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
The Tempest
![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]")
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
The Winter’s Tale
![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]")
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
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
Twelfth Night
![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]")
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
The Merchant of Venice
![the-merchant-of-venice-1-1024[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/the-merchant-of-venice-1-10241.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "the-merchant-of-venice-1-1024[1]")
So, remember when Two Gentlemen of Verona had a fairly nonchalant stance on rape? Well, Merchant of Venice has a similar problem with anti-Semetism. However, Merchant has two incredibly fascinating and therefore redeeming characters: Shylock, the Jewish villain of the play, and Portia, one of Shakespeare’s best female characters ever. Yeah, she’s racist, which is … Read more
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Well, I’m not sure what I was expecting from the title, but this play is really sad… Really, lovely, but really also sad. Technically speaking, it’s not even a comedy, since comedies are expected to end in a wedding. But it certainly isn’t a tragedy, either. There is a category of “Problem Plays” that scholars … Read more
King John
What a splendid play. I actually directed King John a few years back when I was in college, using masked live actors and shadow puppets. It was pretty awesome. But it was great reading this play again, simply because I could rediscover a lot of fun things that I cut out of my edit of … Read more
Macbeth
This week, I chose to read Macbeth as a tie-in with the production I am actually in with Chicago’s New Rock Theater – running May 26 through June 25! A shameless plug, I know, but it’s a creepy fun time and you can get your tickets at this link here. We are in tech week right now, … Read more
Julius Caesar
![brando[1]](http://shakespeareactaday.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/brando1.jpg?w=440&h=240&crop=1 "brando[1]")
Every time I read Julius Caesar, I find something new to love. Of all the literature I’ve had to read and reread through school years, I think it is actually the play I have read the most. It is also a story that most people are familiar with, regardless of their familiarity with Shakespeare, and … Read more
