Sooooooo William Rowley’s The Birth of Merlin actually has very little to do with Merlin or any other part of the Arthurian legend, and it’s more of a history play than its title would suggest. We re-introduce you to playwright William Rowley, who apparently loved to write himself into all of his plays as a “fat clown;” we give you A Taste of Text from Act IV involving a little antic spirit; we talk about how this play doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre because it is doing The Literal Most at all times, but for all that it’s not even that great; then we gossip a bit and that’s that. Don’t believe anyone that tells you this play was written by Shakespeare, and definitely don’t believe them if they say it’s their favorite play.
Here’s what we featured in our Happy Hour segment:
Aubrey’s rec: Queen City Mischief and Magic Festival
Jess’s rec: Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Here’s what we talked about in our ShakesBubble Gossip segment:
Lazarus Theatre UK’s live-streamed performance of Dr. Faustus coming on Oct. 6
Fall Season opens at ASC
