Who was Shakespeare?

[Lord Balto]

[MacCruiskeen]

ON EDIT: Not strictly on-topic, this post, but I don't know where else to post it.

Damn, it would be worth traveling to London to see this:

King Lear: Glenda Jackson makes 'ferocious' stage return

Back on stage at the age of 80, after a quarter-century away, and in that role...

For non-Brits: Glenda Jackson gave up acting in her mid-50s to become an MP, and was by all accounts much-liked and greatly respected in that role. Feared by Blair, too. Very strong actress, very strong woman.

As a high-profile backbencher, she became a regular critic of Blair over his plans to introduce higher education tuition fees in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. She also called for him to resign following the Judicial Enquiry by Lord Hutton in 2003 surrounding the reasons for going to war in Iraq and the death of government adviser Dr. David Kelly. Jackson was generally considered to be a traditional left-winger, often disagreeing with the dominant Blairite governing Third Way faction in the Labour Party. Jackson is also a republican.[25]

By October 2005, her problems with Blair's leadership swelled to a point where she threatened to challenge the Prime Minister as a stalking horse candidate in a leadership contest if he did not stand down within a reasonable amount of time. On 31 October 2006, Jackson was one of 12 Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.[26]

[...]

In April 2013, Jackson gave a speech in parliament following the death of Margaret Thatcher.[28] She accused Thatcher of treating "vices as virtues" and stated that because of Thatcherism England was susceptible to unprecedented unemployment rates and homelessness.[29]

Another speech of Jackson's went viral in June 2014 when she gave a scathing assessment of Iain Duncan Smith's tenure as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, telling him that he was responsible for the "destruction of the welfare state and the total and utter incompetence of his department."[30][31]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenda_Ja ... cal_career

Very strong cheekbones, too:



Her TV performance as Elizabeth I scared me shitless when I was a kid:

[Cordelia]

Glenda Jackson's always been one of my favorite actresses.

Not Shakespearean, but her performance as Gudrun Brangwen in film version of D.H. Lawrence's 'Women in Love' is especially memorable.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STYiWIZ-2IQ

(She didn't appear at the Oscar ceremony to p/u either of her two best-actress awards.)

Jackson as King Lear (Rhys Ifans performs too--double draw!):

[MacCruiskeen]

Glenda Jackson's always been one of my favorite actresses.

Glad to hear it, Cordelia. She's great.

Not Shakespearean, but her performance as Gudrun Brangwen in film version of D.H. Lawrence's 'Women in Love' is especially memorable.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STYiWIZ-2IQ

You know, I've never watched that film. Partly out of an aversion to Ken Russell, but also because I usually avoid watching film versions of books I love (e.g., that novel, and Joyce's great story, "The Dead".) Even if the films are very good in their own right, the images instantly supplant my own mental images of the characters, locations, etc. Film's just too powerful as a medium; I can understand people who call it "totalitarian".

(She didn't appear at the Oscar ceremony to p/u either of her two best-actress awards.)

Good for her!

Jackson as King Lear (Rhys Ifans performs too--double draw!):

Thanks, I was having trouble loading images, for some reason. And yeah, it looks like a strong cast. She has too much integrity (and too much respect for other people) to ever tolerate being in a mere "star vehicle".

[googles "easyjet london"]

[brekin]

Jackson narrated a very nice collection of Emily Dickinson Poems. The Mind of Emily Dickinson. Doesn't appear to be online now.

She and Ian McKlennon (both as young and old) always seemed to me to be of similar stock. Like they could be brother and sister.

[Cordelia]

'Women in Love' (along w/its prequel 'The Rainbow') is one of my favorite books too, Mac. I read it before seeing the film version, which isn't over-the-top Ken Russell but is, I think, a faithful and excellent interpretation. Might be worth a try; it also features strong performances by Alan Bates, Oliver Reed and Eleanor Bron is great as Hermione.

(Ken Russell was inconsistent for me; I hated 'The Devils', thought 'Valentino' was okay and 'Tommy' so-so.)