Category Archives: Shakespeare

“JUDITH SHAKESPEARE HAS HER SAY”—WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 26. “Judith Shakespeare Has Her Say’ is a feminist view of a flawed but beloved father. Admission free; reservations: shakesguild@msn.com. dress code: jackets for men, no ripped jeans. From 7 to 9 p.m. each … Continue reading →

“SHAKESPEARE RISING”—-TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25. “Shakespeare Rising” presents a portrait of the artist as a young man. Admission free; reservations: shakesguild@msn.com. dress code: jackets for men, no ripped jeans. From 7 to 9 p.m. each evening at The Players, 16 Gramercy … Continue reading →

“The Lives of Shakespeare” will be presented as staged readings this coming Tuesday, September 25th through Thursday 27th, at The Players Club in NYC. Three different full-length plays in three nights, each one attempting to get at what Shakespeare might … Continue reading →

REASONS FOR CHANGING THE ENDINGS OF MEASURE FOR MEASURE AND HAMLET. I usually take the traditionalist view of productions of Shakespeare. However, I can understand the point of the changes in the endings of Measure for Measure and Hamlet. As … Continue reading →

DIRECTORS CHANGING THE ENDINGS OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS. I have sometimes heard it said, especially by directors, that a director and the actors should strike out all the stage directions in a script, that the the playwright’s writ stops at the … Continue reading →

ENDING HAMLET BY SHOOTING HORATIO. James Shapiro in The New York Review (April 19, 2018) recalled watching a production of Hamlet in the 1980’s in which Fortinbras, “as he recited the play’s final line—‘Go, bid the soldiers shoot’—unholstered a pistol, … Continue reading →

HAMLET AND BREAKING BAD (COMMENT). Nick commented here on my post on Brecht’s theory that the fourth act of Hamlet consisted of out takes that grew out of Shakespeare’s struggles with making the plot work. Nick said: “Pretty classic story … Continue reading →

MAYBE SHAKESPEARE NEEDED A COMPLICATED BLOODBATH AT THE END OF “HAMLET”. When I was in my early teens, I went to see the Oscar-winning movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. Without having seen any spoilers, I still knew that … Continue reading →

WHY I REJECT BRECHT’S THEORY. I also found Brecht’s theory attractive because I thought it was fun to think of Shakespeare—and, in Brecht’s thinking, the actors—struggling with writing a play about a prince who was struggling with what he should … Continue reading →