The Ladies of Angiers, part 1

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"

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 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.

Three-Panel Plays, part 8

The Three-Panel Plays have finally made it past the Henries! Let's get to work summarizing the rest of the canon now, shall we?

Antony is holding Caesar's bloody robe in that second panel. My "bloody robe" drawing skills need work. 

Just for fun, here is an alliterative summary of King John:

Plantagenet Pisses off Pope.
Pesky Prince Plummets Prematurely.
Plantagenet Poisoned by Priest. 

Stop by again on Monday, when we will be taking a look at King Lear and Love's Labour's Lost! 

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See all Three-Panel Plays here!