Arden of Faversham (in 3 Panels)

Let's continue our journey through Shakespeare's Apocrypha, with a play that SOUNDS like it should be a rogue Jane Austen novel, but absolutely isn't.

Arden of Faversham was actually based upon the real-life murder of Thomas Arden, which caused quite a stir at the time. I haven't read it, but the synopsis makes it sound unintentionally hilarious, with Alice reruiting what seem to be a dozen different people to murder her husband, none of whom actually manage to do so until the very end. 

The author or authors of Arden remain unknown. The play was published anonymously, and subsequent generations of scholars have cycled through all the likely suspects: Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, and others. It's possible Shakespeare contributed some material to it, but there doesn't seem to be any overriding consensus on the matter. 

Upcoming Appearances

I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:

WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare! 
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!

A Yorkshire Tragedy (in 3 Panels)

Let's get back to Shakespeare's Apocrypha, a.k.a. plays that have, at some point in time, been attributed to Shakespeare but either have not survived or are generally agreed to have been written mostly or entirely by people who were definitely not Shakespeare! Today's installment is the extremely problematic Yorkshire Tragedy! 

This rather hideous play was originally registered and printed with Shakespeare listed as the author, but general consensus today is that it was actually written by Thomas Middleton. It sounds like a terrible evening at the theatre, if you ask me. Shakespeare is well out of this one. 

Upcoming Appearances

I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:

WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare! 
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!

How "Much Ado About Nothing" Should Have Ended

I've got a couple busy weeks ahead of me - my annual trip to the Ohio Light Opera, followed by my VERY EXCITING TALK at the Utah Shakespeare Festival's Wooden O Symposium - so as a small filler today I've taken one of my favorite early, pre-Good Tickle Brain cartoons and revised it it a bit:

You can see the original version (and see how my art style has "evolved") over here. 

Upcoming Appearances

I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:

WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare! 
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!

Murderers Anonymous (part 2)

Let's check back in with everyone's least-favorite support group...

Poor Steve.

(Thanks to Chris Prentice for letting me borrow Steve.)

Upcoming Appearances

I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:

WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare! 
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!

Murderers Anonymous (part 1)

There are many murderers in Shakespeare's plays, but only seven who are named "Murderer". These are them.

Third Murderer is in charge of the meeting because there is only one third murderer, whereas there are three first murderers and three second murderers. Third murderers are rare.

Romeo and Juliet: One Page Summary

OK, in case you haven't been paying attention for the past however many months, here's basically what happens in Romeo and Juliet:

And that's it! Thanks for taking the time to follow my re-telling of Romeo and Juliet. Tune in on Thursday, when we'll have SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! YAY! 

Romeo and Juliet: Death & Marriage Totals

So you think "that's all one, the play is done", do you? NOT SO FAST! We still have some important work to do! First, let's take a look at how many people died and how many people got married, so we can scientifically determine if this is a tragedy or a comedy. 

Let me crunch the numbers here... mmmhmm... yeah, this is a tragedy.

Spare a thought for poor Lady Montague, who dies offstage, is mentioned in a throwaway line that nobody pays much attention to, and is hardly ever remembered as having lived, let alone died. 

If you've been too busy or impatient to follow my exhaustive Romeo and Juliet retelling over the past several months, tune in next week for a handy-dandy one-page summary of the entire play! And then we'll be done. 

Romeo and Juliet: Act 5, Scene 3 (part 4)

IT'S FINALLY OVER, GUYS. 

It's all over apart from the crying. And the death/marriage count. And the one-page summary. And then it'll be over, I promise. Stay tuned...