Wednesday 23 April 2014

Post the Third - 450 and 1

Today has been a day of dual celebrations for me, because it is both Shakespeare's (probable) 450th birthday and my dear Darcy's (definite) 1st. Indeed, had I known that they were going to share the day, I may have named him accordingly. That said, I'm highly controversial in my choice of favourite Shakespearean 'hero' (for reasons I shall explore below), so 'Petruccio' would have been rather a mouthful when shouted during walks...and, let's face it, he really wasn't going to be called anything but Darcy. In this case Austen trumped the Bard. I wonder whether he would've minded?
Anyway, I knew I wanted to mark the day somehow, but I didn't believe that anyone would want to be subjected to a collage of photos and videos from my puppy's first year - however cute he may be. So I thought I'd write a little ramble on my own very idiosyncratic relationship with 'dear old Shax', as we called him whilst at Warwick.
(This is your chance to stop reading, if you so desire, for beyond there lieth geekery and badly formed pentameter... [that wasn't pentameter, just an awful rhyming couplet])
I first discovered the beauty of Shakespeare's work at about the age of six, albeit via the medium of Prokofiev's ballet Romeo and Juliet. Now, I know that sounds terribly pretentious, but it's true. I have the most vivid memory of my Gramma being over to stay, and us sitting in front of the TV, eating macaroni cheese and watching the famous 'Dance of the Knights'. My little mind was enraptured and I was convinced from that moment on that I was destined to be a prima ballerina. Once I realised that wasn't going to happen (more on that in a later post), because I knew that the ballet was based on a play, I was desperate to read it...and all the rest.
Well, it turned out that theatre (and especially Shakespeare) was my new favourite thing, and those first readings sparked a devotion which has lasted a lifetime. Not only was the language exquisite, but it was something I could do on my own - i.e. without help - as long as I memorised the lines. More than that, whilst reciting, I discovered the freedom of being someone else. With the help of Juliet, Rosalind, Beatrice or Desdemona, I could leave my chair behind, even if only for a moment. What joy!
Fast forward a decade or so, and I found myself at Warwick, not too far from where my idol was himself born and raised. I joined Shakesoc, the uni society. Then, in the summer after my second year, I did the Shakespeare Summer School at RADA. Three things happened - I fell in love with RADA, I made some very lovely and talented friends, and I began to learn that my chair can be a positive influence when it comes to acting; I don't always have to escape.
The latter realisation came about as a result of the monologue our group director suggested to me for our final presentation - the opening speech of Richard III. I was intrigued, it being one of the few I had yet to read. In learning it I saw that Shakespeare had managed to capture the essence of living as a person with a disability in such a way (and with such precision) that he articulated the finer details of my own experience, despite a temporal distance of some four centuries. It was an emotional rollercoaster, but it set up a new phase of my adoration - if I had loved him at six or ten, I loved him even more at twenty.
 I went back to Warwick filled with hope for third year. It was the year of our compulsory Shakespeare module, for which I chose the practical strand nicknamed 'Shakespeare Without Chairs', in full cognisance of the irony of my taking it. Hilarity and play and wonderful workshops ensued. I wrote my first sonnet sequence, between Hotspur and Lady Percy from Henry IV I, and found that it quickly became my favourite poetic form. (I've since written two more, and I'm currently working on a third, between Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado...)
I also decided that I would somehow write about the character of Richard III for my dissertation. That was when I reread Taming of the Shrew and, pondering the way in which it could be posed as a narrative of the dynamic between gender and disability ('Why does the world report that Kate doth limp?'), fell in love with Petruccio. My tutor mentioned Caliban, so I undertook a three-pronged analysis, examining disability in relation to masculinity, femininity and ethnicity - which led me to London 2012, and the use of The Tempest in both the Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremonies.
Then I took a breath...
...but only briefly, before finding myself at RADA again and plunging into the world of Richard II in my first term. Who knew it would be another Plantagenet Richard furthering my exploration of Shakespeare and, this time, making a difference to my body as well as to my soul?
I didn't - but if there's one thing I've learnt about Shax, it's that he's full of surprises...and I bet he'd be surprised if we knew we were still so enamoured of him today, and that all the sonnets about time and words were right.
Happy birthday, my liege, since that's the address you deserve - and gramercy.

Tuesday 22 April 2014

Post the Second - Hallelujah, back again!

The title of today's post is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the chorus of a song from 1928, called 'Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!', a recording of which I'll post below because it is truly brilliant. The song is a sarcastic and satirical take on life as a homeless person, and challenges the idea that homelessness is a choice, based purely on a desire to rip off the welfare state. Those of you who know what a leftie I am will understand why I love it. The video is here:

Anyway, as you will notice in listening, the second line of the chorus is Hallelujah, bum again. I've stolen this and adapted it for two reasons. Firstly, this is my second post, and I'm very definitely back to blogging. Secondly, this week (despite the stress of a broken chair and a manifesto to write) the Botox injections have enabled me to lie on my back and do stretches every evening. Huzzah! So I thought I'd post some photos, for you to see that, but also in order for you to see my lovely furry helper, Darcy, because it's his birthday tomorrow!

Hallelujah, back again!

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Post the First - another year, another blog

Hello!

Those of you who have followed my blogging endeavours before will note that this one bears a striking similarity to the last, in name if not in colour. For those who have yet to read any of my ramblings, I shall write a proper introductory post at some point in the near future, but you might want to start there first, at Walking by 2013.

It probably seems odd that I am doing this again, not least because last time I was writing about the process of training to walk to collect my undergraduate degree and now I have nearly finished my first foray into postgraduate study. I'll grant you that. The thing is, though, I'll only be graduating from this Master's a year from now, in April 2015 - so I could just do another version of my previous blog. Having said that, it isn't my plan, at least not this time round. (I do want to walk to collect my MA, so I'll most likely write about that, but not exclusively.)

All right, I can hear you saying, cut the preamble and tell us what you will be writing. 

Well, for the last few weeks my chair has been playing up, and last night it decided to give up. Whilst lying literally stranded in bed waiting for the engineer to arrive to a) make a diagnosis and b) hopefully fix it, I must admit I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. Then a friend texted and made me laugh a lot, and I snapped out of my tears for long enough to realise that I had a choice - I could mope, or I could take a leaf out of my puppy Darcy's book and take this as an opportunity to experiment and play.

So, in the spirit of all the physical theatre and improv I have been doing over the last little while, I have decided to choose the latter path and take my chair breaking down as a sign that it's giving me a chance to explore different ways of moving. Since I've just had botox, and it's roughly a year until the next graduation, it feels like it couldn't be a better moment to start. 

Hopefully by the time I get there I'll have found my feet. If you fancy coming with me to look for them, you're all very welcome to tag along!

Love xx