David Copperfield

Posted by Speakeasy News > Sunday 23 May 2021 > Ready to Use

Dickens’ classic, David Copperfield, is given new life in this movie by Armando Ianucci. Beyond the slightly reinvented plot itself, we are given to experience a new way of telling stories, as boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred if not crossed. What’s more, this brand-new funny version features colour-blind casting and leads us to … Continue reading “David Copperfield”

David Copperfield: Dickens for the 21st Century

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 22 March 2021 > What's On

The Personal History of David Copperfield is far from the first adaptation of Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel. But Armando Iannucci has given the story a very new feel, while keeping Dickens’ humour and playing with that idea of autobiography and the art of inventing oneself through the act of writing. Iannucci is known for … Continue reading “David Copperfield: Dickens for the 21st Century”

Tales of the US Border in Theatres Around France

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 24 February 2020 > What's On

San Francisco theatre company Word for Word’s annual French tour is being postponed to the autumn. This year their show is a coming-of-age story by Mexican-American writer Octavio Solis, Retablos: Stories from a Life Lived Along the Border. They will perform it in Nancy, Paris, Angers and Lyon. For 25 years, Word for Word has … Continue reading “Tales of the US Border in Theatres Around France”

Just Mercy

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 24 February 2020 > What's On

A new film tells the true story of a battle against endemic racism in the American justice system. It’s based on a memoir by  Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer in Alabama, and tells the story of his firm’s battle to prove the innocence of Walter McMillian, who was condemned to death for a murder he didn’t … Continue reading “Just Mercy”

Little Women: Big Film

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 05 February 2020 > What's On

Greta Gerwig’s new adaptation of the classic coming-of-age story Little Women retells the story of the novel in parallel with the life of its author, Louisa May Alcott. Alcott wrote the novel in 1868. She had been writing stories commercially for several years when a publisher asked her to write a novel for girls. Alcott … Continue reading “Little Women: Big Film”

Little Women

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 31 January 2020 >

Greta Gerwig’s latest movie based on Louisa May Alcott’s novel will take you into a female world in which conventions are defied, questioned and challenged by four sisters. Indeed, these four women on the brink of emancipation shatter the traditional image of upper-middle class young ladies whose role (and even duty) was to get married … Continue reading “Little Women”

Michelle Obama Autobiography

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 14 June 2019 >

Michelle Obama’s memoir of her life up until leaving the White House gives great insight in the U.S. political system and the extent to which the private is considered political, and to which spouses and children are expected to participate in candidates’ campaigns. It is an excellent addition to Shine Bright 1re File 5, “Politically … Continue reading “Michelle Obama Autobiography”

Becoming Michelle Obama

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 26 April 2019 > Ready to Use

The release of the former First Lady’s memoir and her accompanying conference tour is a great occasion for pupils to learn more about her biography, and about the role of the First Lady, which  Patricia Nixon (First Lady from 1969 to 1974) described it as “the hardest unpaid job in the world”. This article gives … Continue reading “Becoming Michelle Obama”