Dramaturg, actor, and writer, Linnea Barklund, joins us this week to help us distinguish one Noble Kinsman from the other, among other things. The Rhetorical Device of the Week is polysyndeton (aka the dinosaur that poops conjunctions); Linnea's Burbage Break is all about the interchangeability of men in TNK; Linnea teases out some of the more complicated themes that run through the play and gives us a sneak peak into the Bards Ablaze Theatre Collective's upcoming production of it; we play a little Line Roulette, issue a *very important* budgie-smuggler-related correction; spill some hot ShakesBubble Gossip and reveal the next #DickBracket match up. Thanks again, Linnea, for joining us to talk about Two Noble Kinsmen!
Henry VIII 101
We're kicking off the January of Sh*tty Plays with (arguably) the worst of them all, Henry VIII. But fear not, because we've brought on intrepid director, playwright, and all-around good egg, Merlyn Q Sell, to hold our hands and tell us why this play might be worth re-examining. The Rhetorical Device of the Week is isocolon; Merlyn's Burbage Break examines the disparate ways characters refer to the King and the Queens in Henry VIII; we summarize the play for you in record time; we've got some super-exciting gossip and also a new matchup for our ongoing #DickBracket. What's that, Butts? Just a great episode. #YoureWelcome
Troilus & Cressida 101
The incomparable Molly Seremet returns to get us through Jess's least favorite play in the whole canon, Troilus and Cressida. (#Blessed) The Rhetorical Device of the Week is synecdoche; Molly's Burbage Break is all about the metonymic space of tents in this play (#metonymicspaces); we talk about the weirdness and cynicism of this strange, unclassifiable play and some of its print and production history; the ShakesBubble Gossip includes plans for a bachelorette party (#bejealous); and our #DickBracket reveals the winner of the last match up between Pericles's Antiochus and Revenger's Duke. Oh, and Aubrey mouths all the sound effects this week and everyone learns the names of our future sex tapes. For reasons. You just have to listen. #yourewelcome
Richard II 101
Buckle your seatbelts and get your knowledge holes ready, because this week we dive deeeeeep into Richard II (you know, the *other* famous Richard). We also take a quick detour into Spanish translations to learn how to say a very *particular* phrase...the Rhetorical Device of the Week is anadiplosis (and anadiplosis is the device this week #anadiplosis); the Burbage Break is all about the re-gender vs. cross-gender casting debate; Jess Fails (royally) At Shakespeare; we review the nebulous Plantagenet family tree for you and talk about the Essex Rebellion (for which Richard II may or may not have been used as an allegory); we drop some hot ShakesBubble Gossip and reveal the results of last week's #DickBracket matchup. If your knowledge hole was empty, it certainly is stuffed now....#huuuuuhhhh #suckonTHAT
Here are some links to the stuff we talked about today:
That article about Illyria by Ezra Tozien
Cymbeline 101
We could not have asked for a better guest host, Mya L. Gosling, creator of "Good Tickle Brain" (aka your favorite stick figure Shakespeare webcomic) to help us unpack Cymbeline, the most complicated and ridiculous of Shakespeare's romance plays. The Rhetorical Device of the Week is epistrophe (and Jess finally gets to tell her dirty joke about it); the Burbage Break is all about the Deus ex Machina plot device; we actually manage to sumamrize the play in under 5 minutes (mostly because Mya is the Queen of Summarizing Everything); we revive Choices Were Made as our game in order to talk about Mya's trauma after watching the Ethan Hawke movie version of Cymbeline; we gossip a little bit, and discuss the ongoing #DickBracket. All this and soooooooo much more. Thanks again to Mya L. Gosling @GoodTickleBrain (www.goodticklebrain.com) for your input this week!