theatre

Time Travel, House of Horrors and All the world’s your stage.

Katie

Here’s some new non fiction for the New Year.

Lighting Our World: A Year of Celebrations.

Whether its setting off fireworks in celebration of a historic day or lighting a lantern in remembrance of a loved one that has passed away, every culture has its unique set of customs. Filled with beautifully detailed illustrations, Lighting our world shines a light on familiar and unusual festivals that are celebrated each month of the year. Learn about holidays celebrated around the world from the one’s you know, like Easter, Halloween, Christmas and Hanukkah to the less known, like Las Fallas, Buddha’s birthday and Obon: Festival of the dead.

 

 

 

On Stage Theater Games and Activities for Kids.

Think you got what it takes to be an actor? Or you have a speech to prepare for and want to boast your confidence? Then with this exciting new read, all the world’s your stage. On Stage Theater Games and Activities for Kids is filled with acting and theater games that help children learn how to express themselves with their voices and bodies, as well as enhance children’s self esteem and manage public speaking fears.  Also filled with games and activities to cover basic theater vocabulary, puppetry and pantomime, sound effects, costumes, props, and makeup.

 

Doctor Who: The Official Doctionary.

Do you ever have moments when you wonder what someone else is talking about, especially if that someone happens to be Doctor Who talking about the Blinovitch Limitation Effect and regeneration? Not to fear, In this book, the Doctor takes you through all those tricky Time Lord words and phrases to teach you everything you need to know for travelling through time and space in the Time And Relative Dimension In Space (TARDIS) with him. The Doctor’s dictionary is the  essential book for all budding time travelers and intergalactic companions. Great for ages 7 to 12 years and anyone who is a fan of Doctor Who.

 

 

 

Horrible Science: House of Horrors.

Welcome to the House of Horrors! This book isn’t about just any house, it’s about your house and its uninvited guests. You will read and learn all the revolting facts like what bugs eat their own poo, how many litres of wee can a mouse produce a year and why you would hire a giant centipede that will be enough to scare you out of your own house and put you off your food… for life!

 

Harlem’s Little Blackbird.

This biography is a  tribute to a little known but much loved member of the Harlem Renaissance elite, Florence Mills, a performer whose story may have faded from the history books, but whose influence resonated long after she sang her last song. Florence Mills’ story  includes coverage of her youth as a child of former slaves, her singing and dancing performances that inspired songs and entire plays, and the struggles with racism that prompted her advocacy of all-black theater and musicals.

 

 

 

Julie Andrews’ Treasury For All Seasons: Poems and Songs to Celebrate the Year.

We remember her as Mary Poppins and Maria from The Sound of Music, but now Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton have put together this beautiful book of poems and songs that celebrate every moment of the year. This keepsake collection includes poems written by famous poets such as Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson,  Walt Whitman and even some written by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton that will encourage an early love for poetry.

 

 

Shakespeare’s Last Years

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In 1609 Shakespeare’s theatre company, the King’s Men, acquired another theatre called Blackfriars Theatre. It only held 700 people (compared to The Globe’s 3000) but unlike The Globe it had a roof! Therefore the company could perform at The Globe in summer, and then move to Blackfriars Theatre in winter. The company also charged six times as much for each ticket so they earnt the same amount of money in winter as they did in summer!

Historians do not know exactly when Shakespeare retired. The nearest they can guess is between 1611 and 1613. The company hired another writer to replace Shakespeare, John Fletcher, and he and Shakespeare wrote three plays together: Henry VIII, Cardenio and Two Noble Kinsmen.

In January 1616 Shakespeare drew up his will, leaving his wife “the second best bed!” Shakespeare died on April 23rd 1616 . He was buried in the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Shakespeare wrote his own epitaph for his tombstone: “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear to dig the dust enclosed here; Blest be the man that spares these stones and curst be he that moves my bones.”

The threat of a curse upon anyone who moves Shakespeare’s bones has worked. No one has ever shifted them.

Shakespeare in the Theatre

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Shakespeare was a member of a theatre company called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He was their chief playwright, writing about two plays per year, and he also appeared as an actor. Shakespeare was also a shareholder in the acting company.

 

As only men were allowed to act onstage, all theatre companies were made up of men, with a few boys aged 8 – 12 who played the female parts.

 

In 1597 the theatre company’s lease on the theatre they were using ran out. Their landlord wanted to pull down the theatre and use the timber for something else! So what they did was this: they gathered together in the middle of the night, dismantled the theatre piece by piece, and transported the timber across the Thames River, where they rebuilt the theatre south of the river.

 

The new theatre was called the Globe; it had twenty short sides so it formed a circle. It could seat 3,000 people. Shakespeare also owned a share in the new theatre.

 

The theatre was attended by everyone, rich and poor. It was one of the few places where everyone could meet on equal terms.

Was Shakespeare really Shakespeare?

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Some people think that William Shakespeare did not write Shakespeare’s plays at all. That instead he was the front man for someone else who did not want their identity known. This is known as the “authorship controversy.”

 

Why do they think this? Some people think that Shakespeare was not educated enough to have written the plays that he did. That his knowledge of court life, and the legal system was too great for someone who had not been to university, travelled, or was a member of the royal court.

 

None of his plays appear to have been put on in his hometown of Stratford. When he died, Shakespeare did not leave any letters or diaries that referred to his writing career, or any drafts of his plays. He also did not mention his plays in his will either.

 

So if Shakespeare did not write his plays, then who did? There are many theories, and many people from Shakespeare’s time have been put forward as possibilities for the “real” Shakespeare. These include: Queen Elizabeth I, Christopher Marlowe, Edward De Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford, Roger Manners the 5th Earl of Rutland and Sir Francis Bacon.

 

However, there is no proof that any of these people actually wrote Shakespeare’s plays, or that Shakespeare himself did not write his own plays.

 

Want to find out more about Shakespeare? Visit this link for books about Shakespeare.