#romeo and juliet 1967

[queeringclassiclit]

Mercutio

from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

submitted by @probably-an-alien who said:

This is purely based off of vibes alone, but this character just feels somewhat vaguely queer to me.

[lady-jane-asher]

April 5th 2024, happy beloved 78th birthday to the one and only Jane! She’s been my inspiration for around 12 years since I first discovered about her. It’s been a wonderful journey getting to share new pictures I find, my scans, colourisations and accurate information in regards of the pictures I found. May I be able to meet her one day. 🤍

This post will be divided in two, as the picture shown was used for two different newspapers that I scanned therefore the subtle mark on the photos. And you might have seen the photos with my old username so I am sharing them with the new one!

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967.

First picture is my edition and enhancement from historical picture auction scan, second one is my scan from the newspaper, and third one is the scan of the newspaper.

Jane Asher-More Than a Beatle's Bird

In cities all across the U.S. this spring Beatle fans are swarming to a touring production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet staged by the Bristol Old Vic Company. When Juliet appears on stage for the first time the reaction is almost always the same. Applause thunders through the theater. Flash bulbs pop—electrifying the scene like summer lightning. At the end of the play young girls scream the name of the actress who plays Juliet: "Jane Asher! Jane Asher!" This is the girl they have come to see. To a Beatle fan Jane Asher's romance is even more exciting than the story of Romeo and Juliet. Jane Asher, in case you haven't heard, is the girl friend of Paul McCartney-the last unmarried Beatle.

An Interview With Jane

To find out what kind of girl dates a Beatle and also has enough talent to

perform in one of England's most respected theatre groups, CURRENT EVENTS Editor Nancy Malone talked to Jane Asher in New York City. The 20-year-old actress seemed puzzled when asked why teen-age girls scream for her. "I don't really know," she said “and I don’t think they’re quite sure themselves. Once they’re with me, they seem a little lost and aren’t sure what to do or say”.

Miss Asher, in contrast to her fans, is not at all confused. She is looking the forward to a successful career in the theatre—on her own merit, not because of her friendship with a Beatle. The actress with the golden-red hair is well on her way to stardom. Her portrayal of Juliet with England’s Bristol Old Vic company has been highly praised. The company is nearing the end of 16-city american tour, which began in Boston last January. After appearances next month in Bloomington, Ind., Detroit, and Cleveland, the company will perform at expo 67 in Montreal. Then the actors and actresses will retur to England.

Does Jane Asher hope to do more Shakespeare? "Oh, yes." she said, “I'd like to do all the Shakespearean heroines-especially Lady Macbeth. But I'd also like to do modern comedy. I wouldn't like ever to stick to just one thing. For example, I don't want to do all movies or all stage. Though if I had to choose, I'd choose stage. I like having a live audience.

Movie Fame Unimportant

"I know you can become more famous by being in movies,", Jane said. "but I've had a taste of that kind of glamor, and I know I don't want it. I want to be a good actress." Jane, who has been acting since she was five years old, comes from a show business family. Her brother, Peter Asher, has toured the U.S. several times. He makes up one-half of the popular singing duo Peter and Gordon.

But Jane hesitates to encourage outer young people to become entertainers. "It's really not the glamorous life people imagine. It's hard work with rehearsals all day and shows every night. And when you come right down to it, acting is really only pretending you're something else on stage." Although Jane made several films during her childhood, she attended regular m schools—not acting schools for m professionals. "I'm glad I got a normal education," she said. "I think it gave me a more balanced view of life. In addition to several Shakespearean roles, Jane has played Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Wendy in Peter Pan, and Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. Juliet, however, is the highlight of her career.

Jane and the Bard

She is particularly delighted that she is helping to acquaint American teenagers with Shakespeare. She commented on her own attitude as a 13-year-old: "I suppose I felt as all English schoolchildren do-that Shakespeare was pretty dull stuff with lots of language I didn't understand. I know I wasn't mad about it." Now, at 20, she believes that Shakespeare wrote "the greatest roles in the world." She added: "On this tour, I've gotten a lot of mail and it has meant a great deal to me. Some of the letters from kids say “We came to see you. We were so surprised. We really liked the play.” “That’s great. That’s a real accomplishment to me —as an actress”.

[ludmilachaibemachado]

Marianne Faithfull & Anita Pallenberg in Rome, 1967🥀🍂🥀

Via @weirdtvland on Instagram🍂

[internatlvelvet]

Romeo and Juliet

[william-shakespeare-official]

Here's THE masterpost of free and full adaptations, by which I mean that it's a post made by the master.

Anthony and Cleopatra: here's the BBC version, here's a 2017 version.

As you like it: you'll find here an outdoor stage adaptation and here the BBC version. Here's Kenneth Brannagh's 2006 one.

Coriolanus: Here's a college play, here's the 1984 telefilm, here's the 2014 one with tom hiddleston. Here's the Ralph Fiennes 2011 one.

Cymbelline: Here's the 2014 one.

Hamlet: the 1948 Laurence Olivier one is here. The 1964 russian version is here and the 1964 american version is here. The 1964 Broadway production is here, the 1969 Williamson-Parfitt-Hopkins one is there, and the 1980 version is here. Here are part 1 and 2 of the 1990 BBC adaptation, the Kenneth Branagh 1996 Hamlet is here, the 2000 Ethan Hawke one is here. 2009 Tennant's here. And have the 2018 Almeida version here. On a sidenote, here's A Midwinter's Tale, about a man trying to make Hamlet. Andrew Scott's Hamlet is here.

Henry IV: part 1 and part 2 of the BBC 1989 version. And here's part 1 of a corwall school version.

Henry V: Laurence Olivier (who would have guessed) 1944 version. The 1989 Branagh version here. The BBC version is here.

Julius Caesar: here's the 1979 BBC adaptation, here the 1970 John Gielgud one. A theater Live from the late 2010's here.

King Lear: Laurence Olivier once again plays in here. And Gregory Kozintsev, who was I think in charge of the russian hamlet, has a king lear here. The 1975 BBC version is here. The Royal Shakespeare Compagny's 2008 version is here. The 1974 version with James Earl Jones is here. The 1953 Orson Wells one is here.

Macbeth: Here's the 1948 one, there the 1955 Joe McBeth. Here's the 1961 one with Sean Connery, and the 1966 BBC version is here. The 1969 radio one with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench is here, here's the 1971 by Roman Polanski, with spanish subtitles. The 1988 BBC one with portugese subtitles, and here the 2001 one). Here's Scotland, PA, the 2001 modern retelling. Rave Macbeth for anyone interested is here. And 2017 brings you this.

Measure for Measure: BBC version here. Hugo Weaving here.

The Merchant of Venice: here's a stage version, here's the 1980 movie, here the 1973 Lawrence Olivier movie, here's the 2004 movie with Al Pacino. The 2001 movie is here.

The Merry Wives of Windsor: the Royal Shakespeare Compagny gives you this movie.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: have this sponsored by the City of Columbia, and here the BBC version. Have the 1986 Duncan-Jennings version here. 2019 Live Theater version? Have it here!

Much Ado About Nothing: Here is the kenneth branagh version and here the Tennant and Tate 2011 version. Here's the 1984 version.

Othello: A Massachussets Performance here, the 2001 movie her is the Orson Wells movie with portuguese subtitles theree, and a fifteen minutes long lego adaptation here. THen if you want more good ole reliable you've got the BBC version here and there.

Richard II: here is the BBC version. If you want a more meta approach, here's the commentary for the Tennant version. 1997 one here.

Richard III: here's the 1955 one with Laurence Olivier. The 1995 one with Ian McKellen is no longer available at the previous link but I found it HERE.

Romeo and Juliet: here's the 1988 BBC version. Here's a stage production. 1954 brings you this. The french musical with english subtitles is here!

The Taming of the Shrew: the 1980 BBC version here and the 1988 one is here, sorry for the prior confusion. The 1929 version here, some Ontario stuff here, and here is the 1967 one with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. This one is the Shakespeare Retold modern retelling.

The Tempest: the 1979 one is here, the 2010 is here. Here is the 1988 one. Theater Live did a show of it in the late 2010's too.

Timon of Athens: here is the 1981 movie with Jonathan Pryce,

Troilus and Cressida can be found here

Titus Andronicus: the 1999 movie with Anthony Hopkins here

Twelfth night: here for the BBC, here for the 1970 version with Alec Guinness, Joan Plowright and Ralph Richardson.

Two Gentlemen of Verona: have the 2018 one here. The BBC version is here.

The Winter's Tale: the BBC version is here

Please do contribute if you find more. This is far from exhaustive.

(also look up the original post from time to time for more plays)

[amatesura]

Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting on the set of Romeo and Juliet, 1967

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

End of month update - March (+ April 1st)

Hello, all! Sorry that this update is a day late, I didn't get around to posting it yesterday.

This is the end-of-month update, where I post Tumblr’s current top four films that have received the highest percentage of “yes,” “no,” and “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

As of today, the top four films with the highest percentage of “yes” votes are:

Finding Nemo (2003) | Shrek (2001) | Monsters, Inc. (2001) | The Lion King (1994)

Next, the top four films with the highest percentage of “no” votes are:

Sausage Party (2016) | Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) | All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) | Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

This top four changed through the new additions of Sausage Party (2016) and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), which replaced Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015) and Scarface (1983).

Finally, the top four films with the highest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes are:

Monica and Friends: Bonds (2019) | Monsturd (2003) | Heroic Losers (2019) | Death Trance (2005)

This top four changed through the new additions of Monsturd (2003) and Death Trance (2005), which replaced Mahana (2016) and Capernaum (2018)

Currently, The Incredibles (2004) is the still only film to receive absolutely zero “haven’t heard of this” votes.

That’s it for March’s end-of-month update! Remember that you can view last month’s update by clicking here. Additionally, you can view the full ranked Letterboxd lists of movies that have come up on this blog by clicking the following links:

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “yes” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “no” votes.

This list is ranked from highest-to-lowest percentage of “haven’t even heard of this movie” votes.

Remember to vote on the polls that are currently running: Jane Eyre (2011) | Lady Macbeth (2016) | The Water Diviner (2014) | Thoroughbreds (2017) | Suspiria (2018) | Closely Watched Trains (1966) | Atonement (2007) | The Official Story (1985) | Fright Night (1985) | Ernest & Celestine (2012) | Central Station (1998) | The Hitcher (1986) | The Company of Wolves (1984) | Predestination (2014) | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) | This Is England (2006) | Crimson Peak (2015) | The Love Witch (2016) | Lost in Translation (2003) | Romeo + Juliet (1996) | Santa Claus (1959) | Tokyo Drifter (1966) | A Fistful of Dollars (1964) | Brain Damage (1988) | Society (1989) | Watership Down (1978) | Frankenhooker (1990) | Mars Attacks! (1996) | Super 8 (2011) | Goosebumps (2015) | Goncharov (1973) | The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) | The Secret of Moonacre (2008) | Coraline (2009) | The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

[artfilmaesthetics]

films for the zodiac signs ✧.*

part V: libra

✧ ‘The Virgin Suicides’ (1999) dir. Sofia Coppola

✧ ‘Romeo + Juliet’ (1996) dir. Baz Luhrmann

✧ ‘The Young Girls of Rochefort’ (1967) dir. Jacques Demy

✧ ‘The Favourite’ (2018) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos

✧ ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ (1961) dir. Blake Edwards

✧ ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014) dir. Wes Anderson

[bughead-in-the-comics]

Bughead Moments in Riverdale that Also Happened in the Comics: Season 1 (Part 1)

In honor of the series finale of Riverdale, here are some Bughead moments from the show that also (sort of) happened in the comics:

♥ Betty asks Jughead to work with her at the Blue and Gold.

Comics: Clean Sweep, Jughead #43, 1993.

Show: S01E03: Body Double, 2017.

♥ Betty takes Jughead's side in an argument.

Comics: Confession, Archie��s Girls Betty and Veronica #204, 1972.

Show: S02E04: The Last Picture Show, 2017.

♥ Jughead smiles like a proud boyfriend after Betty gives a suggestion.

Comics: Bye, Bye Birdie, Archie Comics Digest #141, 1996.

Show: S02E04: The Last Picture Show, 2017.

♥ Betty tells Jughead a secret.

Comics: Betty’s Bonnet, Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica #256, 1977.

Show: S01E05: Heart of Darkness, 2017.

♥ Betty reacts positively after seeing Jughead dress up nicely.

Comics: The cover of Archie’s Pal Jughead #60, 1960.

Show: S01E05: Heart of Darkness, 2017.

♥ Bughead unleash their inner Sherlocks to look for clues.

Comics: Lt. Jugumbo, Archie’s Pal Jughead #74, 1995.

Show: S01E05: Heart of Darkness, 2017.

♥ Betty and Jughead stick together after being startled by something.

Comics: A Lesson in Logic, Laugh Comics #193, 1967.

Show: S01E05: Heart of Darkness, 2017.

♥ Jughead has a meal at the Coopers’.

Comics: Cookout Lookout, Betty’s Diary #13, 1987. 

Show: S01E06: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!, 2017.

♥ Betty and Jughead go full-detective through research.

Comics: The Mystery of the Missing Mentors, Archie’s Weird Mysteries #34 (2004).

Show: S01E06: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!, 2017.

♥ Bughead refuse to give Archie any details about what they were talking about.

Comics: Nose for News, Archie Comics Digest #240, 2008.

Show: S01E06: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!, 2017.

♥ Jughead climbs up Betty’s window.

Comics: The VCR Affair, Betty and Me #157, 1987.

Show: S01E06: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!, 2017.

♥ Jughead gives Betty a surprise kiss.

Comics: The Ol’ Bawl Game, Betty and Me #14 (1968).

Show: S01E06: Faster, Pussycats! Kill! Kill!, 2017.

BONUS: While it isn’t technically a “Hey there, Juliet” moment, Jughead was really the Romeo to Betty’s Juliet in a school production of the Shakespeare classic as featured on the cover of Jughead #315 (1981).

Another thing, in episode 4, Cheryl referred to the gang as “sad Breakfast Club” so here’s an alternative cover for Archie #28 (2018) that was illustrated by Dan Schoening. It that depicts the Riverdale gang as characters from the John Hughes classic (although this one features Reggie instead of Kevin).

Speaking of pop culture references, Jughead also referred to them as the “Scooby gang” so here’s the core four (and Hot Dog!) dressed up as those meddling kids in Archie’s Weird Mysteries #6 (2000).

[mityenka]

tagged by @elmoot to post my 5 favorite movies and let you pick which one matches my vibe <3

[adarkrainbow]

Quite an unusual subject today but: music! More precisely, a "fairytale" album.

Have you ever heard of Joanna Wang? She is a Taiwanese-American singer, quite known, and I want to briefly evoke here an album of hers released in 2014: Midnight Cinema.

As the name and the album cover show, this album is entirely dedicated to a specific type of cinema, which does contain - and this is why it is interesting for us fairytale afficionados - fairytale movies. In fact most (if not all?) the songs of this album are covers and reprises of songs from movies!

And the very first song of the album sets the tone for what this "Midnight Cinema" is about: titled "Alice in Wonderland", it is actually taken back from... Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

Outside of this song, the album also contains a cover of "Pure Imagination", the famous song from 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. And we do know that Roald Dahl works are considered "modern day fairytales"...

What I find most interesting with this album, however, is how it also chooses songs and melodies from what I consider to be "fairytale-adjacent" movies. I haven't spoken much about this (except for when I did a "Spooky fairytale" series back in Halloween) but there are stories and movies that have the feelings or are deeply linked to fairytales, without being fairytale themselves.

The most obvious of these choices would be how Joanna Wang covered "What is a youth", the beautiful song from the most famous Romeo and Juliet adaptation to this day, the 1968 movie. And if you know your Shakespeare, you will understand why his works are all "fairytale adjacent" - from his constant reuse of the exact supernatural characters involved in fairytales (kings, fairies, witches, star-crossed lovers) to him actually quoting and reference numerous fairytales (lines from "Jack and the Beanstalk" are found in King Lear, itself having a plot belonging to the "Love like salt" type of fairytale, while the British fairytale "Mr. Fox" is referenced in Much Ado about Nothing).

Another interesting choice would be the Moon River song, from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Why? Because interestingly, there was a short study of the evolution of the figure of the "fairy" ("la fée" in French) I recently read, and among the various incarnations, this book stopped upon the classics of the American cinema to point out two female characters from non-magical movies that still were perfect fit for the archetype of the "fairy" as she was developed by medieval tales and literary fairytales. One was precisely Audrey Hepburn's character of Holly Golightly (I believe the other was the character of Lisa Carol Fremont, played by Grace Kelly in Hitchcock "Rear Window").

After these specific movies, the other tracks can have some names and lyrics evoking fairy tales... But they come from movies that have no relationship whatsoever with fairytales. Like the track "Love from Once Upon a Time" which actually comes from... "A Better Tomorrow", an 80s action movie of crime and battle considered to be the epitome of the Hong Kong genre called "heroic bloodshed".

I am not going to put here all of the songs of the album, but if you want to know the full list, here are the remaining songs:

Forgotten Times. From 2002's Infernal Affairs

The Dream Chaser. From 1990's A Moment of Romance.

The Scent of Roses. From 1994's "Red Rose White Rose"

Night Shanghai. From 1946's All-Consuming Love.

In the Mood for Love. This one does not come from a movie, but from a 2000 album by Tony Leung.

You Only Live Twice. From the 1967 James Bond movie of the same name.

This Precious Night. From 1991's Prison on Fire II.

If I Had Words. From 1995's A Little Pig Goes a Long Way.

Fun fact: While the album was sung and created by a Taiwanese artist, mixing Hong Kong cinema with America movies, it was actually recorded in Finland, with the music produced by Finnish musicians.

[thislovintime]

Photos courtesy of the Evening Standard.

“It’s called the waiting game. On one side the fans… on the other their idols, The Monkees. Problem? How to get the Monkees to show themselves. In this case the girls found the answer… they just screamed and screamed… and screamed. Finally two of the Monkees appeared on the balcony of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington Gardens. For the fans on the other side of the fence, their long, long wait had paid off. For six hours they had screamed themselves hoarse. It had been worth it. For 15 minutes Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork, in a polo-neck sweater, clowned in front of the fans. Called to them, waved to them, sang to them [with Peter playing guitar]. It could have been a twentieth century version of Romeo and Juliet! And when it was all over, the fans dispersed. Probably back home — to sit and reflect on a wonderful day.” - Evening Standard, July 4, 1967

[lady-jane-asher]

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967. Part 2. 🩶

Previously posted pictures with my old username, updating it with the new one.

Old Vic Brings First Spoken Drama to The Music Center. By Cecil Smith. Los Angeles times— March 5th, 1967.

It seems a curious bit of scheduling to have the Bristol Old Vic in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of The Music Center, opening a three-week season of Shakespeare Tuesday night.The company is doing the first spoken drama ever performed in the new complex and it arrives on the threshold, the very eve, of the twin openings of the new theaters designed primarily for drama next month. Not that the spoken word is a stranger to the Pavilion. Some of the more interesting musical plays produced there, notably "Fiddler on the Roof," have been as dependent on their dramatic as on their musical structure. And if the Pavilion is fundamentally a music hall, still the verbal music of Shakespeare can be as stirring and compelling as any instrumental or vocal music ever devised. No one plays this music better than a British ensemble and among the great companies of England the Bristol Old Vic is considered one of the best. No less an authority than Sir Tyrone Guthrie says it is among the world's finest acting companies and that its managing director, Val May, is an immensely vital force in the English-speaking theater.

Suited the Action

Sir Tyrone suited the action to the word by staging the production of "Measure for Measure" that opens the BOV season here. May directed the production of "Hamlet" that enters the repertory Thursday and the "Romeo and Juliet" that will open next week. The three plays will rotate through March 25. The Bristol Old Vic was initially formed in 1946 as an offshoot, a sort of farm club for London's justly celebrated Old Vic. When the latter was melded into the British National Theater three years ago, the BOV became an independent entity.

It is supported by an annual grant of 40,000 pounds from the Federal Arts Council, plus a grant from the city of Bristol and its thriving box offices in two theaters-the legendary Theater Royal and its new Little Theater. But even in its days as m the outpost of the London company, the Bristol Old Vic had an individuality and a spirit all its own. I remember when the parent organization was in the Philharmonic on one of its tours some years ago, I asked John Neville, who was playing Hamlet, what his plans were after the tour, and he said he was leaving the London company to return to Bristol. I asked him why. "It's more adventurous, more experimental, more daring and," he smiled, "more fun."

Although the BOV is only doing Shakespeare on this first American tour under the sponsorship of S. Hurok, the Bard is not its primary product in England. The company is known as an innovator, launching new plays and new playwrights, trying new areas of stagecraft, new methods and new approaches. It was in the vanguard of the new wave of British drama that spawned Pinter, Shaffer, Osborne, Arden, Wesker, and others. It was the first company to produce an English version of Erwin Piscator's "War and Peace" (later staged with immense success in this country by the APA) and it first provided a stage for such plays as "A Severed Head" and "The Killing of Sister George." ⠀⠀⠀

The company has a vigorous acting school and training program that has a spawned a legendary crop of stars, among them Rosemary Harris, Peter O'Toole, Dorothy Tutin and Paul Rogers. m Although the concentration is on youth, many an established star has played at Bristol, including Wendy Hiller, Moira Shearer, Pamela Brown and Neville.

The Hamlet of the current company is one of England's brightest young stars, Richard Pasco. He's little known in this country, though he was in the movie "Room at the Top" and played Broadway with Laurence Olivier in

"The Entertainer." Pasco, who also plays the key role of Angelo in "Measure for Measure," told a Times correspondent in Bristol recently that he sees Hamlet as "a fish out of water." "He's plunked right in the middle of all this political intrigue and violence and that's what he hates most— violence," Pasco said.

He approves director May's decision to set the play in the Napoleonic era-"lots of conspiracy and blood around in those days." Pasco said his first West End job as an actor was in "Hamlet"-playing Fortinbras to the prince of Paul Scofield. He feels Scofield saw the character as "an angry young man." "Yet," said Pasco, "he's really pretty cool. He likes to think about things-in a world that likes to act. Not that he's unable to take care of himself—he learned that as a soldier. But he's a scholar who knows that violence only leads to more violence. It's not in his nature to do the things that have to be done.

That's the terrible part." Pasco was the original angry young man—he played Jimmy Porter in the English Stage Company's famous production of "Look Back in Anger" in 1956, which launched the new wave of British drama. Most of his career has been in classical repertory though he's also starred in British television and movies. He joined the Bristol Old Vic in 1964 for its first tour of Europe, which extended as far as Israel.

Famous member⠀⠀⠀

Actually, the most famous member of the current troupe is its Juliet, 20-year old Jane Asher-particularly with the miniskirt set. The fame that preceded her had nothing to do with her acting but her fan magazine reputation as the girl friend of Beatle Paul McCartney, which has brought out swarms of teenagers on the cross-country tour. In proper repertory fashion, she balances Juliet with the tiny role of Julietta in "Measure for Measure." There are other players quite celebrated in Britain among them, John Franklyn Robbins, Frank Barrie, Madge Ryan, Frank Middlemass, Gwan Granger, Barbara Leigh-Hunt. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

But as in the National Theater, the Comedie Francaise, the Moscow Art Theater, one goes to see an ensemble, not an individual. This is a new wrinkle in this country but with the success of such ensembles as the APA, ACT and others, it's gaining momentum. There's an immense sense of pride in the Bristol company and in its homebase theater, the 200-year-old Theater Royal in cred Eritain on a heater where Sarah Siddons played and Edmund Kean, William Charles Macready, Jenny Lind, Henry Irving and Ellen, Terry-the ghost of Mrs. Siddons is said to stalk its stage.

Some feel it prophetic that the Blitz, which levered much of Bristol, spared the theater. Val May accompanied his players to this country and stayed with them through their highly acclaimed New York openings, then returned to Bristol to prepare his spring season, which includes such varied offerings as "The Hostage," "The Taming of the Shrew," Galsworthy's "Strife" and Pinter's "The Homecoming."

Among three new plays to be produced is one by American author Robert Rich, "Message from the Grassroots," a play about Malcolm X with an all-white cast.

Dr. Guthrie met the troupe in Philadelphia to brush up his initial staging of "Measure for Measure," that blackest of black comedies, which was much condemned in Victorian England for its outspoken attitudes on sex and morals and its cynicism. Dr. Guthrie told me later he was quite pleased with the production and it was greeted in Philadelphia, Boston and New York with warmth and a goodly share of critical hosannas.

The play is out of Shakespeare's middle period when he was at the height of his powers, written at about the time he wrote "Othello," after "Hamlet" and prior to "Lear." Although labeled a comedy, it is quite a serious work and tragedy is narrowly averted and then only through good fortune. It's easy to see how it shocked the Victorians, dealing with the stern enforcer of a Viennese law holding fornication illegal and punishable by death.

When a young man gets his girl with child, he is sentenced to die, and his sister, a novice in a nunnery, offers her own chastity in exchange for her brother's life. What particularly upset the Victorians was Shakespeare's straightforward appraisal of humanity, as when he has the wry Pompey ask the young governor if, to enforce the law, he plans "to geld and spay all the youth of the city?" Eras change. The candor that delights one age shocks another and can delight a third. But what endures is the essential truth in the poet in his evaluation of man for all his vice and folly.

When he has Angelo say: "They say best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most part, become much the better for being a little bad," it's downright comforting.

[ludmilachaibemachado]

25 June 1967 - production photo of "Romeo and Juliet", the "Wedding Scene", at Basilica of St Peter in Tuscania, Italy with Actress Olivia Hussey ("Juliet")🌹🌹🌹

Via @romeoandjuliet50th on Instagram🌹

[internatlvelvet]

[aloneandforsakenbyfateandbyman]

Portraits by Otto Stupakoff

1. Olivia Hussey on the set of Romeo & Juliet, 1968

2. Girl from Sao Paolo, 1970

3. Katharine Ross in L.A., 1967