Surprised by Chesterton

We received our copy of the play "The Surprise" by G.K.Chesterton. This is a very funny play.
I am not going to tell you much of the plot as I think that may give away some of the plot twists, but we found it very enjoyable.
As always, G.K.Chesterton has some very clever lines including [from memory] "It is not the best to marry the one you love, but to love the one you marry".
I would greatly recommend watching this one as a family. Younger children (under 10) may find this a little slow, but older ones will be able to understand what is going on and quickly understand the contrasts between the two parts of the play and the surprise ending.
We will be watching this many times.

Language Arts

We have learnt a new language - Shakespearian English.
As we have reported here previously, we started our discovery of William Shakespeare's plays with his comedies. We have now seen Taming of the Shrew, Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, As You Like it, Midsummer's Night Dream, Twelfth Night, Loves Labours Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, Merchant of Venice and tonight we saw The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The subtitles have helped us understand the English spoken within the plays. When we first saw Taming of the Shrew it took 45 minutes before we realised they were speaking English. Now we are all laughing as the actors speak their puns and witticisms.
Our first exposure to more serious drama was within Much Ado about Nothing when Hero is denounced by Claudio and Don Pedro at the altar on the wedding day. It all works out with much laughter, but as we work our way through the comedies we will be better prepared for the more dramatic plays.
The BBC Complete Dramatic Works of Shakespeare collection is a great way to discover the roots of so many phrases we use regularly, and discover so many movie plotlines which are just a re-presentation of Shakespeare's stories.
Once we have seen the play, Ariel reads the script. The interesting thing is that as all the family is discovering the plots of the plays, we are seeing references in other books and films and can understand the references.
In one episode of Lucky Luke, starring Terrence Hill, Jack Dalton is carrying a spade for the "grave digging scene in The Twelfth Night".
"There's no grave digging scene in Twelfth night!" I called out just before Lucky Luke said the same thing.
Lana had a bad taste of Othello when she was in year 10 as it was killed by analysis in her English class. Every time a paragraph was read the teacher stopped and asked, "Now what did that mean? What are they saying?" Aaarrggh! How can you get the story if it is always being interrupted.
Our plan is enjoy the plays, learn the language, and slowly move to the dramatic parts and have a discussion afterward. And as we are enjoying the plays we are getting requests for repeat viewings.
The 37 play Collection is available in the US for over $1,500, or about $30 (US) per play!
However it can be bought at MovieMail UK for 200 pounds. It is region 2 coding, but by buying a multi region DVD player you can save a fortune and have the complete collection. Think of it as an investment in English Literature and Culture.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Tonight we had a movie night at home. Some fish, corn chips, cheese, tomatoes and other yummy things whilst watching the BBC version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
The play is about misplaced loves, jealous lovers and mischief making fairies all getting confused within the forest on a midsummer's night.
We are continuing to enjoy Shakespeare.
The children are enjoying his works as:
1. They haven't been told that Shakespeare is boring;
2. We are starting with the comedies;
3. We are all watching and enjoying the plays;
4. We first listened to summarised versions by Jim Weiss or Charles and Mary Lamb; and
5. We are not analysing them to death.

Subtitles also help!

The Comedy of Errors

Tonight we watched another Shakespeare play, The Comedy of Errors. James (9) was alternately laughing and squirming as Antipholus and Dromio mistook each other and confused the local populace. The story centers around a dual set of identical twins, which were seperated in a storm, each with one parent. Not knowing which child was which, both the mother and father named their children the same.
They arrive in Syracusa and so begins a comedy of errors.
We are finding that once a play is watched with subtitles, we all gain enjoyment and the eldest (14) is spurred on to read another play.

Taming of the Shrew

We have been searching for a copy of the BBC production of Taming of the Shrew for some time. I suspect that as it is so politically incorrect with regards to the relationship of men and women it has been spurned in the US and Australia.
But we have success! At Moviemail-online in the UK we were able to purchase our copy on DVD. Naturally it is PAL and region 2 so can only be played on region free DVD players.
Lana and I enjoyed the tale anew last night. Subtitles have made a major difference. The first time we saw it some years ago it took us half an hour before we worked out they were speaking English. So, with ears attuned, we restarted the play and laughed throughout!
John Cleese and Sarah Badel play a marvellous Petruchio and Katherine. Once Katherine is tamed, the two of them share glances that married couples in love share. You know - that glance across a room that conveys a story. Our children have often chided Lana and I on our "secret" communications.
This version of Taming of the Shrew started our interest in Shakespeare. Now we all get to listen and have interest in an author neither of us had read before. Hurrah for contagious learning!