Coriolanus: Dramatis Personae

  Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

It's a new year and it's time for a new play! During the month of January I will be tackling Coriolanus, with an eye on hopefully finishing it in time for the National Theater's broadcast of the Donmar Warehouse's production starring Tom Hiddleston as Coriolanus on January 30th. (This is what is known as capitalizing on the Shakespearean Zeitgeist. Also, I hope to persuade my co-worker to attend our local screening with me, which is going to be slightly tricky as, let's face it, Coriolanus is not a bucket of laughs.)

I will be posting new scenes of Coriolanus every weekday. Join in the fun by liking me on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter! You can check out my other Shakespearean cartoons, including a scene-by-scene guide to Richard II, here.

 Coriolanus

Dramatis Personae | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Death & Marriage

Shakespearean New Year's Resolutions, part 1

Thanks to all my readers for joining me this year! I am looking forward to a 2014 full of stick figure Shakespearean (and occasionally non-Shakespearean) hi-jinks to share with all of you. Have a very happy new year!

The Merry Christmas Wives of Windsor

Happy and/or Merry Christmas and/or Happy Secular Holidays to all of you! Remember, if there's one thing that The Merry Wives of Windsor  can teach you, it's that you can make chicken noises and validly claim that you're quoting Shakespeare:

FORD: Buck, buck, buck! 

The Merry Wives of Windsor (Act 3, Scene 3)

13th Night: Malvolio's Revenge

Poor old Malvolio really does get the short end of the stick. Yes, he's the most stuffy of stuffed shirts, but he's so dreadfully earnest when he thinks his love for Olivia might be requited. And then he gets put through the wringer by Sir Toby and his band of ruthless henchmen, and finally is embarrassed in front of the entire population of Illyria. I think we'd all like to see how his promised revenge turns out.

Check out my other Shakespearean cartoons here!

Apologies to my regular readers for not having posted a cartoon last Friday. The holiday season has me running around like a frantic, lost bunny. Happy Holidays to everyone! 

The Wars of the Roses: Knock Knock Joke Edition

My apologies for today's late and meager installment. I have been extremely distracted by the impending holidays and all the various errands and tasks that revolve outward from the 25th of December like tentacles on an octopus.

Also, my apologies to anyone who tried to access the site yesterday and were unable to. Apparently Squarespace (my hosting service) is suffering from a series of denial-of-service attacks. Hopefully that will be cleared up soon.

Anyways, here is a very quick summary of the Wars of the Roses, for those of you who don't feel like reading all three parts of Henry VI. I covered the highlights.

A Comprehensive Guide to Shakespearean Cross-Dressers

Obviously, as all female roles were played by men in Elizabethan times, there were technically a lot more cross-dressers in Shakespeare, but these are the ones that cross-dressed in the context of a play. Viola and Rosalind are the really plum roles, but one of my personal favorites is Innogen from Cymbeline. She is really put through the metaphorical wringer. Special mention to Julia, who exclaims "O ME UNHAPPY!" and then faints dramatically, which, if you're going to faint, is the way to do it. 

Larry's Henry and Me

I must have been exposed to Shakespeare earlier than this - I have a vague recollection of a Midsummer Night's Dream production at the Stratford Festival involving a giant hibiscus - but Olivier's Henry V remains my earliest concrete Shakespearean memory. I loved it instantly. I remember feeling a bit disappointed when I later found out that Henry V was, in fact, comparatively well-known and performed rather a lot. I liked feeling that it was my secret. 

License to Kill

I have no idea why I decided to do this. It seems like a good idea at the time. Anyways, there's my stick figure rendition of Richard III, complete with hunchback. 

In other news, I saw an encore screening of the RSC's production of Richard II starring David Tennant last night, and it was phenomenal. They did the old "Aumerle turns out to be Richard's murderer" switcheroo, which always seems a bit forced to me, but otherwise it was spectacular. The production itself is re-opening today in London. I would say "go get tickets", but that's impossible, so instead I'll stay "wait for the DVD to be released", which, happily, is going to happen at some point.