So, this is the part where I hope my more obscure interests won't fail to hold yours. This is a very brief clip of Fiona Shaw reading a poem by Bertolt Brecht. I love this clip. I don't generally connect with poetry, actually, but once in a while I really do, and I like this poem a lot. If this clip strikes your fancy and you're more into poetry than I am, there's a few more of them out there -- I've found (or been pointed toward) her reading Becket, Elliot, and Donne so far.
Fiona Shaw, despite her tendency toward playing minor comical and villainous characters onscreen, is considered to be one of the greatest classical stage actresses of her generation. And, for those interested in Harry Potter, not only does she play Petunia Dursley, the surprisingly slim young man holding the poem for her is the guy who plays Dudley. (They're in a production of Mother Courage together showing in London this fall.) (Which I want them to bring to the US.) (Soon.) (Please.)
I love Fiona Shaw; she's amazing. The fact that you can tell how amazing she is even when she's just playing comedic or villainous characters who aren't really the focus and/or aren't well-developed on the page is quite the achievement. After I sat through the interminable agony that was The Black Dahlia, I decided that it was worth the money for nothing other than seeing Fiona Shaw stealing the whole thing in a performance that ended up being totally forgotten come awards time, probably because of the aforementioned agony.
ReplyDeleteYou are so not wrong. I felt the same way about The Last September... incredibly long and slow, but worth it if only to see her initial entrance (and the special feature of her reading a bit from the novel was pretty cool, too). I love her interviews, too -- she's intelligent and well educated, and there are some Charlie Rose interviews out there that are just facinating.
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