WordPlay™ Shakespeare

Now, Half the Page is a Stage...

Not Guilty!

Poster for The Trial of Hamlet, showing a skull in cartoon form

Shakespeare's Own Drama

Image of Shakespeare surrounded by swooning women
An excellent overview by Stanley Wells of the drama (broadly speaking) that William Shakespeare experienced in his own family affairs. More

Bone of Contention

German Shepherd puppy. Very cute!
We like spoonerisms and incomprehensible theater reviews, but we love dogs, so when we saw this piece of advice with a Shakespearean twist at the end, we had to post! Happy Thanksgiving (and don't let your dog eat cooked bone, it seems...) Hat tip to barkbox (with whom we have no affiliation.)
  1. We know, we know! Dog and Bone feels like the Romeo & Juliet of the dinner table: who are we to keep them apart? But cooked bones can splinter and become a choking hazard. And that makes for one seriously unhappy ending. “For never was a story of more woe than this of Drooliet… and her Boneo.”

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The Stage Design Was Quite Laconic...

Russian actor in strange headgear and dark glasses.
We can't say we fully (or even partially) understand this review of Taming of the Shrew by the Russian Kachalov Theatre, but in the spirit of acknowledging Shakespeare's global reach, we put it forward here. Opaque though the commentary may be, it certainly seems like a visually arresting production. More.

Analogy Lovers, Start Your Engines!

Image of Leonard Cohen wearing a bolo tie
The Guardian proposes that Leonard Cohen is to Bob Dylan, as John Donne was to Shakespeare. Discuss...More.

The More You Like Each Other, The Meaner You Can Be!

Photograph of David Oyelowo as Henry VI
Great interview with David Oyelowo, who plays Othello against Daniel Craig's Iago at The New York Theater Workshop starting November 22. More.

Shakespeare in Mandarin

Poster for a performnce of Shakespeare's Hamlet in Mandarin Chinese
Tremendous article in the Financial Times detailing the possibilities and pitfalls in translating Shakespeare's works into Mandarin. More.

Comparing Hamilton to Henry IV, part 1.

Graphic of Hamilton as Henry V, with a castle as a backdrop
Isaac Butler, compares Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, with Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 1 -- (proper title: 1 Henry IV) in this complex but well reasoned piece for Slate. More.

What do the words "magazine", "coffee", and "alcohol" have in common?

A panel of Emojis
This delightful article by Madeline White in the Brisbane Times provides the answer: provenance. These three words are very much part of today's English lexicon, but all three originated from the Arabic language. The point? That historically, the English language has proved very adept at incorporating elements from other languages into the vernacular - with Shakespeare in the lead as an arch-shaper of that language, and emoji as the latest digital import into English. Ms. White makes the case better than we can! More.

Calling Dr. Spooner...

Poster for the One Ham Manlet Show
We here at The New Book Press can't resist the occasional Spoonerism. So, here 'tis! More.

Westworld and Shakespeare

Image of Abernathy in Westworld
Michael Crichton leaned heavily on Shakespeare's words when writing Westworld.  What does it all mean? More.

Tina Packer on Shakespeare and the Election Cycle

Photo of Director Tina Packer
Great radio piece on WBUR's Radio Boston (and the as-always excellent Meghna Chakrabarti) with Tina Packer addressing our current election discussion through Shakespeare's eyes. More.

Glenda Will Howl

Photo of Glenda Jackson rehearsing to be King Lear
Celia Imrie and Glenda Jackson in a rehearsal of “King Lear” at the Old Vic. Credit Manuel Harlan.
After a quarter century absence, two time Oscar winner and former English member of parliament Glenda Jackson will return to the stage this Friday, to play one of the most challenging of Shakespeare's roles - King Lear. More.

Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet At 20

Still photo from Baz Lurhmann's Romeo + Juliet with Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonard DiCaprio and Claire Danes in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet
The Guardian re-reviews Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet on its 20th anniversary. More.

We Almost Lost 16 Plays...

David Kastan at lecture podium
George M. Bodman Professor of English David Kastan speaks at Drew
Yale scholar David Kastan speaks at Drew University, and explains how the first folio saved at least 16 of Shakespeare's plays from obscurity. A close call. More.

Hamlet's Father...and Halloween

Photo of Stephen Greenblatt, facing camera
John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities Stephen Greenblatt.
Leading Harvard Shakespeare Scholar Stephen Greenblatt launches a new MOOC today, entitled "Hamlet's Ghost". More.