A stick-figure Shakespeare comic by Mya Lixian Gosling
So, I'm actually interested in a lot of other things besides Shakespeare. One of those things is soccer/football (purely as a spectator, mind you), so you can imagine how much fun I've been having with this:
Here's a decent roundup of some of the earliest Shakespeare/Leicester jokes.
Good luck, Shakespeare.
One final Apocrypha for the time being. This one sounds particularly fun, if you ask me.
Action packed with lots of magic and comedy and hijinks! The Birth of Merlin was originally printed attributing it to Shakespeare and William Rowley, but most people agree it was written by Rowley alone, or possibly with another collaborator who was definitely not Shakespeare. It still sounds like a lot of fun, though.
There are more apocrypha to tackle in the future, but that's it for the moment!
I'm particularly intrigued by today's Shakespeare Apocrypha play, Thomas of Woodstock, as it is, essentially, a prequel to Richard II.
Richard II picks up almost immediately after Thomas of Woodstock, with people arguing over who murdered him. When I saw Breath of Kings, which condensed Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and Henry V into two plays, at the Stratford Festival last season, they actually opened with the murder of Thomas from Thomas of Woodstock, which I thought was a nice way to try and fill in the backstory of Richard II a bit.
Thomas of Woodstock exists only as an incomplete, anonymous manuscript. Many people have tried to argue that Shakespeare wrote it, but, as with the other apocrypha, there is no evidence and no scholarly consensus to back up that claim.
Let's continue our journey through Shakespeare's Apocrypha, with a play that SOUNDS like it should be a rogue Jane Austen novel, but absolutely isn't.
Arden of Faversham was actually based upon the real-life murder of Thomas Arden, which caused quite a stir at the time. I haven't read it, but the synopsis makes it sound unintentionally hilarious, with Alice reruiting what seem to be a dozen different people to murder her husband, none of whom actually manage to do so until the very end.
The author or authors of Arden remain unknown. The play was published anonymously, and subsequent generations of scholars have cycled through all the likely suspects: Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, and others. It's possible Shakespeare contributed some material to it, but there doesn't seem to be any overriding consensus on the matter.
I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:
WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare!
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!
Let's get back to Shakespeare's Apocrypha, a.k.a. plays that have, at some point in time, been attributed to Shakespeare but either have not survived or are generally agreed to have been written mostly or entirely by people who were definitely not Shakespeare! Today's installment is the extremely problematic Yorkshire Tragedy!
This rather hideous play was originally registered and printed with Shakespeare listed as the author, but general consensus today is that it was actually written by Thomas Middleton. It sounds like a terrible evening at the theatre, if you ask me. Shakespeare is well out of this one.
I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:
WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare!
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!
I've got a couple busy weeks ahead of me - my annual trip to the Ohio Light Opera, followed by my VERY EXCITING TALK at the Utah Shakespeare Festival's Wooden O Symposium - so as a small filler today I've taken one of my favorite early, pre-Good Tickle Brain cartoons and revised it it a bit:
You can see the original version (and see how my art style has "evolved") over here.
I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:
WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare!
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!
Let's check back in with everyone's least-favorite support group...
Poor Steve.
(Thanks to Chris Prentice for letting me borrow Steve.)
I'm giving the opening address at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Wooden O Symposium! Here are all the fun details:
WHO: Me!
WHAT: Opening address at USF's cross-disciplinary Shakespeare conference! I'll be talking about Good Tickle Brain, comics, and Shakespeare!
WHEN: Monday, August 7, 5:00pm
WHERE: Movie Theatre, Sharwan Smith Student Center, Cedar City, Utah
WHY: Because they asked me!
HOW: My talk is free and open to the public! Just show up!
There are many murderers in Shakespeare's plays, but only seven who are named "Murderer". These are them.
Third Murderer is in charge of the meeting because there is only one third murderer, whereas there are three first murderers and three second murderers. Third murderers are rare.
