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Post by Ela on Aug 9, 2017 19:59:27 GMT
Having listened to the free download excerpt of Hamlet, I have found I have a hard time enjoying Shakespeare as audio only. Or at least Hamlet. But I suspect it would be true for other Shakespeare plays, as well.
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Post by elkawho on Aug 10, 2017 12:02:26 GMT
Deidre Mullins is the greatest Ophelia of all time and Vlahos might be one of the greatest Hamlets of all time. I listened in the car so I started and stopped which was a bad choice but I'll be listening this weekend when I'm off work and can fully enjoy it. I agree with you about Ms. Mullins, although of all time might be pushing it. I find that I often have difficulty believing most actresses playing Ophelia when I have seen other productions. It's a difficult role and the actress has to be able to bring a lot to it to make it work. In this production, I believed that she and Hamlet had a history before the play, that she honestly and truly loved him at one time. That her decent from smart, loving daughter and sister into madness and suicide works.
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Post by kimalysong on Aug 10, 2017 20:52:18 GMT
I finished it the other day and it definitely exceeded my expectations. I agree Deidre was excellent as Ophelia but special mention also has to go to Terry Molloy who I absolutely loved as Polonius. Polonius is usually a role I don't much care about but Molloy did such a good job here that I was sad when he left us.
Anyways there was really so many great moments in this that I know I will forget some but here are a few highlights for me.
* Hamlet's The Play's the Thing Speech the second best soliloquy for me in Hamlet. * To Be Or Not To Be: Okay I know its cliche to call this scene a favorite but this is one of the greatest soliloquies and Alex read it so beautifully. I kept replaying this part and over and over again. * When we discover Ophelia has gone mad. Ophelia is not my favorite of Shakespeare female characters (either is Gertrude for that matter) but as mentioned above Deidre Mullins really breathed life into her. * When Hamlet discovers Ophelia is dead and first confronts Laertes (and of course I always love Samuel Barnett)
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Post by iainbenson on Aug 31, 2017 9:51:02 GMT
I'm running a bit behind on my Big Finish, and have just got round to starting Hamlet, I'm about 10 minutes in and finding it extremely hard to listen to. For some reason I'd assumed that it would be a modernized version in plain English. Shakespearean English is just so jarring and unnatural; all the "thee"s, "thou"s, "hast"s and reversed sentence structure make it like listening to a foreign language.
Bernardo: 'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco. Francisco: For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart.
Nobody speaks like that, what's wrong with:
Bernardo: It's midnight; go to bed Fransico. Francisco: Thanks for relieving me: I've had enough of the cold!
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Post by Star Platinum on Aug 31, 2017 21:33:22 GMT
I'm running a bit behind on my Big Finish, and have just got round to starting Hamlet, I'm about 10 minutes in and finding it extremely hard to listen to. For some reason I'd assumed that it would be a modernized version in plain English. Shakespearean English is just so jarring and unnatural; all the "thee"s, "thou"s, "hast"s and reversed sentence structure make it like listening to a foreign language. Bernardo: 'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco. Francisco: For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart. Nobody speaks like that, what's wrong with: Bernardo: It's midnight; go to bed Fransico. Francisco: Thanks for relieving me: I've had enough of the cold! I have to agree with you. Listening to this is more involved than most big finish I normally listen too. I've spent most of the two times I've listened to this mental translating it.
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Post by Ela on Aug 31, 2017 22:02:47 GMT
I think you've hit the nail on the head as to why I also find this hard to listen to. It's too much work and concentration for audio. For me, at least.
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Post by newt5996 on Sept 29, 2017 20:00:11 GMT
So was this release a complete audio version of the play? It's long enough to be and I want to know before purchasing this and King Lear as I want to read the scripts first just to help with some of the less than modern language.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2017 20:45:03 GMT
I'm running a bit behind on my Big Finish, and have just got round to starting Hamlet, I'm about 10 minutes in and finding it extremely hard to listen to. For some reason I'd assumed that it would be a modernized version in plain English. Shakespearean English is just so jarring and unnatural; all the "thee"s, "thou"s, "hast"s and reversed sentence structure make it like listening to a foreign language. Bernardo: 'Tis now struck twelve; get thee to bed, Francisco. Francisco: For this relief much thanks: 'tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart. Nobody speaks like that, what's wrong with: Bernardo: It's midnight; go to bed Fransico. Francisco: Thanks for relieving me: I've had enough of the cold! That's the language of the Bard. Would be pointless to modernise it on audio.
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Post by number13 on Sept 29, 2017 23:29:13 GMT
So was this release a complete audio version of the play? It's long enough to be and I want to know before purchasing this and King Lear as I want to read the scripts first just to help with some of the less than modern language. No, not completely complete. But the editing that I've noticed is mostly (for example) to remove some of the more obscure allusions to classical literature/myth etc. (And I would guess obscure to 90% of the original audience members too!) I think the result is excellent, but it does mean that you have to be prepared to mentally skip a line here, a short paragraph there if trying to follow with the printed text. Giving buyers a download of the 'BF Edition' script would have been useful, I think. It's a great production and I highly recommend it - very much looking forward to King Lear.
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Post by Hieronymus on May 29, 2018 1:57:27 GMT
Finally found time to listen to the BF Hamlet production.
This is certainly one of the best performances of that particular play that I've come across, and I say that with 6 different DVD copies in my collection. Alexander Vlahos performs his Hamlet flawlessly, and Terry Molloy is every bit the Polonius fans would expect. For me, though, the telling point of the BF recording is Miles Richardson as Claudius, as that role is seldom performed well in my experience. Claudius is a greater challenge than many people realize, and Patrick Stewart is one of the few people I've seen perform the role well (twice!), but Miles Richardson is every bit the nefarious monarch as well.
I am very glad that BF decided to record Hamlet this way. Thoroughly brilliant.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2018 15:52:59 GMT
I thought this was an excellent version of Hamlet Alexander Vlahos really gave a wonderful portrayal.Cannot wait for A Macbeth or The Crucible
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