“A considerably darker, more psychological book than its predecessors, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ occupies the same emotional and storytelling place in the Potter series as ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ held in the first ‘Star Wars’ trilogy. It provides a sort of fulcrum for the series, marking Harry’s emergence from boyhood, and his newfound knowledge that an ancient prophecy holds the secret to Voldemort’s obsession with him and his family.”
Tag: 06.21.03
Shakespeare First Edition? Ugh – What A Mess
“The first published version of the play commonly regarded as Shakespeare’s best was yesterday revealed as a travesty of the drama that helped shape the modern English language. The version of Hamlet known as the ‘bad quarto’ is a salutary warning of the dangers of literary piracy. An entrepreneurial player in Richard Burbage’s company at the Rose Theatre, where Hamlet is believed to have been first staged, beat the Bard to the press with a version of the play he remembered from rehearsals and its first performances in 1600.”
Shaw, Stratford Festival Get Bailout
Ontario’s Stratford Festival and Shaw Festival are suffering as American tourists stay away because of fears of SARS. With their seasons ravaged by the ticket slump, theatres will get $800,000 in emergency help fromthe Ontario government.
Why Is Artistic Success Measured By Money?
How do we judge the success of an arts institution? The new heads of London’s National Theatre and the National Gallery – Nicholas Hytner and Charles Saumarez Smith – co-hosted a conference addressing the question of “how we judge whether culture is a success. Both worry that the vocabulary of praise in the arts world has become entirely financial (how many came?) and social (is the work educational? is the audience diverse?). While recognising the importance of these measures, they seek a new language which will recognise the worth a theatre or gallery has simply by existing.”