Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation: Speeches and Scenes Performed as Shakespeare Would Have Heard Them

British Library, The

ISBN 10: 0712351191 ISBN 13: 9780712351195

Publisher: British Library, 2012

Synopsis

How did the actors of Shakespeare’s stage sound to the audiences of his day? For the first time, this disc offers listeners the chance to hear England’s greatest playwright performed by a company of actors using the pronunciations of the Elizabethan era. Under the guidance of Ben Crystal—actor, author of Shakespeare on Toast, and an expert in original Shakespearian pronunciation—the company performs scenes from Shakespeare’s plays and several of his best-known poems. Listeners will hear new meanings uncovered, new jokes revealed, and poetic effects enhanced. The CD is accompanied by an introductory essay by Shakespeare authority David Crystal.

About this title

About the Author:

Ben Crystal is a British actor and writer. He studied English Language and Linguistics at Lancaster University before training at Drama Studio London. He has worked in TV, film, and theater, at the reconstructed Shakespeare's Globe, London, and is a narrator for RNIB Talking Books, Channel 4, and the BBC. He co-wrote Shakespeare's Words and The Shakespeare Miscellany and is the author of Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard, which was shortlisted for the Educational Writer of the Year Award, 2010. His new series of introductions to Shakespeare's plays—Springboard Shakespeare—was published by Arden Shakespeare in June 2013. In 2011, he played Hamlet in the first Original Pronunciation production of the play for 400 years with the Nevada Repertory Company, and in 2012 he was the curator of the first CD of extracts of Shakespeare recorded by professional actors in Original Pronunciation for the British Library. In July 2014, he brought his ensemble to the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe, and produced the first reading of Macbeth in OP in Shakespeare's theater for 400 years. In January 2015 he will take his ensemble to Stockholm to present their production of Pericles in OP, which will be live-scored by the Swedish Radio Symphony as part of conductor Daniel Harding's Interplay Festival. He and his ensemble perform and give workshops on Shakespeare around the world.

Review:

“The British Library's new CD, Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation, is the first of its kind featuring speeches and scenes which claim to be performed as Shakespeare would have heard them. The CD is said to bring to life rhymes and jokes that are not audible in contemporary English—as well as to illustrate what Hamlet meant when he advised his actors to speak ‘trippingly upon the tongue.’ ”—Telegraph

(Telegraph)

“An enthusiastic bunch of actors demonstrate how the Bard’s sonnets, songs and various famous scenes from his plays would have sounded to Elizabethan audiences. Pronounce ‘hour’ as a 16th-century actor would have, that is, to rhyme with ‘whore,’ and listen to the double entendres multiply. Eng lit aficionados will love it.”

(Sue Arnold Guardian)

“The project ... is a remarkable achievement, which is the first of its kind. If you are a student new to Shakespeare, or an accomplished scholar, this CD gives a fresh perspective on the Bard’s words. It is so fun to listen to, you will be walking around the rest of the day imitating the sounds and ‘speaking the speech.’” (playshakespeare.com)

About this edition

• Publisher: British Library
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0712351191
• ISBN 13: 9780712351195
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 1