Daniel Fienberg sends this along: What better way to kick off this January’s Television Critics Association press tour than with Sir Ian McKellen discussing his upcoming Great Performances version of “King Lear,” which he acknowledges is generally a career-capping role for most Shakespearean actors. “If, like me, you’ve worked your way through Shakespeare as an actor, waiting up there is King Lear and beyond him a shadowy Prospero maybe or a Falstaff,” says McKellen, who admits to being terrified of Falstaff. McKellen adds, “It’s the challenge. It’s the expectation that it will complete your journey through Shakespeare.” Of course, no matter how much acclaim McKellen gets for his stage work, he knows that he’ll always be recognized in the street for something different. Press Tour: King Lear is semi-nude and Gandalf may be gay
Day: January 7, 2009
Cardiff University is offering an on-line course on Tolkien taught in 10 weekly units by Dr Dimitra Fimi. The course has already run once this academic year and will run two more times in the Spring and Summer semesters 2009, starting on 19 January 2009 and 27 April 2009 respectively.
The students will be able to explore Tolkien’s Middle-earth from their home, in their own time. They will examine the vast mythology behind The Lord of the Rings and gain a thorough knowledge of Tolkien’s fiction and its creation by focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Húrin. Continue reading “Online Tolkien Course”