Moon, take thy flight (see ya, George)
Sep. 22nd, 2009 09:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
spatchBest Damn Thing All Day Dept: The Beatles in 1964, performing Pyramus & Thisbe from A Midsummer Night's Dream. A little digging tells me it was part of a Granada television special called "Around The World With The Beatles" and this, presumably, was a segment depicting a fine Elizabethan afternoon out at the theater, complete with hecklers in the galleries.
The heckling is intentional, of course, as it drives the actors' reactions in the script (poor Moon having to explain himself in frustration after his speech doesn't pan out is one of my favorite bits of Shakespeare) but I think some of the other kids just joined in for the fun of it. The whole piece is adorable, what with Paul hamming it up as Pyramus, John in hilarious drag as Thisbe, George as a very put-upon Moon, and Ringo as an adorable lion -- but he'd rather be a drummer. Not sure who the comic playing Wall is, but he does look familiar. Don't think he was one of the managers in A Hard Day's Night, but you never know. Perhaps one better versed in British comics of the time can help us out with that.
Adieu, adieu, adieu like to be beside the seaside...
The heckling is intentional, of course, as it drives the actors' reactions in the script (poor Moon having to explain himself in frustration after his speech doesn't pan out is one of my favorite bits of Shakespeare) but I think some of the other kids just joined in for the fun of it. The whole piece is adorable, what with Paul hamming it up as Pyramus, John in hilarious drag as Thisbe, George as a very put-upon Moon, and Ringo as an adorable lion -- but he'd rather be a drummer. Not sure who the comic playing Wall is, but he does look familiar. Don't think he was one of the managers in A Hard Day's Night, but you never know. Perhaps one better versed in British comics of the time can help us out with that.
Adieu, adieu, adieu like to be beside the seaside...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-09-23 08:18 am (UTC)