“Anyone who struggles with Shakespeare in English will next year be able to see if it is any easier in Lithuanian. Or Portuguese, Italian or Spanish, perhaps. … In fact, there will be 38 different ways to experience it, as Shakespeare’s Globe presents all of the Bard’s plays, each in a different language, as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.”
Tag: 01.20.11
Sacha Baron Cohen to Star in Film of Saddam Novel
He “will star in a Hollywood adaptation of Zabibah and the King, the tender tale of a wise and good Iraqi leader who falls in love with a humble peasant girl.” New title: The Dictator.
When Did Movie Actors Stop Doing Their Own Dancing?
“I first started getting distracted by stand-ins during 1980s bopsicals such as Flashdance, in which Jennifer Beals clearly wasn’t doing her own bum-spinning … or Footloose, when Kevin Bacon clearly wasn’t turning his own mid-air somersaults, or … you get the picture.”
Real-Life Oliver Twist Workhouse Discovered?
A historian of medicine claims “that she has identified the model for the workhouse in Oliver Twist – and that the building in central London is now facing demolition.”
‘Immersive Theatre’ – Audio Drama for the Bathtub
The British theatre company Fuel has begun a monthly series of plays written specifically for podcast. “The first podcast features Kazuko Hohki’s The Hole, which is designed to be listened to while lying in the bath in the evening.” Future pieces will be intended to be heard while lying in bed, doing your cleaning and standing on a bridge at midnight.
Washington National Opera’s Kennedy Center Future
“Over the past few years,” WNO president Kenneth R. Feinberg said Wednesday, “the financial uncertainty surrounding the opera has threatened not only its viability but its ability to … maintain a level of artistic excellence. This is a critical step designed to assure the long-term artistic and financial success of the company.”
The End Of The TV Room?
“It was not long ago that an essential component for selling a house was a “TV room,” a place that could accommodate some couches and a few comfy chairs angled for multiple-person viewing. Now, between the explosion of available channels, the burgeoning number of devices for multimedia viewing, and the shrinking size of homes, the TV room is going the way of the land line.”
Plagiarism Itself Isn’t Bad. It’s How You Steal That Counts
The crime is lack of discrimination. Magpies need a good eye for jewels, and plagiarists thrive best when the booty passes through the brain, not just the laptop.
Washington National Opera Merges With Kennedy Center
“The financially troubled Washington National Opera is merging administrative functions with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the two organizations announced this morning. The move is intended to stabilize the opera company, which in recent years has reduced its season and borrowed against its endowment.”
Chicago Culture Tsar Stepping Down
“Lois Weisberg will end her long tenure as one of the most influential women to ever serve in local government when she leaves her position as the city’s commissioner of cultural affairs at the end of this month. The end is being accompanied by fireworks, which appear to have been sparked by Mayor Richard M. Daley.”