Shakespeare 2016! with Ben Crystal

Ben Crystal, British actor and producer, gave the opening lecture as part of Washington and Lee University’s Shakespeare 2016! on Oct. 26 at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Chapel. He also is the artistic director of London-based Passion in Practice and its Shakespeare Ensemble, which he founded in 2010. Passion in Practice explores fresh approaches to acting Shakespeare. Crystal’s talk is titled “The Once and Future Shakespeare.” His visit is hosted by W&L’s Department of Theater, Dance and Film. In his words, he will discuss “why our current approach to Shakespeare’s works may need to change, how we can learn from the practices of the past to see our way forward, and the dramatic effect these lessons may have on the existing canon.”

[@monicacall7532]

Every English teacher ought to see this!

[@jeffmay7358]

He's a brilliant teacher/actor. I could just listen as long as he wanted to speak.

[@emmbo5607]

One of the reasons why I never got bored of Shakespeare in school is because, as a homeschooler, I could get away with not actually reading the play but instead finding an acted version on RUclips. I probably would have been just as disenchanted had I been forced to read it in a school setting, but because I was too lazy to read, I accidentally introduced it to myself the best way possible. If you’re a teacher, give Shakespeare to your students the way it was meant to be given, on the stage

[@liamurray5233]

I have been binge watching Ben Crystal on RUclips. Thank you for making Shakespeare make sense. I'm a middle aged woman and have enjoyed Shakespeare with a sense of only mild entertainment rather than truly understanding what the fuss is about, until watching and listening to Ben. Students everywhere that are studying it should watch his presentations. Not only is he entertaining, but history is being demonstrated. I love the thought that my Canadian accent is part of that time, because my cultural ancestors came to Canada when British accents sounded similar to mine in part. Thank you for sharing

[@brookenjonas]

Lia Murray omg saaaammmeee

[@KevinAtkins_Indiana]

me too, yes...

[@jamesweh209]

Ben Crystal inspires me for his passion about his Shakespearean work of art. One of my favorite points he makes is that the original pronunciation really means speaking from the gut rather than speaking from the upper throat and head, and it does not have to be any particular accent or dialect. Amazing his first hand knowledge of his craft. How lucky those students are to hear him speak.

[@amcalabrese1]

His father is also an great speaker about Shakespeare.

[@rachelhorwitz9086]

Fascinating

[@ianblackmore1203]

I wish I'd known all of this when I was at school! such a great speaker 😀

[@cindymoor1795]

Amazing man with an amazing father and the most amazing voice.

[@cleekersneaker]

This is a very good talk. I'm learning a lot to further my enjoyment of the plays. How to read them, watch them, and judge the texts and the performances that are out there.

[@RobinJonesOTTAWAArts]

I never cared for Shakespeare. I now know why. What I was familiar with was devoid of character and so not Shakespeare at all.

[@preachinhell2580]

ace

[@jrcrawford4]

Smart how he starts all wooden and then throws the book away and gets into character.

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Weird that he's literally standing in front of Robert E. Lee's grave.

[@hubertblastinoff9001]

So *that's* where you learned the accent ;-)
Nah, you probably had done some OP stuff before, given that you're an actor...