While recovering from recent bout with pneumonia, I caught a Charlie Rose interview with Kevin Spacey. They discussed Spacey’s recent portrayal of Gloucester (King Richard) in Shakespeare’s Richard III. During the piece, clips were shown from movie productions featuring Sir Lawrence Oliver, Ian McKellen, and—my favorite, Al Pacino. I’m looking forward to the Kevin Spacey version. I’ve attended a first-rate stage production by the Shakespeare Theater of NJ (what else but first-rate comes from this company?) at Drew as well.
In 9th and 10th grade English lit classes at Bayley-Ellard HS, we attempted to understand the plays by reading them aloud, ineptly performing scenes in front of the classroom, and dissecting iambic pentameter to death. Years later I saw Nicol Williamson performing in Hamlet on TV. Ah! While the archaic words didn’t always make made sense, actions on stage did. So, this is what Hamlet meant when he said “Perchance to dream…” I was hooked. Shakespeare was mine finally to enjoy.
Fast forward thirty years and I found myself engaged in learning the part of Gloucester in Richard III while commuting between home and NYC for no other reason than to grasp the eloquence of his soliloquies and try to understand the absolute evilness of his actions, which he shares with the audience as if we were co-conspirators.
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Anyway, a belated Happy New Year to all!
