Episodes
| First Broadcast | Comments |
|---|---|
| 20240408 | New series of essays from Michael Goldfarb. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 20240408 | Preparation for a performance on stage goes beyond just memorising lines, learning blocking and hoping it will be alright on the night. A diligent actor studies the history of the period of the play, learns about the intentions of the playwright, and absorbs from older colleagues knowledge of how the play has been done in the past. In his less than stellar career as an actor, Michael Goldfarb went through this process many times. He recalls meeting John Gielgud at the theatre door and understudying in a play where a huge Styrofoam mountain was the star of the show. In this essay: theatrical superstition says you shouldn't mention the play Macbeth, by name. But how else to speak of the play on which Michael finally got his equity card? Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. During his acting career, Michael Goldfarb spent a lot of time watching from the wings, waiting to go on for his single scene. In this episode he talks about The Scottish Play. |
| 20240409 | New series of essays from Michael Goldfarb. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 20240409 | Preparation for a performance on stage goes beyond just memorising lines, learning blocking and hoping it will be alright on the night. A diligent actor studies the history of the period of the play, learns about the intentions of the playwright, and absorbs from older colleagues knowledge of how the play has been done in the past. In his less than stellar career as an actor, Michael Goldfarb went through this process many times. In this essay, he appears in Maxim Gorki's Summerfolk, a play about the Russian upper-middle classes at their summer homes, as their country teeters on the brink of revolutionary catastrophe. He remembers Russian theatre, theatrical friendships and after-show drinking. Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. During his acting career, Michael Goldfarb spent a lot of time watching from the wings, waiting to go on stage. In this episode he talks about Maxim Gorky's play Summerfolk. |
| 20240410 | New series of essays from Michael Goldfarb. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 20240410 | Preparation for a performance on stage goes beyond just memorising lines, learning blocking and hoping it will be alright on the night. A diligent actor studies the history of the period of the play, learns about the intentions of the playwright, and absorbs from older colleagues knowledge of how the play has been done in the past. In his less than stellar career as an actor, Michael Goldfarb went through this process many times. In this episode, it's the story of The Count of Monte Cristo, as performed by James O'Neill, father of playwright Eugene O'Neill. It was the play that made him rich and his family miserable, as depicted in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Nearly fifty years ago, it was revived by the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre, located on the Bowery in New York. The Cocteau was the only rotating rep theatre in New York and Michael Goldfarb was part of the company. Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. In this essay, he's performing with the Cocteau Repertory Theatre in New York. |
| 20240411 | New series of essays from Michael Goldfarb. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |
| 20240411 | Preparation for a performance on stage goes beyond just memorising lines, learning blocking and hoping it will be alright on the night. A diligent actor studies the history of the period of the play, learns about the intentions of the playwright, and absorbs from older colleagues knowledge of how the play has been done in the past. In his less than stellar career as an actor, Michael Goldfarb went through this process many times. In this essay, Michael recalls his admiration for John Gielgud. He remembers The Motive and the Cue, the play about John Gielgud directing Richard Burton in Hamlet. He also had a chance meeting with the legendary actor at the stage door of the Apollo theatre in London when Gielgud was starring in David Storey's 'Home'. Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. In this episode, he recalls a lifelong admiration for John Gielgud and how he once met him at the theatre door . |
| 20240412 | During his less than stellar acting career Michael Goldfarb spent a lot of time watching from the wings waiting to go on for his single scene. In this series, he talks about the plays he appeared in, their histories, and the lives of the actors who performed them. In this essay, he's understudying in K2: a play about two climbers trapped on an ice ledge, having fallen on their way down from the summit of the mountain. It wasn't a very good play but had an amazing set with the capacity for near cinematic feats of climbing and falling. The play made it to Broadway for a brief Tony-winning run and Michael talks about performing in a show where a huge Styrofoam mountain was the star and the jostling for supremacy among actors, directors and set designers. Michael Goldfarb remembers his theatrical life as an actor. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. As an actor, Michael Goldfarb spent a lot of time watching from the wings. In this episode he's in K2, a play about two climbers trapped on an ice ledge. |
| 20240412 | New series of essays from Michael Goldfarb. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |