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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
very smart and obviously love all the Shakespeare influences… I think if I’d read it at another time it might have been 5 stars but it all feels a little anticlimactic now. Fascinating to think how this play must have hit different when it came out vs reading it now that the “future history” has actually fallen out…
I love seeing this classified as "science fiction" in some outlets. I want to say I'm not much of a follower of the British royalty, yet I love everything about "The Crown" and have a thing for Elizabethan history plays. Not just Shakespeare, but also Marlowe's sublime "Edward II." A blank verse "future history" play is quite a feat, even more so given some of the Windsors' actual history that's unfolded since the play was conceived.
fascinating. I have been on a Windsors kick lately, just watched The Crown. This is a very smart play that examines the role of the royals in modern society.
Highly entertaining, Shakespearean future history play in blank verse. The Queen is dead, long live the King? Not so very much and things escalate quickly when King Charles III rules. Wish I could've seen it in theatre!
My favorite play of 2016, a year in which I had the pleasure of seeing a wide variety of plays. I love the conundrums and counterintuitive arguments and storylines in this play WHICH WAS WRITTEN IN IAMBIC PARAMETER thank you very much. Almost as pleasurable to read as to see on stage.
It feels so odd to have to call something from 10 years ago a "relic of the past."
Now, I don't mean that in the derogatory way. It doesn't hold outdated ideas, it doesn't call anyone anything that, by today's standards, would be considered a slur.
Instead, it's a relic of the past simply because Mike Bartlett isn't a fortune teller. There are plenty of things in this play that he "got wrong" surrounding the coronation of Charles III and the following months... Because, of course there are. Mike Bartlett isn't a time traveler. He couldn't accurately guess every little thing that would happen.
But, that being said... He did nail some of his predictions. In 2014, Harry and Meghan weren't together yet, but Bartlett's creation of Jess, Harry's love interest in the play, ends up being eerily similar to the relationship between Harry and Meghan. Even down to Harry questioning his place in the monarchy.
He nailed the modern concerns about the freedom of the press.
He nailed the immaturity of government when they're told no. (This is, of course, me speaking as an American... Where there's the threat of a "government shutdown" about once every two weeks, because our Congress is staffed with a bunch of whining toddlers who pout and refuse to do anything when they don't get their way)
I think this play is absolutely, without a doubt, worth a read. It was incredibly written, with beautifully poetic iambic pentameter all throughout. And it's interesting to read something that was subtitled "A Future History Play", but has now become "An Alternate History Play". I say that Mike Bartlett got several predictions wrong, but who knows what would have happened if Elizabeth II died in 2014?
Now, I don't mean that in the derogatory way. It doesn't hold outdated ideas, it doesn't call anyone anything that, by today's standards, would be considered a slur.
Instead, it's a relic of the past simply because Mike Bartlett isn't a fortune teller. There are plenty of things in this play that he "got wrong" surrounding the coronation of Charles III and the following months... Because, of course there are. Mike Bartlett isn't a time traveler. He couldn't accurately guess every little thing that would happen.
But, that being said... He did nail some of his predictions. In 2014, Harry and Meghan weren't together yet, but Bartlett's creation of Jess, Harry's love interest in the play, ends up being eerily similar to the relationship between Harry and Meghan. Even down to Harry questioning his place in the monarchy.
He nailed the modern concerns about the freedom of the press.
He nailed the immaturity of government when they're told no. (This is, of course, me speaking as an American... Where there's the threat of a "government shutdown" about once every two weeks, because our Congress is staffed with a bunch of whining toddlers who pout and refuse to do anything when they don't get their way)
I think this play is absolutely, without a doubt, worth a read. It was incredibly written, with beautifully poetic iambic pentameter all throughout. And it's interesting to read something that was subtitled "A Future History Play", but has now become "An Alternate History Play". I say that Mike Bartlett got several predictions wrong, but who knows what would have happened if Elizabeth II died in 2014?
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot:
Charles ascends the throne after the death of his mother and decides to take more of an activist role: refusing to sign a bill that would restrict the freedom of the press. Is that his right? Is he hurting or helping the monarchy for generations to come?
Reaction:
-Loved the Shakespearean-style dialogue, which was completely fitting in light of the Shakespearean overtones
-Completely relevant as the world considers the future of the monarchy
-Interesting, well-drawn characters
Charles ascends the throne after the death of his mother and decides to take more of an activist role: refusing to sign a bill that would restrict the freedom of the press. Is that his right? Is he hurting or helping the monarchy for generations to come?
Reaction:
-Loved the Shakespearean-style dialogue, which was completely fitting in light of the Shakespearean overtones
-Completely relevant as the world considers the future of the monarchy
-Interesting, well-drawn characters