The New Murrey and Blue blog

The play’s the thing

The passing of Bernard Hepton….

Aug 20, 2018

television reviews, The play’s the thing

Archbishop Cranmer, Bernard Hepton, fight arranging, Laurence Olivier, obituaries, Secret Army

I always admired Bernard Hepton, who could be guaranteed to bring Class, capital “C”, to any production. His voice was smooth and creamy, and his understated approach always seemed to fit his role to perfection. I remember him in various historical roles, particularly Cranmer. But I didn’t know he was renowned for arranging film fights,…
Richard III, Henry VII and the City of York….

Jul 31, 2018

buildings, sources, The play’s the thing

“Lambert Simnel”, Anne Neville, Archbishop Scrope, Berwick Castle, british History Online, Christmas, Corpus Christi Guild, Council of the North, Creed Play, Earl of Northumberland, Edward IV, Edward of Middleham, Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth Wydeville, entertainment, Fishergate Bar, fishgarths, Henry VII, James IV, John Brackenbury, John Vavasour, Lammas, Lord Clifford, Lord Scrope of Bolton, Margaret “Tudor”, Micklegate Bar, Miles Metcalf, Nicholas Lancaster, Ouse, Paston Letters, Paul Murray Kendall, Percies, Pontefract, Princes of Wales, Richard Green, Richard III, Richard of Warwick, riots, Scarborough Castle, Scotland, Shakespeare, Sheriff Hutton, Sir John Egremont, The Ainsty, Thomas Earl of Surrey, Thomas Wrangwissh, Three Estates, Walmgate Bar, York, York Castle, York Guildhall

This is not my work, but has been lifted entirely from British History Online. My contribution is the illustrations. It is a sensible assessment of the relationship of both Richard and Henry Tudor with the great city of York. :- York, Richard of Gloucester, and Henry VII There was much that was new in…
An article about the Bard’s Richard III that actually acknowledges the REAL Richard….

Jul 23, 2018

The play’s the thing

disability, propaganda, Richard III, scoliosis, Shakespeare

This article is very interesting, because it re-examines Shakespeare’s perverted version of Richard III. Yes, it’s about the play, and a production of it, but toward the end it deals with the REAL Richard, and how he has been damned by the Tudors and their propaganda. Well worth a read.
York wants to know if Richard was a hero or a villain….!

Jul 21, 2018

buildings, Events, The play’s the thing

Margaret Clitherow, Mother Shipton, Richard III, Rose Theatre, Turpin, Vikings, York, York Dungeon

Hero or villain? Richard III, played by Nick Trott, is the latest subject of the York Dungeon’s Yorkshire Rogues & Legends series Well, reading this, I thought by now that everyone in York knows Richard was a hero, but maybe not….
Biggest Lies of the Middle Ages

Jul 7, 2018

Alternative History, The play’s the thing

Alfred, cakes, Edward II, Edward III, Eleanor of Aquitaine, executions, Fair Rosamund Clifford, fibs, Isabella de Valois, Myths, red hot poker, Richard III, Shakespeare, Sir William wallace, witchcraft

There are many, many false ideas and funny beliefs about the Middle Ages and some of the notable figures who lived in those times. Alfred and the cakes, Edward II and the hot poker, Eleanor of Aquitaine flinging poisoned toads on Fair Rosamund… And of course, almost everything you can think of about Richard III. …
She isn’t “going through the card” after all

May 27, 2018

anniversaries, battles, The play’s the thing

Alice Lady Lisle, Anne Boleyn, Battle of Sedgemoor, executions, films, Helena Bonham Carter, high treason, Jane, Jane Parker Viscountess Rochford, Katherine Howard, Margaret of Salisbury, Mary Stuart, Princess Margaret, Ray Winstone, television, The Crown

As you probably know, the list of women who have been beheaded in England is very short. Helena Bonham Carter has played two of them so far – Lady Jane (1554) in 1986 and Anne Boleyn (1536) (opposite Ray Winstone’s Henry VIII on ITV) in 2003 and I heard that she was about to play a royal…
Elijah’s Frodo or Aneurin’s Richard III….?

May 17, 2018

battles, The play’s the thing

Aneurin Barnard, Battle of Bosworth, Elijah Wood, films, Richard III, The Hobbit

I have recently watched the Fellowship of the Ring series. I confess to watching these films, and The Hobbit, over and over. Yet again, when Elijah’s Wood’s Frodo Baggins was on the screen, I was curiously reminded of Aneurin Barnard’s Richard III. OK, not when Frodo’s eyebrows were on some kind of weird warpath, like…
The Earl of Suffolk’s “drifting” hips….!

May 1, 2018

The play’s the thing

Henry VI, Margaret d’Anjou, William Duke of Suffolk

Pictured above are the characters of Margaret of Anjou and her lover, Suffolk, in a scene from the Bard’s Henry VI. Why have I posted it? Well, because a passage from the review from which the picture is taken, made me giggle. The picture it created in my head was just too funny. Here it is:-…
Who’s on trial? The real Richard, or the Bard’s horrible caricature…?

Apr 27, 2018

Events, The play’s the thing

David Oakes, Hugh Dennis, Lady Justice Hallett, Novello Theatre, Richard III, Shakespeare, Shakespeare Schools Foundation, trial

NB: Since posting this article, the trial and verdict have taken place, and according to The Times, Richard was innocent! See: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/richard-iii-cleared-of-murder-on-a-hunch-xtkhlr5qn Well, with all the hype about this upcoming “trial” of Richard III, I become more confused. Just which Richard is going to be in the dock? The real one? Or the monster created by…
Shakespeare borrowed the work of others….

Apr 23, 2018

anniversaries, The play’s the thing

British Library, Elizabeth I, George North, Jack Cade, Lafayette College, Macbeth, plagiarism, Richard III, Shakespeare

“A 16th-century manuscript hidden in the depths of the British Library and decoded using plagiarism software has been pinpointed as a previously unknown source for Shakespeare’s plays. “A Brief Discourse of Rebellion & Rebels by George North, a minor figure in Queen Elizabeth’s court, is, according to its finders and decoders, the source of more…