Feb 10, 2016 | Shakespeare - Short Stories - Theatre
Despite what Baz Luhrmann did in his film, the party in R&J is not a masked ball. It was common practice in Renaissance Italy to show up wearing a mask to a party one was not invited to. Which is exactly what the boys are doing. Mercutio is even delighted to don a...
Feb 9, 2016 | Shakespeare
I know there are desperate people in the world, seeking advice on how to live their lives. Dear Abby, Oprah, and Mr. Blue (oh, how I do miss Mr. Blue!) are only a few examples of how authority figures have hundreds, even thousands of people seeking their counsel. I...
Feb 8, 2016 | Shakespeare - Theatre
I never enjoy productions of Romeo & Juliet that play the Tragedy from the beginning – probably because I don’t think it is a Tragedy at all (see here). But even if it were, this isn’t Hamlet or Macbeth. There’s no ghost, no three witches. The first half of the...
Feb 7, 2016 | Shakespeare - Theatre
I venture into the realm of the painfully obvious when I say that, since it was first penned somewhere around 1595, Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet has become timeless. As an actor, it’s been my good fortune to perform most of the male roles in the show – Romeo,...
Feb 5, 2016 | Shakespeare - The Novel
Once upon a time, I had this nifty idea: explore the origin of the Capulet-Montague feud by placing it in the historical context for Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. They were real families, after all, mentioned by Dante in the Divine Comedy. And based on a...
Dec 14, 2015 | Books - Cut Scenes - Essential Posts - Shakespeare - Short Stories - The Novel - Writing
Verona, Italy 8 December, 1328 One of the favourite haunts of the Rakehells was a tavern with exquisite fare known as La Pentola – ‘The Cookpot’. Through its narrow half-door and large interior portal were wide rooms with long...
