On September 22nd of last year, I was honoured and very, VERY lucky (it was a struggle, honestly) to see Hamlet in the Barbican, London with none other than my absolute idol, Benedict Cumberbatch leading this marvellous performance. This is still the best day I have ever had and although I had a love of Hamlet from watching the DVD I have at home of David Tennant (another fav) performing it for the RSC, this gave me life like I didn't know plays like this could. So many wonderful people have played this iconic role but seeing it live and in front of me was an adventure and an absolute honour. To this day it affects me and I guess every other Shakespeare play has done this to an extent but this was special. I'm not going to elaborate my admiration for Cumberbatch but I got very emotional that day and I will always remember it. The words, the stage and the emotion was so real and with Shakespeare it will always be like this at some point. I mean, who didn't sob at Leonardo DiCaprio's and Claire Dane's portrayal of Romeo and Juliet in a fabulous Baz Luhrmann film, Romeo+Juliet? If you answered "No" then you are lying to me and yourself, but that's fine. I'll forgive you.
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| What a beautiful prince. |
Also, I recently tweeted a poignant quote that I came across and it was said by the character Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing that personally resonated with my circumstances. The quote goes "I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me." and honestly, at this moment in time, this is a true fact. With feelings and thoughts, I tend to find quotes very useful in both justifying how I feel and helping me express it which is why songs are helpful and lyrics can be quoted annoyingly to my friends. However, when I found this quote taking a quiz about which character I am from the works of Shakespeare, I immediately fell in love and I felt empowered with just this one line. Many writers can write good words but for someone who wrote more than 400 years ago to be so relevant in todays day and age is something truly remarkable. If this doesn't open you up to how influential Shakespeare is to me, I will now tell you my cats name is Benvolio, after Romeo's cousin in Romeo and Juliet. I know, my cat hates me for it but the plays have fabulous pet name inspirations. That is a fact.
After this ramble I will leave you with another quote that applies to those who write or even read but mostly for those in some sort of love:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
A sort of way of immortalising myself in this blog and trying to be my own Shakespeare by ending with the wonderful Sonnet 18. Thank you for reading and see you in my next post about Doctor Strange and the fandom feels.Over and Out,
