one of my favourite S plays. So I was a pleased tourist. I
> recognised the lead as a tv guy (out of Spooks and such BBC fare). Not much
> else of London is so English! (Maybe the USAmericans will buy the Globe and
> move it to the centre of 'civilisation'.)
>
> So, as a tourist, I really enjoyed The Globe.
>
> Andrew
>
>
> 2008/6/7 Roger Day <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>> You got me there. It's my prejudice. New plays I can dig but for me
>> any money wasted on Shakespeare is money not being spent on modern
>> theatre. But hey, I'm in a minority here.
>>
>> http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/ - not the histories *again*!!!!!! At
>> least the Daily Mail likes it I suppose.
>>
>> Roger
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 5:50 PM, Heather Taylor <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>> > Hmmm....I'm curious if people who are writing about the globe here have
>> been
>> > there? Or go there regularly. Not only are they doing Shakespeare in
>> modern
>> > ways to packed audiences but they are putting on new plays that are
>> written
>> > for that space. Some of the work is fresh and exciting. People were
>> even
>> > fainting during Titus Andronicus which was a bloody affair. Also it's £5
>> for
>> > groundling seats - best priced theatre in town!
>> >
>> > Also Shakespeare is all over the west end and in theatres around London
> -
>> > Cheek by Jowl doing Troillus and Cressida at Barbican and doing a world
>> > tour, RSC doing the Henrys and both Richards at the Roundhouse - I also
>> say
>> > a marvellously modern and sold out Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart last
>> > November that had an extended run...
>> >
>> > And I'm not a tourist. I'm a playwright and producer.
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Roger Day [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> > Sent: 06 June 2008 17:32
>> > To: [log in to unmask]
>> > Subject: Re: Some bits
>> >
>> > I think, also, the globe is a little more insidious than that. I think
>> > it's part of the heritage industry; it's designed for tourism. For
>> > God, Harry etc. Nostalgia. And toy-trains - the globe reminds me of
>> > those railway enthusiasts who have to get right *every* detail of York
>> > circa 1929.
>> >
>> > Roger
>> >
>> > On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 4:32 PM, David Bircumshaw
>> > <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >> Almost anything's potentially a tourist trap these days. That's what
>> >> living in a culture focused on marketing does to things.
>> >> My masterplan for the coming years is to persuade the Arts Council
>> >> that I'm a rare cultural antiquity. I expect stiff competition from
>> >> Patrick.
>> >>
>> >> 2008/6/6 Roger Day <[log in to unmask]>:
>> >>> the Globe is a tourist trap, little more, little less.
>> >>>
>> >>> On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 8:01 PM, David Bircumshaw
>> >>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >>>> The Globe isn't government subsidized you know.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> 2008/6/5 Roger Day <[log in to unmask]>:
>> >>>>> Indeed. But would that make Hamlet as good as the Mousetrap? At
> least
>> >>>>> the Mousetrap didn't have to be subsidized to be shown.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Roger
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 2:58 PM, David Bircumshaw
>> >>>>> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >>>>>> The Mousetrap ran for years.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> 2008/6/5 Roger Day <[log in to unmask]>:
>> >>>>>>> Very little Shakespeare is played out on the professional west-end
>> >>>>>>> stage these days. Most of it is in the Shakespearean churches.
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> On Mon, May 26, 2008 at 12:05 AM, Mark Weiss <
>> [log in to unmask]>
>> > wrote:
>> >>>>>>>> Roger: This is silly. Shakespeare is performed on the profesional
>> > stage in
>> >>>>>>>> the US all the time. Two years ago I saw a wonderful production
> of
>> > As You
>> >>>>>>>> Like It in Tucson. There are sold out summer Shakespeare
> festivals
>> > in
>> >>>>>>>> Oregon, New York, and Connecticut that I'm aware of. When I was a
>> > teenager a
>> >>>>>>>> complete cycle of the history plays was done at a major downtown
>> > theater in
>> >>>>>>>> NY. Lear was done on Broadway last year.
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> The ways of the censor tend to be unpredictable, perhaps because
>> >>>>>>>> unpredictability is such a potent weapon.
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> Mark
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>> At 05:40 PM 5/25/2008, you wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> one swallow a summer does not make.
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> On Sun, May 25, 2008 at 6:35 PM, Mark Weiss
>> > <[log in to unmask]>
>> >>>>>>>>> wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>> > Right now the hottest ticket on Broadway is MacBeth, with
>> Patrick
>> >>>>>>>>> > Stewart in
>> >>>>>>>>> > the title role. The run is sold out--even the scalpers are at
> a
>> > loss.
>> >>>>>>>>> >
>> >>>>>>>>> > Mark
>> >>>>>>>>> >
>> >>>>>>>>> >
>> >>>>>>>>> > At 12:47 PM 5/25/2008, you wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >> Those were the days - the Lord Chamberlain (member of the
>> Royal
>> >>>>>>>>> >> Household) and his malign influence on the British Theatre.
> In
>> > another
>> >>>>>>>>> >> email list, a long time ago, I mooted the theory that
>> > shakespeare's
>> >>>>>>>>> >> continuing popularity down the ages was due in part to the
>> > Bard's
>> >>>>>>>>> >> acceptability before the LC. My logic, fwiw, ran thus: you
>> want
>> > to put
>> >>>>>>>>> >> on a play and in those days, the least likeliest plays to get
>> > banned
>> >>>>>>>>> >> were Shakespeares. So, you play safe, put on the Bard. Until
>> the
>> > 60s,
>> >>>>>>>>> >> when the LC threw away his blue pencil. Nowadays, S hardly
>> > appears on
>> >>>>>>>>> >> the commercial stage.
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >> American bannings are two a penny: their school libraries
> have
>> >>>>>>>>> >> committees which are battle-grounds for the
>> inclusion/exclusion
>> > of
>> >>>>>>>>> >> books. Harry Potter is a notorious example of this - the
> poor,
>> > deluded
>> >>>>>>>>> >> fundies trying to stave off the influence of the heathen
>> (WTF?).
>> > There
>> >>>>>>>>> >> are lists on line of books that have been banned in the US.
>> Are
>> > there
>> >>>>>>>>> >> any for the UK?
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >> Roger
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >> On Sun, May 25, 2008 at 9:38 AM, David Bircumshaw
>> >>>>>>>>> >> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > Lear was banned from performance between 1788-1820 when
>> > George III
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > was considered insane, and the link between stage and
>> royalty
>> > would
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > be
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > too close for official comfort. Contemporaneously with this
>> > Tom Paine
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > was also banned in England and, famously, Coleridge and
>> > Wordsworth
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > were watched for talking about Spinoza (Spy-noza)
>> >>>>>>>>> >> >
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > While 'Silas Marner' was banned in Anaheim CA in 1978 (?!)
>> and
>> > '1984'
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > in Florida in 1981 because it was considered
> 'pro-communist'
>> > (?)
>> >>>>>>>>> >> >
>> >>>>>>>>> >> >
>> >>>>>>>>> >> >
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > --
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > David Bircumshaw
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > Website and A Chide's Alphabet
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > The Animal Subsides
>> > http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
>> >>>>>>>>> >> > Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
>> >>>>>>>>> >> >
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >>
>> >>>>>>>>> >> --
>> >>>>>>>>> >> My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> >>>>>>>>> >> "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> >>>>>>>>> >> She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> >>>>>>>>> >> The Go-Betweens
>> >>>>>>>>> >
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>>> --
>> >>>>>>>>> My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> >>>>>>>>> "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> >>>>>>>>> She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> >>>>>>>>> The Go-Betweens
>> >>>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>> --
>> >>>>>>> My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> >>>>>>> "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> >>>>>>> She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> >>>>>>> The Go-Betweens
>> >>>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> --
>> >>>>>> David Bircumshaw
>> >>>>>> Website and A Chide's Alphabet
>> > http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
>> >>>>>> The Animal Subsides
>> http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
>> >>>>>> Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> --
>> >>>>> My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> >>>>> "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> >>>>> She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> >>>>> The Go-Betweens
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> --
>> >>>> David Bircumshaw
>> >>>> Website and A Chide's Alphabet
>> > http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
>> >>>> The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
>> >>>> Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
>> >>>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> --
>> >>> My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> >>> "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> >>> She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> >>> The Go-Betweens
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> David Bircumshaw
>> >> Website and A Chide's Alphabet
>> > http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/
>> >> The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html
>> >> Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> > "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> > She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> > The Go-Betweens
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
>> "She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
>> She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
>> The Go-Betweens
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Andrew
> http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/aburke/
>
--
My Stuff: http://www.badstep.net/
"She went out with her paint box, paints the chapel blue
She went out with her matches, torched the car-wash too"
The Go-Betweens
|