Category Archives: FROM A CLASSICAL PLAY

*** MONDAY August 26th, 2019 *** Richard III *** DIRECTED BY Laurence Olivier *** INTERPRETED BY Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir CedricHardwicke, Sir R. Richardson, Laurence Naismith, Claire Bloom and Stanley Baker

laurence

Note New Time & Format

6:35 arrive

7:00 Film

• No Food •

Please car pool if possible

Richard III = William Shakespeare’s powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir..

King Edward IV of England (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) has been placed on the throne with the help of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Sir Laurence Olivier)…

After Edward’s coronation in the Great Hall, attended by  his brothers George and Richard watching, he leaves with his wife and sons…

Richard contemplates the throne advancing towards the audience and then addressing them, delivering a speech that outlines his physical deformities, including a hunched back and a withered arm…

He  plans to frame his brother, George, Duke of Clarence (Sir John Gielgud), for conspiring to kill the King, and to have George sent to the Tower of London, by claiming George will murder Edward’s heirs…

Eventually Richard raises an army to defend his throne and the House of York against the House of Lancaster, led by Henry Tudor (Stanley Baker), the Earl of Richmond and later Henry VII of England, at Bosworth Field…

Olivier cast only British actors and that cast included four knights; Olivier, Richardson, Gielgud and Hardwicke  who were all listed as “Sir….” in the film credits.

*** MONDAY August 19th, 2019 *** Much Ado About Nothing *** DIRECTED BY Kenneth Branagh *** INTERPRETED BY Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Keanu Reeves

Much ado

Note New Time & Format

6:35 arrive

7:00 Film

• No Food •

Please car pool if possible

Based on William Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing was adapted for the screen by Kenneth Branagh, who directs and stars in the film. Known as one of the most successful Shakepeare films, the story line encompasses the tough task that Hero, (Kate Beckinsale) and her fiancé Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), embark upon to create a matchmaking scheme between two people who disbelieve in love and each other. As the scheme takes place, meddling Don John has a plot of his own; which is to ruin Hero and Claudio’s wedding.

 

 

MONDAY JANUARY 9th, 2017 ***** FENCES ***** directed by DENZEL WASHINGTON ***** screenplay written by the distinguished North American theater author AUGUST WILSON from his original PULITZER prize winning play ***** starring DENZEL WASHINGTON, VIOLA DAVIS, STEPHEN McKINLEY HENDERSON, JOVAN ADEPO, RUSSELL HORNSBY, MYKELTY WILLIAMSON AND SANIYYA SIDNEY…

movie

Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son’s (Jovan Adepo) chance to meet a college football recruiter.

Rolling Stone ~ “ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR”

Monday June 13TH, 2016 ***** ” THE DRESSER” ***** directed by PETER YATES starring ALBERT FINNEY, TOM COURTENAY, EDWARD FOX

The Dresser

Nominated for 5 Oscars

A touring Shakespearean theater group, a backstage assistant – The Dresser – is devoted to the brilliant but tyrannical head of the company. He struggles to support the deteriorating star as the company struggles on during the London blitz.

 

MONDAY APRIL 13, 2015 ***** CYRANO DE BERGERAC ***** directed by JEAN PAUL RAPPENEAU with GERARD DEPARDIEU, ANNE BROCHET, VINCENT PEREZ

Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)