William Shakespeare - As You Like It (1936 film).

This is Olivier's first performance of Shakespeare on screen - he was 29 years old.



Rosalind ELISABETH BERGNER
Orlando LAURENCE OLIVIER
Celia SOPHIE STEWART
Duke Senior HENRY AINLEY
Duke Frederick FELIX AYLMER

The 1936 adaptation is the first time that a Shakespearean play was made into a sound film. It was directed in London by Paul Czinner, an Austrian Jew that fled his home country to avoid political persecution. The film stars his wife, Elizabeth Bergner, also an Austrian Jewish refugee. To the persecuted, the escape to the Forest of Arden does not simply represent, as Celia sees it, a place to spend time and relax so much as an escape to freedom. This view is reflected in the film created by refugees, and speaks to other refugees and exiles.

This recording is for educational purposes only and is covered under Fair Use doctrine - Copyright - All rights reserved to their respective owners.

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Screen Adaptation - Co-Production : MISANTHROPOS – Official Website - [ LINK ]
Adapted by Maximianno Cobra, from Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens", the film exposes the timeless challenge of social hypocrisy, disillusion and annihilation against the poetics of friendship, love, and beauty.

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Ian McKellen and Shakespeare - Solos and Sonnets - One-Man Show - 1980 - Remastered 4K



Acting Shakespeare is a one-man show of Shakespearean monologues interspersed with theatrical anecdotes devised and performed by Ian McKellen. McKellen first performed the recital in Scandinavia in 1980 and later performed it throughout the world. It was broadcast by PBS in 1982. For the 1984 Broadway engagement, McKellen received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show and a Tony Award nomination. He received internationally rave reviews with some calling him "The new Olivier" and "The greatest classical actor of our generation". The most recent performance was in Jersey Opera House in 1990, until it's revival in 2022 by the Irvington Shakespeare Company.

In 1993 McKellen developed another one-man show, 'A Knight Out' (using the play on word as a result of his being knighted in 1991) but this time focusing, as well as on stage roles, on his now ever increasing film roles. As with Acting Shakespeare, he toured around England, Europe and America to great acclaim.

A predecessor of this show's format was John Gielgud's The Ages of Man, which consisted of Gielgud in front of an audience with a mixture of both speeches and anecdotes. - also available on Shakespeare Network.

This recording is for educational purposes only and is covered under Fair Use doctrine - Copyright - All rights reserved to their respective owners.

_______________________________

Screen Adaptation - Co-Production : MISANTHROPOS – Official Website - [ LINK ]
Adapted by Maximianno Cobra, from Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens", the film exposes the timeless challenge of social hypocrisy, disillusion and annihilation against the poetics of friendship, love, and beauty.

_______________________________

Support Us - Donate Now !

Ages of Man - John Gielgud & Shakespeare - Solos: Plays - Sonnets - TV 1966

One-man show like no other... When Shakespeare is wedded to the unsurpassed skills of on of the finest actors of this, or any other, age, something extraordinary happens. John Gielgud was at his height at the time of this program, with all the finely-honed skills of lifetime of theatrical experience concentrated in a two-hour one-man show. Gielgud's triumphant "Ages of Man" program (adapted from George Rylands' "Shakespeare Anthology") demonstrates this actor's ability to "become" the character being represented, be that character the young Romeo or the aged Lear. Gielgud's voice is an instrument without equal, which he uses to allow us a glimpse of the power of theatre and the majesty of one of the world's greatest playwright's command of language.

The program was originally broadcast on CBS in 1966. CBS executives decided it's audience was very limited, so it was shown in two one-hour instalments on consecutive Sunday afternoons in the 4:00 p.m. slot. The Archive of American Television restores this landmark program to general accessibility.

John Gielgud received a special Tony Award for this one-man show when he first performed it on Broadway in 1959.



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Screen Adaptation - Co-Production : MISANTHROPOS – Official Website - [ LINK ]
Adapted by Maximianno Cobra, from Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens", the film exposes the timeless challenge of social hypocrisy, disillusion and annihilation against the poetics of friendship, love, and beauty.

_______________________________

Support Us - Donate Now !

Post-production development.

We must tip our hat and express our deepest gratitude to those who made this production possible since 2017.

Official Website: [ MISANTHROPOS or The Life of Timon of Athens ]

BEST WISHES | MEILLEURS VOEUX | PROSIT NEUJAHR | AUGURI | MEJORES DESEOS | MELHORES VOTOS | 2023!

Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - 2022) - Tribute.

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow."*
"Good night Sweet Queen: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"***



Music: Seven Variations on "God Save the King - Queen" WoO 78 - Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827)
Maximianno Cobra, Piano
Recorded by - TEMPUS Collection and licensed to Shakespeare Network.

Text Excerpts:
* Romeo and Juliet: Act 2 Scene 2 - Juliet;
** Hamlet: Act 5 scene 2 - Horatio NB: Original text: (...) sweet prince (...)

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Great Britain and Beethoven

"I must show the English a little what a blessing they have in their “God Save the King.”
(Beethoven's diary 1803 - Fischhoff autograph.)

Why would a composer in Austria write sets of variations on the English anthems ‘God save the King’ and ‘Rule Britannia’ in 1803?

‘God save the King’ was highly popular on the Continent. Many composers chose the melody as a theme for variations, one being the renowned Bach biographer Johann Nicolaus Forkel in 1791. Beethoven thus followed a tradition when he used both melodies to represent the English side in Wellington's Victory (1813). Such a motif, however, can only work if there is a clear connection between the country represented and the music. The music must therefore be well known. Moreover, Beethoven revered Britain and the British and harboured strong feelings for the island. There he found glory, honour and praise, not to mention generous publishers and philharmonic societies willing to perform his music. ‘The English’, which for Beethoven meant all British citizens, were an open-hearted nation that he deeply loved.

Maximianno Cobra