Navarrese infantas, part II
Joana I.a, Nafarroako erregina and reine de France. Daughter of Henrike I.a and Blanche d’Artois. Mother of Isabelle de France, Queen of England. Grandmother of Joana II.a, Nafarroako erregina; Jehanne III, comtesse de Bourgogne; Marguerite Ire, comtesse de Bourgogne; Isabelle de France, dauphine du Viennois; Blanche de France, duchesse d’Orléans; Eleanor of Woodstock, hertogin van Gelre; and Joan of the Tower, Queen of Scots.
Joana II.a, Nafarroako erregina. Daughter of Luis I.a and Marguerite de Bourgogne. Mother of Joana; Maria, reina d’Aragó; Zuria, reine de France; Ines, comtessa de Fois; and Joana, vicomtesse de Rohan.
Maria, reina d’Aragó. Daughter of Joana II.a and Philippe, comte d’Évreux. Mother of Constança d’Aragó, regina di Sicilia and Joana d’Aragó, comtessa d’Empúries. Grandmother of Maria, regina de Sicilia.
Zuria, reine de France. Daughter of Joana II.a and Philippe, comte d’Évreux. Mother of Jehanne de France.
Ines, comtessa de Fois. Daughter of Joana II.a and Philippe, comte d’Évreux.
Joana, dugez Breizh and Queen of England. Daughter of Karlos II.a and Jehanne de France. Mother of Mari Breizh, duchesse d’Alençon.
Joana, comtessa de Fois. Daughter of Karlos III.a and Leonor de Castilla.
Zuria I.a, Nafarroako erregina. Daughter of Karlos III.a and Leonor de Castilla. Mother of Zuria II.a and Leonor I.a.
Beatriz, comtessa de La Marcha. Daughter of Karlos III.a and Leonor de Castilla. Mother of Éléonore de Bourbon, duchesse de Nemours.
Elisabet, comtessa d’Armanhac. Daughter of Karlos III.a and Leonor de Castilla. Mother of Maria d’Armanhac, duchesse d’Alençon; Alienòr d’Armanhac, princesse d’Orange; and Elisabet d’Armanhac, dòna de Quate-Vaths.
66 notes
·
View notes
For those of us not fortunate enough to see #RADAHamlet in person - VocalEyes has an audio described version of the play available. It doesn’t have audio from the actual actors but it does give a lot of information about the scenes and characters.
You can listen to the audio description here
or read the text below
Hamlet - Introduction
Welcome to this introduction to Hamlet by William Shakespeare, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh in a co-production between the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the Kenneth Branagh Theatre company.
The VocalEyes audio-described performance at the Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art will be on Saturday September 16th. There will be a touch tour at a time to be confirmed. The introductory notes will start at
2.15 and the performance itself at 2.30. The production lasts for just under three hours, including one 15-minute interval. The live audio description will be given for VocalEyes by Veronika Hyks and Jane Brambley.
The following introduction includes information about Hamlet, descriptions of the set, characters and costumes. All VocalEyes show introductions are available as an audio mp3 file in the 'What's On' section. For access information for the Theatre, please click on the theatre name, on the ‘What’s On’ page.
In an interview with The Stage before the production opened, Kenneth Branagh said
‘I purposefully want the whole thing to be lean and clean….so the audience is invited to feel and concentrate with the characters, human to human.’
The resulting production is set in the present and drives forward swiftly, with the cast of 10 playing 17 parts with unwavering energy and focus.
Hamlet, played by Tom Hiddleston, sets the pace. He’s in his mid-thirties. His lean figure is dressed entirely in black, which highlights his pale face. His brown hair is slicked back off his brow, and his narrow chin is outlined by a small beard.
Hamlet exudes nervous energy, whether standing alert, every muscle tense, or at one point erupting into frustrated pacing. Only when alone does he seem to relax, often spotlit in dim surroundings as he shares his thoughts with us. We first meet him in black trousers with a fitted hip length jacket with a high collar, won with soft dark ankle boots.
As the story proceeds he rings the changes with a tee shirt and hoodie, both black.
His mother Queen Gertrude is played by Lolita Chakrabarti and has a regal bearing befitting her status. Tall and statuesque, she favours silky draped outfits that flatter her substantial figure. Gertrude first appears in a sleeveless dark mauve bodysuit with a scoop neck, draped top and wide trousers, with black stiletto heels. A gold brooch gleams at her left shoulder, and two broad strips of mauve material fall down from it and soften the outline of her costume, fluttering as she moves. Her black hair is worn in a neat bun at the nape of her neck, but two ringlets escape to frame her handsome face. Her lustrous dark skin sets off her earrings and the slim gold bracelets which encircle her wrists. Later she appears in a peppermint green evening dress of similar style, but with a long skirt flowing to her ankles. .
Her husband, King Claudius, played by Nicholas Farrell looks skinny and aged by comparison. His long face is florid and lined and he often has a guarded expression, his eyes observing everything while his expression stays neutral. His thinning grey hair is swept back off his face and his jaw is outlined by a narrow beard. Claudius is plainly dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and narrow wine-coloured tie. He moves deliberately, as if very aware of his effect on others. .
His right-hand man is Polonius, a bustling counsellor given to gestures as he takes off into flights of verbiage. Slim and dapper in a blue suit, Polonius has a pale face, a shaved head and a little reddish beard in his master’s style. Polonius is played by Sean Foley – and the same actor plays the courtier Osric, stamping on in a ridiculous march, his blue suit matched by a small trilby hat, his head poked forward, his gestures flowery and extravagant as he relays a message from the King.
Polonius has two children. Laertes is the elder, and about the same age as Hamlet, but completely different in manner and appearance. He’s a bulky young man who stands out among the others for his relatively messy style – white tee-shirt, loose blue work shirt, jeans and suede shoes. Initially he’s relaxed and cheerful, like a man who doesn’t take life too seriously. Laertes has olive skin, bushy black hair and a small beard. He is played by Irfan Shamji. The same actor becomes the Player Queen when a troupe of travelling actors visit the court. He makes no attempt to wear female dress for this: instead he wears black trousers and grey hoodie, with a beanie hat adding an informal touch.
Laertes has a young sister, Ophelia. Her wide eyes and shy smile make her seem very young, no more than a schoolgirl as she hurries eagerly in with little steps. Her slight frame is clad in indigo cropped jeans, black flat slippers, and a black camisole with a lacy neck and sleeves. Her strawberry blonde hair is carefully plaited, and swings down her back in a thick rope, revealing an eager face, with flawless ivory skin. Later she appears in a neat white dress with a curiously institutional look. Ophelia is played by Kathryn Wilder.
Hamlet’s confidante and close companion is Horatia, a slender young woman who strides on boy-like, in a loose silky grey shirt over black skinny trousers and sturdy Cuban heeled boots. Her brown hair is cut with a fringe and falls in a sheet to her shoulders, framing an oval face with wide mouth and big expressive eyes. Horatia and Hamlet feed off each other’s energy as she meets him halfway in every exchange: there’s an almost electric connection between them as she raises her pale face to meet his eyes. Horatia is played by Caroline Martin.
As the story unfolds, two eager young women hover on the edge of the action. These are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, spick and span in fashionable business wear and swift to scamper to do the King’s bidding. Guildenstern is tall with very blonde straight hair and alabaster skin, Rosencrantz petite and darker with her long brown hair in cornrows that frame her face and almost match her skin. Both sport office wear in black, white and grey – Guildenstern with a long black coat over white shirt and black trousers split to the knee, and Rosencrantz in a black and grey striped shirt over narrow dark trousers. Both favour very high heeled black shoes.
This duo also appear as soldiers, standing stiffly to attention in black shirts and belted trousers, with black baseball caps on their heads. Eleanor de Rohan, who plays Guildenstern, also appears as a priest in black robe and broad brimmed hat. Rozencrantz is played by Ayesha Antoine.
As the story unfolds, one character is hugely influential but rarely seen. This is the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. First appearing in a swirling mist, he stands foursquare, appearing to fill the space – a tall imposing presence with ebony skin and white hair and narrow beard, he moves stiffly with the suggestion of a limp, his blazing eyes fixed on his son. Like his brother Claudius, King Hamlet is plainly dressed in dark suit and tie with a white shirt. He is played by Ansu Kabia.
The same actor plays the Player King, with no change of costume, but fluid and eloquent where the dead King Hamlet is stiff, and a cheery shirtsleeve Gravedigger who pops out of a grave-shaped trapdoor and then spends much of his time hidden in the grave, rapping and joking with the people above.
The story unfolds with a minimal set, its elements changed at a run by the cast and backstage crew. Initially the stage is almost bare and the auditorium dimly lit, with pools of light on the grey tip-up seats that surround the performance space in a horseshoe. An old upright piano stands alone in the middle of the light wooden floor, to be used in a brief introductory sequence.
When the lights rise, they reveal a tall back wall. The wall has two tall sash windows, one at each end, and a matching glass door in the centre, its expanse broken up into panes. The wall is duck egg blue, and the architraves are painted rich cream. Cream panelling covers the wall to hip height, and an elaborate cream cornice decorates the top. Two large framed portraits hang on the wall - one of King Hamlet, high on the left, and other, of King Claudius, at head height on the right.
A large wooden desk is placed in front of the wall, in the centre, a chair behind it. The setting is at once plush and anonymous, like a state room.
At the other end of the performance space, near the curve of the horseshoe of seats, the wooden floor is covered by a large white carpet, about 3 metres square. In the centre is the Danish Royal Crest – a golden shield with three blue lions rampant, their red tongues matched by the red infill of a golden crown above the crest. A dark grey border round the carpet sports Danish words in blood red capital letters Some are recognizably Danish, possibly mixed with English in places: KAN IKKE REBBE, DO MEN DODDEN, DERES NAVONE.
Against this background, scenes flow quickly from one to another. Exteriors are simply suggested by dappled light, and the castle battlements by swirling mist outside the windows. The addition of a white sofa and two grey chairs transform the carpeted area into a sitting room at one point. The carpet is swiftly removed or rolled out as required.
Just before the interval, the wall is lifted away, and a projected cloudy sky covers the space behind. From this point on, as the pace of the action increases, the story unfolds on a bare stage, with only one or two essential items – a cross of light on the desk creates a chapel, and a quilted throw and a scatter of blue and cream cushions turn the desk instantly into a bed.
Cast and Production credits
Hamlet is played by Tom Hiddleston
His mother Gertrude is Lolita Chakrabarti, and her husband Claudius is Nicholas Farrell
Polonius is Sean Foley who also plays Osric
Polonius’s son Laertes is played by Irfan Shamji, and his daughter Ophelia by Kathryn Wilder.
Horatia is Caroline Martin
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are played by Ayesha Antoine and Eleanor de Rohan
The Ghost of King Hamlet is played by Ansu Kabia.
Other parts are played by members of the cast.
The fight director is Bret Yount
The sound is designed by Paul Arditti, and the lighting by Paul Pyant.
The set and costumes are designed by James Cotterill
The director is Kenneth Branagh
Further Useful Information and Contact Details
If you are bringing a guide dog, please let us know when you book or by calling the Box Office between the hours of 11am and 5pm on 020 7908 4800. You can also email
[email protected].
To contact VocalEyes, call us on 020 7375 1043. You can receive a copy of the free VocalEyes Newsletter with full details on all our work by calling us or by following the links on the VocalEyes accessible website. The Newsletter is available in print, Braille, on CD or via e-mail. The website address is www.vocaleyes.co.uk.
VocalEyes is a charity funded by Arts Council England.
123 notes
·
View notes