Mr. Shakespeare's blog

Playing Shakespeare

The wait is over.  John Barton's lectures on Playing Shakespeare featuring now world famous RSC actors, Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler's List), and Peggy Ashcroft (A Passage to India), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, Gods and Monsters), Patrick Stewart (X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and David Suchet (Agatha Christie's Poirot), and others, will now be available on DVD.  The release date is scheduled for June 2 in the USA:

"Sit in on nine intensive acting workshops conducted by the legendary John Barton of the Royal Shakespeare Company. How does this world-renowned troupe make classic plays accessible to modern audiences, without compromising the text's integrity? How do actors search Shakespeare's verse for hidden clues to their characters' motivations? How do they balance intellect and passion to make theatre's most famous soliloquies seem fresh?"

The 4 disc, 456 minute set comes with:

• 20-page viewer's guide includes key points, discussion questions, avenues for further learning, a history of the RSC, and "Vocabulary of Verse and Stage."
• Actor biographies and RSC stage credits
• Exclusive web extras

Appreciations:

"If you are interested in Shakespeare and performing Shakespeare, this series is for you. Just about every great British Shakespearian actor/actress is accounted for here acting in various scenes from the plays and discussing/analyzing them at length. Fascinating and informative."

"I'm thrilled that this magnificent collection is now available on DVD. It's such a treat to see young, highly trained actors (McKellen, Dench, Stewart) from the RSC participating in Barton's Shakespeare instructional course. Barton discusses the most basic techniques on how to find clues within Shakespeare's text in order to perform it well. It is truly amazing that by simply approaching Shakespeare in a technical way; finding antithesis, lists, irony, and contrast-helps the actor figure out what is happening in a scene or monologue."

"Through detailed Shakespeare direction, Barton has provided a series that will delight all lovers of the celebrated playwright. Additionally it will encourage the viewer who is newly attempting appreciation of Shakespeare and his works. Novice Shakespearean audiences will want for more, want for a complete play to view."

Shakespeare Road Trip, Part 2

I don't know about you, but to me its hard to imagine a more beautiful locale for a Shakespeare play than outdoors at Lake Tahoe, or Incline Village, to be exact.  And now the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is making headlines by capturing a well known artistic directors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  Here's the scoop from their press release:

Henry Woronicz is no stranger to the stage with more than 32 years spent directing, producing and acting with some of the country’s leading Shakespeare companies including four years as Artistic Director at the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Ore., one of the largest Shakespearean Festivals in North America. As Executive Producer of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival’s 2009 summer season, July 11 through Aug. 23, Woronicz brings to life Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure, a provocative play of political intrigue and moral responsibility and perennial favorite Much Ado About Nothing, a sparkling romantic comedy of wit and banter, fools and tricksters.

“I love Shakespeare,” says Woronicz. “No playwright gives me more joy, a greater theatricality or a deeper sense of the wonder of the human story than old Will. I have spent the better part of my professional career as an actor and director of Shakespeare and am delighted to bring that knowledge to the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Throughout my career, Shakespeare has been my joyous companion, constant teacher and ever more demanding colleague and I look forward to sharing his artistry with the audiences at Lake Tahoe this summer.”

From the Boston Shakespeare Company to the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Woronicz worked diligently to improve and enhance the acting companies he was involved with, including expanding the diversity of productions and teams and increasing community involvement. Responsible for the annual selection of 11 plays produced on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s three stages, Woronicz also handled the hiring and staffing of the acting company of 70 and casting for the more than 780 performances on three stages over a 10-month season.

According to Executive Director Catherine Atack, “We are ecstatic to welcome Henry to our theatre family. He has incredible enthusiasm and brings solid theatrical leadership to our incredible outdoor lakeside stage. The passion that he conveys will enhance our performances and capture the true nature of Shakespearean theatre presenting our audiences with a Festival experience that will truly be unlike any we have had before.”

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival provides audiences a unique combination of a majestic outdoor location along the shore of Lake Tahoe, gourmet food and drink services by Shakespeare’s Kitchen and performances seven nights a week with the premiere of a world music concert series featuring rotating artists every Monday night.

Tickets are now available online at www.LakeTahoeShakespeare.com or by calling 800-74-SHOWS (800-747-4697) and start at $22 for open seating tiers and range in options up to the premier reserved seating section at $72. Information about the 2009 season, membership, volunteer opportunities and sponsorships are also available online.  

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established for the cultural benefit and enjoyment of all residents and visitors to Lake Tahoe and Reno. Annually drawing more than 30,000 attendees from across the country to the specially built Warren Edward Trepp Stage along the north shore of Lake Tahoe, the Festival is an advocate for producing the finest cultural events in the region. The Festival’s community outreach includes an annual educational program, InterACT, designed to educate future generations on the importance of the arts, theater and music and the D.G. Menchetti Young Shakespeare Program, a free series of performances produced specifically for the younger audience presented free of charge during the summer throughout Lake Tahoe and Northern Nevada.

This one is going to be on my summer itinerary.  I love Much Ado, the most adaptable of all Shakespeare comedies, you will notice.  I've never seen a bad performance.  I can't say the same for M4M, but I have seen some very good ones.  It's just not quite so winning as it's light hearted bill mate.  In any event, they both figure to be intriguing productions, and you can't beat the locale.

The Shakespeare Road Trip, Part 1

It's time to start planning that summer Shakespeare road trip.  If you have never made the pilgrimage to beautiful Ashland, Oregon to the great Oregon Shakespeare Festival, perhaps this summer's offerings will tempt you.

Speaking strictly Shakespeare, playing in rep this summer will be Macbeth (which has already started its run! 2/13 - 11/1):

"Black magic. Murder. Ghosts. Madness. Death. Shakespeare's brooding tragedy digs into the dark territory of a man's shocking choices..."

in the Angus Bowmer Theatre;

All's Well That Ends Well (6/30 - 11/1):

"The path to bliss is uncertain when you try to make somebody love you. Helena wants Bertram, but Bertram isn't interested in her. Can Helena's determination and clever trickery lead to a happily-ever-after?.."

in the New Theatre;

Henry VIII (6/2 - 10/9):

"The queen has not produced an heir, and the Tudor line is in jeopardy. Obsessed, Henry sets his eye on the fetching young Anne Bullen (Boleyn). Urged on by the Machiavellian Cardinal Wolsey, the king reshapes the world to suit his needs: divorcing the queen, eliminating rivals, flouting papal law, and forever changing the face of religion in England—and beyond..."

and, Much Ado About Nothing (6/4 - 10/11):

"When WWII Italian resistance soldiers stop to rest at Leonato's villa, there's courtship of all kinds. While Beatrice and Benedick hide their infatuation beneath witty barbs, Hero and Claudio race to the altar. Enter the malcontent Don John, bent on ruining the wedding. He nearly succeeds, but not before Beatrice and Benedick finally tell each other how they really feel..."

both on the outdoor Elizabethan Stage.  

In a Jacobean-related world premiere, Equivocation (4/15 - 10/31):

"What if the government commissioned you to write the definitive history (make that a self-serving lie) of a national crisis? What story would you tell? Welcome to London, 1605, and the world of King James, the Gunpowder Plot, and the Tower dungeons, as William Shakespeare and his theatre company struggle to create a play to please the king and not lose their hearts, souls, or heads in the process..."

will also be at the Bowmer.  And there's more, lot's more.  OSF productions are always outstanding, and the venue is delightful.  I'll see you there.

Pacino as Lear and DiCaprio at Parnassus

UPI reported yesterday that:

"Hollywood actor Al Pacino has signed on to play the title character in a new film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy "King Lear."

"Variety.com said Michael Radford wrote the script for and plans to direct the movie. He is expected to start shooting it in Europe this year.

"This will be the second time Radford and Pacino team up for a Shakespeare project; they also worked together on the 2004 film version of "The Merchant of Venice," in which Pacino played Shylock."

I'm not sure what to think about the "Radford wrote the script" part of this story, but it probably can't be good.  The Pacino Merchant was good, however, and presentationally sumptuous.  Perhaps we will be treated to similar atmospherics in this big screen Lear.

---

The Guardian is reporting that:

"Dame Judi Dench and Leonardo DiCaprio are among a handful of stars who will be inducted into a new hall of fame dedicated to William Shakespeare.

"The hall - to be erected in the playwright's birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England - will honour the performers, directors and artists inspired by the great dramatist's body of work.

"Dench toured with esteemed theatre troupe the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1960s, while DiCaprio became a star after tackling the tragic lead role in the 1996's Romeo + Juliet"
(Post Chronicle).

In addition to these mega-stars, a few minor Shakespeareans are also under consideration, Olivier, Branagh and Patrick Stewart among them. 

Here is the list of inductees: 

• Ben Jonson
• David Garrick
• Charles Dickens
• Ellen Terry
• Laurence Olivier
• Judi Dench
• Kenneth Branagh
• Patrick Stewart
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Akira Kurosawa
• Sam Wanamaker
• Paul Robeson

And here is a link to a very nice Guardian slideshow detailing each one.  Including Leo and Kurosawa was a publicists masterstroke to provoke controversy and generate that all important buzz.  Dickens and Wanamaker, as potent as they were as promoters of Shakespeare, can hardly be said to belong as actors.  And how can Ben be included but not Burbage?  These twelve were chosen by the Birthplace Trust. (!)

That's not the best part.  The best part is that:

"The hall of fame will have 13 names, the minimum number of players to perform any Shakespeare play. The trust has chosen 12, but Guardian readers are invited to vote online for the last name. Vote at guardian.co.uk/stage."

Here is the list of possible candidates for that coveted 13th place:

• Peter Brook
• John Gielgud
• Boris Pasternak
• Sarah Siddons
• Peggy Ashcroft
• George Bernard Shaw
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Sarah Bernhardt
• Virginia Woolf
• David Tennant

Pasternak?  Woolf?  Ones sees why, but really.  The great Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, or any one of dozens of more deservings are not on the list of inductees or the list of potential candidates.  As I said, its all about buzz.  The Hall of Fame, such as it is, is to be part of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's visitor centre at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire.

Now at the Folger: The Winter's Tale

"Leontes:  I have too much believed mine own suspicion" (3.2.149).  He is racked by repentance, yet, it is too late, Hermione is dead, says Paulina, and "winter in storm perpetual, could not move the gods to look that way thou wert" (210-12).  But is it so?  Is there no deep magic, beneath winter's snow, that can make so wrong a right...

Shakespeare's great romance, The Winter's Tale, is being offered now (Jan. 28 - Mar. 8) at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D. C.  Not many of us are in a position to attend, but through the  ample resources at the Folger web site we can participate.  "Actors Daniel Stewart (Leontes) and Connan Morrissey (Hermione) give a behind-the-scenes take on the play, which explores the themes of love, forgiveness, and second chances".

Teacher's will find especially useful the downloadable pdf study guide; others will enjoy the wealth of links:  music samples from the play; a synopsis of the play decorated with a magnificent facsimile of a drawing inspired by Owen Jones and Henry Warren from a mid-19th century production;the director's notes (Blake Robison); a reminiscence of the 1856 Charles Kean production, in fact, Ellen Terry's first stage role as Mamillius to Kean's Leontes; an introductory adaptation from the New Folger Library Shakespeare edition, edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine; and more.

For those interested in a serious study of the play, I can recommend the following editions:

The Arden Shakespeare:The Winter's Tale third series, edited by John Pitcher.

The Oxford Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale, edited by Stephen Orgel--among the new series being issued by Oxford in 2008.

The Bedford Shakespeare Series: The Winter's Tale,edited by Mario DiGangi.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale, edited by Susan Snyder and Deborah T. Curren-Aquino.

Congratulations to the Folger on another splendid web presentation and for mounting what promises to be another great production.  We will link to reviews here when as they are published.

Shakespeare Alive and Well in Chicago and DC

Two of the great national Shakespeare companies have announced their 2008-2009 seasons.  First, in Chicago:

"This summer, a hip-hop re-imagining of Much Ado About Nothing, by the creators of The Bomb-itty of Errors, revels in a modern take on Shakespeare’s wit and wordplay. CST will also stage Willy Wonka, the delightful family musical based on Roald Dahl’s much-loved novel, where children discover the fantastical world in the mysterious candy maker’s factory. Then on stage this fall, envy erupts into a fatal struggle between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Viennese court composer Antonio Salieri in Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, staged by CST Associate Artistic Director Gary Griffin. For the first time, Shakespeare’s contemporary rival Christopher Marlowe infiltrates Shakespeare’s home in Chicago as Sean Graney directs a promenade production of The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward II, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer. From India, CST presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in a lush celebration of converging cultures performed in eight languages (including English) by actors, dancers, street musicians and acrobats from across India and Sri Lanka.

In the New Year, an ambitious Scottish warrior and his Lady clash with their kingdom’s nobles and their own consciences in a deadly contest for the crown as Barbara Gaines directs William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. CST presents the Chicago premiere of Michael Pennington’s one-man homage to the Bard—Sweet William—a large-spirited celebration of William Shakespeare’s life and work. In the spring, with Short Shakespeare! directed by Amanda Dehnert, CST invites audiences new to Shakespeare to engage in a lively, accessible production of his dramatic work. Finally, lovers confuse their passions amid a conspiracy to make a fool out of a brooding steward in William Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night directed by Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of The Bush Theatre, in London." (BroadwayWorld.com).

Then, in our nation's capital, Stacy Keach is back:

"The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC, announced a 2008-09 season to start with Romeo and Juliet and end with Robert Falls' acclaimed production of King Lear starring Stacy Keach"

Here is the lineup:

• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, directed by associate artistic director David Muse, Sept. 9-Oct. 12, Sidney Harman Hall. "The world's greatest and most enduring love story, Romeo and Juliet follows its star-crossed lovers as they hurtle from their first shy glances to their last heartrending kiss. Caught between their feuding families, Romeo and Juliet desperately struggle to build a world insulated from the violence, but their love races toward a final confrontation with fate."
• The Way of the World by William Congreve, directed by Kahn, Sept. 30-Nov. 16, Lansburgh Theatre. "Featuring witty repartee in the grand tradition of The Country Wife and The Beaux' Stratagem, Congreve's delicious comedy of manners sends up courtship and marriage. Amid the gossip and frivolous love affairs of fashionable London society, the clever and conniving lovers Millamant and Mirabell are determined to pursue 'a marriage of true minds.' But Millamant's jealous guardian stands in their way. The only way to achieve their goal is to beat the fops, the fools and the resentful rivals at their own game — through double-dealing and outrageous deception."
• Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman, Dec. 2, 2008-Jan. 4, 2009, Sidney Harman Hall. "One of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, Twelfth Night ponders love lost and found. A shipwreck separates twins Viola and Sebastian, but tragedy quickly turns to comedy when they wash up in a land turned upside-down by love. With raucous antics, ravishing language and rich characters, Shakespeare creates a bittersweet tale of laughter and longing."
• The Dog in the Manger by Lope de Vega, translated and adapted by David Johnston, directed by Jonathan Munby, Feb. 10-March 29, 2009, Lansburgh Theatre. "A master of Spain's Golden Age, Lope de Vega explores love, fidelity and class with wry humor in The Dog in the Manger. The haughty countess Diana rejects her many aristocratic suitors only to fall in love with her handsome young secretary, Teodoro. To pursue this forbidden love, Diana must sabotage her suitors, deceive her friends and concoct ever-more elaborate schemes. De Vega balances high tragedy and low comedy, examining the savage whims of the human heart."
• Ion by Euripides, translated and adapted by David Lan, directed by Ethan McSweeny, March 10-April 12, 2009, Sidney Harman Hall. "In Ion, the Greek playwright Euripides crafts a remarkable romance of loss and reconciliation. Abandoned by his parents, Ion grows up as an orphan at Apollo's temple. But when his mother appears in search of a prophecy, Ion must confront both his painful past and his unexpected destiny. Euripides' plot twists and turns with jealousy and revenge before culminating in a reunion scene of deep tenderness and pathos." This is the American premiere of David Lan's translation, "which captures the rich beauty of this neglected masterpiece."
• An Italian Straw Hat by Eugene Labiche, adapted by John Strand, music by Dennis McCarthy, directed by Kahn, May 12-June 28, 2009, Lansburgh Theatre. "Based on the famous French farce/vaudeville by Eugene Labiche, this new play with music follows the hapless bridegroom Fadley as his wedding day turns to chaos. When Fadley's horse eats a young lady's hat, Fadley must find a replacement — or suffer the wrath of the woman's lover. What follows is a daylong mad dash full of mistaken identities, larger-than-life characters and hilarious pratfalls, all brought to life with music reminiscent of vaudeville, light opera and even barbershop quartet. Michael Kahn directs this frothy and frolicking play, set in turn-of-the-century New York, adapted by John Strand (Lorenzaccio) with new musical numbers by Dennis McCarthy."
• King Lear by William Shakespeare, directed by Robert Falls, June 16-July 19, 2009, Sidney Harman Hall. "One of the most powerful dramas in Western literature, King Lear is both an intimate family drama and an explosive political epic. Beginning with a monarch's division of his kingdom amongst his three daughters, Lear explores the most basic questions of human existence: love and duty, power and loss, good and evil. Tony Award winner Robert Falls remounts his 2006 production, which captures both the stark violence and devastating passion of Shakespeare's masterpiece. Stacy Keach will play the title role, returning to STC for the first time since Macbeth in 1995." (Playbill)

The Lear is worth a flight in from anywhere.

Cultural Olympics, 2012

Ready for more Olympics?  The UK arts community, ever hungry for public commisions, is.  Plans for the 2012 Cultural Olympics were announced today by Lord Coe (BBC).  One of the first "events" will be lighting of the Blackpool Tower in "pink, blue, orange and green - the colours of London 2012 - at 2012 BST at 26 September."  (The Chinese get all the luck with the memorable opening ceremony on 8-8-8.  Not a lot you can do with 2012).  Other events in the run up to the actual games will include a youth digital film competition, National Singing Day (!), Festival of Carnivals (in the UK, yet!!), and, subject of our interest, a World Shakespeare Festival.  Just how much more Shakespeare can be performed than is already being performed remains to be seen, but one has to respect the effort, though one would hope for more creative ideas.  After that embarrassing and anemic UK sideshow during the closing ceremonies in Beijing, with a greyed and paler shades of greying Jimmy Page pretending to finger sync to an uninteresting dinosaur boomer anthem sung by the delicious (one must admit) Leona Lewis, it is all uphill.  Click here for the video of Lord Coe making the slightly defensive case for the so called cultural Olympics.  Only slightly less than 4 years to go...