Troilus and Cressida
William Shakespeare wrote a play about the Trojan War. Well, that’s just awesome. So why is it never performed that often? You know, the ancient pseudo-mythical decade-long conflict that even rivals World War II in pop culture. Even if you never read Homer’s Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid, you know the general story. But the details … Read more
Hamlet
So… Hamlet. There is so much that has been written about this play already, so much life sucked from it by tired schoolroom analyses, and so many interpretations of the text put onto stage and film, that a relevant discussion can prove to be very difficult. So let me come at this entry from a … Read more
![Forbidden Planet Robby the Robot[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/forbidden-planet-robby-the-robot1.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "Forbidden Planet Robby the Robot[1]")
The Tempest
I’m starting off 2012 with this classic fantasy story, which actually holds a special place in my heart besides being an objective masterpiece of drama. It’s the first play that I ever acted in (excluding, you know, school Christmas Pageants and the lot), playing one of the magical “people of the island” that the sorcerer Prospero commands … Read more
Happy New Year: Our 2012 Season!
We are incredibly excited for 2012, our fourth season as a theatre company. For our first three years as a company, we have only been able to produce one major production per season, plus the small-scale Mumming Plays. This year, though, we are ambitiously sallying forth with THREE major productions, plus some other small-scale ventures. … Read more
![Ethan-Hawke-in-The-Winter-002[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/ethan-hawke-in-the-winter-0021.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "Ethan-Hawke-in-The-Winter-002[1]")
The Winter’s Tale
Prince Mamillus says early in the first Act of this play: “A sad tale’s best for winter: I have one Of sprites and goblins.” Shortly afterwards, he falls ill and dies of shock when his mother, Queen Hermoine, is falsely accused of infidelity by King Leontes. So begins this beautiful story of jealousy and forgiveness, with its famously unconventional structure. … Read more
Two Noble Kinsmen
It is fairly accepted among scholars that Shakespeare collaborated with John Fletcher on two plays: King Henry VIII, and Two Noble Kinsmen. Considering that the former play was one of the worst plays have ever read, ever, I did not have high hopes for 2NK (as I like to call it). It was not included in the … Read more
Cymbeline
If you ask me what my favorite Shakespeare play is, I usually say Cymbeline. Until recently, I sort of forgot why. But then I read the thing again just now, and oh dear Christ it’s a wonderful play. Really, really wonderful, with one of the era’s greatest female protagonists, opportunity for a spectacular battle sequence, … Read more
![She-s-the-Man-Screencaps-movies-2142366-960-540[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/she-s-the-man-screencaps-movies-2142366-960-54011.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "She-s-the-Man-Screencaps-movies-2142366-960-540[1]")
Twelfth Night
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve done this. I took a bit off from this Act-of-Shakespeare-a-Day Project to focus on Blunt Objects Theatre’s Halloween production, Joan the Witch, and now there’s only a few weeks left in the year. Oh well. Might as well jump right back into things: the play is basically a … Read more
Joan the Witch (2011)
Joan the Witch, as a story, is something that has been rolling around in my brain for some time now, but I haven’t endeavored to actually write a stage version of that history until recently. In 1429 Gilles de Rais fought alongside Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orleans. On October 26, 1440, he was … Read more
Betty Sue’s Hulahoop Dance Number (2010)
Betty Sue’s Hulahoop Dance Number is a play within a play, about a small village of coltan miners trying to perform in a fundraiser so the local guerillas don’t murder all of them. Obviously, it’s a comedy. At least, until the final scene where the warlord Kokmufun exacts his on everyone. It’s like a horrifying … Read more
