December 2011 – Page 3 – Achilles & Aristotle

Late for the start of
A theatrical performance
And Aladdin’s Cave
Required the kids to be brave
Quickly to seats
Amidst bangs and flashes
And loud panto banter
For a contemporary take
On a seasonal great
Widow Twankey
Cheeky Monkey
Street-talking hero
Fun for all the family
A whiff of greasepaint
And a real flying carpet
How did they do that?
Magic.

Tempting to say ‘you can’t beat a night at the theatre’, but in my experience you easily can. Still, despite nearly two hours in the car each way, a stunning visual spectacle, and some big hearted performances, made it a memorable Saturday night.

Star of the show was the gently wobbling – then rising and rotating – flying carpet, carrying our hero and his princess. How did they do that? A moment of theatrical magic. Worth the entrance money alone.

Four hundred years
of the King James Bible.
The blood sweat and tears
Of six writing panels
Produced a text
Which united a kingdom
To post-Elizabethan revival.
Still read today,
Words of great majesty
Hell, fire and brimstone
Meet faith, hope and charity
A piece of England’s history
And linguistic gift to the world.
Can’t vouch for the science
But there’s power in the words.

Having read an interesting article about the origins of the King James Bible, I’ve decided to give it a proper read. Aside from its obvious religious role, it is the origin of so many phrases and sayings we still use today.

The skin of my teeth
How are the mighty fallen
Be horribly afraid
From time to time
As a lamb to the slaughter
Beat their swords into ploughshares
Turned the world upside down
A thorn in the flesh
Fell flat on his face
Get thee behind me
A man after his own heart
Set thine house in order

It’s interesting to read passages which are completely familiar, and not. Also to note things which myth, custom and the Disneyfication of culture have added to popular folklore but aren’t actually there – no unicorns perish in Noah’s floods, just a lot of un-named things which ‘creepethed on the earth’.

It’s also remarkable how little time, and how few words, are spent on massively significant and controversial topics – creation for example. The language though is rich, terse and magisterial.

A life’s work. For a disputed King and his ecclesiastical writing panels, quite literally.