The Ladies of Angiers, part 2

July 23, 2014

We follow up my post on Monday with a further look at the scandalous lives of the Ladies of Angiers (Brigit Wilson, Carmen Grant, and Deidre Gillard-Rowlings), liberated from the pages of King John.

On the left they are gambling with the Earl of Salisbury, while on the right Chatillon is serving them drinks at the poolside. Angiers is clearly the party town of the Loire Valley.

Anyways, here they are, back in King John again for some more negotiations.

I hasten to point out that, apart from the compulsive gambling habit, this comic is, in fact, totally true to the plot of King John, which could be uncharitably subtitled as "The Play Where Not One, But Two Kings Kind Of Act Like Idiots".

We round off the Ladies of Angiers on Friday. Stop by! There will be drinks*.

*There will not be actual drinks.

The Ladies of Angiers, part 1

July 21, 2014

My position as official/self-appointed Shakespearean internet humorist has given me licence to do things like stalk various Shakespearean actors on social media, under the guise of keeping my finger on the pulse of the Shakespearean zeitgeist. I particularly enjoy the little glimpses they offer into the backstage life of a production. And then sometimes they post things like this:

These are three lovely company members of the Stratford Festival (Brigit Wilson, Carmen Grant, and Deidre Gillard-Rowlings), who, over the past month, have been making the most of their roles as citizens of Angiers in the current candle-lit Original Practices production of King John. Now, I have scoured the text of King John, and nowhere do I find reference to either powder pink mopeds or bowling, so I am forced to admit that the self-styled Ladies of Angiers, despite their sober Elizabethan garb, have strayed rather monumentally from the Original Practices doctrine. However, I think we can all agree that that is to the greater benefit of the world at large.

Follow @HOOPOOHEART for the latest Ladies of Angiers adventures. I, meanwhile, have taken the liberty of re-inserting them back into King John...

Join us again on Wednesday for more Ladies of Angiers action!

Fun Facts About "King John"

July 18, 2014

So, I'm counting down the days until I get to go to the Stratford Festival. One of the Shakespeare plays they are performing this season is King John, which is definitely one of the less-popular Shakespeare plays. I saw it once on stage before, at Stratford in 2004, and have watched the 1984 BBC Shakespeare TV adaptation, but have never sat down and studied it. I'm in the process of reading the play, but here's what I've picked up so far from my other bits of research:

I hope you read that carefully, because I've got a couple more King John comics lined up for next week!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Final Summary

July 14, 2014

The dust has settled. After one month of non-stop action, the Shakespeare World Cup has finally come to an end. Let's take a look at what happened:

So, out of the entire field of 32 Shakespearean characters, the one that came out on top was the ruthless, single-minded, efficient and emotionally-repressed trained solider. What a surprise.

Congratulations to Germany, to Coriolanus, and to all my readers for putting up with my World Cup antics! Check back again in four years for the next edition of the Shakespeare World Cup!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Semi Finals Summary

July 11, 2014

And we're in to the home stretch! Only two plays are left standing after the last round of games. Let's take a look at how the action unfolded...

So there you have it! Two Roman plays have made it through a crowded field of opposition to reach the final. We know the result is going to be a tragedy... but for whom? Check back on Monday for the (hopefully) thrilling conclusion to the Shakespeare World Cup!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Quarter Finals Summary

July 7, 2014

I can't believe we're into the last week of the Shakespeare World Cup! It's all gone by too quickly. I don't want to say goodbye, but we lost four more plays this week. Take a look:

And so we're down to the final four! Will Innogen, buoyed by home support and generous refereeing, manage to take down the implacable and relentless machine that is Coriolanus? Will Richard II manage to talk his way out of another tight corner, or will Antony demonstrate his prowess as one of the most feared generals in the Empire? STAY TUNED!

The Shakespeare World Cup: Round of 16 Summary

July 4, 2014

The first round of World Cup knock-out games is over, and teams have been dropping like flies! Let's check back in with their Shakespearean counterparts and see how everyone is doing...

I'm really proud of my Dutch penalty drawing. If you take away Richard II's crown, hair and beard, he looks just like Arjen Robben. Look:

It's uncanny, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, here's part 2...

A moment of silence, on this American Independence Day, for Helena, who, despite using all her wiles, was unable to stand up to that big military bully, Henry of Monmouth.

.....

OK, that's enough of that. See you on Monday for a round-up of the quarter-finals! Who are you cheering for?

Cloudy with a Chance of Gloucester

July 2, 2014

I've talked before about my tragically inappropriate tendency to giggle when Gloucester hurls himself off the not-Cliffs of Dover. I thought it might be instructional to look at some of the many King Lear productions that have been preserved on film to see how each one's Gloucester manages it.

Did I say "instructional"? I meant "funny". Sorry.

DISCLAIMER: MANY GLOUCESTERS WERE HURT IN THE MAKING OF THIS POST, BUT NONE OF THEM WERE KILLED BECAUSE, HA HA, THEY WEREN'T STANDING ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF AFTER ALL, HA HA HA.

Michael Hornden's Lear (1982) - Norman Rodway as Gloucester

This is a very poor showing. I'm not going to blame Mr. Rodway, who is an excellent actor and whose forward lunge (accompanied by an appropriately anguished cry of "Eeeuuuuuuurgh!") is dynamic and committed, but the director completely messes it up by staying in close on Edgar, so we don't see the entire second half of the fall. This only gets a score of 3 from me.

James Earl Jones's Lear (1974) - Paul Sorvino as Gloucester

Mr. Sorvino appears to be going for the dramatic fall/faint combination, which, to his credit, he executes very well. Unfortunately Gloucester is supposed to be throwing himself off a cliff, and I'm not getting the necessary forward momentum from this that I expect from my Gloucesters. He gets a 4.

Patrick Magee's Lear (1974) - Ronald Radd as Gloucester

Oh, now this is interesting. Most Gloucesters tend to do their falling from a static position, usually on their knees, but Mr. Radd decides to run off the edge of the cliff, which, if you ask me, seems to be the most practical way to throw one's self off a cliff. However, the problem with this, as Mr. Radd discovers, is that a running Gloucester has to eventually realize that he is not, in fact, plummeting to his death. Mr. Radd attempts to covers his tracks by turning his run into a faint, but, as I noted with Mr. Sorvino's effort above, this isn't a fainting contest. It's a falling contest. He scores a 5, with a point added for originality.

Ian McKellen's Lear (2008) - William Gaunt as Gloucester

The director's choice to stay in a close-up shot for the actual jump prevents us from getting a good look at Mr. Gaunt's overall style, but the diving-board move he does with his hands at the beginning of the jump is classy and original. He's definitely going over a cliff. I also like his little rolling maneuver at the end, so I'll give him a solid 7.

Paul Scofield's Lear (1971) - Alan Webb as Gloucester

Mr. Webb prefaces his fall with some very convincing wobbling, which I had to cut from the above GIF due to file size constraints, as he wobbles for a long time. His actual fall is very solid, and, while he twists around to avoid a face-first impact, he still hits the ground with considerable finality. I'll award him a 8.

Ian Holm's Lear (1998) - Timothy West as Gloucester

Mr. West must be praised for his commitment. He just flat out plummets onto his face, with significant velocity. That's the kind of dedication I like to see in my Gloucesters. I'm giving this one a 9, with a one point deduction for the convenient smoke screen that blocks our view of the actual impact.

Laurence Olivier's Lear (1984) - Leo McKern as Gloucester

Now that's more like it. A full-blooded, no-holds-barred face-plant onto the ground. You can't hear it in the GIF, but Mr. McKern also goes "AAAAAAAAAAAH" as he falls, which is to be commended. While I dislike the camera cut, which lessens the impact, I'm going to give this a full 10 points. Well done, Mr. McKern. You win my "Best Filmed Gloucester Fall" award!

REMEMBER, KIDS... The Gloucesters you have seen here are trained professionals. Don't try this at home.