Last Sunday I went to see the not-quite-live broadcast of the National Theatre's production of As You Like It, which reminded me how utterly contrived the ending is. No, it's not the four weddings and spontaneous appearance of Hymen, god of marriage. It's the way in which Shakespeare deals with the Big Bad Wolf of the play: Duke Frederick.
WELL, THAT DE-ESCALATED QUICKLY.
Granted, the endings to most of Shakespeare's comedies are contrived, but As You Like It is one of the worst offenders as far as I'm concerned. Even Cymbeline lays more groundwork to justify the final, ridiculous scene of revelations than As You Like It.
Which is not to say that I don't like it. I just find it consistently hilarious.
Good Tickle Brain at the Folger!
I am really thrilled to announce that I will be giving a FREE pre-show talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library on APRIL 29th! Join me at the Folger Theatre at 6:00pm as I talk about how I got involved in all this Shakespeare comic madness, reveal to you my deepest artistic secrets, and draw a brand new comic live on stage - with your help!
Good Tickle Brain merchandise will be available for purchase, and I will be hanging around after my talk to sign stuff! Plus, if you stick around until 8:00pm, you can see the world-famous Reduced Shakespeare Company perform William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged). I saw a workshop production of this last summer at the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, and it's basically what would happen if you dumped all of Shakespeare's plays into a blender, added a hefty dose of pure silliness, and then turned it on. I highly recommend it. I can't tell you how excited I am about this.
I've been meaning to visit the Folger Library for ages (being both a Shakespeare geek and a library geek), so this is basically a dream come true for me. If you're in the Washington D.C. area, please stop by and say hello! For details on the event, as well as how to reserve your FREE tickets, visit the Folger website.