Category Archives: Theater

THE CROCODILE—SHAKESPEARE’S BAWDY. In Antony and Cleopatra, in the drinking scene (Act II, scene 7), while the men are talking about Egypt, Lepidus asks Antony: “What manner o’ thing is your crocodile?” Antony replies: Antony: It is shap’d, sir, like … Continue reading →

OCTAVIUS AND ANTONY. One surprising thing about the Hartford Stage Company production of Antony and Cleopatra was their interpretation of Octavius. The play contrasts Antony and Octavius. Frank Kermode in the Riverside Shakespeare gives what seems to be a representative … Continue reading →

WHY I CAN ENJOY A PLAY MORE THAN SOME GOOD DIRECTORS CAN. A couple of the good directors I know have acknowledged that they have some trouble enjoying other productions because they have strong views about how the play should … Continue reading →

“AH, SOLDIER! IN PERFORMANCE. We saw an excellent production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Hartford Stage Company. (That leaves 6 Shakespeare plays that I have not yet seen.) Of course, after posting on how much T. S. Eliot (and … Continue reading →

OVID AND A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. I mentioned the proposition that A Midsummer Night’s Dream is not a good play to Nick, and he suggested that Judith Fleming might not be completely serious. I agree. I think she is calling … Continue reading →

ANOTHER NOVEL PRODUCTION CONCEPT FOR SHAKESPEARE. I posted here on a director’s concept of Prospero as a pizza chef who’s lost his position. The Onion has a report on another novel concept. To quote the director: I know when most … Continue reading →

PLAYWRIGHTS AND STATISTICS. A difficulty confronting the statistical analysts of Shakespeare’s plays is that they reach different conclusions. Lukas Erne in his review summarizes the findings of contemporary scholars about Henry VI, Part I. Gary Taylor: Part I is by … Continue reading →

FIGURING OUT WHO SHAKESPEARE’S COLLABORATORS WERE. How do scholars determine that Shakespeare had collaborators on a play? One current way is by statistical analysis. Lukas Erne in the Times Literary Supplement (June 4, 2010) writes about the “growing consensus…that Shakespeare … Continue reading →

HOW RAFFISH WAS SHAKESPEARE? I mentioned what I had read about George Wilkins, the brothelkeeper and collaborator with Shakespeare, to a friend of Nick’s who has acted in Pericles. He smiled and said something about how that was consistent with … Continue reading →