Shakespeare revisited

Attended a lecture on Shakespeare today. I can't call myself a literature buff, but I thought it will be interesting to hear what a lecture on Shakespeare will be like nowadays, given that my last lit lesson was more than ten years ago. (Stop trying to count my age people)

Prof David Bevington presented on "'As You Like It' on Stage and in Film." Admitedly, I couldn't understand everything because Shakespeare is still pretty foreign to me. But it is interesting how the same play can be played out in so many different ways. (i.e. changing it to modern-day setting)

Prof Peter Holland spoke on "Passing Through: Shakespeare, Internet and Performance." His talk was peppered with videos from the internet and YouTube. We saw a "music video" called "My Name is MacBeth" featuring Lego MacBeth, and Lego Star Wars figurines starring as the three witches. The story of MacBeth is told in the form of a rap from Eminem - "My Name Is". Beware: vulgarities present.

Prof Bevington also touched on how theatre productions are not limited to real life now. There are actually people on Second Life who set up their own theatre productions. They recreated Globe Theatre in this virtual world and act out Hamlet in their virtual lives... Seems like anything is possible on the computer nowadays.

I am glad that my mind has been opened up a bit more with this lecture. Tomorrow, we have got tickets to listen to Thomas Friedman, author of the book "The World is Flat". He is going to speak about his new book "Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America." (Okay I read the back cover of the book and felt a slight tinge of dislike for the tone that he used... but I shall try and cast that out of my mind and listen to him tomorrow with an unbiased mind)