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RSC Production Of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1970)
The 1970 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was directed by Peter Brook, and is often known simply as Peter Brook's ''Dream.'' It opened in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon and then moved to the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End in 1971. It was taken on a world tour in 1972–1973. Brook's production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' for the RSC is often described as one of the 20th century's most influential productions of Shakespeare, as it rejected many traditional ideas about the staging of classic drama. Concept Shakespeare's play is set in Athens and a fairy-inhabited forest nearby. Brook's aim was to reject the 19th-century traditions of realism and illusionism in the theatre, and focus instead on locating the play in "the heightened realm of metaphor". He also wanted to liberate the play from encrusted "''bad'' tradition" so that the actors could feel that they were encountering the text for the first time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sally Jacobs
Sally Jacobs (née Rich, 5 November 1932 – 16 August 2020) was a British stage designer and director. Early life Jacobs was born in Whitechapel, London on 5 November 1932. Her parents were Bernard and Esther Rich (née Bart), a furrier and milliner respectively. She studied at Dalston County secondary school in Hackney and then St Martin's School of Art, leaving school at 14. She worked initially as a secretary at a film company. However, experience of film continuity work, and particularly seeing theatre in the mid-1950s, made her return to study of stage design at the Central School of Art and Design in London. Career Jacobs commenced her career as an assistant scene painter and then began designing. She began working at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 and brought a very different appearance to many of their productions with her stage and costume designs. Between 1967 and 1982 she lived in the U.S. and continued to work as a designer and director for theatre and oper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puck (Shakespeare)
Puck, or Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Based on the Puck of English mythology and the púca of Celtic mythology, Puck is a mischievous fairy, sprite, or jester. He is the first of the main fairy characters to appear, and he significantly influences events in the play. He delights in pranks such as replacing Bottom's head with that of an ass. Appearances in the play The audience is introduced to Puck in 2.1: FAIRY: Either I mistake your shape and making quite, Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite Call'd Robin Goodfellow: are you not he That frights the maidens of the villagery; Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern, And bootless make the breathless housewife churn; And sometime make the drink to bear no barm; Mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm? Those that Hobgoblin call you and sweet Puck, You do their work, and they shall have good luck: Are you not he? PUCK: Fairy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Titania () is a character in William Shakespeare's 1595–1596 play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. In the play, she is the Queen of the fairies and wife of the Fairy King, Oberon. Due to Shakespeare's influence, later fiction has often used the name "Titania" for fairy queen characters. Origins In traditional folklore, the fairy queen has no name. As such, Shakespeare took the name "Titania" from Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', where it is an appellation given to the daughters of Titans. Role in the play Shakespeare's Titania has a major role to play in one of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream's'' subplots. Titania is a very proud creature and as much of a force to contend with as her husband, Oberon. She and Oberon are engaged in a marital quarrel over which of them should have the keeping of an Indian changeling boy. It is this quarrel which drives the plot, creating the mix-ups and confusion of the other characters in the play. Due to an enchantment cast by Oberon's servant Puck ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippolyta
In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Greek word found in the Iliad and elsewhere meaning "war belt." Some traditional English translations have preferred the more feminine-sounding " girdle." Hippolyta figures prominently in the myths of both Heracles and Theseus. The myths about her are varied enough that they may therefore be about several different women. The name ''Hippolyta'' comes from Greek roots meaning "horse" and "let loose." Legends Ninth Labor of Heracles In the myth of Heracles, Hippolyta's belt (ζωστὴρ Ἱππολύτης) was the object of his ninth labour. He was sent to retrieve it for Admete, the daughter of King Eurystheus.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'', 30 Most versions of the myth indicate that Hippolyta was so impressed with Heracles that she gave him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Etymology Oberon is derived from Alberich (from Old High German ''alb-'' "elf" and ''-rîh-'', "ruler", "king"), the name of a dwarf from Germanic mythology. In the ''Nibelungenlied'', a Burgundian poem written around the turn of the 13th century, Alberich guards the treasure of the Nibelungen, but is overcome by Siegfried. In Old French, the name Alberich evolved into ''Alberon'' and then ''Auberon'' and ultimately into ''Aubrey''. French heroic song The name Oberon (as Auberon) is first attested to in the early 13th century entitled , wherein it refers to an elven man of the forest encountered by the eponymous hero. Huon, son of Seguin count of Bordeaux, passed through the forest inhabited by Oberon. He was warned by a hermit no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes described as the son of Aegeus, King of Athens, and sometimes as the son of the god Poseidon. He was raised by his mother, Aethra, and, upon discovering his connection to Aegeus, travels overland to Athens, having many adventures on the way. When he reaches Athens, he finds that Aegeus is married to Medea (formerly wife of Jason), who plots against him. The most famous legend about Theseus is his slaying of the Minotaur, half man and half bull. He then goes on to unite Attica under Athenian rule: the ''synoikismos'' ('dwelling together'). As the unifying king, he is credited with building a palace on the fortress of the Acropolis. Pausanias reports that after ''synoikismos'', Theseus established a cult of Aphrodite ('Aphrodite of all the People' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tie-dye
Tie-dye is a term used to describe a number of resist dyeing techniques and the resulting dyed products of these processes. The process of tie-dye typically consists of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment, before binding with string or rubber bands, followed by the application of dye or dyes. The manipulations of the fabric before the application of dye are called resists, as they partially or completely prevent ('resist') the applied dye from coloring the fabric. More sophisticated tie-dye may involve additional steps, including an initial application of dye before the resist, multiple sequential dyeing and resist steps, and the use of other types of resists (stitching, stencils) and discharge. Unlike regular resist-dyeing techniques, modern tie-dye is characterized by the use of bright, saturated primary colors and bold patterns. These patterns, including the spiral, mandala, and peace sign, and the use of multiple bold colors, have become clichéd sinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flower Children
Flower child originated as a synonym for hippie, especially among the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and the surrounding area during the Summer of Love in 1967. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear and distribute flowers or floral-themed decorations to symbolize ideals of universal belonging, peace, and love. The mass media picked up on the term and used it to refer in a broad sense to any hippie. Flower children were also associated with the flower power political movement, which originated in ideas written by Allen Ginsberg in 1965. Origins The term originated in the mid-1960s in the wake of a film version of H. G. Wells's ''The Time Machine'' that depicted flower-bestowing, communal people of the future in a story characterized by antiwar themes. American political activists like Allen Ginsberg and Abbie Hoffman advocated the giving of flowers as a means of peaceful protest. Images of flower-wielding protesters at the 1967 Pentagon March, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domesticated in Africa some years ago, and has been used mainly as a working animal since that time. There are more than 40 million donkeys in the world, mostly in underdeveloped countries, where they are used principally as draught or pack animals. While working donkeys are often associated with those living at or below subsistence, small numbers of donkeys or asses are kept for breeding or as pets in developed countries. A male donkey is known as a ''jack'' or ''jackass'', a female is a ''jenny'' or ''jennet'', and an immature donkey of either sex is a '' foal''. Jacks are often mated with female horses (mares) to produce '' mules''; the less common hybrid of a male horse (stallion) and j ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plate-spinning
Plate spinning is a circus manipulation art where a person spins plates, bowls and other flat objects on poles, without them falling off. Plate spinning relies on the gyroscopic effect, in the same way a top stays upright while spinning. Spinning plates are sometimes gimmicked, to help keep the plates on the poles. History Plate spinning has existed since at least the 3rd century. It is likely it originated in China but it also has a long history in Western countries from evidence in medieval religious manuscripts. The first book providing instruction for plate spinning was published in 1901. Types of plate spinning Plate spinning has a variety of related skills and performances. The most recognised is the spinning of a plate horizontally on top of a stick. Plates can, however, be spun on their edge, as in 'Plate waltzing' or spun vertically as in 'Plate juggling'. Plate spinning skills can also be performed with other circus skills such as acrobatics and other juggling or bala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trapeze
A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, and may be performed solo, double, triple or as a group act. The name of the apparatus reflects the trapezoid shape made by the horizontal bar, ropes and ceiling support. History The art of trapeze performance is reported to have been developed by Jules Léotard, a young French acrobat and aerialist, in Toulouse in the mid-1800s. He is said to have used his father's swimming pool to practice. However, the name "trapeze" can be found in books dating as far back as twenty years earlier, before Léotard was born. One such example is George Roland’s “An Introductory Course of Modern Gymnastic Exercises”, published in 1832. Roland proposes the idea that the trapeze might owe its origin to Colonel Amoros, but ultimately deems the question o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
