The Real Housewives of Shakespeare

Thanks Miss Megan!

This is where the drama truly is.



I love Titania!

The end says it all: "Big Drama. Better Writing."

Sketch: The Doctor and Donna Noble (In a Way)

This is one of my favorite sketches from Comic Relief 2007. Comic Relief is a charity based in Britain that raises money to rid the world of poverty. Their sketches are stellar, and this is one of the best.

One great thing, we get to hear David Tennant's real Scottish Accent.

Another great thing, oh, just all of it.



Enjoy!

Shakespeare: Joss Whedon Style

Joss Whedon has adapted and directed a modern version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare and Whedon, this could be a good combination.

I'm only familiar with a few members of the cast. Nathan Fillion plays Dogberry. I would have loved to see him as Benedick, but we can't have everything we want. I'm sure he'll be great as Dogberry.

The other actors I've heard of are Amy Acker, who plays Beatrice, and Sean Maher, who plays Don John. Amy played Nova/Astrid in the last episode of Once Upon a Time, and Sean played Simon on Firefly.

It hasn't been announced when this will be released, or even if it will be a general release. 

I'm so excited to see it.

Shakespeare Behind Bars

As you from crimes would pardon’d be,
Let your indulgence set me free.

This weekend I rented Shakespeare Behind Bars. It’s a documentary about a program at a Kentucky prison where the inmates rehearse and perform a Shakespeare play. The documentary was filmed for almost a year when the inmates were getting ready for a production of The Tempest.

The Tempest is a play about many things, including punishment, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, confinement and freedom. It was very heartbreaking and moving to hear the actors/inmates (which included burglars, drug dealers, and murderers) talk about their crimes, to see their honest emotions, and to hear how themes in the play related to them.

One of the inmates, who sexually abused seven girls, said, with a catch in his voice, “The people who need mercy the most deserve it the least.”

The arts can make a difference. It can change lives. One purpose of prison is rehabilitation. The Warden of the prison was very profound when he said, “How they leave when they leave this island is key. They can put us out of business. They just don’t come back.”

Theatre can help people work through issues, for those performing it and for those watching it. Shakespeare’s themes are relevant today because we aren’t that much different from those who lived 400, 500 or even a thousand years ago.

I guess you could say that Shakespeare said it best (which he usually did):
With my nobler reason, 'gainst my fury
Do I take part? The rarer action
is in virtue than in vengeance.”