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It's lovely to see such a wide range of interests. I sometimes feel lonely in my desire for culture as a lot of people just seem to want to do nothing but sit in front of the TV. A lot of people I know seem to think that going to the theatre or museums is a "snobby" thing to do and it really bothers me. I can see that people might not be able to afford it but do not understand that they have no interest in those things. .
I am not convinced that we are becoming less cultured. But I know what you mean about the "snobby" aspect.
I am excited to see that there appears to be live theater in Fernandina Beach as well as Jacksonville. (We move there a week from today!)
It may not be up to London or New York City standards but I am not too worried about that. And yes, AFAIK community theaters have to do their own fundraising.
I adore Oscar Wilde, the man was so very talented. Ditto Noel Coward.
I never get tired of Shakespeare, though. I always have to read up on him before I see one of his works. We saw "As You Like It" performed at the Globe Theater in London and it was an extra special treat for me because David Rintoul, who played the Best Darcy Ever in the 1981 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, played Duke Frederic.
There are layers and textures to many of the works I experience which may go right over my head. But I love observing the performance, and listening to language, and it seems like the meaning sinks in over time.
I am not convinced that we are becoming less cultured. But I know what you mean about the "snobby" aspect.
I am excited to see that there appears to be live theater in Fernandina Beach as well as Jacksonville. (We move there a week from today!)
It may not be up to London or New York City standards but I am not too worried about that. And yes, AFAIK community theaters have to do their own fundraising.
I adore Oscar Wilde, the man was so very talented. Ditto Noel Coward.
I never get tired of Shakespeare, though. I always have to read up on him before I see one of his works. We saw "As You Like It" performed at the Globe Theatre in London and it was an extra special treat for me because David Rintoul, who played the Best Darcy Ever in the 1981 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, played Duke Frederic.
There are layers and textures to many of the works I experience which may go right over my head. But I love observing the performance, and listening to language, and it seems like the meaning sinks in over time.
I don't think Oscar could have written a bad line if he had tried and his wit has not dated. The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of my very favourite books.
I do like Shakespeare but tend to prefer his tragedies as I cannot get into his comedies at all. I particularly love "Hamlet" , "The Merchant of Venice", "King Lear" and of course "MacBeth. I cannot help but think that some of his plays written when his debt-collectors were banging on the door are less than polished. I saw "Cymbeline" a couple of years back at the Globe and the entire audience including myself were bored stiff! one of the lines was : "let me be brief" and I felt like shouting " PLEASE YES DO BE BRIEF"
I am going to Stratford next week to see "the Seagull" done by the RSC and it's supposed to be an excellent production.
I'm not sure the standards in London are necessarily better than in the provinces ( where I live) actually, we have had some pretty awful ( and expensive ) evenings out before where it was very disappointing. I think a lot of London theatres tend to try and get "bums on seats" as we call it here and often do away with the quality in favour of big names. Also they tend to go for more "popular" entertainment and the West End is full of musicals , some of dubious quality.
One of the best productions I ever saw was last winter, a student production of JP Sartre's "Crime Passionel" in Oxford , the acting was absolutely superb and the production faultless. I could not believe how good they were. I'm also quite fond of community theatre , some excellent , some excruciatingly bad but I love the fact that people feel passionate enough to put shows on , which take a lot of effort and time.
. I'm also quite fond of community theatre , some excellent , some excruciatingly bad but I love the fact that people feel passionate enough to put shows on , which take a lot of effort and time.
Yes. Reminds me of play-within-play shows I've seen. The play's the thing!
When it comes to Shakespeare, I've only seen the biggies, and I enjoy it when they get a bit creative with the production, such as the cinematic version of Richard III which was set in a crazy fascist England.
And I loved that wacky Compleat Shakespeare, where they compressed his works into an hour or so. Sure it is a silly "greatest hits" but they did a nice job of it. Now you've gotten me all excited to see theater again.
My poor husband.
I love the theater, too, especially musicals, but usually have to drive a couple of hours to see anything. Our local performing arts center doesn't offer much. One of the highlights of staying in London was to be able to go to matinees almost every day!
The High Museum in Atlanta has some great exhibits and it makes for a fun weekend.
I like to go to museums, concerts, libraries, and to the theater. I also just like to walk around and look at the architecture or nature. I tend to like to do solitary things rather than being part of a big crowd.
Yes. Reminds me of play-within-play shows I've seen. The play's the thing!
When it comes to Shakespeare, I've only seen the biggies, and I enjoy it when they get a bit creative with the production, such as the cinematic version of Richard III which was set in a crazy fascist England.
And I loved that wacky Compleat Shakespeare, where they compressed his works into an hour or so. Sure it is a silly "greatest hits" but they did a nice job of it. Now you've gotten me all excited to see theater again.
My poor husband.
I love the Reduced Shakespeare Company , their reduced history of America , the Bible and Shakespeare's works was just inspired and plain hilarious!
I saw a fantastic "Simpsons" version of MacBeth at the Edinburgh Fringe done by a Canadian chap called Rick Miller and it was absolutely brilliant, funny but also very clever. If it ever comes to a place near you DO go , it's really worth it.
I Edinburgh Fringe done by a Canadian chap called Rick Miller and it was absolutely brilliant, funny but also very clever. If it ever comes to a place near you DO go , it's really worth it.
So you've been to the Fringe Festival!?
Now *that* is a cultural extravaganza! We had a blast there, saw some magician/comedian guy who had us in stitches.
But the buskers were the best.
I will keep an eye out for Rick Miller.
So you've been to the Fringe Festival!?
Now *that* is a cultural extravaganza! We had a blast there, saw some magician/comedian guy who had us in stitches.
But the buskers were the best.
I will keep an eye out for Rick Miller.
I lived in Scotland ( Loch Lomond) for 4 years so we used to go to the Fringe every year as well as the Edinburgh festival and literary festival. There is so much going on , it's amazing though I have to admit most of it is pretty bad! You learn how to be very selective...
We saw a great one man play with a famous actor whose name I now forget called "Holmes" which was a really thoughtful and very moving account of a lonely ageing Holmes reminiscing about his cases but mostly his friendship with Watson.
We were also very lucky to catch "Clarence Darrow" with Leslie Nielsen ( another solo performance) in Glasgow and what a beautiful and stirring evening that was. He is an amazing actor and I had never realised how good a dramatic actor he was before. It was most inspiring and a real "tour de force".
I'm a writer living in the central Florida area. Orlando has a lot of cultural events. Rollins college puts on live plays and they have a writers forum that appers on local TV. Rolins is very involved in the arts. Some of our leading citizens in this country graduated there; Mr Rogers for one, remember him? As for playwrights I like Noel Coward and Author Miller, but I think my favorite is Neil Simon. Have to admit I've never watched one of his plays, but I've seen all of the films, that were adapted. I enjoy good art too. My favorite is Monet. I like his impressions. I've seen some beautiful work from our local artist. I once wrote features for the hometown paper on some of our local gentry. At least one was good enough to be listed (somewhere) as an American artist, something of an achievement I think
So you've been to the Fringe Festival!?
Now *that* is a cultural extravaganza! We had a blast there, saw some magician/comedian guy who had us in stitches.
But the buskers were the best.
I will keep an eye out for Rick Miller.
Maybe you Ladies would enjoy "Burning Man"...?
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