"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, therefore, this is the Ides of March. Which means that it is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar.A rather gruesome anniversary, but it shapes the world like not many others did, for centuries to come. I blog about it every year, it's a sort of tradition, because I love history and I get in an Ancient Rome mood round this time of year. That and an Irish mood, too, but I digress. So yeah, as you probably, we owe to Shakespeare the line "Beware the Ides of March," you can hear it in Julius Caesar. I have yet to see the whole play, shame on me. For me, it reminds me of this scene from the HBO series Rome. I am going to watch it. If you do, fair warning: it is very bloody.

Hamlet on stage

It struck me recently: I haven't seen a play in a long while. Not since I am a dad, at least. A few years ago, I used to go and watch them whenever I could. I need to put this on my new year's resolutions list: go and see some plays. And I also found out, thanks to the Facebook page of the National Theatre that they are making a production of Hamlet. It is the very first play of Shakespeare I read and maybe my favourite one. Yet I don't think I have ever seen it performed on stage, only in films. So I might see if I can watch it on cinema screen, like I did for many NT productions a decade or so ago.

"La pièce qui tourne mal"

 Des fois, on donne à des choses des titres prédestinés. Enfin bref, j'ai appris dans la grosse Presse, grâce à mon frère PJ, qui m'a refilé la nouvelle, que le comédien Guillaume Lambert s'était blessé à Drummondville lors d'une représentation de... La pièce qui tourne mal. Ça ne s'invente pas. C'est pour ainsi dire tenter le sort. Blagues à part, je lui souhaite un prompt rétablissement. Autre détail anecdotique: j'ai déjà connu un Guillaume Lambert. Mais non, ce n'était pas le comédien.

"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, the Ides of March. People who are into history will of course know that this is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar. That's how the Ides of March are most (in)famous for. The expression "Beware the Ides of March" is taken from Julius Caesar. Which I haven't seen, to my great shame. But anyway, every year, I go full on Roman and I blog about it. And I try to remember the lesson of that fateful date. I mentioned them in 2022 and again in 2024. I am sharing them again: "1)even the most powerful man in the world is vulnerable, especially when he made himself enemies, however subservient they may appear to be. 2)we must be wary of the power vacuum created after a coup d'état." So yeah, enjoy your 15th of March.

Dr Strangelove on stage

 You may know that I'm a fan of Stanley Kubrick. He is my favourite director. I recently found out, to my delight, that the National Theatre has made a stage adaptation of the Cold War dark comedy Dr. Strangelove. Maybe my favourite film comedy. generally, I am not keen on these kinds of remakes and re-adaptations and re-imagining, or whatever the name they give them. But I have seen the trailers and some videos and it looks promising. I also think that Kubrick's direction was often very theatric and stagy, in all his movies and this one in particular, so it makes sense to have the story adapted for the stage. So yeah, I will try to go and watch it.

The Weird Sisters

I am sharing another picture taken by my father during one of his walks. This time, it is three witches, who of course reminded me of the Weird Sisters in the Scottish Play. By the way, it's a great play to watch come Halloween.

The Railway Children on stage

Here is a nice little bit of news I learned from the Facebook page of the Didcot Railway Centre: they will be presenting a stage adaptation of  The Railway Children. I have seen one before, almost ten years ago, which I thoroughly enjoyed.Then I read the novel. Since then, I became a father, and Wolfie has already enjoyed one novel of Edith Nesbit. I suggested we go and watch the play, he is eager to do it, but only once he have read the book. Since it is in August, I guess he has time. So yes, I am not sure if we will go, we will have a busy summer, but this is a possibility. Worst case scenario, it is an excuse to read to Wolfie a classic of children literature.

News about Amadeus

 I blogged before and again about a new adaptation of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer. I keep my ears to the ground for any development and casting updates. Anyway, I read this article a few days ago and thought I would mention it here. New actors have been added to the cast, among them Rory Kinnear. It is the one I know the most, having played Bill Tanner in the latest Bond movies. He will be playing the role of the Emperor, which I think is very fitting. So far I am quite happy about how the project is shaping up.

More on the new Amadeus

 I blogged last month about a new adaptation of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer, this time as a TV series. For someone like me who is a fan of the film, the play and, well, of Mozart as well, that's great news. I am cautiously optimistic about the project. Casting seems to be going well and they found their Constanze Mozart. Or Stanzie, as she is often called in the play. Welsh actress Gabrielle Creevy will play the part. I don't know her, at least I don't remember seeing her in anything, but I think she looks the part. I really cannot wait to watch it. Patience, patience.

A New Amadeus

Well, some good news for the Mozart fan that I am: there will be a new version of Amadeus by Peter Shaffer. Not a new movie, but a new TV series. I found the info in an article on ClassicFM about the casting. I don't know anything apart from that, but I'm intrigued and excited. I hope I can find a platform to watch it, when it will be released. A part of me is anxious: I hope they don't mess it up. The film was already a brilliant transfer from stage to screen, turning the play into a TV series is probably going to be an at least equally challenging task. But if nothing else, there will be great music to go with the drama. And the source material is solid.

Beware the Ides of March (always)

Today is the 15th of March, day of the Ides of March. It is also and therefore the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar.When you love history like me, you ought to remember it. So I try to commemorate it every year on this blog. The line "Beware the Ides of March" comes from Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Anyway, we beware the Ides of March and not only on the 15th of March. I mentioned why back in 2022. I will sum up again the lessons we must learn from Caesar's murder: 1)even the most powerful man in the world is vulnerable, especially when he made himself enemies, however subservient they may appear to be. 2)we must be wary of the power vacuum created after a coup d'état. Or whenever a tyrant, or a dictator dies or fall from power. I am well aware that these are not cheerful thoughts, but the lessons of history seldom are.

La pièce de Noël

Photo de la pièce familiale, je la partage ici car elle sert mon propos. Enfin, c'est lié un peu. Cette semaine, nous avons pu voir une crèche vivante. Enfin, façon de parler: petit loup a joué dans sa pièce de Noël, qui est bien entendu une pièce de la Nativité. Cette année, il faisait un berger. C'est je crois une promotion: l'an dernier il faisaitun chameau et l'année d'avant, un mouton. Mais il n'a guère aimé l'expérience. Nous ne savons pas trop pourquoi, mais il y est allé à reculon. Dommage, car je sais qu'il peut être un excellent acteur. Je le sais parce que: 1)des deux côtés de sa famille il y a des gens avec un talent pour le théâtre et 2)lorsque nous jouons à ses jeux de guerre, il peut faire plusieurs personnages avec des personnalités très différentes. Peut-être qu'il avait le trac, je ne sais pas. Ou alors son athéisme se manifestait par un dédain du sujet de la pièce. Enfin, c'est fini jusqu'à l'an prochain.

La Légende de Saint Nicolas

Nous sommes  la Saint-Nicolas , donc je partage l'une des légendes associées au saint, celle qui est si délicieusement sinistre. D'habitude, je partage la verison chantée, cette fois-ci, c'est une pièce de théâtre avec des marionnettes trouvée sur YouTube. Et, comme je viens de me rendre compte qu'on ne peut pas la partager directement sur les autres sites, vous trouverez le lien ici. Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez.

Shining City

Today's countdown to Halloween reading suggestion, or rather watching suggestion, as it is a play: Shining City by Conor McPherson. I saw it thirteen years ago on stage in the Lake District and loved it so much that I bought the play that very night. It's a sober but very efficient ghost story set in contemporary Dublin (the shining city of the title). In it, therapist Ian, former Jesuit with a few inner demons of his own, is treating a new patient. It's John, an ordinary man if there ever was one, claims to have seen what seems to be the ghost of his recently deceased wife. As he tells his story and as we follow in parallels the troubled life of Ian, the existence of ghosts, whatever their true nature may be, seems less and less implausible. In a world where normality is often oppressive and corrosive, guilt becomes a presence, a force that can break you. It's for you if you like psychological horror (like me) and it is all the more fitting for the season that Halloween comes from Ireland originally.

Un spectacle de nuit pour l'Halloween

Je partage encore une fois aujourd'hui une photo d'une page dans Les dires de Piloé, la première de leur pièce de l'Halloween intitulée... La Nuit de l'Halloween. Dire que j'ai aimé cette pièce et y jouer (mon premier vrai rôle au théâtre) serait un euphémisme. Je vais peut-être la montrer en entier un jour sur Vraie Fiction, d'ici là je compte la lire à petit loup, peut-être faire un spectacle pour lui avec les toutous et les jouets en guise de personnages, ce serait bien. Mais enfin bref, l'idée suggérée dans cette page, d'un spectacle de nuit pour l'Halloween, je trouve que c'est une idée inspirée. J'en ai vu un il y a une quinzaine d'années, c'était assez génial. Ca peut prendre la forme d'une histoire effrayante pour adultes ou une pièce pour les enfants comme celle-ci, mais ce serait une bonne idée.

The Signalman at Didcot Railway Centre

We went to the Didcot Railway Centre only once, but I have been wanting to go back ever since and I found another very good reason to go there again. On Saturday the 24th of June, Gerard Dickens will be performing a dramatisation of his great, great grandfather Charles Dickens' The Signal-Man. Like in many adaptations, it has been retitled The Signalman, but I digress. I have read the original ghost story and seen a stage adaptation of the story nearly ten years ago. I throughly enjoyed it. Enjoyed them, I should say: I loved both the original and its adaptation. Ghost stories and trains, these are two of my favourite things, here wrapped up together. When technology meets the supernatural. On my countdown to the countdown to Halloween (or my officious countdown that starts whenever I feel like it), this would be the perfect day out. That said, given that Wolfie might be a bit young for such scary story, I will probably give it a pass, even though the shows are in daytime. But hey, maybe some of my readers can see it. If you can, tell me how it went. Lucky you.

L'Arlequin (Santon de Charlevoix)

 Je partage encore une fois une figurine trouvée sur la page Facebook sur les Santons de Charlevoix, rien que parce que. Il me faudra vraiment que j'en achète ne serait-ce qu'une lors de mon retour au Québec. Enfin bref, ils ne font pas que des figurines du folklore québécois, ils ont aussi des personnages tirés de la commedia dell'arte, comme cet Arlequin. Je connais peu de choses sur la commedia, mais j'ai ça m'intrigue depuis toujours. Peut-être parce que j'ai fait du théâtre, que j'aime beaucoup de la culture italienne ou simplement que j'aime leurs déguisements,mais enfin bref. J'aimerais avoir cet Arlequin aussi.

Acting in the library

Here's a little bit of news that caught my attention and my interest recently: there is a playreaders group in the local library and they are looking for new members. The group meets once a month and they don't require you to have any acting experience or skills. I happen to have experience and I do hope some skills. I haven't done acting in more than a decade, but I miss it a lot, so I might actually try to join, if I can fit it in my family schedule. My wife told me to go for it. If I do, I will of course blog about it and thus keep you posted. I love the idea of acting in a library, among all the books. It is just a great setting, where two arts meet.

Les Lutins de l'Halloween

Alors que l'Halloween approche, j'ai lu et relu la pièce de théâtre qui se trouve dans Les dires de Piloé, mon livre de français de quatrième année. Il y avait deux lutins, Luco et Polo, les héros de l'histoire, qui protégeaient les animaux de la forêt des sorcières et des ogres, qui voulaient les bouillir dans un chaudron le soir de l'Halloween. Je jouais Luco (celui à gauche sur l'image). Je relis l'histoire et je suis impressionné par l'intrigue simple mais efficace, ainsi que par la qualité du vocabulaire. Et puis avoir des lutins de la forêt comme protagonistes, c'était assez bien pensé: des enfants pouvaient plus facilement s'identifier à eux et on montrait que la ruse et l'intelligence étaient aussi des forces. Je crois que je vais lire La Nuit de l'Halloween (c'est son titre) à petit loup.

"L'Abuseur de Séville"

J'ai parfois des obsessions qui datent de longtemps et que j'approfondis année après année. Enfin bref, Don Giovanni est mon opéra préféré. J'ai lu la pièce de Molière il y a longtemps (elle m'a d'ailleurs un peu déçu), parce que je voulais en savoir plus sur la source de l'opéra, mais ce n'est que récemment que j'ai mis la main sur la version la plus ancienne de la légende. Il y a quelques mois, j'ai donc acheté en version bilingue espagnol-français El Burlador de Sevilla de Tirso de Molina. J'ai préféré cette pièce à celle de Molière: plus violente, plus brutale, plus explicite. Mettons que Tirso de Molina n'a pas mis de gants blancs. La pièce m'a fait voir Don Giovanni sous un jour nouveau et j'ai très hâte d'écouter l'opéra à nouveau et de l'analyser une autre fois à la lumière de cette expérience de lecture.