Finally…. a Result

Posted by Speakeasy News > Sunday 08 November 2020 > In the News

After four days of tense waiting, demonstrations and threats of legal challenge, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris emerged as the next President and Vice-President of the United States on Saturday 7 November. In the absence of a national election body, it was the media organisation Associated Press which called wins for the Democratic ticket in … Continue reading “Finally…. a Result”

Booker Prize Shortlist 2020

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 06 November 2020 > What's On

The UK’s most prestigious literary prize, the Booker, will be awarded on 19 November. This year’s shortlist of six books, including four debut novels, is very diverse, featuring authors from the U.S., Zimbabwe and Ethiopia as well as a single representative from the U.K. Four of the picks  centre around parent-child relationships. Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie … Continue reading “Booker Prize Shortlist 2020”

Shakespeare’s Son and Anne Hathaway

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 05 November 2020 > What's On

The UK’s 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction has been awarded to a novel that imagines the life and death of Shakespeare’s son Hamnet and rounds out the character of his wife Anne Hathaway: Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.   O’Farrell had been fascinated by young Hamnet since her school English teacher mentioned his name when she was … Continue reading “Shakespeare’s Son and Anne Hathaway”

Roald Dahl’s The Witches

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 05 November 2020 > Ready to Use

Roald Dahl’s The Witches was published in 1983, a typically twisted tale of witches who look like normal women and want to eliminate children by turning them into mice. A second film version, this time  by American director Robert Zemeckis, was scheduled for a November release. Like everything else, it’s on hold for lockdown, but … Continue reading “Roald Dahl’s The Witches”

The Art of Being a Dandy: Aubrey Beardsley

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 04 November 2020 > Ready to Use

Despite his early death aged 25, Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) had a prolific career as an illustrator. Part of the Aesthetic movement, a friend of Oscar Wilde’s, Beardsley was a dandy and turned his own short life into a work of art. To accompany the exhibition currently on hold at the Musée d’Orsay, this resource explores … Continue reading “The Art of Being a Dandy: Aubrey Beardsley”

Supreme Court Confirmation Rushed Through

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 30 October 2020 > In the News Shine Bright Lycée

Judge Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed as the Supreme Court replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg on 27 October, barely a week before the presidential election. After Justice Ginsburg’s death on 18 September, the nomination of a new Justice became a political battle. Justice Ginsburg was one of the four Democratic-nominated Justices out of the nine … Continue reading “Supreme Court Confirmation Rushed Through”

World Ballet Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 29 October 2020 > Celebrate

We all need a bit of beauty in these difficult times, and the inspiring example of dancers who are continuing to practise their art even in lockdown. And for a literary fix, see how the emotions of great classics like Jane Eyre and The Handmaid’s Tale can be expressed through ballet. Ballet companies from around … Continue reading “World Ballet Day”

New Zealand gives Jacinda Ardern and Labour a Landslide

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 23 October 2020 > In the News

New Zealand’s 17 October election was originally scheduled on a historically significant day: 19 September, the annual anniversary of the date in 1893 when New Zealand women became the first in the world to legally vote. It was postponed because of Covid but was historic anyway: the Labour party became the first in 24 years … Continue reading “New Zealand gives Jacinda Ardern and Labour a Landslide”

Painting the Town Black

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 22 October 2020 > Celebrate

To celebrate Black History Month 2020, the British Post Office painted some of its iconic red post boxes black and adorned them with the portraits and stories of notable black Britons. The boxes show biographical information about the person featured, and passers by can scan a code to access a Black History Month gallery  of … Continue reading “Painting the Town Black”