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Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet reveals something rotten in the state of theatre Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet reveals something rotten in the state of theatre
(34 minutes later)
Cumberfever has reached critical levels, as previews for that production of Hamlet at the Barbican continue. The Times ran a front-page story this week on the astounding news that the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy has been moved from the beginning of the production, where Benedict Cumberbatch had delivered it in early previews, to act three.Cumberfever has reached critical levels, as previews for that production of Hamlet at the Barbican continue. The Times ran a front-page story this week on the astounding news that the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy has been moved from the beginning of the production, where Benedict Cumberbatch had delivered it in early previews, to act three.
Related: Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet: media accused of contempt and hysteria
Part of me is delighted that Shakespeare is such hot news. But most of me finds the mania depressing. So what if they moved “To be, or not to be”? Shifting it is not especially radical. (If you want a radical cut-up of the text, there have been plenty, mostly from overseas where directors often have a less reverential view of Shakespeare than we do in Britain: see Thomas Ostermeier’s production from Berlin, which toured to the Barbican in 2011.)Part of me is delighted that Shakespeare is such hot news. But most of me finds the mania depressing. So what if they moved “To be, or not to be”? Shifting it is not especially radical. (If you want a radical cut-up of the text, there have been plenty, mostly from overseas where directors often have a less reverential view of Shakespeare than we do in Britain: see Thomas Ostermeier’s production from Berlin, which toured to the Barbican in 2011.)
Nor is changing the soliloquy’s position mid-previews an admittance of failure. (And it is most unlikely to be what the Times article seems to imply is a caving-in to the paper’s own first-preview review.) The whole point of previews is that things get changed.Nor is changing the soliloquy’s position mid-previews an admittance of failure. (And it is most unlikely to be what the Times article seems to imply is a caving-in to the paper’s own first-preview review.) The whole point of previews is that things get changed.
Plays regularly lose as much as half an hour during previews, as directors and actors adjust the dial according to how the work sits in front of an audience. The prejudging of Hamlet is like being held publicly to account on, say, your carpentry or baking skills, before you’ve actually finished making your table, or cake. My interest in this is that the brouhaha actually renders the production less likely to be good, for the simple reason that it’s harder for artists to make work under such conditions. And I’d like it to be good. Not cheap, them tickets.Plays regularly lose as much as half an hour during previews, as directors and actors adjust the dial according to how the work sits in front of an audience. The prejudging of Hamlet is like being held publicly to account on, say, your carpentry or baking skills, before you’ve actually finished making your table, or cake. My interest in this is that the brouhaha actually renders the production less likely to be good, for the simple reason that it’s harder for artists to make work under such conditions. And I’d like it to be good. Not cheap, them tickets.
Corbyn’s poetic injusticeCorbyn’s poetic injustice
My local paper, the Islington Tribune, covers Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency. One might have thought that the hebdomadary would have turned into a kind of Corbyn-zine, but no.My local paper, the Islington Tribune, covers Jeremy Corbyn’s constituency. One might have thought that the hebdomadary would have turned into a kind of Corbyn-zine, but no.
With admirable restraint, it remains devoted to precisely what it should be covering: parking, the closing of cherished public services, and – my Guardianista heart skips a beat at this – the news that the Coach and Horses, this paper’s former regular boozer from its Farringdon Road days, is likely to be turned into luxury flats.With admirable restraint, it remains devoted to precisely what it should be covering: parking, the closing of cherished public services, and – my Guardianista heart skips a beat at this – the news that the Coach and Horses, this paper’s former regular boozer from its Farringdon Road days, is likely to be turned into luxury flats.
One must turn to page 11 to find news of Corbyn, where he volunteers that he is reading Wilde’s De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Leaving aside how germane these writings may be to the leadership race (“Yet each man kills the thing he loves” springs unbidden to mind), let us for a moment dwell on how unusual it is for a British politician of any stripe to admit to reading poetry.One must turn to page 11 to find news of Corbyn, where he volunteers that he is reading Wilde’s De Profundis and The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Leaving aside how germane these writings may be to the leadership race (“Yet each man kills the thing he loves” springs unbidden to mind), let us for a moment dwell on how unusual it is for a British politician of any stripe to admit to reading poetry.
It is possible that Yvette Cooper has told the Pontefract and Castleford Express that she is having a good crack at Pound. It is faintly conceivable that Andy Burnham has confessed to the Leigh Journal that he is presently immersed in Browning’s Pippa Passes; and that Liz Kendall has confided to the Leicester Mercury a penchant for the gloomy Aberdonian lyrics of Robin Robertson. But unlikely.It is possible that Yvette Cooper has told the Pontefract and Castleford Express that she is having a good crack at Pound. It is faintly conceivable that Andy Burnham has confessed to the Leigh Journal that he is presently immersed in Browning’s Pippa Passes; and that Liz Kendall has confided to the Leicester Mercury a penchant for the gloomy Aberdonian lyrics of Robin Robertson. But unlikely.
I fear Corbyn’s relaxed attitude to discussing his cultural taste may be yet another reason why he is – according to conventional wisdom, anyway – unelectable.I fear Corbyn’s relaxed attitude to discussing his cultural taste may be yet another reason why he is – according to conventional wisdom, anyway – unelectable.
Classics v IsisClassics v Isis
This week the head of antiquities at Palmyra, Khaled Asaad, was reportedly murdered by Islamic State militants, his headless body displayed among the grand ruins that he had spent half a century caring for. It is thought that he was executed after refusing to reveal the location of antiquities that had been removed from the site for safekeeping.This week the head of antiquities at Palmyra, Khaled Asaad, was reportedly murdered by Islamic State militants, his headless body displayed among the grand ruins that he had spent half a century caring for. It is thought that he was executed after refusing to reveal the location of antiquities that had been removed from the site for safekeeping.
Palmyra was an ancient trading city, replete with Greek, Roman, Persian, Seleucid and Jewish influences. The apparently dusty and “irrelevant” subject of classics (which I studied at university and continue to write about) is in the front line of a war. Never has it seemed more urgent to assert the importance of a subtle understanding of ancient history, as Isis attempts by violence to wipe it out.Palmyra was an ancient trading city, replete with Greek, Roman, Persian, Seleucid and Jewish influences. The apparently dusty and “irrelevant” subject of classics (which I studied at university and continue to write about) is in the front line of a war. Never has it seemed more urgent to assert the importance of a subtle understanding of ancient history, as Isis attempts by violence to wipe it out.