Episode 882: Arts Centre Junkie!

Have finally finished reading King Lear. My favourite line? 'Out, vile jelly! Where is thy lustre now?' It's gruesome, horrifying, and sends chills down my spine every time I read it. Am now watching a bit more of Korol Lir so I don't go into tomorrow's seminar completely clueless, even though our group did meet up this morning to discuss what we're going to say in the seminar about the film and its relation to the text. I'm going to talk about how the King of France has to have a translator with him, whereas in the play, everyone of course miraculously speaks English. (You know, even if the play's set in Venice, Verona or Vienna!) In a way, this drives home the foreignness of the King of France and how Cordelia being wedded to him is essentially exile, in a way that isn't necessarily immediately apparent from the play, where armies sweep on and off the stage from the wings. It also raises the stakes, I feel, when the invasion from France happens. Randomly, I've turned into a bit of an Arts Centre junkie all of a sudden. Wednesday and Thursday, I'll be attending China Miéville's reading and a performance of Best Before respectively. Next week, also on a Thursday, I'm seeing the Cheek by Jowl production of The Tempest. Finally, Tuesday after that, I'm seeing a dance performance, LOL (Lots Of Love). Loads of stuff to look forward to! It also means that I really, really, need to start writing this play tomorrow afternoon.