Shakes
on a plane: Airline hosts dramatic performance
The "actors" performing.
On
April 23, passengers on an EasyJet flight from London to Verona were treated to
three actors performing parts of every comedy and tragedy written by
Shakespeare. EasyJet is supporting the creation of ‘National Shakespeare Day’
in England which requires 100,000 signatures on petitions to be considered by
the House of Commons. The flight to Verona was chosen for this performance
since that is the setting for ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The article reports that
passengers were entertained by the performance and they had received no
complaints about the flight.
The
connection I am making is with our English class. In English, we are learning
about Shakespeare’s plays; as groups of students will be performing them in
class. The three actors on the EasyJet flight had fun with the passengers while
they performed in these rolls, similar to how we will perform some of
Shakespeare’s acclaimed works. We’re going to show that Shakespeare’s plays are
still enjoyable to watch and listen to even though they are four hundred years
old and use phrasing that is not how people speak today.
The EasyJet plane with Shakespeare painted on to it.
My
reaction to this story is that this sounds like a fun flight to have taken. I
have flown on an airplane, but maybe a flight like this would be very relaxing
for me. I do not know if they could have done this in the United States, since
the airport rules here are pretty strict. I
think that England should have a ‘Shakespeare Day’ and it would be a holiday
that would recognize their greatest playwright on his birthday.
The author of the article is supporting what the airline did.
She starts by describing the event – actors performing bits of Shakespeare on
the plane. She goes on to include a quote from a passenger: "Certainly,
this was the most entertaining flight I have ever taken. It was a fabulous
performance and great for the children” (Cureton, Simon, Shakes on... performance). The author inserts her own opinion by
implying that anyone who would have complained about this event would be ‘crotchety’ (Cha, Francis, Shakes on... performance).
Cha, Frances. "Shakes on a Plane: Airline Hosts Dramatic Performance." CNN. Cable News Network, 24 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/24/travel/shakespeare-plane-easyjet/>.
Actors on Plane. 2014. CNN. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/24/travel/shakespeare-plane-easyjet/>.
Engerbeau, Bastien. G-EZBI. 2014. Flickr. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/87351071@N08/13509833843/>.
No comments:
Post a Comment