there is something so considered and intentional in the rhythm of the monologues of black sails, especially flint’s monologues and i think in part it has to do with toby stephens being a theatre actor who has done shakespeare which is why he’s so spectacular at them but the cadence and the inflection and the rhythmic structure of so many lines and speeches are buried somewhere in my hindbrain as if they are pieces of music rather than dialogue. it’s so so so impressive to me both from a writing standpoint and an acting standpoint
@theoreticalwitchcraft god you are so right the “because there is no life here there is no joy here there is no LOVE. HERE.” is so fucking incredible. louise barnes is also absolutely amazing at this its partly why their scenes together just propel the show into the stratosphere. i also think of her final speech to peter ashe where she’s like “you DESTROYED our LIVES” that entire monologue is musical. god
As a Shakespeare actor myself, I think that this is actually something just universally common with Shakespearean monologues and scenes, having that sort of rhythm and musicality to regular lines and dialogue but also particularly in the emotional monologues. Even now, years after shows I’ve done, I’ll still recite my lines from those plays from memory, following the exact same rhythm, cadence, and emotionality as when I performed it because it’s so deeply ingrained in me as though it were a song. It’s really rare that I’ve been able to find this sort of intrinsic musicality to lines in contemporary film and theater, which speaks to just how impressive it is that Steinberg and the other Black Sails writers were able to create that same effect as in Shakespeare’s plays.
i loooove toxic and codependent relationships in fiction. they are so narratively juicy. if they don’t even warp and mangle each other to the point they create a single, fucked up entity then what’s the point.
A Flinty gouache, most of which was done yesterday. This is about 4.5hrs. It looks different than the original, lovely burnt sienna turns very orange in my camera which I calmed down in the editing. I think it’s the black paper that’s making it over compensate.
Another Flint sketch. Fountain ink on vellum. I’ve missed posting on here. The comments in the tags of my recent one have been so lovely and encouraging. I’ve lost a bit of my confidence this year. Gonna gain it back. Healing.
