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The Tempest � Study Guide

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:57:20 +0000

Just published! I've put together a commentary for each act and scene of The Tempest: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, Acts 4 and 5.

I've also touched on the Shakespeare sexuality debate - you can read this little controversy here. I've also been continuing with creating an online edition of Hamlet (Act 1:5, Act 2:1, Act 2:2 and Act 3:1)

Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:59:36 +0000

The World Shakespeare Festival 2012 will soon be underway. It is a treasure trove of odd and interesting interpretations of Shakespeare plays.

The festival will nit together work from companies all over the World, but one curious cultural highlight for me will be Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad. The show promises to be packed with Iraq's rich tradition of poetry, music and ritual ... right up my street.

The Montague-Capulet feud will centre around the sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias. I think this will be one of the most resonant works in the World Shakespeare Festival and really demonstrates what this festival is all about: Shakespeare isn't a cultural commodity that is owned by the English, the West, or the English speaking world. Rather, he belongs to everyone. His themes align with all cultures and times.

How fitting that Romeo and Juliet can still say something about tensions in the Middle East four centuries after it was written in London.

Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad will be on at the RSC's Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon between 26 April and 5 May 2012.

'The Tempest' Banned in Arizona

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:18:28 +0000

I know - I also had a double-take when I read this headline! A few years ago, Arizona imposed a ban on ethnic studies in its state schools and one of the texts repressed is Shakespeare's The Tempest.

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's most magical plays crammed full of heart-melting poetry - hardly a text that, as the new law states, promotes "the overthrow of the United States government, promote resentment toward a race or class of people, are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."

What!?! The Tempest? Some narrow minded pen-pusher in Arizona is depriving students of Shakespeare at his most magical. Certainly the play raises moral issues surrounding colonisation - but isn't this what we read, teach and love Shakespeare for? Big-issue debates are central in all of the Bard's plays.

Moreover, isn't this what culture is for? Is Arizona really depriving its young of culture?

Idiots.

Romeo and Juliet Now Online

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:26:03 +0000

Happy New Year one and all!

Just a quick blog post before the year is out to let you know that you can read the original text to Romeo and Juliet on the site now! I hope this will be a useful edition to your study tools.

Act One: Prologue / Scene 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Act Two: Scene 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Act Three: Scene 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Act Four: Scene 1, 2, 3 and 4
Act Five: Scene 1, 2 and 3

I've also started work on Hamlet (Act One, Scenes 1, 2, 3 and 4), but more on that in 2012!

Happy New Year ... I trust you will celebrate in style?

A Shakespeare Christmas Quote

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:02:43 +0000

Well, Christmas is here again - but Shakespeare is surprizingly light on Festive quotes. However, here's my top Shakespearean Christmas quotation from Love's Labours Lost:

At Christmas I no more desire a rose
Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled mirth;
But like of each thing that in season grows.

This passage might seem out of context for readers living in warmer climates. For me in the UK, as I stare at the ice creeping up my office window, it makes perfect sense. Let's enjoy winter for its festive cheer, and spring for its mirth.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope Santa is kind to you.

Shakespeare and Ale (Hiccup!)

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:40:44 +0000

1613 was a bad year for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. A cannon was fired during a production of Henry VIII and a spark set ablaze the thatched roof. I read recently read that ale was used to help put out the flames ... such a waste considering the Globe is situated on the bank of the River Thames!

Incidentally, when I went on a tour of the reconstructed Globe Theatre, the guide was keen to point out the new sprinkler system perching on the thatch to safeguard against such a reoccurrence.

Perhaps this is why ale features so heavily in Shakespeare's plays. I've also been told (this time by another guide at Anne Hathaway's Cottage) that ale was readily consumed throughout the day because it was ... (Hiccup!) ... cleaner than the water!

Seriously, I hope that's true.

I guess it's fitting then that the Globe Theatre has launched it's own range of ales available in the gift shop ... if you're looking for a stocking filler for your Shakespeare-loving father-in-law, look no further!

Photo © NYPL Digital Gallery

Shakespeare in 2012

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:21:49 +0000

2012 is shaping up to be an excellent year for Shakespeare enthusiasts.

A new interest in his work will be sparked by the World Shakespeare Festival, part of the Cultural Olympiad that runs alongside the Olympic Games 2012 in London.

The event, or rather series of events, will incorporate Shakespeare's 37 plays performed in 37 languages and supporting events around the world. Expect TV tie-ins and a renewed interest in the Bard.

On top of this mammoth event, there will be hundreds of Shakespeare productions and events taking place around the world ... everything from school productions to professional theaters.

I would love hear your Shakespeare highlight in 2012. I am especially interested to see news from small theaters internationally doing something interesting with the Bard.

Please do comment below and share your events!

Shakespeare and Emotion

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:04:23 +0000

A retired doctor has suggested that doctors should read Shakespeare because it gives them a better understanding of how emotion and illness are interrelated.

Dr Kenneth Heaton explained that many doctors are stumped when it comes to understanding symptoms produced by emotional distress.

Hamlet is a great example of this - the moody Prince of Denmark's "weary, stale, flat and unprofitable" existence springs from his grief. It emotionally paralyses him and stops him from being able to take revenge for his father's murder.

The fact that a doctor is suggesting this more than four centuries after Shakespeare was writing is testament to the Bard's insight into human psychology ... centuries before the concept of psychology had even been invented!

Shakespeare "Crib Sheet"

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:57:49 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me how much information on William Shakespeare there is out there. For something more than 400 years old, there's always something new to learn!

However, newcomers can really get lost in all that information, so I've devised a "Crib Sheet" on Facts About William Shakespeare.

What was Shakespeare's life like? Who was Anne Hathaway? Was the Globe Theatre really stolen?

I hope it's the sort of page that students and teachers will find useful because it brings together all the vital information one would need on Shakespeare onto a single page! There's also links so you can delve deeper into the subject.

I hope you enjoy this new addition ... more importantly, I hope it's useful!

PS - Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet is also now published (scenes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

William Shakespeare Gives Brits Pride!

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:36:47 +0000

Us Brits are very proud of William Shakespeare - and rightly so! It's amazing to think that a small market town in this small island nation could have produced the World's greatest playwright and poet more than 400 years ago.

My hunch has been conformed by a recent poll by think tank, Demos. The Bard has come out on top in a list of things that give Britons a sense of pride.

At 75%, Shakespeare beat the Union Jack, The Beatles and the Queen! Headline results include:

Shakespeare 75%
National Trust 72%
Armed forces 72%
Union Jack 71%
The pound 70%
NHS 69%
The monarchy 68%
BBC 63%
The Beatles 51%
Parliament 47%

Shakespeare was popular because of his life-like characters, his wit, and most of all his ability to stretch a good yarn!

Well done, William.