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Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Shakespeare in 2025: 10 legendary lines that still speak to students
Four centuries have passed since William Shakespeare inked his mind into plays and poetry, yet the echo of his writing continues to pulse through the conversations and thoughts of today. The Bard of Avon didn't just author plays and sonnets; he crafted a timeless world for generations to float through when seeking inspiration and self-reflection. The cobblestone streets of 16th-century England continue all the way to modern classrooms around the globe, and Shakespeare's language has proven remarkably resilient. His phrases have woven themselves so deeply into the cultural fabric that his works are often quoted even without proper acknowledgement of his contributions. For students embarking on their literary journey, or those who seek to enlighten themselves about the literature legend, these ten quotes are quintessential. 1. "To be, or not to be: that is the question." (Hamlet) When Hamlet wrestles with existence itself, he voices perhaps literature's most famous philosophical dilemma. This isn't merely about life and death, it's about choice, courage, and the weight of consciousness. Students often discover that this line opens up profound discussions about decision-making and the human condition that feel surprisingly contemporary. 2. "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." (As You Like It) Shakespeare presents life as an elaborate performance where each person assumes different roles throughout their existence. This theatrical metaphor continues to resonate because it captures something fundamental about how we navigate social expectations and personal identity, themes that feel especially relevant to students figuring out their place in the world. 3. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" (Romeo and Juliet) Beyond its romantic surface, Juliet's lament reveals the tragedy of social barriers and predetermined identities. She's not asking where Romeo is, but why he must be who he is, a member of her family's enemy house. This quote illuminates how external circumstances can complicate our deepest connections. 4. "Et tu, Brute?" (Julius Caesar) In just three words, Shakespeare captures the devastating moment when trust shatters completely. Caesar's final words to his friend Brutus have become shorthand for unexpected betrayal, demonstrating how the playwright could distill complex emotions into unforgettable phrases. 5. "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." (Hamlet) This observation about excessive denial has found new life in our age of public discourse and social media. When someone's defense becomes suspiciously elaborate, we recognise the psychology Shakespeare identified centuries ago, that overstatement often reveals what it attempts to conceal. 6. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." (Romeo and Juliet) Juliet argues that labels shouldn't determine worth, a concept that speaks powerfully to contemporary discussions about identity, stereotypes, and social categories. Shakespeare understood that society's tendency to judge by surface markers often obscures deeper truths. 7. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." (Macbeth) The witches' paradoxical chant introduces a play where moral boundaries constantly shift. This line has become a touchstone for discussing how appearances can deceive and how good and evil aren't always clearly defined, lessons particularly relevant in our complex modern world. 8. "Parting is such sweet sorrow." (Romeo and Juliet) Shakespeare captures the contradictory emotions of goodbye, the pain of separation mixed with love's enduring promise. This oxymoron perfectly expresses how human feelings often resist simple categorisation, making it endlessly quotable for anyone experiencing complicated farewells. 9. "Brevity is the soul of wit." (Hamlet) Ironically delivered by the verbose Polonius, this advice about concise communication remains remarkably relevant in our information-saturated age. Shakespeare understood that the most powerful messages often come in compact packages, a lesson every student writer should embrace. 10. "All that glitters is not gold." (The Merchant of Venice) This warning against superficial judgment has become one of English literature's most enduring proverbs. In Shakespeare's hands, it serves as both practical advice and philosophical insight about the difference between appearance and reality. Why These Words Endure Shakespeare's genius lies not only in storytelling but in distilling universal human experiences into unforgettable language. These quotes endure because they speak to timeless struggles, identity, love, betrayal, choice, and mortality. For students, engaging with them offers more than literary insight; it provides a vocabulary for life's complexities. Written to be spoken aloud and felt, they remain alive, connecting us across centuries to share enduring truths about the human condition. Ready to empower your child for the AI era? Join our program now! Hurry, only a few seats left.
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
As You Like It opens the Stratford Festival with a post-apocalyptic boom
Title: As You Like It Written by: William Shakespeare Performed by: Sara Farb, Makambe K. Simamba, Sean Arbuckle, Christopher Allen, Andrew Chown, Steve Ross, Seana McKenna, Jessica B. Hill, Silvae Mercedes Director: Chris Abraham Company: Stratford Festival Venue: Festival Theatre City: Stratford Year: Until Oct. 24, 2025 Critic's Pick In The Last of Us, society is synonymous with death. A parasitic fungus called cordyceps travels easily between humans, and in the not-too-distant future, companionship is a surefire way of getting killed, or worse, turning into a zombie. It's safer, the video-game-turned-television-smash posits, to run for the forests – to live on the fringes of civilization. Of course, idealizing the countryside in media isn't new. We've longed for greener pastures for millennia. In literature, stories that turn their backs on city life are referred to as pastorals, and William Shakespeare wrote a bunch of 'em – most chiefly As You Like It, which on Monday night opened this year's Stratford Festival with a genre-bending, post-apocalyptic boom set to a backdrop of lilting guitars. It's a fabulous production that clearly takes its inspiration from a certain TV show starring Pedro Pascal, as well as the ever-real threats of the climate crisis. But director Chris Abraham doesn't shoehorn Shakespeare's story into any old context du jour – he makes a winning case for the contemporary framing, and when the play embarks on its much more upbeat second half, there's an almost-physical shift from the pain and gloom of what preceded it. A retreat. Long one of my favourites of Shakespeare's plays, As You Like It is a banger if done well, as it is here. The play opens in disarray – there's a famine, and in this version, thick snow blankets the earth in downy fluff (kudos to set designer Julie Fox for that). When Duke Frederick (Sean Arbuckle) seizes power from his sister (Seana McKenna), the latter escapes to the forest, prepared to live out her days in exile. Her daughter Rosalind (Sara Farb at her funniest and most endearing) brings up the rear, her trusted cousin Celia (Makambe K. Simamba, also excellent) in tow. Of course, all hell breaks loose when, disguised as a man in the woods, Rosalind encounters Orlando (Christopher Allen) and convinces him to prove his love for … herself. As You Like It is a play that starts sour but turns sweet by its final song – and there are many songs, composed in this production by Ron Sexsmith and Thomas Ryder Payne. Like most directors who have tackled this work, Abraham taps into the comedy of the play, the raunchy jokes and mistaken identities that prop up its second half. But what's refreshing about this As You Like It is Abraham's equal willingness to show the violence, grit and solitude of the Forest of Arden – the crushing weight of political exile. As You Like It is a production of extremes, and Abraham's cast, a veritable 'greatest hits' of Stratford Festival actors and frequent Toronto players, drives the tale home without any weak links. Arbuckle, heartbreaking in 2023's Casey and Diana and radiant in last year's La Cage aux Folles, is terrifying here as the unfeeling duke. Andrew Chown, too, can be proud of his Stratford debut as Oliver – he's a fierce presence onstage who ably keeps up with the veterans who've played the cavernous Festival Theatre for years. Steve Ross makes for a terrific Touchstone, a clown who lobs out bad jokes by the minute – and he's complemented well by Silvae Mercedes's Audrey. Jessica B. Hill, too, is a rock-solid Phoebe. But it's As You Like It's leading trio that makes Abraham's production such an auspicious start to this year's festival. Farb, in particular, is wonderful – her crush on Orlando is touching and schmaltzy, and her scenes with Allen are laugh-out-loud funny. Farb and Simamba have swell chemistry as the sister-close cousins, as well. On the design side, Abraham's production bears welcome resemblance to some of the director's more successful recent projects in Toronto. Imogen Wilson's sun-dappled lighting, especially, calls to mind the similarly nostalgic effect Kimberly Purtell achieved in Abraham's Uncle Vanya in 2022. Fox's rugged set and costumes, too, feel like they'd be right at home at Crow's Theatre – they're elegantly tailored, with an eye toward outdoorsy grunge. Fans of Shakespeare and The Last of Us alike ought to be pleased by this As You Like It, and folks on either side of that aisle might be surprised by how Abraham's production wriggles and evolves over its two-and-a-half-hour runtime. As artistic director of Crow's, Abraham has long lobbied for audiences to put down their phone and head to the theatre – following this successful challenge to the high production values of prestige television, I'm more convinced than ever.
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Stratford Festival's ‘As You Like It' is not as you know it — with one risky swing that somewhat misses
STRATFORD — I like my Shakespeare served with a side of risk. None more so than a work like 'As You Like It,' one of the most popular plays by the Bard, which a professional critic will likely see more than several times throughout his or her career.
Hans India
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hans India
A compromise between the need for perfection and practicality will work wonders in life
All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts..... - As You Like It – William Shakespeare. The roots of drama in the Indian subcontinent can be traced to the Rigveda period, or 1500 to 1000 BCE. The classical stage of Indian drama, however, began with the composition of 'Natyasastra', or the science of drama, which is attributed to Sage Bharata, somewhere between 200 BC and 200 CE. The Indian theatre movement later went through three phases-the classical, traditional and modern. Kalidasa, whose immortal works include Megha Sandesam and Abhignana Sakuntalam, was a great exponent of the art of acting during the traditional period. Luminaries such as Kandukuri Veeresalingam, and Gurajada Appa Rao in Telugu, Lakshmi Baruva in Assamese, Kerala Varma Thampuran in Malayalam, and Shankar and P. Sambandha Mudaliar in Tamil, are among many others, who are remembered for their contributions in the more modern times From times immemorial, it has served as a space for entertainment and exploration of complex themes. It involves bringing characters to life through performance. It requires a deep understanding of human behaviour, emotions, and psychology, as well as the ability to convey these elements convincingly to an audience. In ancient Greece, in particular, it evolved from religious rituals into a form of dramatic performance in open-air venues, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens. Acting is a multifaceted art. Its techniques and methods are diverse, each offering unique tools for actors to create believable and compelling performances. Some of the techniques popular in the western are Stanislavski's System, Method Acting, and Meisner's Spontaneity, mastering which enhances the authenticity of performances. In ancient Indian arts, one type of art often depended on the other form as necessary complements. Drama, for example, often went together with singing and dance , the three forms combining harmoniously to offer the audiences a rich product. Whether drawing from personal experience, imagination, or script analysis, actors employ a range of strategies to inhabit their characters and connect with audiences. Understanding and mastering these techniques can help aspiring actors develop their craft and bring characters to life, on stage and screen depending on which platform they are performing. Training to be an actor can take various forms, and aspiring actors often pursue a combination of methods. Drama schools and conservatories, for instance, offer intensive programs focused on acting techniques, voice, movement, and scene study. Many universities offer Bachelor's or Master's degrees in theatre or drama, which provide a comprehensive education in acting, directing, and production. Several talented, and experienced, individuals have also been known to undertake the task of training people to be actors. For example, Stella Adler was arguably the most important teacher of acting in American history. Over her long career, both in New York and Hollywood, she passed on her vast acting knowledge to generations of actors, including Marlon Brando, Warren Beatty, and Robert De Niro. The Juilliard School (USA), Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) are consistently recognised for their rigorous training and high-quality instruction. Several top acting schools in India also offer comprehensive training in acting and related fields. The National School of Drama (NSD), the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), and Anupam Kher's Actor Prepares are widely considered among the best. Every profession has its share of people, who have done reasonably well without any formal training, at the time of induction. For instance, I had neither the opportunity, nor the desire, to get trained in an institution, to prepare for the civil services examinations, with my father providing all the necessary support, encouragement, and help. Likewise, it was by sheer accident that I entered into the movie field, as a six-year-old; naturally, with no formal training, whatsoever. The courtship with that profession lasted about three years, covering about 28 movies, in Telugu, Tamil and English. I had an occasion to recall that experience when, in 2004, Chiranjeevi asked me to inaugurate the website of his blood bank in Jubilee Hills. During the function, he asked, 'Is it true that you were a child film star?' I replied, 'Yes. But I have never acted so much in my life, as I am doing in my present job!' Every profession calls for total dedication, complete devotion, a fierce commitment to error-free performance and a certain amount of pride in being a practitioner of that particular occupation. The ability to work out a comfortable compromise, between the need for perfection and the imperatives of practicality, is a crucial requirement. My comment also owed its spirit to the fact that I had, in fact, not only acted in movies, but also had spent close to four decades in public service. I had the credentials, therefore, to make a comparison between the demands that the two professions make. The point I was making was that, just as Chiranjeevi's vocation demanded a good deal of administrative ability, the job of a civil servant also requires a reasonable amount of talent for histrionics. The light hearted snippet, with which I usually end my pieces, will, I am afraid, be a bit of a déjà vu experience for the readers, this week. Upon the formation of the new state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, the High Court of the erstwhile Madras State was bifurcated, and my father, a lawyer by profession, moved to Guntur, the headquarters of the new High Court. Soon thereafter, he was elevated to the Bench of the new court. Koka Subbarao who subsequently rose to become the Chief Justice of India and was known for many landmark judgments, was the Chief Justice of Andhra High Court at that time. I was then a sixth grader, in the Majeti Guravaiah High school. People generally knew that I had, earlier, been a child actor. Expectations, therefore, were high when I was asked to do a bit of mono action – that of enacting the famous speech of Hamlet at Caesar's funeral in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. I had got no further than the 'Friends, Romans and countrymen, …' bit, when I began to stutter and stammer, and generally made a hash of the whole thing. Head hung in shame, I was walking away from the stage, to where were my parents were sitting, when Koka Subba Rao, sitting in the front row in the audience, as the chief guest of the function, beckoned to me and gently whispered in my ear, 'be sure to button your fly next time you appear on stage!'. (The writer was formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)
Irish Post
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Dylan Moran to make Shakespearean debut under direction of Ralph Fiennes
MEATH actor Dylan Moran is set to make his Shakespearean debut at the Theatre Royal in Bath this summer. The Navan native will star in a new production of the Bard's As You Like It as part of the Ralph Fiennes/Theatre Royal Bath Season First published in 1623, Shakespeare's comedy is being retold under the direction of the acclaimed actor Ralph Fiennes, who is leading a season at the theatre. Dylan Moran will star in As You Like iIt at the Theatre Royal in Bath Moran, a comedian and actor who created and starred in the hit series Black Books, plays the role of Touchstone in the production. He has also starred in a range of hit films, including Notting Hill, Shaun of the Dead, The Witcher and Run Fatboy Run. Ralph Fiennes will direct the production His castmates for As You Like It include Patrick Robinson, Charlie Rowe, Dame Harriet Walter and Gloria Obianyo. As You Like It, directed by Ralph Fiennes, runs at the Theatre Royal Bath from August 15 to September 6. The opening production of The Ralph Fiennes/Theatre Royal Bath Season sees Fiennes play opposite Miranda Raison in the world premiere of David Hare's new play Grace Pervades. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, it tells the story of Victorian couple Henry Irving (Fiennes) and Ellen Terry (Raison) and their troubled children - Edith Craig and Edward Gordon Craig. See More: As You Lke It, Dylan Moran, Ralph Fiennes, Shakespeare
