Blogs dated January 2011

Newcastle Week 1: Romeo & Juliet

January 10, 2011
R and J video blog thumbnail

Our first video blog from Newcastle comes courtesy of Richard Katz, as we go behind the scenes of Romeo and Juliet.Patrick Romer shows us how he gets into character like a proper Shakespearean actor, the Ensemble 'celebrate' Richard Katz's birthday, and Dharmesh has an existential crisis.

by The Ensemble  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

Did Cardenio go up in flames?

January 7, 2011

Are perhaps the parts or the foul papers of the Spanish play they were doing at court three weeks ago lying around on a shelf somewhere. And is that what happens? Shakespeare and Fletcher's play goes up in smoke? Well, it would seem not.

But we hear no more of Cardenio for forty years.

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

A Memorable Masque

January 7, 2011

Masques, as a character in Beaumont and Fletcher's The Maid's Tragedy says, are 'tied to rules of flattery'. And perhaps at a wedding, royal or not, we all understand the etiquette required. But it does seem odd, if Cardenio was indeed written for this particular nuptial, that scenes in which a wedding is presented where the bride is forced against her will to marry...

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

'Inventions rare' - the Wedding Masques of 1613

January 7, 2011

On reading this description I find myself becoming intrigued. Perhaps this will have some bearing on how the actor playing Cardenio would have been expected to depict his madness?

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

Souring relationships

January 5, 2011

We have no idea if the June 8th performance represents the last performance of Cardenio, but it is possible that three weeks later the script was lost forever.

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

The death of princes

January 5, 2011

Shakespeare and Fletcher were ready with a new play on a Spanish subject. They had taken their subject from the global blockbuster which had just emerged from Spain, Don Quixote. Cardenio could well have been the highlight of the season. But suddenly the entire festivity was placed in jeopardy, when that November, the Prince of Wales suddenly died.

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

The Future Henry IX

January 5, 2011

In these blogs, I am chasing the story of the political rows which were simmering at Court leading up to Christmas 1612, when Cardenio was first performed. I want to find out why Shakespeare and Fletcher had chosen to write a play with a Spanish subject.

by Greg Doran  |  No comments yet  |  Read this entry

Page 3 of 3
Showing 21-27 of 27 entries

 «    1    2    3  

Email newsletter

Sign up to email updates for the latest RSC news:

RSC Members

Already an RSC Member or Supporter? Sign in here.

Support us

Find out how you can make a difference

Teaching Shakespeare