#2019 RSC

[britneyshakespeare]

i finished troilus and cressida today and no wonder they call it a problem play. honestly what was that

[coffeeastronaut]

2, 12, 29, 54 🎬🎥 [:

2. What movie(s) could you watch over and over and not get tired of?

The Handmaiden, Baahubali 1&2, EEAAO, The Decoy Bride, and The Princess Bride. All of these are movies ive watched back to back with itself. Like they ended and i said whellll why not again. So i think they qualify 👍

12. Are you against book-to-movie adaptations?ll

Not necessarily, but some are seriously dookie shit. i firmly believe that an adaption should adore the source material even if it’s not accurate, preferably with the same #themes. Like Nimona is a good example of not doing like. anything from the ‘book’ but it’s a good adaption nontheless- versus my terminal enemy, tom holland spiderman,

29. Movie you completely regret seeing?

ALEX STRANGELOVE. MY GOD it sucked SHIT. A friend had an actor she really loved in it so we watched with her as emotional support and boy. That shit SUUUUCCCKKKEDDD. And her actor was only in it for like five minutes :(

54. A movie that changed the way you view the world?

This is a hard one I think… usually the media that changes me like fundamentally is books and video games. I have a harder time with movies, i think mostly bc they’re shorter, and also just like, by coincidence it hasn’t happened much. Thid isn’t technically a movie, but the Josie Rourke production of Much Ado About Nothing is what really hammered the final nail home on my becoming a shakespere girlie. I saw a live production of twelfth night in a little blackbox theater and went ‘oh shit i like this?’ and i think if i’d chosen anything other then that specific production of MAAN I wouldn’t have glommed onto my boy willy shakes so hard

[medievalandfantasymelee]

👑🌹The Queen of Love and Beauty🌹👑

Round 1 (3 of 6)

The Queen of Love and Beauty shall hold the honour of presenting unto the winner of the Tournament his Champion's Coronet.

Vote for the lady who, to you, best exemplifies feminine dignity, grace and loveliness

The six contenders with the most votes will advance.

Row 1 - Lucrezia Borgia [Holliday Grainger], The Borgias (2011-2013) - Giulia Farnese [Lotte Verbeek], The Borgias (2011-2013) - Elizabeth de Burgh [Florence Pugh], Outlaw King (2018)

Row 2 - Contessina de Bardi [Annabel Scholey], Medici (2016-2019) - Elizabeth Woodville [Rebecca Ferguson], The White Queen (2013) - Mary Boleyn [Charity Wakefield], Wolf Hall (2015-2024)

Row 3 - Anne Neville [Phoebe Fox], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) - Kate Percy [Michelle Dockery], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) - Margaret of Anjou [Sophie Okonedo], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Row 4 - Eleanore of Aquitane [Katharine Hepburn], The Lion in Winter (1968) - Isabella of Valois [Emma Hamilton], RSC’s Richard II (2013) - Anne Boleyn [Genevieve Bujold], Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

[odinsblog]

What Mike Johnson Has Said About Cutting Social Security

Now elected House speaker after more than three tumultuous weeks following the ousting of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, attention is being drawn to Representative Mike Johnson's stance on America's entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

During his tenure as chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) from 2019 to 2021, Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, vigorously championed budget resolutions proposing trillions in cuts to these programs.

According to Bobby Kogan, senior director of Federal Budget Policy at American Progress, the proposed cuts were staggering;

roughly $2 trillion from Medicare,

$3 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act,

and $750 billion from Social Security.

At an American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research event before he was elected speaker, Johnson did not mince his words, saying that entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security pose an “existential threat” to the American way of life and the “whole form of government.”

(continue reading)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Judd Legum at Popular Information:

In 2024, reliable access to high-speed internet is no longer a luxury; it is a basic necessity. From job applications to managing personal finances and completing school work, internet access is an essential part of daily life. Without an internet connection, individuals are effectively cut off from basic societal activities. 

But the reality is that many people — particularly those living around the poverty line — can not afford internet access. Without internet access, the difficult task of working your way from the American economy's bottom rung becomes virtually impossible.   On November 21, 2021, President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The new law included the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provided up to $30 per month to individuals or families with income up to 200% of the federal poverty line to help pay for high-speed internet. (For a family of four, the poverty line is currently $31,200.) On Tribal lands, where internet access is generally more expensive, the ACP offers subsidies up to $75 per month.  The concept started during the Trump administration. The last budget enacted by Trump included $3.2 billion to help families afford internet access. The FCC made the money available as a subsidy to low-income individuals and families through a program known as the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. The legislation signed by Biden extended and formalized the program.  It has been a smashing success.

Today, the ACP is "helping 23 million households – 1 in 6 households across America." The program has particularly benefited "rural communities, veterans, and older Americans where the lack of affordable, reliable high-speed internet contributes to significant economic, health and other disparities." According to an FCC survey, two-thirds of beneficiaries "reported they had inconsistent internet service or no internet service at all prior to ACP." These households report using their high-speed internet to "schedule or attend healthcare appointments (72%), apply for jobs or complete work (48%), do schoolwork (75% for ACP subscribers 18-24 years old)." Tomorrow, the program will abruptly end.  In October 2023, the White House sent a supplemental budget request to Congress, which included $6 billion to extend the program through the end of 2024. There is also a bipartisan bill, the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act, which would extend the program with $7 billion in funding. The benefits of the program have shown to be far greater than the costs. An academic study published in February 2024 found that "for every dollar spent on the ACP, the nation’s GDP increases by $3.89." The program will lapse tomorrow because Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) refuses to bring either the bill (or the supplemental funding request) to a vote. The Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act has 225 co-sponsors which means that, if Johnson held a vote, it would pass. 

[...]

The Republican attack on affordable internet

Why will Johnson not even allow a vote to extend the ACP? He is not commenting. But there are hints in the federal budget produced by the Republican Study Committee (RSC). The RSC is the "conservative caucus" of the House GOP, and counts 179 of the 217 Republicans in the House as members. Johnson served as the chair of the RSC in 2019 and 2020. He is currently a member of the group's executive committee.  The RSC's latest budget says it "stands against" the ACP and labels it a "government handout[] that disincentivize[s] prosperity." The RSC claims the program is unnecessary because "80 percent" of beneficiaries had internet access before the program went into effect. For that statistic, the RSC cites a report from a right-wing think tank, the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), which opposes the ACP. EPIC, in turn, cites an FCC survey to support its contention that 80% of ACP beneficiaries already had internet access. The survey actually found that "over two-thirds of survey respondents (68%) reported they had inconsistent internet service or no internet service at all prior to ACP."

[...] The RSC also falsely claims that funding for the precursor to the ACP, the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB), "was signed into law at the end of President Biden’s first year in office." This is false. Former President Trump signed the funding into law in December 2020. The RSC's position is not popular. A December 2023 poll found that 79% of voters support "continuing the ACP, including 62% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, and 96% of Democrats."

In 2024, access to the internet is a necessity and not just a luxury, and the Republicans are set to end the Affordable Connectivity Program if no action is taken. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provided subsidies to low-income people and families to obtain internet access.

[measureformeasure]

do you have any measure for measure production recommendations?

yes! the 2019 RSC prod is pretty good imho, very solid even if angelo's wig is so bad. the cheek by jowl production is in russian and you can watch it here: it gets a lot grimier than RSC, which is a good thing.

[shredsandpatches]

fic writer self-recs

@titleleaf tagged me in this and I'm not gonna miss a chance for self-promotion, so here you go.

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers.

The Kindest Use a Knife (2014, Richard II, Richard/Aumerle, E, 11k words)

This is, to date, still my most popular fic and I'm still proud of it even though I'm a better writer than I was ten years ago (how was this ten years ago? What the fuck, passage of time). It's based specifically on the RSC production with David Tennant and was born out of a general sense of confusion over how the Stabby Aumerle ending seemed to work okay despite it making no sense in the context of the production and the ways the characters were played. I figured Stabby Aumerle in this production would only really make sense if Aumerle were under the impression it was the most loving option under the circumstances, and this was the result. Also, this fic made me realize I love writing the Yorks (the Duchess in particular just kind of charged into this fic). Fun trivia: my depiction of Exton owes a lot to Arthur Darvill's Mephistopheles (because I did love Doctor Faustus even before Hot Faust Summer).

Jesu dulcis memoria (2014, 14th-c RPF, Richard II + family, G, 1k words)

This was a Yuletide treat--one of those instances where someone's request lines up with something you'd been thinking of writing for ages anyway and the prompt makes you get off your butt and do it. It's centered on the creation of the Wilton Diptych from the viewpoint of the painter (who is fictional, since we don't really know much about who actually painted it) and focuses on the idea that the painting is not only a statement about kingship but also a memorial to Richard's (many) dead loved ones. Also there's one simile in there that everyone seems to love and so now I think about it every time I encounter gold leaf (which is a lot. I'm a manuscript librarian, although I wasn't when I wrote this).

Andělíčku rozkochaný (2019, 14th-c RPF, Richard II/Anne of Bohemia, E, 9k words)

Anne of Bohemia is, as you all know, my forever girl, and I'm still proud of this character study of her and her marriage to Richard and their approach to their infertility. I wrote a lot of stuff on this basic theme around the time I was writing this fic; maybe it was because turning 40 was getting to me on a subconscious level. The first scene of the fic is one of those things that came to me pretty much fully formed, while the last scene is another one of those things I'd had in my head for a while and finally had a reason to write down. (This is, therefore, another fic that has part of its genesis in a shiny historical artifact.)

not half so fair as thou (2023, Doctor Faustus, Faustus/Mephistopheles, E, 6k words)

We have arrived at Hot Faust Summer! The premise of this one came out of my pondering a line not from Marlowe's play but from Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust, which I was in last May and have not yet shut up about, but long story short, it set me thinking about productions where Faust(us) and his shadow-self Mephistopheles look similar (not unheard-of in Marlowe productions--the 2011 Globe one low-key did it and the 2016 RSC high-key did it--though I can't think of any operatic versions off the top of my head) and eventually I arrived at the premise of this fic. Which was a complete party to write. It was perhaps a little unsettling to realize that Faustus POV came to me extremely naturally but hey. That's academics for you.

none but thou shall be my paramour (2024, Doctor Faustus, Faustus/Mephistopheles, Faustus/Helen of Troy, M, 7.5k words)

It's the Codependent Faustopheles Manifesto! With boring academic dinner parties and sexy contract renewal! This is my most recent work (although it took me kind of forever to write; the tumblr post in which I proclaim my intentions to write it is here) and I'm really proud of it. It's weird, kind of gross, and has some massive tonal shifts in it, but I think it came off all the same. Plus I got to put some of my elaborate headcanons in there and I think I did a really good job with the "sex scene that is not actually sex but is definitely still a sex scene" trope.

Anyway, yeah! Go read my fic. I'm going to tag @skeleton-richard, @oldshrewsburyian, @themalhambird, @misskriemhilds, @heartofstanding, and anyone else who feels like doing this.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Acting is not about dressing up. Acting is about stripping bare. The whole essence of learning lines is to forget them so you can make them sound like you thought of them that instant.

Glenda Jackson

Although Glenda Jackson was absent from screen and stage for nearly a quarter of a century, when she devoted herself to her political career, she managed to appear in a wide variety of roles on either side of her time as an elected MP to Parliament. 

Almost uniquely amongst actors of her generation, she managed to straddle the line between leading actress and character actor, being both a bankable star and a fascinatingly unpredictable performer who would enliven any film or production that she was in. It is hard to think that she ever gave a bad performance.

She deservedly won two Oscars during her illustrious career on both stage and screen. The second Oscar that she won, for the 1973 romantic comedy-drama A Touch of Class, was an appropriate acknowledgement of a decorous and classy performance in a decorous and classy film, and one still fondly remembered now. However, the picture that she first received an Academy Award for, Ken Russell’s inimitable 1969 DH Lawrence adaptation Women in Love, was considerably less restrained.

When she was cast, she was by no means a known international quantity. She had achieved success on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) since the early Sixties - most notably as Ophelia, opposite David Warner’s Hamlet, in Peter Hall’s legendary 1965 production - and had reprised her stage role as Charlotte Corday, the assassin of Jean-Paul Marat, in Peter Brook’s film of Peter Weiss’s play Marat/Sade, but she had never starred in a major picture. 

Until Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, Jackson had not regarded herself as a political actor, in the way Jane Fonda or Redgrave did. She had long been a Labour party member, and gave time and energy to single-issue campaigns, such as human rights, Oxfam and abortion.

She considered standing for parliament and won despite Labour overall losing to John Major in 1992. In 1997, re-elected in the Tony Blair landslide, she served briefly as a junior transport minister, but she became an increasingly critical voice on her own side, especially over the Iraq war. She was rarely heard in the Commons, but always remained a highly popular constituency MP.

She left politics and made a surprise return to acting in 2015, making waves in a BBC Radio 4 series based on the novels of Emile Zola. It was when she played King Lear on stage at the Old Vic - a role that she later reprised on Broadway in 2019 - that the ferocity and power of her performance was a reminder to many who had been too young to see her in her earlier stage roles that she was a magnificent and multi-faceted performer.

Jackson continued to appear in television and film until the end of her life. However, her last definitive role came a few years ago, in which she starred as Maud Horsham, an elderly woman suffering from dementia who attempts to solve a mystery, even as she ebbs away. She won virtually every award going for the part, including another Emmy and a Bafta,

RIP Glenda Jackson RIP 1936-2023

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

this is living rent free in my head

(from the rsc 2019 measure for measure, with sophie khan levy as mariana, antony byrne as the duke, and joseph arkley as lucio)

[stephen-barry]

DID YOU THINK TRUMP INVENTED MAGA?

How Did the Right Go MAGA?

“When you worship power, compassion will look like a sin.” ~ Rev. Benjamin Cremer

Current House Speaker, Mike Johnson, from Louisiana, served as chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) from 2019 to 2021. As chair, he proposed staggering cuts of “roughly $2 trillion from Medicare, $3 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and $750 billion from Social Security.”

[akajustmerry]

Hey Merry, been thinking about Much Ado About Nothing. Had an inspired idea... Much Ado About Nothing starring Rose Matafeo and Nikesh Patel.

Also can you rate the adaptions that you have watched.

AHHHHHHHHH yes Erica!!! they would be SOOOOOOOO 🥺🥰😏 we need more adaptations where benedick and beatrice are poc (so far the only one I know of is the all Black production from 2019)!! okay so ranking:

2019 Shakespeare in the Park starring Danielle Brooks as Beatrice! I adore this version so much the line deliveries are so fucking perfect and the way the actors inject aave into the script is so fucking good. Danielle is my absolute favourite Beatrice 🥰

2013 production by Josie Rourke. Needs no intro, we love David and Catherine, the blue costuming motif, the staging!! It's perfect!!!!

Local production I saw in 2021. Feels weird to mention a production nobody can watch but alas! I got to see it in 2021 at the Sydney Opera House and the leads had insane chemistry but by far the best thing was that they changed the ending so Hiro doesn't marry Claudio and it was soooo galaxy brained 🥰

Much Ado About Nothing (2012). Dir. Don't Worry About It - I saw this when I was in high school studying the play and fun fact I actually really struggled studying Shakespeare in school because my English teacher was a piece of shit who didn't like me and didn't teach me to read it properly. But when I saw this movie.....everything kind of clicked? I remember sitting there like, "oh this is meant to be fun! It's meant to be SAID like words not read like a tragic poem" and it was literally the adaptation that kinda got me to understand how to like Shakespeare not just much ado.

Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - I just don't think Kenneth Brenaugh has ever had an interesting or compelling idea ever in his life and while this cast is stunning, the film itself sucks. Also he literally cheated on Emma Thompson

I've not seen them but would have killed to see RSC's afro-futurist production of it last year, and also National theatre Live's 1930s vibe one starring Katherine Parkinson just cos I love her <3

My dream production would be a lesbian production starring Pearl Mackie and Tnia Miller 🥺

[reluctantjoe]

Interview – A Midsummer Night’s Dream director Eleanor Rhode talks technology and Wonka star Mathew Baynton

Aiming to take the chill off this winter is the RSC’s new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ahead of the opening this week, director Eleanor Rhode spoke to Gill Oliver about her take on the Dream and what it’s like working with Wonka star Mathew Baynton.

TECHNOLOGY combined with centuries-old stage illusions are making one of the Bard’s most captivating comedies even more magical.

The RSC’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which opened on Tuesday for an eight-week run, features Ghosts and Wonka star Mathew Baynton as Bottom.

Fresh from his roles as a murderous doctor in the Agatha Christie TV series Murder Is Easy, and an evil chocolatier in hit movie Wonka, Baynton has long been a hero to parents and kids everywhere thanks to his leading role in five series of hugely successful kids’ comedy TV sketch show Horrible Histories and later, its spin-off ‘Bill’, a panto-style take on Shakespeare’s early life.

Also in the cast are Nicholas Armfield as Demetrius, Sirine Saba as Titania and Rosie Sheehy as Puck.

The equally prestigious creative team line-up includes composer Will Gregory (one half of electronic music duo Goldfrapp), set designer Lucy Osborne and illusion direction and designer John Bulleid, feted for his work on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the RSC’s The Magician’s Elephant.

Weaving all these star-studded strands together is director Eleanor Rhode, who describes Baynton as “an absolute genius” and the whole cast as “amazing”.

Ms Rhode made her directorial debut for the RSC in 2019 with a radical re-telling of King John – a production that was cut short due to Covid.

Now back to take on Midsummer’s Night Dream she’s happy to be back in Stratford.

“The company is wonderful, and everyone is working together brilliantly so it’s very exciting to be back up here - it’s a lovely place to work," she said.

She brings a fresh and confident vision to Shakespeare’s popular tale of four young lovers who, faced with the prospect of unhappy marriage flee the court of Athens and stumble into an enchanted forest.

Nearby, a group of amateur actors rehearse a play to celebrate an upcoming royal wedding and when the mortals cross paths with a warring fairy King and Queen, chaos erupts as the real and fairy worlds collide.

Ms Rhode explained: “The thing that’s always interested me more than a literal forest is leaning into the dream of a Midsummer’s Night Dream, so this is very much a dream space.

“The most exciting thing is finding that crossover between contemporary technology and stage illusions and stage tricks that are hundreds of years old, so expect to see a lot of those things combined.”

By the RSC’s standards the production is a short run but there are upsides to this.

“It means some of the people who would love to come and work up here but can’t commit to a year away from the other projects they’re doing, can come, have a really lovely time and be up here for 10-weeks - we wouldn’t necessarily be able to get them for longer, so that’s enormously gratifying,” she pointed out.

After this run, Ms Rhode, who has a decade's experience of directing, will spend time in developmental workshops before overseeing her second audio play for release on Audible.

She enjoys working in other mediums such as audio, and is excited by the potential that comes with the “pollination of ideas between lots of different disciplines”.

But unlike the RSC, the theatre industry overall tends to be extremely traditional and not geared-up for sweeping change.

She explained: “In terms of creating experiences which are live but also digital at the same time and which have a really broad reach in terms of the audiences, you’re engaging with people who aren’t traditional theatre goers and really broadening the scope of what live story telling can be.

“There’s a whole heap of possibilities and the lovely thing is that a lot of the technology is already there - the technology isn’t the thing - it’s actually the ability to craft brilliant storytelling entwined with the technology that’s sometimes quite scary.”

As for this production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, no one should worry about technology or stage illusions over-shadowing or interfering with the intimacy of live performance.

“You shouldn’t notice the technology and it shouldn’t feel like a standalone thing, in the same way that stage illusions shouldn’t – everything is entwined with the story,” she said.

“My hope is that it’s something the audience don’t really think about, they just enjoy it.”

She added: “This production is already looking beautiful but it should also be very surprising and, hopefully, keep the audience on their toes with all the amazing magic that’s going on in the show.

“Regardless of that, strip away all the technological and magical surprises and the play is the thing.

“It’s a brilliant show with brilliant actors in it - that’s the key thing."

[realmadridnews]

Official announcement

Esteban Aparicio signed a 2 years long contract with AD Alcorcon.

Esteban joined Real Madrid in 2019. In 2020 he got promoted to Castilla, but then got sent on loan to CF Badalona and next season to SD Huesca B. In 2022 he was "sold" to RSC Inter FC which then became Real Madrid C. This season he got promoted to Castilla again.

Good luck Esteban!

[nina-segal]

Nina Segal is a playwright.  Her productions include:

THE ODYSSEY (IT'S A REALLY REALLY REALLY LONG JOURNEY) : Unicorn Theatre (2024)

SHOOTING HEDDA GABLER : Rose Theatre (2023)

WAR AND CULTURE : New Diorama (2023)

THE GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN : Sheffield Theatres and Lyric Hammersmith (2023)

O, ISLAND! : RSC (2022); Stadttheater Gießen (2024)

AI : Young Vic (2021)

ASSEMBLY : Donmar Warehouse (2021)

(THIS ISN’T) A TRUE STORY : Almeida Young Company (2019)

DISMANTLE THIS ROOM : Bush Theatre (2018); Royal Court (2019)

DANGER SIGNALS : New Ohio, NYC (2018)

BIG GUNS : Yard Theatre (2017); Theater Ingolstadt (2019); Theater Plauen Zwickau (2023)

IN THE NIGHT TIME (BEFORE THE SUN RISES) : Gate Theatre (2016); Teatro Belli, Rome (2017); Orange Tree Theatre (2018); Foro Bellescene, Mexico City (2019); Staatstheater, Mainz (2019); Know Theatre of Cincinnati (2020); Theater Bielefeld (2021); Schauspiel Frankfurt (2024)

Nina was the recipient of the 2022 Playwright's Scheme Award and was shortlisted for the 2020 George Devine Award. She won a Rose D'Or award for her short film CAPTURE, made with the Financial Times. She is under commission to the RSC, Soho Theatre, Dutch National Opera and Royal Opera House.

Contact Nina at ninasegal@gmail.com.

Contact Nina’s agent Lily Williams at lily@curtisbrown.co.uk.

Photo: Christian Rubeck, Anna Andresen and Antonia Thomas / Shooting Hedda Gabler / Rose Theatre (2023). Credit: Andy Paradise.

[cjdphotoblogno2]

Students perform in the park next to the RSC theatre Stratford in 2019