A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
If you're not familiar with The Comedy of Errors, you need to know that it involves not one but two sets of identical twins. So... four separate twins.
Four twins. But only two names.
Don't get me started on how each twin ends up wearing the EXACT SAME OUTFIT as their twin, despite having been separated geographically for at least two decades. I can't even begin to figure that one out.
Time to "fix" the ending of another problematic Shakespeare play! You may recall that I've already "fixed" Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Measure. Well, today it's a doozy...
RIDE FREE, KATE!
Remember when I put together that infographic on which Shakespearean character spends the most time dead onstage? Well, I decided to do another one, this time on which Shakespearean character spends the most time dying onstage. Here are the results of my haphazard investigation!
EDIT: Thanks to Brad Filippone, who noted I forgot Salisbury from 1 Henry VI. (My apologies to Nick Asbury, my first and most memorable Salisbury.)
My initial thought was that the #1 spot would go to Antony, who, as we know, is really bad at killing himself. I totally forgot that Edmund is dying onstage during much of the final King Lear exposition. So, take a bow, Edmund! You're the Prolonged Shakespearean Dying champion!
Special mention to Desdemona, who also made the top ten list of characters who spend the most time dead onstage. That's a really... special achievement.
Poor Desdemona.
Shakespeare play titles are all pretty obvious. Let's see what it would be like if they had slightly more modern titles...
I just wanted to take a moment to shine a light on one of my favorite pieces of Shakespearean fashion: the (in)famous pumpkin pants!
As if it wasn't already hard enough to take pumpkin pants seriously...
....PANSIED SLOPS.
It's that time of year again... The Stratford Festival's opening is just around the corner and it's time to take a look at their playbill for the season. Here we go!
First up we have a classic musical that needs no introduction.
Then some Shakespeare! This production of The Tempest has a female Prospero, so... ignore the beard.
Then it's everybody's favorite sci-fi/comedy/horror rock musical!
Then a stage adaptation of a classic book.
The following is possibly the production I'm most excited about. By all accounts this is going to be an extremely cinematic and visually stunning production of an underrated Shakespeare play.
Let's lighten things up with some Oscar Wilde. No, not the one with the handbag. It's the one with all the letters.
I knew nothing about the following Italian play, which is getting a new translation at Stratford this season. It seems to be half rollicking riotous comedy and half cynical dark comedy. Either way, I'm looking forward to it.
This season's production of Julius Caesar features some great gender-neutral casting, with Caesar and Cassius, among others, being played by female actors. Very excited about this.
DISCLAIMER. The following two plays are NEW plays, which means I don't have any idea what they will actually be like. What I do know, though, is the source material they are based upon. And so I present....
...and, with a similarly literary bent, we have...
One more Shakespeare! This one looks like it's going to be quite the production, with male/female Antipholi and Dromios.
Finally we have this entry from what I call "The American Canon of Miserable Families Being Miserable", by Eugene O'Neill.
SOUNDS LIKE FUN!
But in all seriously, I'm very much looking forward to this season at the Stratford Festival. Maybe I'll see you there!
Well, that about wraps up Shakespeare Month! Let's just take a quick look at Shakespeare's incredibly prolonged afterlife:
I'll just end Shakespeare Month with these random thoughts:
Don't take Shakespeare too seriously. Enjoy him.
There is no right or wrong way to perform or consume Shakespeare.
You're allowed not to like Shakespeare.
If you think Shakespeare is difficult to understand, or boring, that doesn't make you stupid or uncultured.
Shakespeare's plays aren't necessarily perfect or universal...
...unless you want them to be.
Don't take Shakespeare too seriously. Enjoy him.
That's it for Shakespeare Month! I'm taking next week off but will be back here on May 8 with all new Shakespeare comics for you!
It's SHAKESPEARE'S 454th BIRTHDAY! To celebrate, here's Shakespeare singing his own personal disco anthem:
Happy birthday, Will. Keep on keepin' on.
