Hamlet – Shakespeare on the Move

How Shakespeare Cures a Stuttering King

Alexa Alice JoubinMay 14, 2020May 15, 2020Leave a comment

The King's Speech (dir. Tom Hooper, 2010) and The Theory of Everything (dir. James Marsh, 2015) deal with figures that suffer from speech impairment. Lines from Shakespeare play an important role in scenes about speech therapy in The King's Speech.

Having worked with multiple therapists without any result, Bertie (Prince Albert, Duke of York, later King George VI), a stutterer, is reluctant to receive treatment from Lionel Logue. In their first session, Logue bets Bertie a shilling that he can in fact read without stammer right away, and he would record his speech as evidence. Logue puts headphones on Bertie and asks him to read Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” speech into a Silvertone Home Voice Recorder. ...continue reading "How Shakespeare Cures a Stuttering King"

Ophelia Unbound

Alexa Alice JoubinJuly 11, 2019Leave a comment

Actes des congrès de la Société française Shakespeare 37 (2019)

How does Ophelia become “unbound” through supralinguistic structures of spectacle and music especially in a transgender performance? With case studies of three Hamlet films: Haider (India, 2004), The King and the Clown (South Korea, 2005), and Prince of the Himalayas (Tibet, 2006), this article examines theatrical and cinematic presentations of Ophelia's double bind as an icon and a victim. ...continue reading "Ophelia Unbound"

“You are welcome to Elsinore”

Alexa Alice JoubinNovember 26, 2017November 27, 2017Leave a comment

In act 2 scene 2, Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that "gentlemen, you are welcome to Elsinore. Th' appurtenance of welcome is fashion and ceremony. Let me comply with you in this garb—lest my extent to the players, which, I tell you, must show fairly outwards, should more appear like entertainment than yours. You are welcome."

When I had the good fortune to visit Elsinore in Denmark on a special occasion, I received a rather different kind of welcome. No wink, no irony, and much warmer.

This photo was taken outside the Kronborg Castle, Hamlet’s castle, in Elsinore, Denmark, where I gave the keynote speech at the conference on “Shakespeare: The Next 400 Years.”

Photo with Kaitlin Culliton (Trinity College Dublin), Ema Vyroubalová (Trinity College Dublin), and Shauna O’Brien (Trinity College Dublin).

Alternate History, Haider, and Hamlet

Alexa Alice JoubinApril 3, 2017April 4, 2017Leave a comment

“My angel!” A woman’s voice is heard outside a hut in the snow in Kashmir in 1995, a landscape devoid of colors other than mostly black, white, and deep blue. Ghazala’s son, Haider, a lone fighter, is hiding inside the severely damaged hut. Having sustained gun-shot wounds, he is surrounded by the soldiers led by his uncle Khurram who plans to kill him with a shoulder-launch rocket, but Ghazala, caught in between her lover and her son who is intent on avenging his father’s death, convinces Khurram to give her one last chance to persuade Haider to give up his revenge plan and surrender. Soft spoken, Ghazala may not appear to be a particularly strong woman at first glance, but she is taking on the active role of a liaison, negotiator, and now a game changer.

...continue reading "Alternate History, Haider, and Hamlet"