George Dillon writes and stars in a one man-play for 1½ hours, which is quite a feat. It is more admirable that he performs his well-crafted story with skill.
The Man Who Was Hamlet argues that “the true” William Shakespeare was the 17th Earl of Oxford Edward de Vere.
Dillon performs de Vere’s biography through monologue, morphing with precision into the multitude of characters in his life.
But the weakest part of the play is Dillon’s refusal to explain the logistics behind the Shakespeare myth.
He implies de Vere somehow handed his theatrical works to a man he knew called William, with “an egg-shaped head.”
That he does not indicate how that happened causes unsatisfactory confusion rather than mystery as the play finishes.
In spite of the plot, Dillon is an expert and witty actor.
His use of monologue to tell the story is not egotistical but suits the earl’s bullish character. And Dillon held the audience’s attention throughout – bar one teenage texter in the front row.
Excellent lighting from director Denise Evans and Charlotte Glasson’s original music aided the performance.
Upcoming shows
15 Oct, Tunbridge Wells
12 Nov, Newbury
2010
23 Jan, Aylesbury
24 Feb, Liverpool
25 Feb, Bishop’s Stortford
3 to 7 and 10 to 14 March, Bristol
16 March, Greenwich
25 and 26 March, Salford
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Tags: Edward de vere, George Dillon, The man who was Hamlet, William Shakespeare, Winchester
Jason Cook: Joy
Jason Cook’s show Joy sounded a bit like a self-help seminar, with the idea that that laughter is the best medicine.
At the start, he told the audience to fuck off if they tended towards cynicism. Although I do, I didn’t let on and went in with an open mind.
From the outset he spoke at breakneck speed, and although his material wasn’t side-splittingly funny, his enthusiasm was infectious and most people left the show in good spirits.
The theme of Joy is finding the positive things in life, even when it seems nothing is going right. He took the audience from the general (ugly newborn babies) to the specific (the death of his father) and stuck to his brief – seeing the lighter side of tragic events.
The high-speed show also worked a treat because it left us very little time for reflection. Inevitably, a few jokes flopped, but he swiftly glided on to the next one before most of the audience noticed. And if we did notice, it was only because he pointed it out, an example of his reflective qualities.
With a MacBook and projector at his side, Cook took on the academic’s role. He embraced modern technology and led his seminar group into chuckles.
Jason Cook performed Joy at the Soho Theatre, Dean Street, London on 17-18 July 2009.
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Tags: Jason Cook, Joy, Soho Theatre
Laura Ling’s family in the UK have started a private letter campaign to the North Korean Government asking for her release
Laura Ling and Charles Clayton during Laura and Iain’s last visit to East Hendred, Oxon, UK
A few weeks ago, I posted a blog written by my cousin Iain Clayton, who’s wife Laura Ling has been sentenced to imprisonment in North Korea, with her colleague Euna Lee.
America has no diplomatic relations with North Korea and the Swedish Ambassador in North Korea has had limited communications with the two women.
Iain’s brother and wife, Charles and Lorraine Clayton, who live in the UK, sought advice on how to help through diplomatic channels in England and were advised of ways to indirectly approach the North Korean government in a bid to help Laura and Euna.
They have decided to carry out a private letter campaign to generate a national and worldwide plea on behalf of the two girls.
I have received an email from them, in which they said the campaign does not seek not to offend nor blame the North Korean government, but to respectfully present the cases of Laura and Euna. They said they hope that the magnitude of the campaign will encourage the North Korean government to release the girls on humanitarian grounds.
Laura Ling and Iain Clayton during their last visit to East Hendred
Laura is a journalist for Current TV (based in California). She had travelled to the Chinese/North Korean border to research the plight of female North Korean refugees. On March 17 Laura was placed under arrest by the North Korean authorities along with a colleague, Euna Lee. From June 4 to 8, Laura and Euna were tried for ‘hostile acts’ against the State and sentenced to 14 and 12 years respectively, hard labour in a North Korean labour camp.
Charles and Lorraine said: “Laura and Euna are American citizens. As you can imagine, with North Korea’s nuclear and missile testing, it could not be a worse time for this to happen. This issue is highly sensitive and therefore, activity by the families was initially very low key.
“However, now that the girls have been sentenced we hope that the North Koreans will show clemency and send the girls home to their families, whom they have not seen for three months. Euna Lee has a four year old daughter at home. Laura and Iain are days away from their fifth wedding anniversary.”
How can you help?
Charles and Lorraine have asked for people to help them by drafting a letter to the ambassador. They have already written a letter, which, if you feel that you can do this, can be found here. You simply need to edit as appropriate to your circumstance.
You will notice the tone of the letter. They have asked that for this private letter campaign to have any chance of being effective in shortening the length of time Laura and Euna remain in detention it is important that this tone is maintained.
The letter should be sent by post, to:
HE The Ambassador of DPR Korea
Embassy of the DPR Korea
73 Gunnersbury Avenue
London W5 4LP
Thank you
Filed under: News | 1 Comment
Tags: charles and lorraine clayton, charles clayton, euna lee, iain clayton, laura ling, north korea, private letter campaign
Stonehenge: Summer solstice 2009
I went to Stonehenge this year to celebrate my 25th birthday at the solstice. Apparently there were 30,000 people there, although it didn’t seem like as many as that.
Anyway, I took the opportunity to make a digital narrative of our adventure. I hope you enjoy it.
Filed under: Features | 2 Comments
Tags: stonehenge, summer solstice
I bought a pay-as-you-go sim today and was shocked by the amount of excess packaging which came with it
The excess packaging from my new sim card
The Vodafone sim, unlike some of the others on offer, was free as long as I bought £10 worth of credit with it. This makes it even more surprising that the company is prepared to spend money on excess card and plastic.
As well as the price, the package was difficult to get into and so I ended up having to rip in open rather than just fold it open. Once the origami-like packaging was open, the only thing in there was a credit-card sized piece of plastic with a sim card in it to pop out. This piece of plastic does help to establish its authenticity but the extra wrapping was unnecessary.
The Government has just announced a new strategy to help curb the amount of excess packaging on our shelves. It is called Making the Most of Our Packaging.
The proposals include making it easier to take action against manufacturers of excess and unnecessary packaging; encouraging shoppers to continue to report excessive packaging to trading standards; The Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) will work with manufacturers and retailers to reduce packaging for everyday products; and making more packaging recyclable.
Although the sim card packaging was recyclable, it does not make it okay. Packaging is pointless unless it has a purpose to protect the item inside.
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Tags: excess packaging, sim card, vodafone
My cousin’s wife Laura Ling has been detained in North Korea for the last three months and is due to go on trial. Below is a blog post written by him today for Larry King’s blog.
Laura Ling, far right, with her mother, center, and sister Lisa Ling, left
By Iain Clayton
As the trial date of June 4th approaches, I grow increasingly apprehensive and nervous about the fate of my wife, Laura Ling, and her colleague, Euna Lee. They have now been detained by the Government of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] for nearly three months. During this time I have had very limited contact with her and really, really miss her.
I think about her every moment of the day and try to imagine what she is doing, how nervous she must be and ask what I can do to make things better and ultimately bring them home. We have been together for 12 years and this is the longest I’ve gone without hearing her voice. We just bought our first house and it feels so empty without Laura. The pillows she ordered arrived a couple weeks ago, I wish she could see them.
Apart from writing her a letter every day, I have tried to make her situation a little more bearable by sending her parcels of things she loves – like dried squid and beef jerky. Since USPS, FedEx, UPS and DHL do not deliver there from the US, I have resorted to sending them via my family in the United Kingdom. I found out today that one I sent nearly three weeks ago has finally arrived. I find it amazing that it takes that long to send a parcel anywhere in the world.
I think it is this isolation that attracted them to the assignment in the first place. A trip that may end up with them indicted and tried, even though they were journalists simply covering a story.
You can also watch a video here of his appearance with the rest of Laura and Euna’s families on the Today programme in America.
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Tags: detained journalists, euna lee, laura ling, north korea
For the past two weeks, The Daily Telegraph has published the expenses claims of Ministers of Parliament, many of whom abused the system
These revelations severely undermined the political system and only a General Election will restore faith in it.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown was right to tell the MPs who abused the system that they will not be allowed to stand again for election. So the sooner that election happens the better.
But in Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday, Mr Brown said he would not call one because it would cause chaos. He also revealed his fear that the Conservative party would win.
But a General Election could put a fresh Government in place, with higher moral standards than the current one.
Today, Sir Peter Viggers, who made £30,000 worth of claims for gardening expenses, quit on the request of David Cameron.
By contrast, the prime minister defended James Purnell and Geoff Hoon, who said they did nothing wrong by not paying Capital Gains Tax.
Mr Brown said the Commons was acting like a gentlemen’s club, but he is supporting this club by refusing to call an election.
On Tuesday, Michael Martin, Speaker of the House of Commons and MP for Glasgow North East resigned his position and seat following a vote of no confidence from MPs including Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg.
Mr Martin’s resignation was a step in the right direction, removing a dogged defender of the status quo. He not only supported the gentlemen’s club, but was implicated in it. In the past, his wife claimed £4,000 of taxpayers money for taxis to go shopping.
His resignation means the next speaker will be the first elected Speaker of the House of Commons – a powerful role. Electing a speaker is a move towards changing the crooked system and more of these changes are needed. But even if these changes do not happen, we need more MPs like Vince Cable and David Cameron, who act honestly despite a system which allows rules to be bent and broken.
No person is above the law, especially not an MP. These MPs knew Freedom of Information legislation would result in greater transparency, but they continued to behave dishonestly.
This dishonesty shows a lack of respect to their employers – the public who elected them.
The British public know the facts about the people who run their country. Now they should have the opportunity to make up their minds if they want to sack them.
Filed under: Opinion | 2 Comments
Tags: General Election, Gordon Brown, MPs expenses
There is an argument to suggest the increase of free news is lowering the standards of journalism because they increase the availability of lightweight, celebrity-focused free papers such as London Lite or online news gatherers.
From a business point of view, with more people reading lightweight news, less are likely to pay for better quality journalism. The fact circulation figures are dropping supports this argument.
In spite of that, the internet is a tool which can enrich journalism. Yes, the media is downsizing in some areas, but it is investing in online journalism. Recently, the Telegraph Media Group recruited former Sunday Times news editor turned internet entrepreneur Greg Hadfield as its head of digital development.
So is good journalism going to be the first casualty of the digital revolution? The internet offers a whole host of new challenges to journalists, but it also offers new opportunities.
There will always be a need for quality journalism from trustworthy sources and there will always be high calibre journalists willing to write good stories, whether they profit financially or not.
Filed under: Online Journalism Lectures | Leave a Comment
Will good journalism be the first casualty of the digital revolution in the media? Part five
Exposés from bloggers like Matt Drudge have a potential to encourage greater transparency in the media. But his critics say he merely runs a clippings service linking to other people’s stories and he became famous by attacking more conventional reporters.
They say amateur journalists risk the integrity of professional journalism and reduce its already low trustworthiness. Professor Richard Tait said professional journalism is defined, in part, by maintaining standards and ethics. This includes abiding by media law and codes of conduct, which citizen journalists are unlikely to do, or even know.
One way of improving the quality of citizen journalism is for media groups or colleges to offer courses, something, which The Oakland Press in America is doing. It teaches the basics of reporting for news and sport, as well as skills in storytelling and photography.
And in Britain, the new Joint Journalism Training Council is being launched to help develop journalism training for converged media, but they said key skills such as news sense, research, interviewing, law and ethics will continue to be the focus of its syllabus.
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Tags: Matt Drudge, online journalism courses
Will good journalism be the first casualty of the digital revolution in the media? Part four
On My Telegraph, readers mainly discuss current affairs but the internet as a whole allows anybody to start their own news blog and become a citizen journalist.
The Drudge Report broke the news about Prince Harry in Afghanistan
New York University journalism professor, Jay Rosen said citizen journalism is: “When the people, formerly known as the audience, employ the press tools they have in their possession to inform one another.”
Ian Hargreaves wrote in Journalism: Truth or Dare “[Web journalism] has placed the power to shake the mighty in the hands of individuals or small groups: a welcome, if provisional, antidote to media concentration, the hegemony of business values, and the complacency into which all professional groups fall from time to time.”
Last year, American online journalist Matt Drudge broke the news on his site the Drudge Report that Prince Harry was fighting in Afghanistan, even though all forms of British media had signed up to a reporting embargo to protect him.
The story had already been reported by a celebrity website in Australia called New Idea, although it went largely unnoticed at the time.
General Sir Richard Dannatt, head of the British army, said he was very disappointed foreign websites ran the story without consulting them.
He said: “This is in stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations.”
Mr Drudge claims he offers reliable and unbiased instant news. Indeed, political journalist Charles Reiss said truth breeds trust. He said: “There’s a gap between the picture people get of politicians from the media and from their own experience.”
Filed under: Online Journalism Lectures | Leave a Comment
Tags: Drudge report, Jay Rosen, my Telegraph
Recent Entries
- George Dillon: The Man Who Was Hamlet
- Jason Cook: Joy
- Plea to help Laura Ling – private letter campaign from Charles and Lorraine Clayton
- Stonehenge: Summer solstice 2009
- Excess packaging with Vodafone sim cards
- Captured journalists in North Korea families speak out
- MPs Expenses: Call a General Election
- Will good journalism be the first casualty of the digital revolution? Sixth and final part
- Will good journalism be the first casualty of the digital revolution in the media? Part five
- Will good journalism be the first casualty of the digital revolution in the media? Part four
- Will good journalism be the first casualty of the digital revolution in the media? part three
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