“All the world’s a stage” is the phrase that begins a monologue from Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It, spoken by the melancholy Jaques in Act II Scene VII. Through Jaques, Shakespeare takes the audience on a journey of the complete lifecycle of a human being, made particularly vivid by its visual images of […]
Bard Words (3)
“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” is the first line of a speech by Mark Antony in the play Julius Caesar. Occurring in Act III, scene II, it is one of the most famous lines in all of Shakespeare’s works. The speech is a famous example of the use of emotionally charged rhetoric. Comparisons […]
Bard Words (2)
‘Now is the winter of our discontent’‘ is the famous opening line of Richard III. The play fictionalizes the reign of King Richard III, who lived from 1452 until 1485. He reigned over England from 1483 until his death, meaning he was in power for only two years. Shakespeare had his own particular political reasons […]
Bard Words (1)
The blog returns! And with it a new series begins. I have always had a great love for Shakespeare and so I thought that I would feature some of his most memorable speeches performed by a variety of great actors, to see if we cannot discern something new from his words. Upon The King (Henry […]
Royal Variety Performances
To mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, I thought it might be appropriate to post about the Royal Command (Variety) Performance. It is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members […]
Comic Songs (50)
Alex Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he also performs as the Taskmaster’s assistant. He is the host and bandleader of The Home Sextion, a comedic band. Horne runs the band’s eponymous podcast and has appeared with them on their music variety show on […]
Comic Songs (49)
Mitch Benn is an English comedian, author and musician known for his comedy rock songs performed on BBC Radio. He was, until 2016, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s satirical programme The Now Show, and has hosted other radio shows. Benn has performed at several music festivals, and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He […]
Comic Songs (48)
The Rutles were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle’s mid-1970s BBC television comedy series Rutland Weekend Television, later toured and recorded, releasing two albums that included two UK chart hits. The […]
Comic Songs (47)
‘Fry and Laurie‘ are an English comedy double act, mostly active in the 1980s and 1990s. The duo consisted of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, who met in 1980 through mutual friend Emma Thompson whilst all three attended the University of Cambridge. They initially gained prominence in a television sketch comedy, A Bit of Fry […]
Comic Songs (46)
Not the Nine O’Clock News is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 1979 to 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the Nine O’Clock News on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy sketches, re-edited videos, and […]