Tbh, who wouldn't be overwhelmed if he gets applause for "ages".

Can´t believe it´s finished already. Nostalgiaaaa....

Ben did not miss a single performance in the entire run, did he?

Incredible stamina.

I am proud of him for doing all 92, when I ordered my ticket last year I wanted one as early as possible in case he got ill or exhausted... not that I doubted his skills and ability to take care of himself though... but this was the first time I actually succeeded in seeing my idol without them falling ill, canceling or well... dying... just before I was supposed to see them. 

He sure has stamina! 

Can I share a sort of a rant? Not really to do with this production of Hamlet...

While getting drinks during the interlude at the cinema my friend overheard a teenage girl say "I am so lost, I don't understand anything!!" I actually think this was one of the most 'understandable' versions of Hamlet, even if you just can't grasp the Shakespearean English, I'd say you should be able to follow the plot. 

It reminded me of what my aunt told me a while ago, that shocked me to the core... 
My aunt is a retired English teacher, and I tried to discuss Hamlet with her... trying to have an intellectual conversation. She cut me off and told me she didn't really know Hamlet that well... then went on to saying something even worse; that she never really understood Shakespearean English and thought it was too much work. 

HOW? How... how...?

I can understand why that might be upsetting to hear for someone who appreciates Shakespeare.  I would agree that it does help to have read a play beforehand when you go to see it.  I do think it's too bad that someone had a not great experience because of their difficulty understanding.  It would be even more difficult if English isn't your first language.

Of course, and I respect that the language can be hard to follow and get into, that wasn't what I meant... I still find new things in this play even if I've read it a million times. 

I meant that this version was very visual and gave you a better chance than most performances I've seen to understand what was going on; even if you didn't even know normal English. 

And my issue with my aunt is that she is an English teacher... 

Yitzock wrote:

I can understand why that might be upsetting to hear for someone who appreciates Shakespeare.  I would agree that it does help to have read a play beforehand when you go to see it.  I do think it's too bad that someone had a not great experience because of their difficulty understanding.  It would be even more difficult if English isn't your first language.

And for me, as an American, Shakespeare done by actors with English accents would be whoa!more difficult for me to "get" than if the actors were American. I can't understand a good 25% of the dialogue in the Sherlock TV shows, have to wait to get the DVDs and put the subtitles on to get all the nuances! And Shakespeare even more so, with all the antiquated phrasing and vocabulary.  But no subtitles at the theater, alas, lol.
 

ancientsgate wrote:

Yitzock wrote:

That, about your aunt, I can understand.  You'd expect an English teacher, especially if she teaches literature, to have an appreciation and enjoyment of stuff like that.

Why?  Just because she has a grasp of spelling and grammar and sentence/paragraph/story structure,and just because she teaches literature to her students, that doesn't mean she has to like everything she reads or sees on the stage. I, for instance, cannot stomach Stephen King novels-- all that gore and depravity! But he's a multi-millionaire, so...  it takes all kinds, and it has nothing to do with our abilities to put English together correctly or read English works with understanding.
 

Thank you!

Besides, some of us English teachers are more interested in linguistics than literature and that is perfectly fine. Teaching German pupils English is barely about reading books but all about grammar etc., at least until 10th grade.

Last edited by Schmiezi (November 3, 2015 5:37 am)