About.com Shakespeare

Tourism Will Fund Shakespeare�s Church

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:59:27 +0000

Should the tourist industry fund repairs to Holy Trinity Church? This building has been the subject of my blog for some weeks now and finally the tourist industry has taken a proactive step in the right direction.

A group of 34 travel agents from the US have donated $200 towards the vital repair work needed to keep Shakespeare's final resting place open to the public. The money was originally raised by the Anne Hudgins Shakespeare Class.

Of course, many other tourists have already donated to the church by paying the small fee to see the Bard's grave when touring Shakespeare's Stratford.

Like it or not, it seems that a large proportion of the bill will be picked up by the tourist industry in one way or another.

If you would like to save Shakespeare's final resting place, then donations can be made online to The Friends of Shakespeare's Church. Simply visit www.shakespeareschurch.org.

Tourism Will Fund Shakespeare�s Church originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 07:59:27.

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Idiots Ruin Shakespeare!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:31:32 +0000

I was appalled to learn that a company of Shakespeare actors was jeered off stage by drunks during an open air performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona in Tunbridge Wells, UK.

The Pantiles Players has been performing Shakespeare on a local bandstand since World War Two, but have now decided to cancel the project following a barrage of abuse from drunks at a nearby pub. The actors have finally had enough of being jeered at by idiots saying that they "look gay" in their Shakespearean costume.

The free community performances have been disrupted since England introduced a smoking ban in public places, forcing smokers at the nearby pub out onto the street of Tunbridge Wells.

I know that Shakespeare isn't for everyone, but where's the community spirit? Although I can't vouch for the quality of the performance, I suspect that this reaction to Shakespeare is more common than we'd like to think. I've sat a few times in theaters with restless idiots behind me ruining the performance.

At the risk of opening a can of worms, I'd like to hear about your Shakespeare horror stories. Has the utter disrespect or a sad lack of interest on someone else's part ever ruined a Shakespeare performance for you?

Idiots Ruin Shakespeare! originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 15:31:32.

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Funding Shakespeare�s Heritage

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:02:16 +0000

This year I keep returning to Shakespeare's final resting place, Holy Trinity Church, to report on how money can be found to repair the historic building and save it from closure.

In my blog last month, I raised the issue that Shakespeare himself was responsible for financing repairs to Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon because he bought tithe land on condition that the Shakespeare family finance all future repairs.

I casually discussed this as if it were an archaic and unenforceable law - but, the last few weeks have proved that this is not the case.

A few miles away from Holy Trinity Church is St John the Baptist Church in the village of Aston Cantlow. It is believed that Shakespeare's parents were married there because the family home of Shakespeare's mother is nearby.

An ancient covenant required the owners of a local Grade II-listed farmhouse to pay for the upkeep of the Chancel. After loosing a 20-year legal battle with the Church of England, they have been forced to auction their home to fund �230,000 worth of repairs.

Since the auction took place last week, the story has divided opinion in the UK. What's your reaction? Who should fund these repairs? Is this a "necessary evil" to protect the UK's architectural history? Or is there something very un-Christian about the church's actions?

Funding Shakespeare�s Heritage originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 07:02:16.

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Shakespeare Didn�t Work Alone

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:59:44 +0000

The key mysteries that surround the authorship of Shakespeare's plays has perplexed and enraged scholars for centuries. And now, Sir Brian Vickers, an authority on Shakespeare at the Institute of English Studies at the University of London, has drained all passion out of the debate.

Did Shakespeare ever collaborate? Did Shakespeare write the unattributed play about Edward III (published in 1596 when Shakespeare was 31)? All questions that fire the heart of any Shakespeare enthusiast.

In a less passionate moment, Vickers fed the text of Edward III into a computer designed to detect plagiarism and clicked "Go". A few moments later, the results collated in his printer tray as if the centuries of debate had never happened.

The result? Yes, Shakespeare did write Edward III because there are close matches with the phrases used in Shakespeare's early works. Rather more interestingly, the results also proved that the Bard collaborated with Thomas Kyd, best known for The Spanish Tragedy, a play known to have influenced Shakespeare.

About 40 per cent of the play was written by Shakespeare, while the other 60 per cent was contributed by Kyd.

In truth, I felt a little deflated when I read this story. I much prefer the debate, the passion and the mystery ... a computer print out just doesn't do it for me. Ah, well! There goes scholarship!

Shakespeare Didn�t Work Alone originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 10:59:44.

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Can Anyone Do Shakespeare?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:22:17 +0000

In an effort to conclude our current debate on whether or not Americans can do Shakespeare, I'd like to reflect on an unrelated letter that recently appeared in the New York Times Magazine.

Andrew Charig commented on the corruption of language:

In Error-Proof, Ammon Shea suggests invoking Chaucer and Shakespeare as a defense against criticisms of bad grammar because they used so many obsolete forms that almost any error can be found among their works. But Shakespeare wrote before English was standardized; Chaucer before it was English at all.

I think this hammers home the point that Shakespeare's English is not our English - neither that of the UK nor the USA. Rather, Shakespeare's influence is buried with equal depth in both accents. And of course, the wide range of regional accents in both countries must surely highlight the impossibility of attaching a specific dialect to Shakespeare's language.

Perhaps what English people mean when they say "Americans can't do Shakespeare" is "we don't the idea of foreigners doing it!" ... That said, I don't know what Nicolas Cage's excuse is!

... or perhaps we can agree to disagree?

Can Anyone Do Shakespeare? originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 12:22:17.

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Americans CAN do Shakespeare!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:34:35 +0000

Last week I reported Nicolas Cage's comment that the American accent is not suited to Shakespeare - this week I found the perfect counter-argument.

I was pleased to find a story in The Telegraph over the weekend that blows Cage's theory out of the water. Trevor Nunn, possibly one of the most authoritive voices on Shakespeare in Performance as former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, said that he wants to direct an all-American Shakespeare production because he believes the accent to be "closer" to the Elizabethan dialect of Shakespeare's day.

Nunn said:

I very much want to do Shakespeare with American actors using their own accents because there is a different energy and a different use of language. Some people mock this idea, but it is almost certainly true that today's American accent is closer to the sounds that Shakespeare heard when he was writing.

Exactly how he knows this is beyond me - perhaps it just goes to show how subjective the entire "accent debate" is. As I argued before, a good performance comes from the actor's physical engagement with Shakespeare's language ... the accent is irrelevant.

Do you agree with Nunn's comment? Could the American accent really be closer to the speech patterns of Shakespeare's day? Vote in our poll and let your voice (regardless of accent) be heard.

Americans CAN do Shakespeare! originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 11:34:35.

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Americans Can�t Do Shakespeare!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:16:09 +0000

Actor, Nicolas Cage, recently said that he was distrustful of Americans attempting Shakespeare because it doesn't sound right. He said:

I'm one of those people that feels Americans should not do Shakespeare. There is something about it. I feel the rhythm of the English language and manner of English speech seem to work effectively with William Shakespeare but when Americans do it, something seems stuck.

But hold on! In England, we don't go around spouting Shakespearean verse. It's a learned thing - something that requires training. Both modern English and American are equally as divorced from the rhythmic, verbal culture of Elizabethan England - and solid actor training is required to reconnect the performer with Shakespeare's language.

I recently interviewed the RSC's voice coach, Lyn Darnley, who noted that "we're much less engaged with language now. Speech is less engaged. We don't speak with the same muscularity, energy or dynamic like people did before there was a visual back up for communication."

What do you think? Do you agree with Cage? Should American's steer clear of Shakespeare?

Photo � Getty Images / Malcolm Taylor

Americans Can�t Do Shakespeare! originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 13:16:09.

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Sir Ian McKellen�s Quote

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:15:17 +0000

Earlier this week, I came across a quote by Sir Ian McKellen on performing Shakespeare that has completely stumped me. I thought I would share it with you and see if you can enlighten me.

McKellen said:

I don't make much distinction between being a stand-up comic and acting Shakespeare - in fact, unless you're a good comedian, you're never going to be able to play Hamlet properly.

Ok, I can understand that William Shakespeare wrote in a very direct, almost declamatory, way. Back then, the theater experience was very different and speeches had to read like this in order to hold the attention of the audience. Perhaps McKellen is suggesting that this is similar to the direct language of the modern stand-up?

Beyond that, I'm stuck! What does McKellen mean? What is he saying about performing Shakespeare and Shakespeare's Language? I welcome any help or thoughts you may have on this quote.

Sir Ian McKellen�s Quote originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 at 08:15:17.

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A Grave Risk

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:52:51 +0000

Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon is Shakespeare�s final resting place. Back in January, I reported that this beautiful building was only five years away from closure for health and safety reasons.

To date, the church has raised �750,000 to fund the urgently needed restoration work � but a new structural problem reared its head recently as workmen carried out repairs.

A rotten wooden beam supporting the chancel roof directly above Shakespeare�s grave has started to crumble and the church needs to raise an extra �50,000.

Last time I reported on this, I bemoaned the lack of financial support from public funds but have since learned that Shakespeare himself was responsible for financing repairs to Holy Trinity Church. He bought tithe land which gave him the right to be buried in the chancel, but on condition that the Shakespeare family finance repairs � and there is no record of Shakespeare ever spending a penny on the church.

As Shakespeare has no living decedents, it�s difficult to know where to send the debt collectors. Perhaps he has more than paid his due by attracting thousands of paying sightseers every year to view his final resting place.

Who do you think should finance the repairs to this important historical landmark? The church? The government? The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust? The tourist board?

A Grave Risk originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 15:52:51.

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Another Shakespeare Life Portrait?

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:00:48 +0000

The controversy surrounding the Cobbe portrait on display in Stratford-upon-Avon has prompted the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC to re-examine an important artifact in their collection: the Janssen portrait.

The first thing that strikes you about the Janssen portrait is its striking similarity to the Cobbe portrait, leading high-profile figures like Germaine Greer to challenge Stanley Well�s claim that the Cobbe portrait is the only-known portrait of Shakespeare painted during his lifetime.

Whereas the Cobbe portrait has been authenticated in the UK by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the virtually identical Janssen portrait in the US was discredited as a lifetime portrait in the 1940s because the original hairline had been over-painted in the eighteenth century.

Technical examinations of the Cobbe portrait have brought about enough fresh evidence to prompt the Folger Shakespeare Library to re-examine the Janssen portrait at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute.

Professor Wells told the Stratford Observer that, �should the Folger manage to accurately date the paint which was used to doctor the Janssen portrait, we could be much closer to understanding the evolution of the copies which came after the Cobbe, and how perhaps they may have been �altered� not fraudulently but in order to depict Shakespeare in his later years.�

In my last blog post I said that new Shakespeare evidence rarely surfaces � I hope to eat my words!

Another Shakespeare Life Portrait? originally appeared on About.com Shakespeare on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 09:00:48.

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