It's become one of the most memorable film scenes of the year. As King George VI, played with Oscar-winning brilliance by Colin Firth, stands in front of a microphone (and his speech therapist Lionel Logue) to explain the 1939 declaration of war with Nazi Germany, the tension is palpable. Will he be able to get through his epochal speech without stammering, without appearing weak?
The King's Speech works both as a character study and a historical drama because, at that moment, the viewer is right there with George in that makeshift studio, sharing his unbearable pressure. It's great theatre. In fact, in 2012, it's likely to be theatre - with rumours surfacing this week that The King's Speech could hit Broadway and London's West End next year.
Such rumours, substantiated by the entertainment industry website Showbiz 411, aren't a complete surprise. The screenwriter David Seidler actually wrote an extended stage play alongside early versions of the screenplay to help him work out the relationships between the characters. That led to a proposal for a theatrical version of The King's Speech being delivered to Geoffrey Rush (superb as the therapist Logue), alerting him to the cinematic potential of the story, which he would go on to produce.
Finally, those who paid attention to the Oscars speeches in February might remember Tom Hooper's anecdote when he picked up the gong for Best Director. He told of an excited phone-call from his mother who had been to "a fringe theatre play reading of an unproduced, unrehearsed play called The King's Speech." She rushed home and said: "Tom, I think I've found your next film."
But it is strange that talk of an expensively assembled stage production should follow so quickly after the success of the movie. Of course, it's designed to capitalise on the success of the multiple Oscar-winning film while it's still fresh in our minds. But will an audience so familiar with the big-screen version really want to see it played out again on stage, unless some hitherto unexplored plot-lines are revealed? It's doubtful.
True, the film was in itself so theatrical that, come the end credits, people spontaneously burst into rounds of applause. The King's Speech will probably hang together as a night at the theatre. But that applause was not only for the fine directing, but, one sensed, the acclaimed performance of Firth. Any stage production would, essentially, be an inevitable competition between Firth and whoever took on the role of George VI. Good luck with that casting decision.
Adapting films for the stage is a strange beast at the best of times. Currently, Ghost is playing in the West End, but has been reimagined as a musical. Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore's performances in the 1990 movie made it one of the ultimate weepies of the late 20th century, but some of the passion of their intense love affair is undoubtedly diminished when the actors frequently have to burst into song. At least they kept the potters' wheel scene - and it helps that the film has the benefit of nostalgic goodwill, 21 years on.
But then, the most famous stage adaptations of recent years have seen fit to shoehorn songs into their plots - probably to make them seem fresh and different from their cinematic predecessors. And, admittedly, this has often worked. While the straight, song-free adaptation in 2004 of When Harry Met Sally was roundly derided (the Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw memorably describing it as "like a coach-party drive-in video rental"), Billy Elliot the Musical continues to wow audiences all over the world. There have been similar successes for The Producers (Mel Brooks's 1968 film, which was so successful on Broadway it was reshot as a musical starring Matthew Broderick in 2005), Legally Blonde and Hairspray.
Most of the time, however, there is a reasonable gap between the film and the stage production. The King's Speech will be turned around in fewer than 18 months - and without a song in sight. West End and Broadway theatres will probably be asking upwards of $100 (Dh367) for a couple of tickets, while the DVD is just $10. By that rationale, the adaptation seems like more of a gamble than perhaps the producers of the stage play have bargained for.
Still, perhaps there are circumstances in which we might queue for a ticket. The stage and film version of Frost/Nixon were made within a year of each other, and the same two main actors appeared in both: Michael Sheen as the television broadcaster David Frost and Frank Langella as President Richard Nixon. If the theatre producers of The King's Speech manage to pull off a similar coup and get Firth and Rush on board, it would be majestic, wouldn't it?
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Consoles: PC, PlayStation
Rating: 2/5
List of alleged parties
May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff
May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'
Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff
Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party
Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters
Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Fixtures:
Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final
Table:
1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10
2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8
3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6
4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4
5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Final scores
18 under: Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)
- 14: Jason Scrivener (AUS)
-13: Rory McIlroy (NIR)
-12: Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP)
-11: David Lipsky (USA), Marc Warren (SCO)
-10: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Chris Paisley (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR)
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
The Boy and the Heron
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki
Rating: 5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.