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Post by muckypup on May 30, 2016 17:17:20 GMT
RTD's Version mid Summer Nights is on tonight.
anyone going to watch it?
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
Likes: 2,132
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Post by Tony Jones on May 31, 2016 4:31:24 GMT
I loved it. Very balanced set of characters with some great visuals
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on May 31, 2016 6:09:32 GMT
I loathed it. The dialogue was slashed to pieces, the special effects were a dogs dinner and many of the actors (particularly Maxine Peake) were horrendously miscast (a Hannibal Lector-style Hippolyta!), although I was impressed by the actors portraying Egeus and Philostrate, and Bernard Cribbins was endearing as Wall, not that he was given much to do. What they did to Demetrius was a disservice - first he was forced to become briefly attracted to Lysander (although the flower was actually supposed to be about love and not lust) which I assume the audience is meant to find funny rather than shocked at such manipulation, and then it was clearly shown that the flower 'wore off' almost immediately in regard to Helena, thus showing exactly how much he truly disliked her and should not be forced to be married to her. Poor Helena, usually a strong role for a woman, was left with an obviously value-less marriage rather than a returning lover who has remembered her value, which is not in the spirit of the original play. Can you tell that after Doctor Who, Shakespeare is my main obsession...  Chriss C. |
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Tony Jones
Chancellery Guard
Professor Chronotis
Still rockin' along!
Likes: 2,132
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Post by Tony Jones on May 31, 2016 7:07:58 GMT
Interesting. My familiarity with the text is low and I enjoyed several of the performances. I assumed the dialogue was played with to add in some more laughs for Matt Lucas, but didn't mind much. Yes Cribbins had nothing to do until the very end. I thought Peake was Titania? I liked the faerie sense of the visuals at night, and felt the forest in the daytime really contrasted well.
Plenty of humour, eg Elaine Paige and I liked the way the fairies reacted to Bottom. The way I saw it Helena was fun, and Demetrius's flower only wore off when Oberon made it so at the end and did, indeed, still love her!
Just goes to show how we all react differently!
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on May 31, 2016 7:27:55 GMT
Interesting. My familiarity with the text is low and I enjoyed several of the performances. I assumed the dialogue was played with to add in some more laughs for Matt Lucas, but didn't mind much. Yes Cribbins had nothing to do until the very end. I thought Peake was Titania? I liked the faerie sense of the visuals at night, and felt the forest in the daytime really contrasted well. Plenty of humour, eg Elaine Paige and I liked the way the fairies reacted to Bottom. The way I saw it Helena was fun, and Demetrius's flower only wore off when Oberon made it so at the end and did, indeed, still love her! Just goes to show how we all react differently! Hi Tony You are quite right that Peake was Titania - my sentence is probably poorly constructed as I was highlighting that I didn't like the depiction of Hippolyta as Hannibal Lector in addition to Titania, who just didn't give me the sense of magic or wonder I'd like to see in a queen of the fairies. I'm glad you enjoyed it though - I guess I'm just difficult to please! Chriss C. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2016 10:41:44 GMT
When people slag the BBC's programming, ask them when the last time ITV greenlit a project like this - much less ONE week after The Hollow Crown finished up.  It was a sumptuous version even if it was a bit too stripped back from the more dense relationships of the text. It's always been one of my favourite Shakespear productions eer since seeing a wonerful "Bard In The Botanics" version where it was put on in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens with the audience having to walk around the park while the cast do. |
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Post by chrisscorkscrew on May 31, 2016 11:48:52 GMT
When people slag the BBC's programming, ask them when the last time ITV greenlit a project like this - much less ONE week after The Hollow Crown finished up. It was a sumptuous version even if it was a bit too stripped back from the more dense relationships of the text. It's always been one of my favourite Shakespear productions eer since seeing a wonerful "Bard In The Botanics" version where it was put on in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens with the audience having to walk around the park while the cast do. You are quite right that The Hollow Crown was fantastic, and I can't see any other channel producing such a high quality series. I think MSND might have been just a bit too glitzy for my tastes. Chriss C. |
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Post by whiskeybrewer on May 31, 2016 13:22:28 GMT
I really enjoyed it. And it worked as a great way to introduce Kids and Teenagers to the play, that way when the go to the original text, so much more is revealed to them.
Although i didn't remember Theseus being that much of a dick in the original play lol
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It was a sumptuous version even if it was a bit too stripped back from the more dense relationships of the text. It's always been one of my favourite Shakespear productions eer since seeing a wonerful "Bard In The Botanics" version where it was put on in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens with the audience having to walk around the park while the cast do. 