Word: bertram
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...hard. At the same time she ought to be more careful about preserving the vodsound in words like "issue" and "duty." But these are minor flaws in a most attractive performance. No more than any other Helena, however, can she make us understand why she is in love with Bertram, beyond the fact that she likes "his arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls...
...Bertram is, to be blunt, a scurvy scamp-hardly a model of what a hero ought to be. Yet people go on trying to defend the indefensible. Dr. Johnson hit the nail on the head two centuries ago when he wrote: "I cannot reconcile my heart to Bertram-a man noble without generosity, and young without truth; who marries Helena as a coward, and leaves her as a profligate; when she is [reportedly] dead by his unkindness, sneaks home to a second marriage, is accused by a woman whom he has wronged, defends himself by falsehood, and is dismissed...
...often claimed that Bertram did nothing wrong when he thought he was committing adultery with Diana since he was in actuality copulating with his own wife. But this goes against the time-worn truth voiced in the Book of Proverbs: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Peter Thompson looks young and handsome in the role, but he does not have sufficient dash to balance the gross deficiencies in Bertram's character...
...most remarkable performance in this entire production is that of Eva Le Gallienne as Bertram's mother. the Countess of Roussillon-which Shaw quite arguably called "the most beautiful old woman's part ever written." Although this is Miss Le Gallienne's first appearance at the Festival, she brings to it well over a half century of professional stage experience. She manages to convey all the warmth and wit and wisdom of this aristocratic lady who is fully aware of her ward's virtues and her son's defects. One cannot begin to describe what she can do with...
...When we first see the King, he is ailing; Sommer makes clear that the King is not only tired of state business but also just plain tired, as he gives a slight grunt from the exertion of stepping up to the throne. When he is led to reminisce about Bertram's deceased father, his eyes glaze over as nostalgia takes him back to better times long gone. After Helena has cured him, the two of them execute a dance; he launches into his speech on honor with the vigorous irresistibility of a bulldozer, and gets a fine laugh through...