Latest news with #TwelfthNight
Epoch Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
‘Twelfth Night': Learning to Discern Between Appearance and Reality
Duke Orsino begins Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night, or What You Will' with the famous lines, 'If music be the food of love, play on; / Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, / The appetite may sicken, and so die.' The poetry is lovely. But what is he really asking for? Orsino desires an 'excess' of 'love-food' so that his taste will sicken and die. He wants to be overloaded with love-sickness, to wallow in his forlorn feelings of melancholy. He enjoys the sadness as he loafs about his palace, listening to sad songs and composing love poems, pining for a woman he really knows little about. Orsino reveals, from the very beginning of the play, that he's in love with being in love.
Metro
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Sir Ian McKellen uses his fame for good in our trans and non-binary show'
'The media response has been kind of bigger than I could have ever imagined, for something that when it started, was a small fringe theatre thing,'said Phoebe Kemp. Phoebe is the trans and non-binary director of an upcoming performance of Twelfth Night that will be staged at The Space Theatre in London tonight on July 25 – the eve of London Trans Pride – and feature only trans and non-binary actors. Since the news emerged that Sir Ian McKellen is set to open the production, the event, which will be livestreamed, has sold over 1,600 tickets, with the media gobbling up the story. The positive announcement was covered across all sorts of major platforms, and Phoebe praised the Lord of the Rings actor for using his power for good and being only too happy to jump on board. 'It was very simple. Nancy [the show's producer] emailed his management team and said, 'Would he be interested in hosting the event?' And he said, 'Yes.' Like, very, very easy, nothing complicated. 'I've actually spoken to other people I know in the theatre industry. It sounds like that's kind of the person he is.' In April, it was announced that Sir Ian was set to appear in Dragged Through Time, a 14-year-old filmmaker's directorial debut that explores 1,000 years of gay history. The acting legend has long been a supporter and patron of various LGBTQ+ charities and has lent his voice where possible to support LGBTQ+ performances and artists. Pheobe referenced these examples and added: 'I think he's aware of his power as a celebrity or as a famous person, that his presence is something that will really bring attention to it. 'He's just been very, very generous with his time, and I think it's a real example of how good people can use celebrity for good.' While his stardom has brought attention to the production, not all of the attention has been 100% positive. When asked about potential criticism about excluding people who aren't trans or non-binary from the production, Phoebe deftly pointed out the hypocrisy. 'Do they also criticise the Lord Chamberlain's Men, who only do Shakespeare with all men? Are they also criticising the various white productions that happen?' 'It's an artistic take, in the same way that it would be an artistic take to say, doing all female Shakespeare or Shakespeare with people who are all from one racial background. It's a cultural choice, and it doesn't stop anybody else doing their own Shakespeare.' Phoebe emphasised that now is an important time for the trans and non-binary community, particularly given the recent Supreme Court ruling about the definition of a woman. 'I think the timing – we didn't know that the Supreme Court ruling was going to come, that was kind of all not in the planning. But I think it kind of very much feels even more important, as a response to that.' The director expanded, explaining that their hopes for the production are to 'put trans people, very up, like front and centre of something, and go, 'Look, here we are. We're brilliant, and we're talented.'' They added that it's also an attempt to remind some groups on a more basic level that trans people are worthy of basic respect. 'I think it's really great to go, 'We are people.' Remind people we are all humans. Here is us tackling something that is kind of a huge part of our cultural history. This is kind of just what we want. We just want to be able to do the things that everybody else can do, which shouldn't be a massive ask, but can feel like it.' They added that this performance was set to be a celebration, and wouldn't fall into the classic trope of involving trans people, just focusing on the challenges of their gender identity. 'There are a lot of terrible things happening in the world right now, and it can sometimes feel like, 'well, what can I do?' And I think while there is a place for stories that tell the darkness, I think there's also a place for, really celebrating joy and positivity in marginalised communities. 'It's really important that trans people don't only tell stories, aren't only put in stories that are about kind of the trauma of kind of transphobia.' Despite media attention on the performance, funding is still an issue for this production and a key reason the performance is a table read, and not a full-scale performance. 'We don't have any funding. We're paying everybody through ticket sales. Rehearsals take a lot of time and therefore money to pay everybody. I'm really passionate about paying people, I don't want to ask people to work for free. More Trending 'So there was no way to, at this point, find the money to do it as a full production. Whereas this is kind of an achievable goal, we can make this happen. 'I would love, love, love for it to be all production. If anybody who sees it would like to produce it. That would be amazing!' Trans What You Will's production of Twelfth Night is set to take place tonight on July 25, at The Space . A version of this article was published on June 24. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Spectator
2713: Outdressed
Clockwise round the grid from the square between 6 and 7 runs a quotation which could have referred to the three unclued lights, and its source (7,2,3,3,5,3,3,7,4,3,2,5,5). Across 9 Top part is the place to go in ships (5) 10 Wild party girl cycling (4) 11 Ex-president twice cut back tropical plants (5) 12 Unbounded profusion bewildered lunatic (7) 13 Article on devilish debonair Michael Gove? (10) 15 Microstate near heart of Burundi hoards gold (5) 18 He might steal object inside present (8) 19 But for squaddies we may serve mocktails (6) 21 Rebecca's boy, second in hunt after sea snakes (4) 24 Primrose played this role in Twelfth Night (5) 25 Monarch astride a wild ass (5) 26 Sea duck finally fears what cats often do (4) 28 Trainee aboard three-master (6) 29 Tramline altered Liverpool Street perhaps (8) 34 Arboreal beast – it's one of the deadly ones (5) 36 Mignonne quality? It's Dianne's when dancing (10) 37 Goddess turned male punches wandering boffin (7) 38 Old fools, they could be upside-down (5) 39 English actor and Irish poet leaving hotel (4) 40 Brother and father crossing drowned valley (5) Down 1 One of a duo warming up cold listeners? (7) 2 Famous novelist has had coats of granular leather (10) 3 Spiteful poet hides bill of exchange (6) 4 Broadway star ejects male wastrel (5) 5 Praiseworthy Bella disturbed about proscribed group (8) 6 Rascal headed own goal? (5) 7 Roman poet's nothing like Humpty-Dumpty (5) 8 Seabird kebab's sound (4) 14 Aged tree encroaches on another tree (5) 20 Trained assassin somewhat often in jail (5) 22 Capital godly sort meets Venetian villain (8) 23 White wine roused no rector (4) 27 Corner in first half of untroubled game (7) 30 Old German unclothed in country (6) 32 Be stingy towards tax in Troon (5) 33 Fruit and veg Romeo ingested (5) 34 Cross old actor (4) Download a printable version here. A first prize of £30 and two runners-up prizes of £20 for the first correct solutions opened on 11 August. Please scan or photograph entries and email them (including the crossword number in the subject field) to crosswords@ or post to: Crossword 2713, The Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9HP. Please allow six weeks for prize delivery.
Buzz Feed
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Sandra Oh Curses CBS For Canceling Stephen Colbert
Sandra Oh called out Paramount and CBS during her visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on July 21 after news of its sudden cancellation. While the network said the cancellation was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night," many celebrities, politicians, and fellow talk show hosts believe otherwise. The cancellation came only three days after Stephen publicly criticized CBS's parent company, Paramount, for a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump after he accused 60 Minutes of "deceptive doctoring" in how they edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount is also in the middle of a potential merger with Skydance, which requires the approval of Trump's administration. Sandra — who is currently in Smurfs and Aziz Ansari's Good Fortune — isn't the first celebrity to share their opinion on The Late Show cancellation, but she is the first to literally curse them. "Can I just start by saying something that I feel like probably everyone here and everyone who is so supportive outside wants to say — that I am so sorry and saddened and properly outraged for the cancellation of late night here. Not only for yourself and for this entire family who are here, but for what it means for what it is of where we are in our culture and what it means for free speech," she said. "So I just want to say sorry, and also if I can have your hand, to CBS and Paramount, a plague on both of your houses," she added, grabbing Stephen's hand. Stephen added, "I am very grateful," before Sandra said she had one more thing to say. "And also a pox on all those they serve." "Thank you, Sandra Oh. That's very nice of you to say," Stephen replied. "Very kind, Sandra." Sandra's curse might sound familiar because it's a catchphrase made famous in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. In Act 3, Scene 1, a duel occurs between Tybalt on behalf of the House of Capulet and Mercutio on behalf of the House of Montague. When Mercutio is defeated, he says, "A plague o' both your houses! / They have made worms' meat of me: I have it / And soundly too: your houses!" Spoiler alert for the almost 500-year-old play: the curse comes true when a quarantine stops Romeo from learning that Juliet is not dead but asleep. In the end, Romeo ends his life, and when Juliet awakes, she ends her life too. It makes perfect sense for the award-winning, theatrically trained actor who is set to star in Twelfth Night for Shakespeare in the Park later this year to recite a line from Romeo and Juliet to call out CBS and Paramount. Watch Sandra on The Late Show below:
New York Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Free Shakespeare's Central Park Home Gets an $85 Million Glow Up
After an 18-month, $85 million overhaul, the Delacorte Theater reopens next month with a starry new version of 'Twelfth Night.' I'll leave it to playgoers and critics to deliver their verdicts on the production. I'm happy to report, in the meantime, that the renovation deftly fixes much of what ailed the city's beloved home of free Shakespeare in Central Park. It was on its last legs before it was shuttered. Built during the Kennedy era for the current price of a two-bedroom condo in Fort Lee, N.J., the Delacorte from Day One was a glorified, rickety high-school grandstand, with water leaking into ramshackle dressing rooms and raccoons nesting backstage. Watching great actors and directors put on 'Hamlet' there was roughly akin to consuming truffled langoustine on the L train. The modesty was part of its charm. Like the park, it spoke to the city's egalitarian soul and cultural ambition. Its makeover is the latest change to a park that has recently undergone, or is considering, a variety of alterations, which include the opening of the excellent Davis Center in Harlem, plans to revamp Wollman Rink and a proposal by the Metropolitan Museum to replace an old wing with a new one, a stone's throw from the Delacorte. It may seem odd to think of Central Park as a work in progress. It can come across as a grand relic from another century. But this middle stretch of the park in particular, which includes the Delacorte, has undergone a surprising number of upheavals over the past 200-odd years that mirror changes across the city. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
