Thoughts shared by Helen:

I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s performance of “Hamlet.” It was a 21st-century, highly modernized, very dynamic production. Dorothy called it “gripping”, and I think it is a wonderful way to describe it. I think Benedict Cumberbatch succeeded in creating his own outstanding Hamlet. Ophelia, Claudius, Polonius were also excellent. Claudius’ soliloquy was probably the most powerful I have ever seen. He appeared to be crushed by the weight of his sin, by the burden of guilt and impossibility of repentance. The most admirable feature of this production, in my view, was that they focused their main attention of the brilliant text itself; they highlighted every word. And another good news: there were quite a few people in the audience, many of them young, even though it was a week-day, late performance. I found it very exciting.

On another matter: Lillian asked if any of Svetlana Alexievich’s works were available in English. Yes, they are – “Voices from Chernobyl” and older “Zinky Boys” (about Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan) and “War’s Unwomanly Faces” (about women in WWII). Her works are similar in genre to Studs Terkel’s “Working” if you remember it: it’s s series of interviews on an issue. She is a courageous and gifted journalist, but the Nobel Prize? I wish it were not so political…

Thank you for sharing!

Bookhound