LONDON — What do you suppose she’s really thinking beneath the mask of majesty? All that nonstop pomp and pageantry must feel like a straitjacket. And surely she has disturbing things on her mind at the moment — worries about her husband, for one — as her reveling subjects pay such ostentatious tribute to her. Wouldn’t you just love to know what’s going on inside that serene head of hers?
No, not her. Not Queen Elizabeth II, though she has inspired many such questions in recent days. I arrived in London a few days too late to be a firsthand witness to the parades and parties and river flotillas that commemorated her 60 years on the throne. But I did manage to catch, just before she left town, another, livelier woman who could be said to be the prisoner of her title.
Her name? The Duchess of Malfi. And should the current queen of England have chosen to spend time with this entrapped creature, embodied with genuine tragic grandeur by Eve Best in John Webster’s 1613 play at the Old Vic Theater, she might have found a soul sister of sorts in a doomed Italian noblewoman of another age.
Or perhaps Queen Elizabeth’s thoughts would have turned to women in her family who were unlucky in love and paid a price, like her sister, Margaret, or her daughter-in-law Diana. Jamie Lloyd’s thrilling production of “The Duchess of Malfi,” which ended its limited run on Saturday, makes it all too clear that if you’re stuck on a world stage in a royal role, you had better keep your passions to yourself.
Is it only a coincidence that the Old Vic scheduled this production to coincide with the nationwide Diamond Jubilee celebrations? Written by Webster when memories of the first Queen Elizabeth and her sacrifices to the state were still fresh, “The Duchess of Malfi” achieves a thrilling new immediacy in Mr. Lloyd’s interpretation. (Can’t it please be reincarnated soon, ideally in New York?)
Not that this rising young director resorts to weary postmodernist tricks of dragging a centuries-old classic into a present of cellphones, tabloid journalism and television screens. On the contrary, as designed by Soutra Gilmour, this “Duchess” is set firmly in its period. The deep stage at the Old Vic has been transformed into a three-tiered cathedral-like space; like a tomb, it echoes with intimations of both eternity and decay.
The inhabitants of this sepulchral, candle-lighted world step out of shadows amid clouds of incense. And whether they be rough soldiers, stately churchmen or genteel ladies, they are all wearing Venetian-style masks as they advance toward us in ceremonial procession. They scarcely seem mortal, these exotic creatures.
But observe that one woman stands taller than the others in her handsome, floor-brushing gown. The strong light behind her reveals the silhouette of a woman’s naked body beneath the form-concealing dress. The lady is definitely made of flesh and blood. More’s the pity, for that will be the undoing of the Duchess of Malfi, who presumes to fall in love with her own steward (Tom Bateman, a worthy lust object) and to marry him in secret.
With these opening images, beautifully underscored by James Farncombe’s lighting and Ben and Max Ringham’s music, Mr. Lloyd establishes a visual vocabulary that matches Webster’s stark poetry of paradoxes. T.S. Eliot memorably wrote that Webster was always conscious of “the skull beneath the skin.” This “Duchess” expertly insists that we never forget its existence or that of the bodies beneath the robes and the faces behind the masks.
Indeed, I have never seen a production of any Jacobean tragedy that is so fully imbued, on so many levels, with a sense of duplicity, of doubleness. I mean not only the hypocrisy of state and church, embodied by the Duchess’s conniving brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal (Harry Lloyd and Finbar Lynch, in juicy and credible performances), but also the more far-reaching dichotomies of appearance and reality, of shadow and substance, of the spiritual and the physical, that are also always in play.
It seems appropriate that the plot’s major agent of change, the hired assassin Bosola, should be such an ambivalent figure. Portrayed with rough magic by Mark Bonnar, he is utterly of his corrupt world and also contemptuous of it. He lives as he must in this moment, in this place, but it sickens him to do so.
As with all well-told stories, this one doesn’t let you linger too much on its conceptual aspect while you’re watching. It’s only afterward that you realize how seamlessly its presentation has matched its theme. The production moves with such involving momentum that even its notoriously grisly coups de théâtre (severed hand and waxwork corpses) and far-fetched instances of mistaken identity seem not only feasible but also natural in this world of perfumed pestilence and intrigue.
As for Ms. Best, a great London stage star who has been seen on Broadway in revivals of “A Moon for the Misbegotten” and “The Homecoming,” her Duchess is the most compelling contradiction of all. She is clearly accustomed to command, and there’s arrogance in her carriage. Having to bend to seduce Mr. Bateman’s character doesn’t come easily to her. And living with the privileges of her title has made her cocky and careless; she believes that her stature is an all-concealing veil.
But what ultimately makes this Duchess more than human is, strangely enough, her great humanity. Subjected to some of the nastiest forms of psychological torture in literature, Ms. Best’s Duchess seems to shed her courtly mannerisms and become a figure of centered, radiant naturalness. And she brings to the acceptance of her death the grand, inspiring resignation we associate with Shakespeare’s tragic heroes.
Nonetheless she doesn’t die easily, as is evidenced by the graphic, protracted scene of her murder. On the edge of extinction, she blazes. Had Queen Elizabeth II seen Ms. Best’s performance she might well have approved of this triumph of the true majestic mettle that was always beneath the glitter.
Source: artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com
Which are the best martial arts schools in north London? - Daily Telegraph
Consider Wing Chun, a southern Chinese martial art devised around 300 years ago. Legend has it a female farmer formulated the close-up striking and blocking methods after being challenged to a duel by a nefarious warlord who wanted to take her land. Wing Chun - which means spring chant - was practised by Bruce Lee until he devised his own unique style, and is a martial art for all ages. Try the London Wing Chun Academy in Wood Green.
Next to Pimlico Tube station, you’ll find the British Academy Of Krav Maga. The efficient self-defence style was first used to fight fascists on the streets of Bratislava in the 1930s, but has since become the staple of the Israeli Defence Forces and - more famously - it’s used by film hero Jason Bourne.
You could also do kickboxing at Zen-Do Kickboxing who have schools in Westminster, Chalk Farm and Golders Green. They offer the first lesson free, and have classes for anyone over the age of four.
Finally, try karate, the most widely practised martial art in the UK. The London Shotokan Association, have clubs all over north London and offer special rates for children.
There’s also North London Shotokan Karate in Enfield, run by Sensei John De Bono, a 5th Dan black belt with more than 35 years’ experience.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Essex and Suffolk links to international coaches - East Anglian Daily Times
Head coach Ian Pont with the trophy after leading Dhaka Gladiators to victory in the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League
By Nick Garnham
Sunday, June 10, 2012
9:00 AM
THE appointment of former Suffolk cricketer Richard Pybus as coach of Bangladesh has re-affirmed the rich seam of coaching talent with Suffolk and Essex links.
Former Sudbury and Halstead pace bowler Pybus, 47, who has been living and coaching in South Africa for several years now, worked with Pakistan at two World Cups.
He was appointed coach of Pakistan in 1999 but sacked just a month into the job after losing three Tests in Australia, and returning to work in South Africa, where he has led Border and Titans to ten championship finals, winning six of them and twice doing the double.
Pybus, who turned to coaching after his playing career was cut short by injury, has now taken on the challenge of coaching Bangladesh on a two-year contract.
Below is a list of cricketers with Suffolk and Essex links who have made their mark in recent years in the coaching world at international level.
Stuart Law: Pybus replaces the former Essex batsman as coach of Bangladesh. Law stood down less than a year into his two-year contract for family reasons. The Australian was a popular player at Chelmsford between 1996 and 2001 before a falling out saw him move to Lancashire.
Andy Flower: The former Zimbabwe wicket-keeper and batsman played for Essex from 2002 until 2006, before being assistant coach of the England team in 2007. Following the departure of Peter Moores in 2009, Flower became the full-time England team director.
Graham Gooch: The former Essex and England captain took over as head coach of Essex from 2001 until 2005. He remained as the county’s batting coach and in 2009 he was appointed as England’s ‘temporary’ batting coach, which subsequently became a permanent role. He stepped down as Essex’s batting coach after he was appointed full-time to the England role earlier this year.
Keith Fletcher: The ex-Essex and England captain was England team manager from 1993-1995. He subsequently returned to Essex as first-team coach before stepping down in 2001.
Alan Butcher: The former Surrey and Glamorgan batsman was coach of Essex in 1993 and later coached Surrey from 2005 until 2008. Butcher, who won one Test cap for England, was appointed coach of Zimbabwe in 2011 and has overseen their return to Test cricket.
Grant Flower: Following his retirement from Test cricket in 2004, Grant followed his brother Andy to Essex, where he played for six seasons, combining playing with being batting coach in 2010 before retiring to take up the role as Zimbabwe’s batting coach. He made a surprise, but brief return to the national side, before retiring in January last year to concentrate on his role as batting coach.
Ian Pont: The ex-Essex fast bowler was named as Bangladesh bowling coach in September 2010, but decided not to extend his contract beyond the World Cup early last year when they had a chance to qualify for the quarter-finals after beating England. In March this year he was head coach of the Dhaka Gladiators side that won the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League.
Don Topley: The former Essex bowler, who is now a cricket coach at the Royal Hospital School at Holbrook, just outside Ipswich, coached Zimbabwe between 1990 and 1992, famously leading the minnows to victory over England, captained by Gooch, by nine runs at the 1992 World Cup in Australia.
Source: www.eadt.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment