The Shakespeare World Cup: Round of 16 Summary

The Shakespeare World Cup
The Teams | Groups A & B | Groups C & D | Groups E & F | Groups G & H | Group Stage Summary, pt. 1 | Group Stage Summary, pt. 2 | Round of 16 Summary | Quarter Finals Summary | Semi Finals Summary | Final Summary

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?

The Shakespeare World Cup
The Teams | Groups A & B | Groups C & D | Groups E & F | Groups G & H | Group Stage Summary, pt. 1 | Group Stage Summary, pt. 2 | Round of 16 Summary | Quarter Finals Summary | Semi Finals Summary | Final Summary

Cloudy with a Chance of Gloucester

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.

The Stratford Festival 2014 Season... in 3 Panels!

My cousins recently got back from their annual pilgrimage to the Stratford Festival in Canada, and have been posting tantalizing pictures of their trip on Facebook. As my own annual pilgrimage to Stratford will not be happening until August, I have been left seething in impatience and jealousy. To help me get through the next month, here is the Stratford Festival's current season, reduced in classic Good Tickle Brain three-panel style.

Mild-to-major spoilers, obviously.

This has been the year of Lear for me, to the point of overdose, but I am still madly looking forward to Colm Feore's interpretation.

Gershwin! You cannot go wrong with Gershwin. There will be toe-tapping. Resistance is futile.

I saw this at Stratford when I was twelve years old. Looking forward to seeing it again!

This year's production at Stratford has added cross-dressing and gender-bending. Because love's not confusing enough already!

Part of the Holy Trinity of Noel Coward comedies, alongside Private Lives and Blithe Spirit. The other two are fantastic, but this one just might be my favorite. First saw it at the Shaw Festival in 2002 and fell in love. Lucy Peacock playing Judith Bliss at Stratford this year? I smell perfection on the horizon.

First saw this when I was 16, again at Stratford, and had most of the lyrics memorized by the end of the summer. Because your brain can never have too many showtune lyrics in it!

I have never seen this. My Restoration drama knowledge is sketchy at best, but I look forward to rectifying that by seeing this this summer. It looks incredibly madcap and fluffy, which is just how I like my comedies.

The only live production of this that I've seen so far was when the RSC's touring production of it, starring Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter, visited my hometown. Which, you have to admit, is a hell of a way to be introduced to Antony and Cleopatra. Can't wait to see it in the Tom Patterson Theatre.

I've never seen this! I've never seen any Brecht, for that matter. There's a first time for everything! I'm really looking forward to seeing Seanna McKenna's performance. Because, honestly, I would look forward to seeing Seanna McKenna reading the phone book. Or seeing her watch paint dry. Basically, if there was water on the stage, she would walk on it, as far as I'm concerned.

Saw this at Stratford (of course) in 2004. That production's Hubert, Tom McCamus, is this year's King John, so he'll have been on both sides of the famous "Death. / My lord? / A grave. / He shall not live. / Enough." line.

A four-person, chamber play adaptation of Dream, directed by Peter Sellars? Intriguing. Sign me up.

A play by Canadian playwright Michel Marc Bouchard. I have neither seen this play, read this play, or managed to find anything about this play that isn't in French, so I'm extrapolating here from the history of Christina of Sweden, as provided by Wikipedia, since I had never heard of her before this year. These three panels are a shot in the dark, essentially.

And that's the Stratford Smorgasbord for this year! I CAN'T WAIT. GIVE IT TO ME NOW.

The Shakespeare World Cup: Group Stage Summary, part 2

The Shakespeare World Cup
The Teams | Groups A & B | Groups C & D | Groups E & F | Groups G & H | Group Stage Summary, pt. 1 | Group Stage Summary, pt. 2 | Round of 16 Summary | Quarter Finals Summary | Semi Finals Summary | Final Summary

As promised, here's the summary for the second half of the group stage of the Shakespeare World Cup.

So, I finished putting this together during the Brazil v. Chile penalty shootout. If there are any errors, it's due entirely to me freaking out, because penalty shootouts always make me freak out. Just point them out in the comments and I'll get around to fixing them when I've recovered.

I'll be back for more after the first knock-out round!

The Shakespeare World Cup
The Teams | Groups A & B | Groups C & D | Groups E & F | Groups G & H | Group Stage Summary, pt. 1 | Group Stage Summary, pt. 2 | Round of 16 Summary | Quarter Finals Summary | Semi Finals Summary | Final Summary

The Shakespeare World Cup: Group Stage Summary, part 1

The Shakespeare World Cup
The Teams | Groups A & B | Groups C & D | Groups E & F | Groups G & H | Group Stage Summary, pt. 1 | Group Stage Summary, pt. 2 | Round of 16 Summary | Quarter Finals Summary | Semi Finals Summary | Final Summary

The knockout stage of the World Cup is beginning today, so I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at what happened in the group stage. 

Seriously, so far Colombia has the best dance moves of the tournament.

Part 2 coming later today!

The Shakespeare World Cup
The Teams | Groups A & B | Groups C & D | Groups E & F | Groups G & H | Group Stage Summary, pt. 1 | Group Stage Summary, pt. 2 | Round of 16 Summary | Quarter Finals Summary | Semi Finals Summary | Final Summary

KRC 2014: Buddhist is an Honorable Man

I had copies of my Shakespearean What-Ifs mini-comics on sale at the Kids Read Comics convention, and my littlest fan had several questions about the cover image of the Julius Caesar edition.

I can see it now.. Buddhist and Cautious meet to discuss the assassination of Juiciest Scissors, but Cautious thinks it's too risky and Buddhist refuses to participate in the taking of life, so Scissors becomes Rome's new emperor and cuts everyone else down to size.

KRC 2014: Hamlet's Shocking Plot Twist

So, my littlest fan from the Kids Read Comics convention last weekend wasn't completely satisfied with my new ending to Hamlet. She decided it wasn't nice of Claudius to poison Hamlet's father in the first place - and, let's face it, she has a point. Fortunately, she gave me the following suggestions on how to fix that:

In case you're wondering where this little dramatic genius comes from, she's part of the excellent Dim Sum Warriors team. Check out their stuff! You'll never look at your food in the same way again.

KRC 2014: The End of Hamlet

I had a really fun time at my first convention this past weekend. Thanks so much to the organizers for hosting such a fun, laid-back and enjoyable show, and thanks to my table neighbors, Emily Zelasko and The Amazing Cynicalman, for providing good company, advice and inspiration. Also, thanks to those of you who stopped by to say hello! I really enjoyed meeting and talking with you. 

The Kids Read Comics! convention is, perhaps unsurprisingly, full of kids, and I had a lovely time chatting with many of them about Shakespeare. Here, preserved for posterity, is a conversation I had with my littlest fan:

Well.... what was I supposed to do?