Hello, thank you for popping in. I am still thrilled to bits that anyone is reading. It's Easter holiday time here which means that The Mathematician is home for four weeks and the Best Beloved is off work for a fortnight. I am still at work but I am off enforced kitchen duties, so that's a rest for me, too. Everyone in our house is quite relaxed, the pace is slower, we are catching up on lost sleep, the days are sunnier, the evenings are lighter and the birds are building their nests. Spring has sprung.
We spent Easter at my parents' home in South Wales and were thoroughly pampered, which was lovely because I was completely worn out by the time we got there. There were no bunnies, chicks, pastels or artful table decorations; we had a birthday celebration, a traditional (old-fashioned?) church service, a roast lamb dinner, chocolate, nephews and a niece, family time, the Boat Race on television, a proper rest and a nostalgic peruse through old photographs and theatre programmes. It was just about perfect.
One of the things I like about old theatre programmes is discovering a name in the cast list which has since become extremely well-known. For example, when I was seventeen years old and saw a young, red-headed Leontes dancing with his son in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale I had no idea that Patrick Stewart would become internationally famous within a decade as the captain of the USS Enterprise. In 1957/8, my father went on a school trip to the Old Vic in London and saw this production of Hamlet -
Now take a close look and see who was playing Ophelia in her London debut -
Yes, a young Dame Judi Dench, straight out of drama school then and now a "national treasure". However, the reviews of her performance were not good: in The Observer, Kenneth Tynan praised the production but wrote that "The Ophelia, Judi Dench, is a pleasing but terribly sane little thing", a strong sign that something was amiss if you recall that Ophelia is supposed to lose her sanity during the course of the play. Another well-respected theatre critic, Richard Findlater, wrote "The debut was, in my view, a debacle."
In the long term I don't think those notices have impeded her career!
See you soon.
Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x
Sounds like you had a wonderful Easter, what a treasure looking through old theatre programmes and lovely to reminisce at old photos. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I really do love old theatre programmes and photos. x
DeleteGlad your Easter was restful and that the slower pace is continuing. That's interesting about Judi Dench.
ReplyDeleteI am please you liked it, Lorrie. x
DeleteI don't think the reviews hurt her career much. I've always liked her and loved her in the James Bond movies, it was such a different turn for her. Kind of like Helen Mirren in the Red movies.
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean about Helen Mirren. It's interesting to see how the roles change as time moves on. x
DeleteI too love looking through my old theatre programmes and sometimes finding a surprise name that wasn't well known at the time. I remember seeing Judy Dench in A Comedy of Errors twice at Stratford with her husband the late Michael Williams in the cast, as well as Roger Rees and Richard Griffiths both gone now too. Also in the cast Francesca Annis and Robin Ellis both still around and gracing our TV screens. The early reviews didn't do her any harm did they? So glad you had a lovely, peaceful Easter with family it all sounds lovely:)
ReplyDeleteOh lucky you, Rosie, what a cast! Was that the Trevor Nunn production? I am looking forward to your Boscobel post. x
DeleteHello, it sounds your Easter was a happy one and you are enjoying spring coming. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely to look through old photographs and theatre programmes and it must be especially lovely in your country, filled as it is with splendid actors.
Have a beautiful Sunday!
Thank you Sara. Yes, this is a good country for theatre-lovers. x
DeleteOoh great! There are a few other names I recognise in that list but notably Barbara Leigh Hunt who played Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice that I've watched a thousand times. I remember her complaining that Elizabeth Bennett had a very small park! Glad you are all rested. x
ReplyDeleteWell Lizzie ended up with a rather substantial park, didn't she! And let's not forget Ronald Fraser and his marvellous turn in Swallows and Amazons! Looks like you had a lovely break on the south coast. x
DeleteYou're having a lovely family time! That's a long break for everyone (well, except you, but I'm sure you feel like you're in holiday mode with everyone carefree around you!). It sounds so nice at your parents' home, and just the sort of family gathering I enjoyed when my parents were still in their own place. All of us (about 20) sitting around the huge fireplace and catching up on news. Treasure these times ;)
ReplyDeleteWendy
You are right Wendy, I am in holiday mode because I am not having to manage anybody else's stress and it's LOVELY. I really do treasure the times when my family is together, relaxed and sharing with each other. I feel quite blessed. Take care. x
DeleteSounds like a perfectly wonderful Easter celebration - so relaxing and calm. How fun to sort through the family photos and theater programs and find these famous names. I've never seen a photo of a young Judi Dench - she really was adorable! We were just watching her in 'As Time Goes By' last night (our exciting Sat. night!) when we lost our electricity in mid-laugh. It never did come back on until morning....a tree fell on the lines down the road. Anyway, so fun to see the programs. Hope your week is a good one. xx Karen
ReplyDeleteShe was gorgeous, wasn't she? Still is, if you ask me, wears her age very graciously. I used to enjoy As Time Goes By, it ran for years. Take care, Karen. x
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