3.25 Twelfth Night (1601) in Full

Kenneth Branagh takes on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night with the Renaissance Theatre Company. The exemplary cast includes Richard Briers as Malvolio, Frances Barber as Viola, Caroline Langrishe as Olivia, Christopher Ravenscroft as Orsino, and James Saxon as Sir Toby Belch. The original music for this production is by Paul McCartney and Pat Doyle.

Reference:  Kenneth Branagh's Twelfth Night.

Director John Gorrie interpreted the play as an English country house comedy, and incorporated influences ranging from Luigi Pirandello's Il Gioco delle Parti to ITV's Upstairs, Downstairs.  Gorrie also set the play during the English Civil War, hoping the use of cavaliers and roundheads would help focus the dramatisation of the conflict between festivity and Puritanism.  Gorrie wanted the episode to be as realistic as possible, and in designing Olivia's house, he made sure that the geography of the building was practical and made sense, and then shot the episode in such a way that the audience becomes aware of that geography, often shooting characters entering and existing doorways into rooms and corridors.

Reference: Twelfth Night, Or What You Will.

Full Theatrical Reading

Complete Text

Twelfth Night, Or What You Will

Note. The numbers in the title refer to the play number (3.25) and publication year (1601), which Wikipedia noted based on the Oxford chronology.

3.18 The Merry Wives of Windsor (1598) in Full

Director David Jones originally wanted to shoot the episode in Stratford-upon-Avon but was restricted to a studio setting. Determined that the production be as realistic as possible, Jones got around this by having designer Dom Homfray base the rooms on real Tudor houses associated with Shakespeare; Falstaff's room is based on the home of Mary Arden (Shakespeare's mother) in Wilmcote, and the wives' houses are based on the house of Shakespeare's daughter Susanna, and her husband, John Hall. For the background of exterior shots, he used a miniature Tudor village built of plasticine.  Homfray won Best Production Designer at the 1983 BAFTAs for his work on this episode. Jones was also determined that the two wives not be clones of one another, so he had them appear as if Page was a well-established member of the bourgeoisie and Ford a member of the nouveau riche.

Reference: The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Full Theatrical Reading

Complete Text

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Note. The numbers in the title refer to the play number (3.18) and publication year (1598), which Wikipedia noted based on the Oxford chronology.

3.20 Much Ado About Nothing (1599) in Full

Director Stuart Burge initially thought about shooting the entire episode against a blank tapestry background, with no set whatsoever, but it was felt that audiences may not respond well to this, and the idea was scrapped.  Ultimately the production had a style referred to as "stylized realism"; the environments are suggestive of their real life counterparts, the foregrounds are broadly realistic representations, but the backgrounds tended to be more artificial; "a representational context close to the actors, with a more stylized presentation of distance."  Jan Spoczynski won Designer of the Year at the 1985 Royal Television Society Awards for his work on this episode.

Reference: Much Ado About Nothing.

Full Theatrical Reading

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Much Ado About Nothing

Note. The numbers in the title refer to the play number (3.20) and publication year (1599), which Wikipedia noted based on the Oxford chronology.

Portraits of Richard II

Richard II, at Westminster Abbey, in the mid-1390s

Richard II (6 January 1367 – ca. 14 February 1400) was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard, a son of Edward, the Black Prince, was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was the younger brother of Edward of Angoulême; upon the death of this elder brother, Richard—at four years of age—became second in line to the throne after his father. Upon the death of Richard's father prior to the death of Edward III, Richard, by agnatic succession, became the first in line for the throne. With Edward III's death the following year, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten.

Richard II, venerating the Virgin and Child, accompanied by his patron saints

As part of Richard's program of asserting his authority, he also tried to cultivate the royal image. Unlike any other English king before him, he had himself portrayed in panel paintings of elevated majesty, of which two survive: the over life-size Westminster Abbey portrait of the king (c. 1390, see top of page), and the Wilton Diptych (1394–99), a portable work probably intended to accompany Richard on his Irish campaign. It is one of the few surviving English examples of the courtly International Gothic style of painting that was developed in the courts of the Continent, especially Prague and Paris.  Richard's expenditure on jewelry, rich textiles and metalwork was far higher than on paintings, but as with his illuminated manuscripts, there are hardly any surviving works that can be connected with him, except for a crown, "one of the finest achievements of the Gothic goldsmith", that probably belonged to Anne.

Richard II, as an unknown artist rendered him in the 16th century

Contemporary writers, even those less sympathetic to the king, agreed that Richard was a "most beautiful king", though with a "face which was white, rounded and feminine", implying he lacked manliness. He was athletic and tall; when his tomb was opened in 1871 he was found to be six feet tall. He was also intelligent and well read, and when agitated he had a tendency to stammer. While the Westminster Abbey portrait probably shows a good similarity of the king, the Wilton Diptych portrays the king as significantly younger than he was at the time; it must be assumed that he had a beard by this point. Religiously, he was orthodox, and particularly towards the end of his reign he became a strong opponent of the Lollard heresy. He was particularly devoted to the cult of Edward the Confessor, and around 1395 he had his own arms impaled with the mythical arms of the Confessor. Though not a warrior king like his grandfather, Richard nevertheless enjoyed tournaments, as well as hunting.

Reference: Richard II of England.

Perhaps someday I will write my own psychological take on Richard II, pen a collection of poem as I have for films, or create a set of portraits that allude imaginatively to his reign and personality.

David Tennant as Richard II

Richard II, with David Tennant in the title role, will be broadcast by the Royal Shakespeare Company live from Stratford-upon-Avon to cinemas in the UK and around the world on 13 November 2013 (International may vary).

Richard II is my favorite history play, and this RSC production looks breathtaking.

Actor David Tennant talks about how seeing Derek Jacobi playing the character while he was at drama school began a lifelong fascination with Shakespeare's 'extraordinary, enticing, unknowable' king. The previous star of Doctor Who explains how this has led him to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company for a fourth time, following his hugely acclaimed performance as Hamlet.

I saw that BBC production of Jacobi has Richard II, while I was a student at Northwestern University and I was enthralled with his performance.

Greg Doran, director of Richard II, talks about the history plays as a struggle for English national identity.

Production Diary (10-11), for "Richard II"

Find out how designer Stephen Brimson Lewis created the critically acclaimed design for the world of Richard II. 

"What's the best place that an actor can be for each moment?" he asks. He describes how the design for the play came about, starting with the unique opportunity that the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's shape offers to a designer.  Making full use of the depth and height of the space was a priority for the team who have developed the automated set, lighting projections and costumes for the play.

For someone with aspirations to make film and stage plays, these production diaries are a terrific set of lessons.  To hear, in this video, how Lewis conceptualizes dramatic space and position, and how technology must enable drama, is marvelous indeed.

David Tennant talks about his excitement in the lead-up to his first ever live theatre performance to audiences in cinemas across the world. 

Richard II is broadcast to cinemas worldwide from 13 November 2013.

Media and technology clearly extend the reach of an intimate staging, here at Stratford-upon-Avon, to theatres around the world.

RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran talks about his new season for next summer, in which he directs Henry IV parts 1 & 2. He introduces the other shows and directors from the season: Simon Goodwin (The Two Gentlemen of Verona), Jo Davies (The Roaring Girl), Polly Findlay (Arden of Faversham), Maria Aberg (The White Devil).

I am glad to hear that the Royal Shakespeare Company will stage Henry IV (Part 1) and Henry IV (Part 2), following Richard II chronologically in Shakespeare's tetralogy.  My friend Paul introduced me to The Hollow Crown, which piqued my interest in all four plays and the acting and cinematography of which left me in awe.

Production Diaries (7-9) for "Richard II"

Simon Ash, our Senior Production Manager for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, describes the last week of technical work before Richard II opens. 

'Are we going to be ready to get the actors on stage on Monday evening at 6 o'clock?' he asks.  ['And we were.  Just.']  His explanation of the process of bringing the show to stage makes clear it's not an easy question to answer. 

Simon and the team have been planning this work for at least three months. In the week before the show opens, six departments - 40 to 50 people - will be working in the forestage, auditorium and backstage of the the theatre for 12 hours a day. Transport, facilities, equipment and scenery all come together.

Simon Ash must indeed be a General Manager sort, who makes sure that several, different roles and responsibilities work in concert with another and they have the resources, capabilities and motivation they need to deliver on schedule.

 

Hear the music of the court of Richard II as imagined by Bruce O'Neil, our Head of Music, and Paul Englishby, composer. They've created the musical landscape for this production and share a few of its 'divine and angelic' musical moments. 

We always have musicians playing live in the theatre for our performances because as Bruce says, 'It really gives you a special atmosphere that you can't reproduce in any other way.'

I love music, and I know it can cinch the entire ambiance of a play.  I enjoy hearing Paul Englishby work at both the divine, angelic music and the heavy, military sound.  From the bit we hear in this video, it resonates well the theme and progression of Richard II.

Richard II has now opened in Stratford-upon-Avon to positive audience reactions and reviews. In this diary we go behind the scene in the lead-up to a preview show. 

Keith Osborn, who plays Sir Stephen Scroop, meets us at the stage door and takes us into the dressing rooms for pre-show preparations. 

James Kitto, the duty manager, greets us front of house as the team prepare to welcome the public. 

The doors open and theatre-goers arrive. Backstage, Klare Roger from the stage management team begins the count down to curtain up with a thirty minute call.

I really appreciate these behind-the-scenes, especially seeing what actors do to make their final preparations for the show.  I took a drama class in Dubai, and as we prepared to deliver our monologue to an audience, one by one, I needed quiet and space.  I managed to eke out space, but a friend who was to follow me was a bit too chatty.  So I had to walk away from her.  

Production Diaries (4-6) for "Richard II"

Lyn Darnley gives us an inside look at the voice coaching she does with the actors.  It goes without saying that how the actors speak and act Shakespeare is at the thrust of a meaningful, successful production.  We learn that voice isn't just voice: It is physical (breath and muscles), it is emotional (drawn from the play), and it is linguistic (iambic pentameter).

[Jim Shapiro] talks about treason, censorship and seditious material in 'a radioactive play', which was both shocking and highly topical for audiences when it was written, and six years later sparked an uprising. 

Professor Shapiro explains connections between Richard II and the reigning monarch, Elizabeth I, which Elizabeth herself, then a childless and ageing monarch, saw all too clearly. Like Richard, she had problems with Ireland, taxed her people and had no heir.

I can only imagine what a playwright, a repertory, and their producers or benefactors have to go through to stage what was clearly a politically combustible play.  So the struggle for national identity that director Greg Doran relates wasn't just historical (14th century) but also contemporary (16th and 17th centuries).

'There aren't many things that we can't turn our hands to here,' [Alistair McArthur] says. And the team prove it as they talk through design, fittings, sleeve adjustments, velvet breastplates and travel-crowns. 

Alistair leads a tour of the costume department, through painting and dyeing, on to footwear and armoury and finally into the hats and jewellery team. Everyone is busy working on the outfits that our company will wear in the performances. With plenty of last minute changes and refinements it is an interesting time for our costume department.

I bet that a director's decision to stage a period piece, versus a modern day one, is partly influenced by the challenges of costume and the corresponding budget.  McArthur gives us a good glimpse of the complexity and pressure of outfitting Richard II and company, and all of this must have taken quite a lot of talent, resources and cash.

Production Diaries (1-3) for "Richard II"

Greg Doran is the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the director of Richard II, currently staged in Stratford-upon-Avon until November 16th 2013.  He explains that these history plays reflected the struggles to form a national identity and to reconcile personal power.  In this respect, William Shakespeare puts key politicians of Richard II's reign under the microscope.

Pretty Emma Hamilton, playing the Queen to Richard II, appreciates Doran's introductions and warm-up among the actors.  Definitely it must be a thrill to perform for The Royal Shakespeare Company.  I knew Richard II was a boy, age 10, when he assumed the throne.  But I didn't realize that his wife was only 6 years old, when they married, and was 10 years old herself, when he died.  She was Isabella of Valois, who was Richard II's second wife, after his first wife, Anne of Bohemia died two years before.

Some critics of Da Vinci Code and Gladiators accuse these films of veering away from historical truth.  Maybe it's simply their job to criticize so, and maybe even an exercise they positively enjoy.  Fine.  Otherwise I'd think their criticisms were ignorant: These films are works of art, imagination and license, not documentaries, so of course they are not going to be factual, at least not completely.

That said, historian Helen Castor notes that while we marvel at the architecture of Westminster Abbey, we rely on works like Shakespeare's histories to see the people who populated it.  Most that medieval historians have are formal government, technical records, and consequently they always have to employ their imagination to supply the human element, as Castor puts it.  She sees Shakespeare's histories, with his keen pulse on human nature, as a fantastic resource that feeds into our collective understanding of what happened. 

Flagrant Racial Discrimination in "Othello"

Katie Chaput teaches 'Othello' as part of her unit, bridging African and English literature to create new contexts for her students to consider. How many doors to discovery can you open for your class with Shakespeare's plays?

American education is, at best, rather demure about race relations.  So I wonder how teachers do teach 'Othello,' when racial discrimination is quite flagrant, as when Iago tries to rile Brabantio about what the Moor Othello is doing to his beloved daughter Desdemona:

'Zounds, sir, you're robb'd; for shame, put on your gown;
Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul;
Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise;
Awake the snorting citizens with the bell,
Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you:
Arise, I say.

Iago not only reduces race to black and white, but also plays on words in a disgustingly graphic way:

• ram, both as a noun and a verb, suggesting blunt force
• ewe, as a pun for you, that is, Brabantio
• tupping, a rude term suggesting animalistic, sexual thrashing

Indeed I wonder how much Chaput covers the brutal nature of such words in the play.