It needs to be Monday NOW, dangit, so I can get a ticket.
[ July 27, 2008, 06:19 PM: Message edited by: Eaquae Legit ]
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
Arghh! It's times like these that make me wish I was British.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
You're that anxious to leave us behind, EL? *cries*
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
What, they don't have Hatrack over in England?
I am actually pretty anxious to get moving. I'd intended to start studies this fall, but had to wait till January, so it's already a bit past due.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
I told Cayla about this.
"You mean like in a play?" "Yes." "But the Doctor already got de de ... " (She's confused by the time/space paradox.)
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
PATRICK STEWART!
Now I want to fly over there so I can profess my undying love for his awesomeness.
Can I crash on your couch, EL?
-pH
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
you fangirl you Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Are you questioning the awesomeness of Captain Picard? I will throw down.
-pH
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Hmm, might I suggest that convenient jello pit over there?
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Holy crap, I hate you, EL!
(in the most kind way possible, of course)
I wonder if PS is going to be doing his Christmas Carol play again.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
quote:Are you questioning the awesomeness of Captain Picard?
actually I meant EL. but you're such a fangirl too
(yes captain picard is awesome)
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by Eaquae Legit: What, they don't have Hatrack over in England?
I was talking about Canada. (If you got that, and responded jokingly, my apologies, it went right over my head.)
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Toad, I have no idea. I'm totally missing the funny. Care to ruin the joke and explain?
pH, I'm a little far from Stratford for convenient couch-crashing, but hey, visitors is always welcome.
Kama, Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
My sister and I are planning an entire trip to England in August just to see this play. We'll get some other sight-seeing done at the same time, of course, but this show was the original motivation. We are fangirls to the core. Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Hooooly makeral. *dies*
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Wow, that sounds about like the height of awesomeness. I'm jealous.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Congrats to you!
*so, SO jealous!*
Posted by Occasional (Member # 5860) on :
Do they tape these things so that a person can buy a copy of the performace? I want one of they do.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
To buy or not to buy?
For better or for worse, the answer is "to buy."
I knew I'd have to move fast to get Hamlet tickets, so it's just as well I was called in to work tonight. They went on sale to the general public at 4am, or 9am over there. I checked in at 5am.
Tickets are already selling fast, and it took a good deal of searching to be able to get a pair of decent seats together. I did, though! I booked a pair for late July, when it opens, and another pair for mid August. Two parties have expressed very serious interest in coming to visit me and seeing the play, so I just went ahead and got the tickets.
I figure if plans fall through I won't have too much trouble reselling them, but if I waited, I might not get them at all.
Done, then.
Oh man I am so excited.
Occasional, judging by the "Terms and Liabilities" page, they do tape them sometimes, since you have to consent to the possibility of your image being caught on camera during a taping. It'd be amazing if they did. I wish they did more often, for sure. I always wish I could see Paul Gross' Hamlet again...
Posted by porcelain girl (Member # 1080) on :
Ian McKellen is playing King Lear with the RSC in my hood right now. Ticket are being resold for astronomical prices. I might have to try to slip in Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Does anyone else read this as "Dr. Who and Captain Picard in Hamlet, 2008"?
It's like some kind of slashfic come to life!
N.B. Mockery is the highest form of praise, right?
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
That's pretty much how I read it.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
That's pretty much how I read it. Captain Picard might have bested the Doctor once or twice, but the Doctor doesn't have to worry about "to be or not to be" very much, since he can regenerate. In the end, the Doctor triumphs due to Picard's regrettably human lifespan.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
I saw Aidan Quinn play Hamlet. It was the coolest Hamlet ever.
Posted by Lalo (Member # 3772) on :
quote:Originally posted by porcelain girl: Ian McKellen is playing King Lear with the RSC in my hood right now. Ticket are being resold for astronomical prices. I might have to try to slip in
I heard Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan once played a Shakespearean tragedy (Hamlet?) with switching roles. One night, Stewart would be Hamlet and McKellan would be Claudius, then they'd reverse the next night.
I'd kill the man who tried to stop me from getting in.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Okay. Deep breaths.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeee what a fabulous play!
Everyone - everyone - did a fabulous job.
It was staged with a theme of mirrors. The backdrop was a huge wall of mirrors that doubled as doors and wall hangings (i.e. for people to hide behind), and the floor was reflective, too. Since we were up on the second balcony, the floor really affected how we viewed the play. (I get to go back in a fortnight, sitting face-on, and I can't wait to see how that changes it.) There were a lot of other little uses of mirrors as well. When the Ghost first appears, and then disappears, they used body doubles and made it seems like a house of mirrors as Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus chase it.
The pantomime that precedes the Murder of Gonzago was simply brilliant. I honestly can't imagine a more authentic staging of how that sort of thing probably went. It was racy and over-done and had a guy pretending to be a dwarf. So hilariously accurate.
On to the cast.
The guy who played Polonius absolutely nailed the doddering old windbag part. I couldn't believe how much hilarity he put into that role. At one point, he may or may not have forgotten his lines (I think ours was still a preview performance) - it was hard to tell if he genuinely forgot or if it was just part of being Polonius. I would just love to see that actor play Lear. Him, or the man who played the Player Leader.
Horatio was good, though a bit more... high-strung than I've always imagined him. I got his signature on my copy of the play after. Woot.
Ophelia was very good as well. She was played as a more lively person in her opening exchange with Laertes, which made her subsequent decline a bit harder to understand, but she played it so well that it was quite heart-rending. Her madness and sing-song was brilliant. I got her signature, too.
Laertes was a bit of a ponce. A little arrogant, and a little pretentious. You didn't like him (or at least, I didn't), but at the same time he was kind of endearing.
Osric was a toady and a prat, and he did it perfectly.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern made me understand, for the first time, how Hamlet could call them friends and then send them to their deaths. You clearly see them as once-friends, now the king's men. Friends who think they know what's best for you, friends who are only spending time with you because they've been asked to for a reward. Incidentally, one of the comic moments in the play was when they appeared and Claudius thanks them as "Rosencrantz and gentle Guildenstern." In the text, Gertrude follows this with "Our thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz." I don't know how it's usually played, but in this case, they played it was Gertrude correcting Claudius, who can't really remember who is who.
And now to the part I'm sure most people actually care about: Patrick Stewart and David Tennant.
Patrick Stewart was nothing less than the consummate actor he is. He played a great Claudius, very straightforward. It was quite the contrast to Tennant (more on that in a moment). His regret in Act III, Scene III was so well-played. You understand his dilemma completely, and you really have compassion for him.
And David Tennant. Aside from his role as the Doctor, he is a Shakespearian-trained actor, and played with the RSC for 5 years or so before heading to the big time. And he did a very, very good job of Hamlet. He really was as excellent as I thought he would be. He played Hamlet entirely sane - at least, after his conversation with the Ghost. During the first few scenes he does a remarkable job of a young man who's watched his world fall apart around him, and can't do anything about it. After, he is energised, and plays Hamlet with a sort of manic purpose.
Honestly, I never thought Hamlet could be so downright goofy.
Fans of Doctor Who will recognise some familiar mannerisms, but they really work. Hamlet has such a purpose, and is so disconnected from those around him, so bitter, that his assumed madness takes the form of outright mockery of others. And it's just plain funny. It's almost like he despairs, and so hides nothing. The main exception to this is his encounter with Ophelia, which broke my heart (Act III, Scene I). His speech to her ("Get thee to a nunnery") is played, as far as I can tell, as if he does not know about Polonius and Claudius eavesdropping. It comes across more as a condemnation of himself and humanity in general than a condemnation of Ophelia. But then there's a noise, and he asks "Where's your father?" and we see him change, get angry. It's very sad to watch the relationship they might have had break apart in that instant. Again, I don't know how it's usually staged. It's been far, far too long since I've had the chance to watch top-notch actors do it. But this was excellent.
The play is excellent. All of it. Believe me, you wish you were there.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
*weeps at missing it*
I'm glad it was good, and not just a vehicle for two famous actors, I really am.
Posted by Blayne Bradley (Member # 8565) on :
!!!!???? Tell me they filmed it!!!!
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I don't think they have, Blayne. They might, but I doubt it. Things like this tend to be kept "special," which is a real loss. A great performance then lives only in memory, and when the memory fades or dies, it's just... gone. And I find that tragic. I have nothing from when I saw Paul Gross play it, and I truly regret it. By now, my main memories are of being close enough to see him spit as he talked, and of being confused by Fortinbras - sad fragments of what I know was a great performance.
I feel really, really lucky to get to see this show. I hope they do tape it. I will be first in line to buy a copy if they do.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
If they don't tape it, they're pretty stupid when it comes to "business model." And they do sometimes tape stage productions; I have a wonderful version of Nicholas Nickleby that was a one-off production.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I will ask when I go back.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Pretty sure PBS' "Great Performances" has shown (and then later sold on VHS and/or DVD) other Royal Shakespeare performances.
August 21, here we come!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wow it sounds amazing.
I'm usually not a huge Shakespeare fan, but it sounds like a great performance and I wish I could see it.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I hear David Tennant gets duct-taped to a chair.
As this random person then commented, "I think a few kinks I never knew I had just got satisfied." I wish mine could too. Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
squeeeeeeeeeee
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
quote:Originally posted by Carrie: I hear David Tennant gets duct-taped to a chair.
As this random person then commented, "I think a few kinks I never knew I had just got satisfied." I wish mine could too.
Another instance of goofiness. Hilarious, wrenching goofiness.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
what a lovely, lovely play. I do hope they film it, I missed so many moments!
quote: At one point, he may or may not have forgotten his lines (I think ours was still a preview performance) - it was hard to tell if he genuinely forgot or if it was just part of being Polonius
I think I remember that (at least I remembered a moment where I wondered if he'd forgotten his lines) so I suppose it was just good acting. I think Polonius is my favourite apart from Hamlet.
I want to see it again.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I loved that moment when it seemed like he forgot his lines. It's in the script, though - Shakespeare's idea.
I desperately want to see it again. It made me sob, and it was gorgeous. I'm sad it wasn't playing again the next night so I try for a return ticket. It was wonderful.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
It was my favorite part of my 8 day vacation to a place I've always wanted to go...if that's saying anything.
And it would have been my favorite part if I'd had no idea who that guy playing Hamlet was. Honest. I have a huge long review, but it's so long I'll post it in my livejournal today or tomorrow. I was up until 3 AM that night just writing down my thoughts about the whole thing. It ended what had been a really rotten day. Let's just say: I despise driving in London.
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
It really was a spectacular show. Watching it, you don't think you are watching David Tennant or Doctor Who -- it is simply Hamlet and that is all that matters. I really hope they do a filming of the performance. I would love to watch it again, and again.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I am totally in awe of you driving in London. No matter if you got lost, frustrated, lost again, ticketed, whatever. You are posting and that means you survived and I salute you. London is TERRIFYING, and I'm just a pedestrian! Heck, England is all terrifying, and I will never drive here, I suspect. I get freaked out when cars come around the corner in front of my classroom building, and I walk by there every single day.
I can't wait to read your play review, though.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I can't imagine driving in London. Particularly since there's decent mass transit.
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
I just had to drive OUT of London. We rented the car to drive to Stratford because we thought we'd be flying out of Heathrow and we thought we'd want to go to Warwick castle on our last day. Neither of those things happened, which made the car cumbersome an irritating. I had to drive out of London and then back in to drop it off. Ugh. It really was terrible. I got a flat tire and flipped my rear view mirror on someone else's rear view mirror. His happened to be brand new and he was a bit perturbed. He finally calmed down though, I think he took pity on my patheticness.
I'm typing up my review for you, I promise!!
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Here's my review. Unfortunately, it's all intermixed with my story about what else happened that day. Skip down to the bullet points if you just want the review part. And the David Tennant Pictures. Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
*seeths with jealousy*
Why can't international travel be affordable? Or, more succinctly, why can't I live in England?
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
I really want to see this play, honestly. I hope someone, somewhere, taped it. Really badly.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
There is a rumor that the RSC will tape it and sell the DVD.
There is also a rumor that after filming the specials, David Tennant leaves Doctor Who and they bring Hamlet to Broadway.
New York Con!!!
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:There is a rumor that the RSC will tape it and sell the DVD.
I sure hope so!!!
Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :
Tennant in New York as Hamlet vs. Tennant in London as Doctor Who
I am not comfortable with that dichotomy.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I figure he's going to leave Doctor Who eventually. I want him to do it when his next stop is four hours north of me. Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
I want it filmed. I want to be able to go back to it.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
So do I. I'm drafting a letter to the RSC begging them to do it this weekend.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
We'll get some other sight-seeing done at the same time, of course, but this show was the original motivation. We are fangirls to the core. ![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)