“Wash your hands, put on your nightgown, look not so pale!” – the words of Lady Macbeth and Lockdown Advice in a nutshell! Keep your hands clean, be comfortable and don’t panic! And, if you are fed up with washing your hands to ‘Happy Birthday’ or the national anthem, might I suggest you try it to an excerpt of Lady Macbeth’s speech (or the whole thing if you really want to give them a good old scrub!):
“Yet here’s a spot. Out damn spot! Out I say! One, two. Why then ’tis time to do’t – Hell is murky! Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? The Thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now? What will these hands ne’er be clean? No more o’ that my lord, no more o’ that! You mar all with this starting. Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand! Oh, oh, oh! Wash your hands! Put on your nightgown! Look not so pale! I tell you yet again, Banquo’s buried. He cannot come out on’s grave. To bed, to bed! There’s a knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed!”
Now, a quote from this most famous Shakespeare play seems particularly pertinent, not only from the hygiene point of view but also, because last week we should have been at the fabulous Heritage Park Primary School, Peterborough , doing ‘Macbeth’ with Years 3-6. Alas, it was not to be. We wish them all well however, especially Year 6 whom we won’t see next year of course (assuming that we are able to be together again this time next year). Travel safely onward, stay safe and well, and always remember YOU HAVE A VOICE THAT DESERVES TO BE HEARD.
Competition Time!
Now I know it’s only June, and maybe it’s the thought of the nightmare of 2020 coming to an end that is spurring us on, but we are thinking ahead to Christmas! If any of you reading this (children, staff, parents, governors) have time and the inclination, please feel free to design a FINDING THE WILL LOCKDOWN CHRISTMAS CARD – it can be anything you like that is Shakespeare/Lockdown related eg A drawing or painting of Will himself (with or without a face covering), a poster for a play (that you may or may not have done with us), a Lady Macbeth ‘Wash Hands’ advert, a photograph of objects that represent a Shakespeare play and lockdown for you. NB if you include people in the photograph, please make sure you have their permission. Once you have designed your card, send me the image jules@findingthewill.com and Richard and I will have great pleasure in choosing the most apt design! Do make sure you include your first name and the school or town/village where you live so that, should your design be chosen, we can credit you.
In other news…….
Richard has left the beautiful Herefordshire countryside and is now living back in his beloved Cornwall. FTW HQ remains here in Wiltshire but I can’t wait to get down to our new regional hub and commune with the Cornish again! In fact we should have been back working in Cornwall next month – we were due to perform BARD HEADS at The Old Library, Bodmin at the end of July – some of you regular readers of this blog might remember me publicising previous BARD HEADS performances over the last ten years. Obviously we can’t do this live now but…………we are going to be streaming performances of two of the pieces live from the theatre itself and my kitchen! Here’s a taste of what you can look forward to:
I will post exact details of how to get your free tickets over the next week, but basically you will visit the online box office at Into Bodmin, register your interest, they will send you a ticket and link to the live performances. This will be our first foray into the world of digital performance so do join us at the beginning of our journey and let’s see how far we can go!
In the meantime folks, we look forward to receiving your Lockdown Christmas Card designs. As the lockdown is slowly lifted, please take care, stay safe and well. Remember Lady M’s advice (i know, much good it did her in the end, but still…..) ‘Wash your hands, put on your nightgown, look not so pale.’ and, somehow, we will all get through this.
