For centuries the Kingdom of Navarre was the premier independent Basque kingdom in the world. In the 1580's and 1590's, the King of Navarre was a protestant and ally of England. This King sponsored an academy at his court, and actually associated with lords named Biron and Longueville. This King actually wed a French princess, Marguerite, daughter of Catherine de Medici, and prior to the marriage, these two women made visits to Navarre, along with a group of ladies-in-waiting of the French court. The wit and charm of this group of French ladies earned them the name "l'escadron volant" (the flying squadron). The King of Navarre actually wed Marguerite, and changed his religion to Catholic in order to become the King of France, thus becoming the enemy of England, rather than its ally.
Shakespeare's play, Love's Labor's Lost (Shakespeare Theater), is a comedy spoof about how the French ladies visited the King of Navarre and completely outwitted the King and his consorts, the Lords Berowne, Longaville and Dumaine, causing them to abandon their vows to withdraw from the world for a period of three years into the King's academy to seek knowledge and enlightenment. The women outwitted these men, outtalked them, and completely outclassed them. They never for a moment took these shallow men or their professions of love seriously, realizing that they would abandon their vows of love as quickly as they abandoned their vows of austerity. In the end, the women left the men and returned to France, telling the men that if their love was true, they would withdraw from the world and live in austerity for one year (not three). Thus were "love's labors" of the men "lost" as the women departed.
Adding to the wit of the play was the reversal of roles for men and women in England in the 1590s (the time of the play). In the customs of that time, women were the weaker gender, while men were the stronger. In the play, Shakespeare poked fun at the King and his consorts by making them appear as weaklings, completely overpowered by the intellect of the women. Although modern TV sitcoms have portrayed women as smart and men as bumblers, women and men had not been portrayed in that way at the time of the play.
The play was light, airy and fun. Of course, Shakespeare was his usual self in filling the play with words, words, words, and witicisms on top of each other. This play also included more rhyme than usual in Shakespeare plays, making it both more witty and also more interesting. As usual, it is hard to follow a Shakespeare play because of the different language of 400 years ago, and because of the speed of the delivery of the lines. In order to follow the dialogue, one must read the dialogue and become familiar with it before seeing the play.
This adaptation of the play was set in 1960's costumes; it also included the setting of some of the dialogue to music. I found the costumes somewhat distracting at times in contrast to the language being spoken by the actors, but the music was very playful and enlivened the play. All in all, it was a fun performance.
Here is the Washington Post review of the play.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Blue Shoes and Happiness
Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith is another in the series of wonderful little books about The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency located in Botswana. These little books are like a cool refreshment on a hot summer's day -- they lift one's spirits and bring joy. Like a soothing massage when one is weary or tense, they bring comfort and relaxation to soothe the difficulties of one's daily life. These little books bring love and forgiveness; they bring hope and peace. What a deep pleasure it is to be invited into the lives of Mma Precious Ramotswe and her able assistant Mma Grace Makutsi. One can never get enough joy in life, or peace of mind, or hope, and one can never get enough of the one who brings such joy and peace through these little books. I love these little books because I love the way they make me feel when I read them -- wonderful.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye
The Amazon reviewer, “Wysewomon”, gives The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye four stars. I agree with her, and I like her review of the book very much. This book is long – 960 pages – and it continues my reading of novels set in India. For me, this book is not as good as A Suitable Boy or Shantaram, but it is a good book. I would give those books five stars, and this one four stars.
In The Far Pavilions, Kaye uses two principal characters to describe numerous personal and cultural conflicts in India in the mid-1800s – the principal character, Ashton Pelham-Martyn and his love, Anjuli. Ashton was born in India of British parents. His mother died at childbirth, and his father died when Ashton was six years old. Until he was 11 years old, Ashton was raised as Ashok by his Hindu nurse, Sita; his dark complexion and hair permitted Sita to raise Ashok as her son for safety reasons. At her death, he learned that he was actually English, and he was sent to England for schooling. After school, he joined the British military (the Guides) and returned to India. One of the principal conflicts of the entire book was the internal conflict that Ashton experienced between being British but feeling Indian.
While Ashton/Ashok was a young boy, he and Sita were servants at the palace of an Indian Maharaja, where Ashok played with a little girl, Anjuli, who was a half-caste princess. Her mother was Russian, and her father was the Maharaja. Because of her half-caste heritage, she too experienced conflict, along with the conflict among the wives and children of the Maharaja. But Anjuli and Ashok became fast friends as children, leading to their lifelong romance.
A second principal conflict that Kaye describes through Ashton is the conflict regarding the British military in India, particularly the conflict arising from the determination of the British military to establish control over Afghanistan during that period. Much of the second half of the book concerns this conflict, and for me, the book really dragged in this part. That is the reason that I give it four stars rather than five.
Kaye’s story of Ashton’s return to India as a military officer and his “accidental” finding of Anjuli again as a young adult was very well done. Kaye’s description of the trials of Anjuli as a half-caste was also fascinating reading. Throughout the book, Kaye painted a beautiful picture of the love between Ashton and Anjuli, and the difficulties and conflicts that arose resulting from the forbidden love between a British military officer and a Hindu. Also throughout the book, Kaye presented interesting descriptions of the conflicts among the various religions and cultures in India, in particular, Hindu, Islam, and the British Christian religions and cultures.
In the end, the forbidden nature of their love, her half-caste heritage, and a variety of other unaccepted realities led Ashton and Anjuli to become new, different identities, who could find acceptance and live peacefully.
In The Far Pavilions, Kaye uses two principal characters to describe numerous personal and cultural conflicts in India in the mid-1800s – the principal character, Ashton Pelham-Martyn and his love, Anjuli. Ashton was born in India of British parents. His mother died at childbirth, and his father died when Ashton was six years old. Until he was 11 years old, Ashton was raised as Ashok by his Hindu nurse, Sita; his dark complexion and hair permitted Sita to raise Ashok as her son for safety reasons. At her death, he learned that he was actually English, and he was sent to England for schooling. After school, he joined the British military (the Guides) and returned to India. One of the principal conflicts of the entire book was the internal conflict that Ashton experienced between being British but feeling Indian.
While Ashton/Ashok was a young boy, he and Sita were servants at the palace of an Indian Maharaja, where Ashok played with a little girl, Anjuli, who was a half-caste princess. Her mother was Russian, and her father was the Maharaja. Because of her half-caste heritage, she too experienced conflict, along with the conflict among the wives and children of the Maharaja. But Anjuli and Ashok became fast friends as children, leading to their lifelong romance.
A second principal conflict that Kaye describes through Ashton is the conflict regarding the British military in India, particularly the conflict arising from the determination of the British military to establish control over Afghanistan during that period. Much of the second half of the book concerns this conflict, and for me, the book really dragged in this part. That is the reason that I give it four stars rather than five.
Kaye’s story of Ashton’s return to India as a military officer and his “accidental” finding of Anjuli again as a young adult was very well done. Kaye’s description of the trials of Anjuli as a half-caste was also fascinating reading. Throughout the book, Kaye painted a beautiful picture of the love between Ashton and Anjuli, and the difficulties and conflicts that arose resulting from the forbidden love between a British military officer and a Hindu. Also throughout the book, Kaye presented interesting descriptions of the conflicts among the various religions and cultures in India, in particular, Hindu, Islam, and the British Christian religions and cultures.
In the end, the forbidden nature of their love, her half-caste heritage, and a variety of other unaccepted realities led Ashton and Anjuli to become new, different identities, who could find acceptance and live peacefully.
Mame
On Saturday evening, June 10, I went to the Kennedy Center
to see the show, Mame, and it was really wonderful. It is odd that I have seen hundreds of Broadway shows, but never before had I seen Mame. It is such a happy show, and the music is really wonderful. I love going to the Kennedy Center, and on a Summer evening, it is even better than usual. They open up all the doors in the Great Hall and let everyone go out on the terrace overlooking the Potomac River. It is really beautiful. Everyone is happy and enjoying themselves. And then to see a really upbeat, happy show is really great. I love seeing musicals, and I love seeing happy shows. I am not one who usually likes to go to a Broadway show to see drama. Tennessee Williams is not a happy experience for me. I like musicals, and Mame is one of the all-time greats. The non-musical "Auntie Mame" was first performed on Broadway in 1958, starring Rosalind Russell, and the musical Mame was first performed in 1966, starring Angela Lansbury (see History of Auntie Mame).
It is odd that the women who have played Mame have not been strong singers, and Christine Baranski, who stars in this version, is not a strong singer. She was fine in the performance; she fit the role of the doting aunt. But I would have enjoyed it more if she had been a stronger singer. And like so many shows, if the show had stopped at intermission, it would have been better. It is odd that so many shows are great before intermission, but weak in the second act, and this show was no exception. Still, it was a wonderful show that left everyone singing and skipping out of the theater.
to see the show, Mame, and it was really wonderful. It is odd that I have seen hundreds of Broadway shows, but never before had I seen Mame. It is such a happy show, and the music is really wonderful. I love going to the Kennedy Center, and on a Summer evening, it is even better than usual. They open up all the doors in the Great Hall and let everyone go out on the terrace overlooking the Potomac River. It is really beautiful. Everyone is happy and enjoying themselves. And then to see a really upbeat, happy show is really great. I love seeing musicals, and I love seeing happy shows. I am not one who usually likes to go to a Broadway show to see drama. Tennessee Williams is not a happy experience for me. I like musicals, and Mame is one of the all-time greats. The non-musical "Auntie Mame" was first performed on Broadway in 1958, starring Rosalind Russell, and the musical Mame was first performed in 1966, starring Angela Lansbury (see History of Auntie Mame).
It is odd that the women who have played Mame have not been strong singers, and Christine Baranski, who stars in this version, is not a strong singer. She was fine in the performance; she fit the role of the doting aunt. But I would have enjoyed it more if she had been a stronger singer. And like so many shows, if the show had stopped at intermission, it would have been better. It is odd that so many shows are great before intermission, but weak in the second act, and this show was no exception. Still, it was a wonderful show that left everyone singing and skipping out of the theater.
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