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The Machiavellian leader? Project 39 continues with Henry V - Act Three, Scene One. Henry V is often referred to as a Machiavellian figure. This is because the previous plays Henry IV, parts 1 and 2 show a scheming and calculating intelligence; pretending to be wasting his youth, but secretly preparing to be an excellent king. But Machiavelli’s main argument, that it is better for a leader to be feared than loved, doesn’t seem to apply to Henry. In his many rousing speeches, one feels a desire to be loved by his troops rather than feared. Dr Samuel Johnson believed that the second line of this famous speech was missing. He thought a step of logic had been missed in between ‘once more unto the breach’ and ‘or close the wall up with our English dead.’ The editor of the Arden series, T. W. Craik agrees. He thinks it doesn’t make sense for Henry to rally the troops to attack the wall or die trying. T. W. Craik suggests the missing line could have been something like: Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, And either enter in, and win the town, Or close the wall up with our English dead. There is no textual evidence to support this. It is mere speculation. And most readers and audiences have intuited the meaning of these lines without the need for anything extra. Henry V is played by Morgan Watkins
The Base171,339 görüntüleme • 2 ay önce
"There's too much rot and entropy in these institutions. They won't be exciting and vital places again." A glimpse into our development process for Julius Caesar. Become a Member on YouTube to watch the full preview and help The Base build towards spectacular work.
The Base30,623 görüntüleme • 16 gün önce
Shakespeare’s Odyssey: the fight for heroism never ends. Project 39 continues with Troilus and Cressida - Act 2, Scene 3. Ulysses is advising a sulking Achilles, who has been ignored by the Greek leadership after being manipulated into jealousy of Ajax. Ulysses’ argument here is clear: time will devour all achievements, so you must fight to remain current. His argument has taken on an ironic significance recently. Ulysses is the Latinized name of Odysseus, who is currently seeing his own fame tampered with by Hollywood in Christopher Nolan’s film. Some critics have suggested that Shakespeare presents the Greek world as more amoral, abstract and cynical than the Roman world. This is perhaps due to the influence of Virgil, who presents the Trojans as the good guys and progenitors of the Romans. Ulysses is played by Morgan Watkins
The Base127,624 görüntüleme • 2 ay önce
‘The greatest defence of Christian monogamy ever written.’ Project 39 continues with Katherine from The Taming of the Shrew - Act 5, Scene 2. The head-strong and quick-witted Katherine has finally been ‘tamed’ and urges her friend to get married too. This is a controversial speech. As far back as George Bernard Shaw, critics have found it ‘problematic’. Katherine - as they see it - betrays herself and her autonomy by speaking in favour of marriage and supporting the status quo. Modern productions tend to ironise the speech, suggesting that Katherine is speaking under coercion. But Germaine Greer called the speech ‘the greatest defence of Christian monogamy ever written.’ As she and other critics see it, Katherine has met her match and is submissive because in Petrochio she has met someone who is ‘man enough to know what he wants and how to get it.’ Katherine is played by Lily Hardy
The Base130,955 görüntüleme • 2 ay önce
Falstaff: the first philosopher in Shakespeare. Project 39 continues with Henry IV, Part 1 - Act V, Scene 1. Falstaff is told he must fight - and possibly die - in battle. All alone, he interrogates the concept of honour. Falstaff is dismantling the medieval, chivalric concept of honor in favor of pragmatic self-preservation. A. D. Nuttall says that Falstaff is ‘the first person we meet in Shakespeare to have a philosophy in the technical sense.’ Medieval philosophy saw a debate between Realists and Nominalists. Realists believed that universal terms such as ‘beauty’ or ‘honour’ actually refer to something that exists in its own right (a bit like Plato). Nominalists held that only particular things exist - there are beautiful things, but no such thing as ‘beauty’ separate from such things. Here, Falstaff comes down firmly as a Nominalist: ‘honour’ is just a word. Whether this is cowardly or pragmatic, Shakespeare leaves ambiguous. A catechism is traditionally a summary of religious principles taught through a series of questions and answers. Falstaff uses this structure to create his own "anti-credo." Falstaff is played by Simon Thorp.
The Base78,254 görüntüleme • 2 ay önce
Better to die by your own hand than live as a slave. Project 39 continues with Antony & Cleopatra, Act Five, Scene Two. Antony and Cleopatra have had a wild, tumultuous, passionate love affair across Rome and Egypt. But war has broken out, Antony has died in battle and left Cleopatra ruined. Caesar will humiliate her and use her as a slave. But Cleopatra has smuggled in poison so that she can perform the ‘noble act’ of suicide. Cleopatra is often compared to water in the play, but as she dies she says she has become ‘fire and air’. Even in suicide this notorious seducer of great men is highly erotic. She compares death to the pinch of a lover, ‘which hurts and is desired.’ Often overlooked, Antony & Cleopatra is perhaps Shakespeare’s greatest depiction of the pain and pleasure of wild passion. Cleopatra is played by Farida Haddad
The Base71,961 görüntüleme • 3 ay önce
The Wars of the Roses reach their violent climax. We continue Project 39 with Henry VI, Part III - Act Five, Scene Six. After many brutal twists and turns in the fight for the English throne, Henry VI is cornered and murdered by the ascendent Richard III. In the moment of death, Henry VI lets out a torrent of violent, prophetic imagery. He predicts that Richard III will unleash evil into the world. Like many Shakespeare speeches it uses anaphora - the chant-like repetition of words and phrases. These are full of cosmic portents - birds, dogs and storms symbolise a violent disruption in nature itself. This is an obscure and early speech but it contains techniques and ideas that continue in all Shakespeare’s work. Henry VI is played by Oliver Bennett.
The Base68,101 görüntüleme • 3 ay önce
England betrayed. We refuse to allow our cultural icons to be stolen from us by those who wish us harm and show us no respect. This project is a statement of intent. We are only just beginning. Thank you to everyone who has followed along and supported in any way. Here we conclude Project 39 with the John of Gaunt of speech from Richard II. John of Gaunt was the fourth son of Edward III, making him Richard II’s uncle. His son, Bolingbroke (future Henry IV) has just been banished, and here John of Gaunt complains about how Richard is betraying and destroying England. There are many notable literary techniques in this famous speech. Shakespeare often uses anaphora in speeches. This is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of a sentence, in this case ‘this’ is repeated 17 times. But a more significant technique here is metonym. This is where an object stands in for a concept. In this case the concept is England, and the whole speech can be seen as a succession of metonyms to describe the concept of England. What is England? It is, to say the least, a much contested concept. A landmass, an island, an idea, a religion, a people, a tradition, a history, a culture? John of Gaunt gives us some clues here. He starts with the monarchy, then moves on to describe its geography as an island, its defenses, its flora and fauna, the character of its people and, finally, its Christian religion. John of Gaunt was known to be a close friend of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Perhaps Shakespeare sensed that he was Chaucer’s successor as the voice of England and gave Gaunt this speech as a way of inheriting the mantle. John of Gaunt is played by Oliver Bennett
The Base41,048 görüntüleme • 1 ay önce
We launch Project 39 again with Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3 — the St Crispin’s Day speech. We hope you enjoy this series. Please engage with us in the comments and follow our work if you’d like to see more. We believe that William Shakespeare must be at the heart of our culture. Henry V - Morgan Watkins Director of Photography - Mike Simpson Assistant to DOP - James Hedley Directed by Oliver Bennett and Morgan Watkins Produced by Oliver Bennett, Carolina Toczyka and Morgan Watkins Social Media Strategy - Bonnie Poynder and Carolina Toczyka Editor - James Hedley
The Base73,280 görüntüleme • 3 ay önce
This is the first release of our Project 39 series. We will be uploading speeches from all 39 of William Shakespeare's plays. Here we have Henry V from Henry V in Act 3, Scene 1. Henry V - Morgan Watkins Director of Photography - Mike Simpson Produced by The Base We hope you enjoy. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and see the video in its full glory - We would love to direct you towards Old Sovereign Publishing - a fantastic publishing house that helped us make filming the first batch of these possible. We are a new dramatic company and we want to build something special. We would love to invite any investors or sponsors who may be interested in helping us take this to another level. The very best, The Base
The Base102,846 görüntüleme • 9 ay önce
Dear X friends... We are attempting to film the last 17 speeches from our ambitious Project 39 and we are looking for help. If there is anyway you can donate we would be hugely grateful. We recognise Shakespeare as the key cultural battleground and we need to protect his works. We set out to film great actors and actresses performing a speech from every single one of his plays. If you can't give but are able to share this post we would be tremendously grateful too. We want to fight for our culture. Join us. The very best, Morgan and Oli The Base
The Base18,216 görüntüleme • 5 ay önce
The second instalment of our Project 39 series speeches from all 39 of William Shakespeare’s plays. Here we have Timon from Timon of Athens in Act 4, Scene 1. Timon was a popular and generous man. But when he goes bankrupt, everyone abandons him. He retreats into the wilderness, looking back on Athens to curse the city and all mankind. Timon of Athens - Oliver Bennett Director of Photography - Mike Simpson Produced by The Base We hope you enjoy. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and see the video in its full glory - We would love to direct you towards Old Sovereign Publishing - a fantastic publishing house that helped us make filming the first batch of recordings possible. We are a new dramatic company and we want to build something special. We would love to invite any investors or sponsors who may be interested in helping us take this to another level. The very best, The Base
The Base25,235 görüntüleme • 9 ay önce
This is the seventh release of our Project 39 series. We will be uploading speeches from all 39 of William Shakespeare’s plays. Here we have Richard II from Richard II in Act 5, Scene 5. Richard II - Oliver Bennett Director of Photography - Mike Simpson Produced by The Base We hope you enjoy. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and see the video in its full glory- And check out our work at - We would love to direct you towards Old Sovereign Publishing - a fantastic publishing house that helped us make filming the first batch of these possible. We are a new dramatic company and we want to build something special. Please follow our work wherever you can. The very best, The Base
The Base18,956 görüntüleme • 9 ay önce
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