Playing with Sticks & Speeches | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 3mins Shakespeare on Toast 2021-04-23 | This is a listening exercise, inviting you to physically respond to the stick’s movement. It aids proprioception, helps improve balance, focus, and can bring a lightness to a familiar speech or scene.This is a very quick, and straight-forward way in to a very simple-looking exercise, that also has the potential for deeply complex exploration. There is infinite room to explore and refine, allowing your stick walk to become ever simpler. It isn’t about keeping the stick balanced; the moments of pause that come when the stick falls are useful! A moment of off-balance can tip you out of your comfort zone, physically & vocally.Notice what happens to your stick walk if your body doesn’t start as neutrally possible: what happens when you start off-balance?I play the sticks in solo, as well as in pairs and trios and as many folx as are in the room (see Playing with Partners 3min film youtu.be/LI32jrMGecQ). Love playing with these exercises with music, often to artists like Steve Reich, Max Richter, Radiohead and Björk. Something that you can lose yourself in. The music isn’t for dancing to: you’re simply taking a stick for a walk while music is playing, allowing the mood of the music to ripple through you.When adding in Shakespeare, the stick can help lighten a speech that feels heavy, or stuck: this simple exercise changed my practice and approach to playing with the Bard’s words.*****The basic exercise:- Start physically neutral, feet hip-width apart- Balance the stick on the end of a finger- Keep your heels and shoulders down- Relax your jaw, keep your spare arm active and in flow- Don’t try to stop the stick from falling- When it does fall, catch it, hold a fixed point, then return to neutral, and start again- Play some music, throw in some Shakespeare.*****LineageI first learnt this exercise from workshops with Theatre du Complicité, with Annabel Arden, & with Monika Pagneux, who learnt and taught it at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris.They said that at Lecoq, you are allowed to walk the stick in your 2nd year of training, having spent the 1st year acquiring the neutral body - and that’s IF you’re invited back for the 2nd year.Over the last 20 years, the exercise has been redeveloped in my own explorations, as well as in Shaxplorations with the director Rob Gander, with Passion in Practice, with the actor and movement director Jennifer Jackson, with The Shakespeare Ensemble, and in schools, theatre companies, and community & professional acting workshops around the world. Together with Joe England and Helen Foan, we three explored adapting these tools for neuro-diverse and disabled students in 2018-20.I've explored these exercises with companies that have since taken the exercises in their own directions, including members of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, and the theatre companies Seven Stages Shakespeare and The Rude Grooms.*****Filmed by David CrystalThrowing arm & Closed Captions c/o Hilary Crystal@bencrystalwww.bencrystal.com
Ben Crystal | The Importance of Shakespeares First Folio Shakespeare on Toast 2024-06-24 | Ben Crystal explains the importance of Shakespeare's First Folio, on 'Sunday with Michael Portillo'
BBC Breakfast | Shakespeare North Playhouse | with Ben Crystal Shakespeare on Toast 2023-12-13 | Actors and scholars discuss the Shakespeare North Playhouse, in Prescot, Merseyside on BBC Breakfast.At 04:22, Ben Crystal, Associate Artist at Shakespeare North, discusses the importance of original practice buildings like Shakespeare North and Shakespeare's Globe, as well as the usefulness of original pronunciation.Interviewer: David Stillito
Ben Crystal | Richard II | Documentary with David Starkey Shakespeare on Toast 2023-11-16 | Ben Crystal speaks the following lines from Shakespeare's Richard II, for a documentary about the British monarchy..."Not all the water in the rough rude seaCan wash the balm off from an anointed king;The breath of worldly men cannot deposeThe deputy elected by the Lord:For every man that Bolingbroke hath pressedTo lift shrewd steel against our golden crown,God for his Richard hath in heavenly payA glorious angel: then, if angels fight,Weak men must fall, for heaven still guards the right."
Ben & David Crystal | Everyday Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2023-11-16 | Ben & David discuss their new book, Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life, with Michael Portillo
Pericles on the Seas HD 1080p Shakespeare on Toast 2023-10-24 | These performances are the latest event from the De-Centred Shakespeares Network. This is a group of theatre makers and academics comprising of Creative Producer Ben Crystal, Henry Bell and Stephen Collins at the University of West Scotland (UWS) and theatre companies Cena IV-Shakespeare Company, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Salaam Shakespeare Naatak Company, based in Mumbai, India; and Act For Change, based in Jamestown, Ghana.Each company was invited to film a scene from Shakespeare's Pericles, adapting the text as they saw fit, into their own language(s), and shooting on the streets (or seas) of their community, all in one shot, no editing.Ben Crystal worked with the students of UWS to create adaptations of the Gower Chorus pieces, to offer links between the three global films. These were both filmed, and live-performed. The filmed versions are the first take, each unscripted, devised, improvised in the moment of filming. In the opening Gower piece, the students played the game, "if you don’t hold a light you hold the storytelling stick."The commissioned pieces from around the globe were be screened and live-streamed, and were followed by a panel. Funding for the project was provided by the Division of Arts and Media, School of Business & Creative Industries, UWS.Micro-Conference DetailsDecentering Shakespeare is a developing area of scholarship and practice, born from a greater engagement with digital practices that emerged from lockdown and clear need to develop a Shakespeare scholarship fit for the 21st century.This event built on the Global Shakespeares event hosted by the Performance Research and Practice Cluster at UWS in 2021 and is facilitated by the actor, director, creative producer, and explorer of Shakespeare original and modern rehearsal and production practice expert, Ben Crystal.At the event UWS students worked with Act for Change (Ghana), Cena IV (Brazil) and Salaam Shakespeare Naatak Company (India) to share practice and approaches to decentering and decolonising Shakespeare. The resulting work was the subject of an article in The Conversation.The micro-conference gathered the project partners together to deliver the next stage in the project. A mixture of practice and scholarly responses, the conference focused on critically exploring decentered Shakespeare practice, pedagogy and scholarship, with the following themes:Approaches to decentered collaborative practiceShakespeare and decentered siteApproaches to decentered Shakespeare scholarshipThe full conference was available to attend in person or online. Panel:Prof Bridget Escolme (QMUL)Dr. Abdul Karim Hakib (University of Ghana)Prof Christopher Thurman (Wits University, SA)Rob Myles (The Show Must Go Online)Dr Ifeowula Aboluwade (University of Beyreuth)UWS Academic Leads:Dr Henry Bell, Senior Lecturer in PerformanceDr Stephen Collins, Reader in Performance
Alfreds Letter to Bishop Wærferth | Original Pronunciation - Old English | David Crystal Shakespeare on Toast 2021-09-30 | The opening lines of a letter written in the 9th century by King Alfred the Great about the state of learning in England.Find out more at http://originalpronunciation.com
The Lords Prayer | Original Pronunciation - Old English | David Crystal Shakespeare on Toast 2021-09-30 | The traditional Christian prayer as it would have been spoken in Anglo-Saxon times.Find out more at http://originalpronunciation.com
The Moth Riddle | Original Pronunciation - Old English | David Crystal Shakespeare on Toast 2021-09-30 | One of the riddles from the Anglo-Saxon Exeter Book, in which the writer describes a worm eating the pages of a book.Find out more at http://originalpronunciation.com
Mapping the Heart of a Speech | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 18 mins Shakespeare on Toast 2021-04-23 | An 18 minute guide to a few of my very favourite tools to take apart a Shakespeare speech. Here I explore Macbeth's 'Is this a Dagger which I see before me....' It’s easy to forget that Shakespeare wrote his characters as living breathing feeling people.Find out how to break down the way a character thinks, what's important to them, and how they might be feeling about what they're saying.Emotionally map the heart of a character, a tool I wish I'd invented! *****Lineage This tool was passed to me from the brilliance of actor Emma Pallant (@pallantpallant), and Shakespeare's Globe Education (@The_Globe) ((these are Twitter links))*****Filming c/o David CrystalClose captioning c/o Hilary Crystal@bencrystalwww.bencrystal.com*****Here's the Folio version of the speech that I use in this video.MacbethGoe bid thy Mistresse, when my drinke is ready,She strike vpon the Bell. Get thee to bed.Is this a Dagger, which I see before me,The Handle toward my Hand? Come, let me clutch thee:I haue thee not, and yet I see thee still.Art thou not fatall Vision, sensibleTo feeling, as to sight? or art thou butA Dagger of the Minde, a false Creation,Proceeding from the heat-oppressed Braine?I see thee yet, in forme as palpable,As this which now I draw.Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going,And such an Instrument I was to vse.Mine Eyes are made the fooles o'th' other Sences,Or else worth all the rest: I see thee still;And on thy Blade, and Dudgeon, Gouts of Blood,Which was not so before. There's no such thing:It is the bloody Businesse, which informesThus to mine Eyes. Now o're the one halfe WorldNature seemes dead, and wicked Dreames abuseThe Curtain'd sleepe: Witchcraft celebratesPale Heccats Offrings: and wither'd Murther,Alarum'd by his Centinell, the Wolfe,Whose howle's his Watch, thus with his stealthy pace,With Tarquins rauishing sides, towards his designeMoues like a Ghost. Thou sowre and firme-set EarthHeare not my steps, which they may walke, for feareThy very stones prate of my where-about,And take the present horror from the time,Which now sutes with it. Whiles I threat, he liues:Words to the heat of deedes too cold breath giues.A Bell rings.I goe, and it is done: the Bell inuites me.Heare it not, Duncan, for it is a Knell,That summons thee to Heauen, or to Hell.*****Filmed by David CrystalClosed Captions c/o Hilary Crystal
Playing with Emotional Words | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 3mins Shakespeare on Toast 2021-04-23 | The emotional words in Shakespeare: O, Ah, Alas, Alack, Woe.These expressions of grief, regret, pity, disappointment, concern, surprise, frustration, and excitement are tricky, because they seem like they’re not words we tend to use - although most of us use O and Ah in every day conversation without realising.These Emo words in Shakespeare can give us a great deal of ownership over a character. They are the springboards, the boosters, the verbal emotional launchpads Shakespeare left for us. They are the trampoline bounce to an unplanned place, if you jump on them.*****GuidanceExplore the sounds. They are all invitations from Shakespeare to express an emotion - the only qualification, is that the emotional sound be relevant to the situation.1 - Always start with the breath - take a deep breath, and use the exhale to explore each sound2 - Stand up to free the diaphragm - emotions need motion3 - Play outside to freshen up & oxygenate, maybe take a little stretch4 - Whatever this means to you, ready the body mind soul & heart - prep the instrument you're about to play - to put emotion into word5 - Use the breath to pour an emotion into the white space bounded by the black line of O - explore 10 different Os in 10 different ways!*****Filmed by David CrystalInterview & Closed Captions c/o Hilary Crystal@bencrystalwww.bencrystal.com
Playing with Sticks & Partners | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 3mins Shakespeare on Toast 2021-04-23 | These partner exercises encourage eye contact, and full body physical expression.They can create a common non-verbal language among participants that is non-hierarchical, and can help a group of actors/students/folx quickly establish a collaborative ensemble.This is a listening exercise. It aids proprioception, helps improve balance, focus, and can bring a lightness to a familiar speech or scene. The off-balance can tip you out of your comfort zone, physically & vocally.***Note my stick drop at 1.06, where I say “that’ll happen”: I dropped the stick because I wasn’t listening to my partner, who offered to move in a different direction, and I was too busy narrating to listen to her silent offer.***I play the sticks in solo (see the 3min film "Playing with Sticks & Speeches" youtu.be/FHUX0Icppu4), in pairs and trios and as many folx as are in the room. Love playing with these exercises with music, often to artists like Steve Reich, Max Richter, Radiohead and Björk. Something that you can lose yourself in. The music isn’t for dancing to: it's just that you’re taking a stick for a walk while music is playing, allowing the mood of the music to ripple through you.When adding in Shakespeare, the sticks offer opportunities to explore power dynamics, among other things - with care, push each other around! The exercise can help lighten a speech or a scene that feels heavy, or stuck: this simple exercise changed my practice and approach to playing with the Bard’s words.*****The basic exercise:- Start physically neutral, feet hip-width apart- Join together with your partner(s) sticks- Keep a friendly eye contact throughout; if there are multiple partners, keep offering eye -contact even if it isn’t always returned- Keep your heels and shoulders down; relax your jaw- Don’t try to stop the stick from falling- When it does fall, everyone in the group pause until the stick has been picked up, and then continue to play- Play some music, throw in some Shakespeare: invite a partner to explore a dialogue, or to silently push or pull you around while you explore a monologueCan you make this exercise work with 3 people? How about with 4, 5, or more?*****Always be mindful of your surroundings*****Keep your partners safe - if someone is walking backwards try to indicate they should change course non-verbally, if you can!*****LineageI first learnt this exercise from workshops with Theatre du Complicité, with Annabel Arden, & with Monika Pagneux, who learnt and taught it at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris.They told me that at Lecoq, you were allowed to walk the stick in your 2nd year of training, having spent the 1st year acquiring the neutral body - and that’s IF you’re invited back for the 2nd year.Over the last 20 years, the exercise has been redeveloped in my own explorations, as well as in Shaxplorations with the director Rob Gander, with Passion in Practice, with the actor and movement director Jennifer Jackson, with The Shakespeare Ensemble, and in schools, theatre companies, and community & professional acting workshops around the world. Together with Joe England and Helen Foan, in 2018-20 we explored adapting these tools for neuro-diverse and disabled students.I've explored these exercises with companies that have since taken the exercises in their own directions, including members of the Shakespeare Theatre Association, and the theatre companies Seven Stages Shakespeare and The Rude Grooms.*****Filmed by David CrystalPartner & Closed Captions c/o Hilary CrystalBackground play c/o Paws Crystal@bencrystalwww.bencrystal.com
Speaking the Bright & Beautiful English of Shakespeare | Ben Crystal | British Council & the ESU Shakespeare on Toast 2020-05-03 | The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed actor, author, and producer Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. Featuring sonnets, fast-paced poetic dialogue, verse overlap, original pronunciation, and plenty more, this 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. (This full edit was long-lost; the lecture is also available in short clips - part 1 is here: youtube.com/watch?v=MAl3FnW3GnE)The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Ben explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With the actors Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
What’s Iambic Pentameter? | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 5 mins Shakespeare on Toast 2020-04-19 | A 5 minute guide to the heart of Shakespeare’s writing.What use is iambic pentameter, and how can it help us get to grips with the plays and poems of Shakespeare?Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal, and find out!--------------------------------Teaching Shakespeare?Access a series of exclusive workshops and e-learning videos hosted by Ben Crystal on Digital Theatre+Find out more at www.digitaltheatreplus.com
The First Folio & Co. | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 10 mins Shakespeare on Toast 2020-04-19 | A 10 minute guide. What is the First Folio? How does it compare to modern editions of the plays? What did a cue-script look like? And how did Shakespeare's actors rehearse and learn their lines? Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal to find out!--------------------------------Teaching Shakespeare?Access a series of exclusive workshops and e-learning videos hosted by Ben Crystal on Digital Theatre+Find out more at www.digitaltheatreplus.com
How to Map a Shakespeare Speech | Explore Shakespeare with Ben Crystal | 18 mins Shakespeare on Toast 2020-04-19 | An 18 minute guide. Here’s a few very favourite tools to take apart a Shakespeare Speech. It’s easy to forget that Shakespeare wrote his characters as living breathing feeling people.Find out how to emotionally map the heart of a character, a tool I wish I'd invented! Passed to me from the brilliance of actor Emma Pallant, and Shakespeare's Globe Education.
To be, or not to be... in BSL | Hamlet | Jamal Ajala Shakespeare on Toast 2018-12-21 | The actor Jamal Ajala, a member of the Graeae Theatre Ensemble, performs Hamlet's To be, or not to be in British Sign Language, as part of the British Library's 2016 Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations.Graeae is a force for change in world-class theatre, breaking down barriers, challenging preconceptions, championing diversity across the sector and boldly placing D/deaf and disabled artists centre stage: graeae.org
Shakespeare, Sonnets, & Heart | Ben Crystal | PiXL talk Shakespeare on Toast 2018-12-13 | Keynote talk by Shakespearean actor, author, producer, director, & educator Ben Crystal, at the PiXL English Conference at Central Hall Westminster, London, on National Poetry Day, 4th October 2018.Ben speaks to 1000 teachers in the middle of their conference day, beginning his talk with e.e. cummings' silently, if out of not knowable / night's utmost nothing..., and ending with Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 in Original Pronunciation.In between, he reflects on his first experiences with Shakespeare, his later admiration for the Bard's generosity, how we can foster empathy, & how we might unlock an appreciation for the Bard's voice & heart through the Sonnets, if we let them.Filmed by www.pixl.org.uk
Ben Crystal | Pt 4: Verse Overlap in Hamlet | Speaking the bright & beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | This clip explores the possibliity of voices overlapping each other in moments of high dramatic tension, creating cacophony and confusion.The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare. The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Ben Crystal | Pt 6: AYLI & R3 in OP | Speaking the bright & beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | This clip looks at the original pronunciation of Shakespeare.The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English.
Ben Crystal | Part 1: Sonnet 18 | Speaking the bright and beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | Part 1 of this lecture, looking at Sonnet 18.(the full lecture can now be viewed here: youtube.com/watch?v=uGnkftdQIlo)The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Ben Crystal | Pt 2: love of Romeo & Juliet | Speaking the bright & beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | This clip illustrates Romeo and Juliet falling in love at first sight as their dialogue mimics the structure of a sonnet.The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Ben Crystal | Pt 3: dialogue in Macbeth | Speaking the bright & beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | This clip looks at fast paced dialogue in Macbeth.The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Ben Crystal | Pt 7: Question 2 | Speaking the bright & beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | This clip features part of the Q&A session at the end of the lecture.The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Ben Crystal - Pt 7: Question 1 - Speaking the bright and beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | This clip features the first section of the Q&A.The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Ben Crystal - Pt 5: Shakespeares accent - Speaking the bright and beautiful English of Shakespeare Shakespeare on Toast 2018-09-20 | The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series. This 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.Actor and author Ben Crystal explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English. With Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.
Passion in Practice Live Stream - Late at the Library. British Library, London. Shakespeare on Toast 2016-04-23 | LATE AT THE LIBRARY 23/04/2016WORLD BOOK NIGHT celebrates SHAKESPEARE - the PEOPLE’S PLAYWRIGHT.Come and celebrate with the multi-talented Passion in Practice Shakespeare Ensemble, who will be filling the foyer with close-up magic-style scenes and speeches from the plays. They will be joined by broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald OBE and actress June Brown MBE reading their favourite Shakespearean Sonnets, the renowned poet John Agard reading a new, specially commissioned work, and live music from the fabulous folk duo The Askew Sisters.——X——Line-up0m20s - Passion in Practice - New sneak peak of Pericles: Recomposed, the Shakespeare Ensemble, the Trondheim Soloists, with Daniel Hope & Max Richter's Four Season's Recomposed——X——14m29s - The Big House film——X——32m0s - First Introduction & welcome to the party, Ben Crystal——X——36m0s - Graeae film——X——43m25s-51m06s -People's Playwright——X——58m40s - The Askew Sisters1hr10m27s - Ben Crystal1hr17m50s - David Crystal - Condell & Hemings' First Folio Dedication, in Original Pronunciation1hr23m05s - Foan & Fortune's Caliban & the Booke——X——43m25s-51m06s - People's Playwright——X——1hr25m - Sir Trevor McDonald OBE1hr33m - Lionheart - Spoken Word Poet **Commission**1hr40m - June Brown MBE——X——1hr58m47 - Graeae film2hr6m10s - People's Playwright——X——2hr32m50s - The Big House Theatre Company **Commission**2hr46m53s - Graeae Theatre Company2hr57m10s - John Agard - Poet **Commission**——X——3hr17m:15s - Ben Crystal, Caliban & the Booke, Coda3hr19m20s - DJ Muzz Khan, w Steve Pratt's Shakespeare Mash-up——X——For more information visit:#BL230416 @passionpractice @britishlibrary @worldbooknightwww.passioninpractice.comwww.bl.uk/events/late-at-the-library-world-book-night-celebrates-shakespeare
LATE AT THE LIBRARY: WORLD BOOK NIGHT CELEBRATES SHAKESPEARE Shakespeare on Toast 2016-04-19 | Passion in Practice Live Stream.LATE AT THE LIBRARY 23/04/2016WORLD BOOK NIGHT celebrates SHAKESPEARE - the PEOPLE’S PLAYWRIGHT.Come and celebrate with the multi-talented Passion in Practice Shakespeare Ensemble, who will befilling the foyer with close-up magic-style scenes and speeches from the plays. They will be joined by broadcaster Sir Trevor McDonald OBE and actress June Brown MBE reading their favourite Shakespearean Sonnets, the renowned poet John Agard reading a new, specially commissioned work, and live music from the fabulous folk duo The Askew Sisters.For more information visit:#BL230416 @passionpractice @britishlibrary @worldbooknightwww.passioninpractice.comwww.bl.uk/events/late-at-the-library-world-book-night-celebrates-shakespeare
Movement Work for a Shakespeare Ensemble Shakespeare on Toast 2015-05-11 | Interview with Passion in Practice's Master of Movement & Ensemble member Jennifer Jackson, on her work for Pericles: Recomposed.Jen discusses the some of the movement work we explored in rehearsal in Stockholm - in this clip, Flying Low, & the sticks...----The Tragedy of Pericles, Prince of Tyre - spoken in the Original Pronunciation- performed by members of Ben Crystal's Shakespeare Ensemble- underscored with Max Richter's Four Seasons: Recomposed- played live by Daniel Hope & the Trondheim Soloists, at the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra's Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, January 29th, 2015.----At the beginning of 2014 Ben brought his Ensemble together to raise a scratch 24 hr rehearsed reading of The Tragedy of Pericles, Prince of Tyre in Original Pronunciation, at the Jerwood Space in London, using a CD of Max Richter's Four Seasons: Recomposed to underscore parts of the play.A year later, the co-production of Pericles: Recomposed with Daniel Harding's Interplay Festival at the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, January 29th 2015.Bringing together his Shakespeare Ensemble from the UK, Europe, India, an&d the US, the company had two days of rehearsal before being joined by a Chamber orchestra, three hours before the performance.Featured artists:Jennifer Jackson, Master of MovementActors from the Passion in Practice Shakespeare EnsembleThe Trondheim SoloistsDaniel Hope, violinistMusic: Max Richter's Four Seasons: Recomposed - www.maxrichter.comhttp://www.recomposed.netRecording c/o Deutsche Grammophone Daniel HopeKonzerthaus Kammerorchester BerlinAndré de Ridder
Pericles: Recomposed - Passion in Practice Shakespeare on Toast 2015-04-03 | Produced at the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, January 30th 2015, and at the Savannah Music Festival, April 5th 2016, with Daniel Hope & L'arte del Mondo...The Tragedy of Pericles, Prince of Tyre - spoken in the Original Pronunciation- performed by members of Ben Crystal's Shakespeare Ensemble- underscored with Max Richter's Four Seasons: Recomposed- originally played live by Daniel Hope & the Trondheim Soloists, at the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra's Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, January 29th, 2015.----At the beginning of 2014 Ben brought his Ensemble together to raise a scratch 24 hr rehearsed reading of The Tragedy of Pericles, Prince of Tyre in Original Pronunciation, at the Jerwood Space in London, using a CD of Max Richter's Four Seasons: Recomposed to underscore parts of the play.Here is a sneak-peak of the co-production of Pericles: Recomposed with Daniel Harding's Interplay Festival at the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, January 29th 2015.Bringing together his Shakespeare Ensemble from the UK, Europe, India, and the US, the company had two days of rehearsal before being joined by a Chamber orchestra, three hours before the performance.Featured artists:Ben Crystal, ActorNathan Markiewicz, DramaturgDavid Crystal, LinguistActors from the Passion in Practice Shakespeare EnsembleThe Trondheim SoloistsDaniel Hope, violinistMusic: Max Richter's Four Seasons: Recomposed - www.maxrichter.comhttp://www.recomposed.netRecording c/o Deutsche Grammophone Daniel HopeKonzerthaus Kammerorchester BerlinAndré de Ridder
Ben Crystal & David Crystal - Sunday Brunch - You Say Potato Shakespeare on Toast 2014-11-25 | Ben & David on Channel 4's Sunday Brunch, talking all things accents, including Sonnet 18 in Original Pronunciation, with Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer
Original Pronunciation Macbeth - rehearsals July 2014 - Passion in Practice Shakespeare on Toast 2014-11-25 | A few of Ben Crystal's Shakespeare Ensemble all variously at work back in July, preparing for their Original Pronunciation events at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe.Including a rehearsal of the song Weyard Sisters, by Hazel Askew
Original Pronunciation - Hamlet | To Be, or not to be... | Ben Crystal Shakespeare on Toast 2014-11-25 | On a balcony overlooking Tower Bridge in London, after taking part in a Kickstarter campaign to support a film of an OP Hamlet production, Ben was asked to give one of Hamlet's speeches a couple of swings... This is Take 2 of 'To be, or not to be...' in its entirety. As Ben has discussed elsewhere, for him this is not a speech about suicide, but one of mortality...Closed Captions & Subtitles from the First FolioShot by Aslam Husain, www.aslamhusainphotography.com
Shakespeare in Schools | Ben Crystal | BBC Breakfast 31 May 2014 Shakespeare on Toast 2014-06-09 | Ben Crystal, talking about Shakespeare in Schools on BBC Breakfast, 31st May, 2014
Passion in Practice - Workshop - September 2013 Shakespeare on Toast 2013-09-19 | In September 2013, we played the weekend in MovingEast in London, introducing our work to actors new to the Company, focusing on Stick work, Metre, Music, and the Sonnets...Music: Max Richter - Four Seasons Recomposed
Passion in Practice - Advanced Workshop - June 2013 Shakespeare on Toast 2013-09-19 | In June 2013, Ben brought back many of the original Passion in Practice actors (and some new faces) to explore music, metre, the ensemble, and the Chorus figure.Working mainly from Pericles, they were joined by the Askew Sisters, who provided live music accompaniment for the work...Music: The Askew Sisters
Shakespeare - Passion in Practice - Forum Work Shakespeare on Toast 2011-04-26 | From Day 3 of the November 2010 Passion in Practice Workshop, as the ensemble corporately work through one of Launce's tricky comedy speeches from Two Gentlemen of Verona...
Sonnet 71 | Shakespeare | Natalie Thomas | Passion in Practice Shakespeare on Toast 2011-04-07 | In November 2010 a six day intensive Process week took place in London, looking at fresh approaches to acting Shakespeare. Starting from a solid textual foundation, we played Shakespeare as simply as possible, without any great conceptual frame placed between participants and the plays. In this short week, we recreated a modern version of the kind of acting company Shakespeare worked with. On the last day of the workshop we decided to bring a RED camera in to explore acting Shakespeare on Film. Without notice, each actor was asked to perform something of Shakespeare's writing that they knew off by heart. This video is one of the results. Featuring Natalie Thomas. Please head to www.passioninpractice.com for more videos, photos and details of future workshops. Filmed by Adam Etherington With Ed Bowen-Carpenter & Hannah Richards
Proteus, Two Gentlemen of Verona | Shakespeare | Ben Crystal | Passion in Practice Shakespeare on Toast 2011-04-06 | In November 2010 a six day intensive Process week took place in London, looking at fresh approaches to acting Shakespeare. Starting from a solid textual foundation, we played Shakespeare as simply as possible, without any great conceptual frame placed between participants and the plays. In this short week, we recreated a modern version of the kind of acting company Shakespeare worked with. On the last day of the workshop we decided to bring a RED camera in to explore acting Shakespeare on Film. Without notice, each actor was asked to perform something of Shakespeare's writing that they knew off by heart. This video is one of the results. Featuring Ben Crystal. Please head to www.passioninpractice.com for more videos, photos and details of future workshops. Filmed by Adam Etherington With Ed Bowen-Carpenter & Hannah Richards
Shakespeare - Passion in Practice - Trailer Shakespeare on Toast 2011-04-06 | A series of workshops, run by Ben Crystal, exploring fresh approaches to acting Shakespeare.We play Shakespeare as simply as possible, without any great conceptual frame placed between participants and the play, and approach our work with honesty and great passion. The starting point for all our work is the words of the writer. Using a solid textual foundation, we find new ways to fully embody the scope and scale of Shakespeare's words.Focusing on the silent stage directions Shakespeare wrote into his scripts we use physical exercises to release the emotional core of the language. Creating dynamic ensembles, we mimic the working relationship Shakespeare's actors had.We want to explore afresh to what extent we can let Shakespeare and his words direct us.Please head to www.passioninpractice.com for more videos, photos and details of future workshops.Produced by Adam DonnekyFilmed by Adam EtheringtonWith Ed Bowen-Carpenter & Hannah RichardsTrailer music by Hauschka - Ginsterweg. Copyright owned by Believe. I do not own or claim copyright to the music used. Terrific artist, check him out.
Sonnet 116 - Original Pronunciation - Shakespeare on Toast Shakespeare on Toast 2010-05-27 | Ben Crystal, actor & author of Shakespeare on Toast, giving a talk for Macmillan Poland, performs Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 first in Received Pronunciation, and then in the accent of Shakespeare's time, Original Pronunciation...
RP vs OP - Shakespeare on Toast Shakespeare on Toast 2010-05-27 | Ben Crystal, actor & author of Shakespeare on Toast, giving a talk for Macmillan Poland, discusses the differences between performing Shakespeare in Received Pronunciation, and in the accent of Shakespeare's time, Original Pronunciation...
Schwarzeneggers Hamlet - Shakespeare on Toast Shakespeare on Toast 2010-05-27 | Actor & author Ben Crystal giving a talk for Macmillan Poland, reads an extract from his book Shakespeare on Toast, performing Schwarzenegger's version of Hamlet...
Othello Retold - BBC / Akala / Ben Crystal / HHSC Shakespeare on Toast 2010-04-07 | An excerpt from the Othello Retold Project, produced by BBC Blast and Akala's Hip-hop Shakespeare Company, featuring Ben Crystal, author of Shakespeare on Toast. A young group of MCs and artists in Manchester take Othello and make it their own...
David Crystal on Newsnight June 9th 2009 Shakespeare on Toast 2009-06-10 | The millionth word added to the English Language...? David Crystal talks with Jeremy Paxman and Paul JJ Payack (from the Global Language Monitor) on Newsnight
Ben Crystal interviewed on CNN for Shakespeares Birthday Shakespeare on Toast 2009-04-29 | Interviewed on April 23rd 2009 for CNN to celebrate Shakespeare's 445th birthday, actor and author Ben Crystal - the 'Jamie Oliver of Shakespeare' (BBC Radio 5) - speaks about Shakespeare's worldwide influence, and his book 'Shakespeare on Toast', on Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
Ben Crystal meets a real Shakespeare First Folio on Richard & Judy Shakespeare on Toast 2008-09-26 | In 2004 a Stockport housewife received a letter from her solicitor informing her she'd inherited a copy of Shakespeare's First Folio of 1623 from a distant relative who'd left no will. Actor, author and Shakespeare expert Ben Crystal was invited on to the Richard & Judy talk show to discuss why the First Folio find is just so damned exciting...
