Shakespearing
-
Shakespearing #13: Romeo and Juliet
Shakespearing #13 by David Foley Romeo and Juliet One of the pleasures of re-reading a familiar text is that things you’ve taken for granted suddenly leap out at you. Like that prologue. Why would Shakespeare begin his liveliest play with a plodding plot summary in sonnet form? My first playwright’s thought is producer interference. “But… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #12: King John
Shakespearing #12 by David Foley King John Poor John. Nobody likes him. In The Lion in Winter, he’s portrayed as a pimply, mouth-breathing lout; he’s the villain to Richard Lionheart’s hero in Ivanhoe; and nobody seems to think much of the play Shakespeare wrote about him. Titus Andronicus gets more love. This is strange, because… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #11: Richard II
Shakespearing #11 by David Foley Richard II I tried, as I re-read Richard II, to uncover why the play so fascinated me as a teenager. Some of the first Shakespearean speeches I memorized were from Richard II. With a couple of drinks in me, I can still give a quite moving rendition of the “sad… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #10: Love’s Labour’s Lost
Shakespearing #10 by David Foley Love’s Labor’s Lost I’ve now hacked my way through Love’s Labor’s Lost. This is more than I accomplished when I first tried to read the play a few years back. Then I don’t think I got much past Act II. The Riverside introduction calls Love’s Labor “the most relentlessly Elizabethan… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #9: Two Gentlemen of Verona
Shakespearing #9 by David Foley The Two Gentlemen of Verona There’s a form of Equity contract which allows you not to pay the actors, provided certain other criteria are met. It’s called a “showcase,” the idea being that these productions help actors showcase their talents. The only two productions I’ve seen of The Two Gentlemen… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #8: The Taming of the Shrew
Shakespearing #8 by David Foley The Taming of the Shrew In my memory, The Taming of the Shrew was a rambunctious farce with two larger-than-life roles and a Stepford Wives ending. On reacquaintance, it’s a joyous work of art. But about that ending: the reasons Kate gives for submitting to Petruchio are not comfortable, but they… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #7: Titus Andronicus
Shakespearing #7 by David Foley Titus Andronicus Titus Andronicus is such a mess that people used to argue Shakespeare didn’t write it. Indeed, the latest scholarship says that George Peele wrote significant chunks of it. The problem is the messy parts are Shakespeare. This doesn’t have to disturb us unduly. Shakespeare is messy. He’s Exhibit A… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #6: The Comedy of Errors
Shakespearing #6 by David Foley The Comedy of Errors Last summer the New York Shakespeare Festival produced a rollicking version of The Comedy of Errors in Central Park. It was set in the forties, had swing numbers, and featured a hilarious performance from Jesse Tyler Ferguson as the two Dromios. Best of all, it was over… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #5: Richard III
Shakespearing #5 by David Foley Richard III Richard III is Shakespeare’s first transtemporal hit, the first of his plays to be a hit not only in his own time but across the centuries. Why? The most obvious answer is Richard himself, a character type now so familiar that he seems always to have been with… Continue reading
-
Shakespearing #4: Henry VI, Part 3
Shakespearing #4 by David Foley Henry VI, Part 3 I imagine Henry VI, Part 3 must have been a rip-roaring experience for its original audience. The last part of the trilogy (or the third part of a tetralogy if you count Richard III) finds the War of the Roses in full swing. Battles, betrayals, blood.… Continue reading
About
The Drunken Odyssey is a forum to discuss all aspects of the writing process, in a variety of genres, in order to foster a greater community among writers.
The Drunken Odyssey 