Shakespeare - Blog Posts

Happy Ides of March!! I hope all of you have fun stabbing your enemies 23 times in the back. 🫶

"to be or not to be. that is the question" No it'sn't. how come i was never asked it?

i was born without my consent, and i take that personally

Oberon & Titania by Arthur Rackham

Psyche Weeping, Kinuko Y. Craft I Ophelia, Friedrich Wilhelm Theodor Heyser

i've been away for a bit because, you know, college. and i have to read these two for classes. life's been boring lately, but i'm fine with that.

sometimes it rains and it's like nothing more exists. incredible how rain has the power to make me feel safe. 🌧🤍

Hear me out-

A Muppet’s Midsummer Night’s Dream

Theseus, Hippolyta, Lysander, Hermia, Helena and Demetrius are all esteemed Shakespearean actors who keep to the original script, whilst all the fairies and some of the mechanicals are muppets muppeting about with the occasional soliloquy.

I present to you my vision:

Gonzo as Oberon

Believe me when I tell you Gonzo has RANGE. I think his background as an alien will help him embody the more mystical elements of Oberon and we know from his performance as the narrator in a Muppets Christmas Carol he’s a natural leading man.

Rizzo as Puck

Name a more iconic duo than Gonzo and Rizzo the rat? You can’t- of course you fucking can’t. Their chemistry is off the charts, celestial dare I say, platonic soulmates the like of which us mere mortals cannot comprehend. On top of the incredible back and forth they’ll bring to Oberon and Puck, Rizzo has a sense of mischief and is just the right amount of a whimsy can’t do nothing right boy to bring a really endearing vision of Puck to the stage.

Miss Piggy as Titania

Is it controversial to pair up Miss Piggy with someone who’s not her usual leading man? Sure, but bear with me I have a vision. Oberon and Titania are at odds for most of the play and I can definitely see a world in which Miss Piggy beats his ass in front of all the other fairies. Also the role of a glamorous ethereal queen? Are you kidding? Miss Piggy is going to body this role heart and soul.

Kermit as Bottom

Remember when I told you to bear with me? I would never break up a duo like Kermit and his beloved Miss Piggy, are you mad? Bottom and Titania spend the whole play smooching and mucking about with the fairies, not only do these two have the chemistry but it also gives Miss Piggy a chance to serenade her beloved Kermie. The casting also works on a meta level with Kermit playing an over ambitious actor somewhat hemmed in by an eccentric troupe. The only question is with the iconic transformation scene, do we cast a human actor who turns into Kermit, or do we just have regular ole Kermit with some donkey ears? I need the thoughts of the public desperately.

The Mechanicals:

Fozzie Bear as Snug

Waka, waka

Beaker as Francis Flute

Literally his worst nightmare is playing Thisbe.

Pepe the Prawn as Robin Starveling

Just a weird lil guy pretending to be moonlight

Bunsen as Tom Snout

Tom Snouts a tinker- plus he can do Pyramus and Thisbe’s special effects

Scooter as Peter Quince

Typical theatre manager energy.

The Fairies:

The Chickens as Titania’s Attendants

To be honest I can see the Henson company making a lot of cool original puppets for the fairies but you can’t have the muppets without some dancing chickens.

Janice and Animal should also get special cameos as Peaseblossom and Mustardseed respectively and naturally Waldorf and Statler show up to heckle Pyramus and Thisbe at the end.

Disney- make it happen

give it up for my fav pathetic man

pygmalion and galatea but make it gay

which one of u was going to tell me that tea tastes different if u put it in hot water?

So um I've never done this before but I have a theory about Macbeth that I really wanted to get more opinions on☺️.

So basically many people already know about how Macbeth may have PTSD and I want to take that further by saying that Banquo also had PTSD and they both hallucinated the witches.

First of all only these 2 characters were said to have had any interactions with the witches, so taking that what if these witches were only saying what Macbeth and Banquo wanted to hear. As in their deep inner thoughts. It is hinted that Macbeth would have loved to be king so it is possible that the witches were the bit inside if him that was his greed (I'm sorry idk how to explain this very well) and also this would not have been the only time Macbeth hallucinated, the dagger if the mind and Banquo at the banquet scene. So I see nothing against them being hallucinations especially if it is confirmed that he could've imagined humans during the banquet scene. Also little bit that during the banquet scene Lady Macbeth says that this is an old sickness from childhood and even though it's just an excuse it still goes so why not.

Now with Banquo he had a great heart so despite the fact that he didn't get to be king but his son does, he takes no action on the matter unlike Macbeth. So he also could've wanted that deep down.

It is also hinted that Lady Macbeth has lost a child and I think that it could have had some sort of mental illness too.

According to this random website I found online she had symptoms similar to PTSD so she could also be hallucinating or not in her right mind. We see this where she says "Out damned spot..." trying to get the non-existent blood out of her hands. Also it says guilt. Guilt that she felt after killing King Duncan. This probably really messed her up (as we saw) and might have been the overload that caused her to die (cuz we don't know the real reason).

So yeah that's my theory. Um, I'm not really sure what I was trying to prove but yeah.

Good Omens Hamlet

Do y’all ever think about what David must have had to deal with listening to that awful rendition of to be or not to be I mean hell, the actor had some of the words wrong and was terrible lol. I know it was purposeful but like as a Shakespeare geek seeing the supposed Richard Burbage be such a bad actor physically hurt me. I can’t imagine what David, a classically trained actor, who played Hamlet on the West End, must have felt.

can you be slutty and and asexual?

the sluttiest thing a man can do is be good at performing shakespeare

I forgot to post this.

my uncle killed my father and married with my mother and now i must *remembers that suicide jokes do nothing for my mental health and wellbeing* put on a play

WHEN SHALL WE THREE MEET AGAIN? IN THUNDER, LIGHTNING OR IN RAIN?

Macbeth (1948) dir. Orson Welles The Witches of Eastwick (1987) dir. George Miller Stardust (2007) dir. Matthew Vaughn The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 - 2020) The Pale Horse (2020) dir. Leonora Lonsdale Hercules (1997) dir. John Musker, Ron Clements Sleeping Beauty (1959) dir. Clyde Geronimi The Black Cauldron (1985) dir. Richard Rich, Ted Berman Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996 - 2003) Halloweentown (1998) dir. Duwayne Dunham A Wrinkle in Time (2018) dir. Ava DuVernay The Craft (1996) dir. Andrew Fleming Charmed (1998 - 2006) Hocus Pocus (1993) dir. Kenny Ortega

Two houses both alike in dignity never establishes the level of dignity they both obtain. This is usually assumed to be high, but could in fact be extremely low. Thus an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet with both houses being rival clown troupes would not be in opposition to the text. In this essay I will

romeo and juliet, william shakespeare // bad buddy episode 12

romeo and juliet (1597) by william shakespeare // bad buddy (2021) dir. backaof noppharnach

Here's THE masterpost of free and full adaptations, by which I mean that it's a post made by the master.

Anthony and Cleopatra: here's the BBC version

As you like it: you'll find here an outdoor stage adaptation and here the BBC version

Coriolanus: Here's a college play, here's the 1984 telefilm, here's the 2014 one with tom hiddleston

Hamlet: The Kenneth Branagh 1996 Hamlet is here, the 1964 russian version is here and the 1964 american version is here. THe 1964 Broadway production is here, the 1948 Laurence Olivier one is here. And the 1980 version is here. Here are part 1 and 2 of the 1990 BBC adaptation. Have the 2018 Almeida version here.

Henry IV: part 1 and part 2 of the BBC 1989 version. And here's part 1 of a corwall school version.

Henry V: Laurence Olivier (who would have guessed) 1944 version. The 1989 Branagh version here. The BBC version is here.

Julius Caesar: here's the 1979 BBC adaptation, here the 1970 John Gielgud one.

King Lear: Laurence Olivier once again plays in here. And Gregory Kozintsev, who was I think in charge of the russian hamlet, has a king lear here. The 1975 BBC version is here. The Royal Shakespeare Compagny's 2008 version is here. The 1974 version with James Earl Jones is here.

Macbeth: here's the 1961 one with Sean Connery. Here's the 1971 by Roman Polanski, with spanish subtitles. Here's the 1948 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljZrf_0_CcQ">here. The 1988 BBC onee with portugese subtitles and here the 2001 one). The 1969 radio one with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench is here and the 1966 BBC version is here. The Royal Shakespeare Compagny's 2008 version is here.

Measure for Measure: BBC version here.

The Merchant of Venice: here's a stage version, here's the 1980 movie, here the 1973 Lawrence Olivier movie, here's the 2004 movie.

The Merry Wives of Windsor: the Royal Shakespeare Compagny gives you this movie.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: have this sponsored by the City of Columbia, and here the BBC version.

Much Ado About Nothing: Here is the kenneth branagh version and here the Tennant and Tate 2011 version. Here's the 1984 version.

Othello: A Massachussets Performance here, the 2001 movie her is the Orson Wells movie with portuguese subtitles theree, and a fifteen minutes long lego adaptation here. THen if you want more good ole reliable you've got the BBC version here and there.

Richard II: here is the BBC version

Richard III: here's the 1955 one with Laurence Olivier, and here's the 1995 one with Ian McKellen. (the 1995 one is in english subtitled in spanish. the 1955 one has no subtitles and might have ads since it's on youtube)

Romeo and Juliet: here's the 1988 BBC version.

The Taming of the Shrew: the 1988 BBC version here, the 1929 version here, some Ontario stuff here and here is the 1967 one with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

The Tempest: the 1979 one is here, the 2010 is here. Here is the 1988 one.

Timon of Athens: here is the 1981 movie with Jonathan Pryce,

Troilus and Cressida can be found here

Titus Andronicus: the 1999 movie with Anthony Hopkins here

Twelfth night: here for the BBC, herefor the 1970 version with Alec Guinness, Joan Plowright and Ralph Richardson.

The Winter's Tale: the BBC version is here

Please do contribute if you find more. This is far from exhaustive.

(also look up the original post from time to time for more plays)

My favourite Shakespeare quotes:

"We know what we are, but know not what we may be" - Hamlet

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts" - As You Like It

"Good company, good wine, good welcome can make good people" -Henry VIII

"This above all: to thine own self be true" -Hamlet

"There is nothing either good or bad, but things making it so" -Hamlet

"I do love nothing in this world so well as you; is not that strange?" -Much ado about nothing

"O happy dagger, This is thy sheath: there rust, and let me die" -Romeo and Juliet

"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool" -As You Like It

"Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have Immortal longings in me" -Antony and Cleopatra

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." -Julius Caesar

"Et tu, Brute?" -Julius Caesar

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!" - A Midsummer night's dream

"For she had eyes and chose me" -Othello

"But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve. For daws to peck at: I am not what I am" -Othello

"If she lives till doomsday, she'll burn a week longer than the whole world" -The comedy of errors

"Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!" -Macbeth

"Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it" -Macbeth

"Life ... is a tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing" -Macbeth

I have a new comic -- a real, physical one -- up for sale on my Etsy!

It’s $6 + shipping, and you get a sticker!

Because I have brainworms and want to infect everyone I can with them, I will be posting the whole thing here but the draw for the hard copy is a pretty color cover! And a sticker!

Read the whole thing below the cut and then maybe buy a copy.

Rosemary? You mean spicy pine needles?

One of my favourite bits of media history trivia is that back in the Elizabethan period, people used to publish unauthorised copies of plays by sending someone who was good with shorthand to discretely write down all of the play's dialogue while they watched it, then reconstructing the play by combining those notes with audience interviews to recover the stage directions; in some cases, these unauthorised copies are the only record of a given play that survives to the present day. It's one of my favourites for two reasons:

It demonstrates that piracy has always lay at the heart of media preservation; and

Imagine being the 1603 equivalent of the guy with the cell phone camera in the movie theatre, furtively scribbling down notes in a little book and hoping Shakespeare himself doesn't catch you.

This goddamm Shakespeare (if that's even his real name) essay is going to be the death of me

Oh no,,,,,, macbeth got a wee bit emo whAT DO YOU WANT ME TO TALK ABOUT???

Straight out of Hamlet, these fellows will become the second joker in my upcoming Shakespeare-themed poker deck.

y'all aren't going to BELIEVE this

I only got these books for $6, literally crying happy tears rn. I found them in my local thrift store and grabbed them immediately

Can we please get Shakespearean English right? I have literally never seen anyone ever get it right. (other than in formally printed texts but those dont count)

Thou = you (subject)

Thee = you (object)

Thine = your (possessive, before a word starting with a vowel) eg “thine avocado”

Thy = your (possessive, before a word starting with a consonant) eg “thy bread”

Someone today will read Shakespeare’s hamlet and say omg he’s just like me fr. Another person will read moby dick and proclaim Ishmael as an adhd king.

A person grieving for their recently deceased lover reads the iliad and they watch as Achilles rages and rages and god how righteous anger fueld by love is so devastating that it’s ramifications still affect the world several thousand years later.

We might one day settle down and read the epic of gilgamesh and watch as a king has to accept the death of the person he loved the most. One of the very first stories ever written and it was about coping with death, and how to grieve.

We don’t read classics because they’re old, we read them because they remind us that we are never alone. That a character created over 500 years ago struggled with the exact same problems we all still have today. That even a king from centuries past had to deal with death just like me. That’s what makes stories so powerful–they prove to us that we are never truly alone in what we are feeling.

Me: so how are we supposed to color Shakespeare for a project?

Friend 1: who knows

Friend 2: maybe we can add a flair to him

Me: drag queen. Let's make him a drag queen

Both friends: yES