The first day of class was wonderful. Everyone seems intelligent and passionate about Shakespeare! I feel right at home. Dr. Jim Black of Calgary, Canada lectured on Richard III. It was very interesting how Henry VII (Richmond) demonized Richard III in the Tudor Histories.
The Facts: Born 1452. Richard III was born with a deformed shoulder, which is exaggerated in the Tudor Histories. He was crowned in 1583 and reigned for 2 years. Historically he was married to Ann for 14 years. They had a daughter who died of natural causes. Ann is said to have died of grief form the loss and of TB. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses and is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England.
The Myth: Legend says Richard III's mother had a 16 to 18 month pregnancy and Richard III was born with teeth - "I came to bite the world."
The Play: Richard III was first played by Richard Burbage (Shakespeare’s leading and probably favorite actor). Women are pawns in historical drama. Richard' s relations with Ann can be described as "Meeting Cute" - a hate to love relationship. Elizabethan courtship consisted of the negotiate (between the parents), the ceremony (the wedding), and the consummation.
"It’s not enough to speak Richard III. You have to whistle it too.” – George Bernard Shaw.
Nicole and I walked around town some more and visited the local shops. In the Tudor Gift Shop I bought a pair of tragedy mask earrings and a sterling silver bracelet with a white stone in the center.
We watched a show on the lawn in front of the Elizabethan Stage. The show combined jazz music and dance. There were live singers, dancers and musicians.
At 8:30 PM we attended Napoli Milionaria! It is a dark comedy, by playwright Eduardo De Filippo. It is a study of a Naples family, struggling through World War II, seamlessly transitioning between comedy and tragedy. Some of the scenes seem very Vaudeville-like, but before I knew it I was back in the moment wondering whether I should be laughing or weeping.
The play revolves around American occupied Southern Italy. When the play begins we see that rebel Italians have retreated to northern Italy, with casualties on both sides. Napes suffered heavy bombing and we are left with the aftermath of war. Life is sustained by a black market where everything tangible becomes a commodity. Aristocrats are the dominant culture, while the people of Naples suffer.
I became very interesting in the father figure of the play. He seemed to preach about morality, yet there are times that, perhaps without thought, he takes from his children. He literally takes bread out of the hands of his child. I also wonder about his “reservations”. At one point he plays dead and the audience sees him return to life. As the family scrambles around town to find medicine for their sick child (whom the audience never sees), I quickly realized that the child wasn’t a child at all; The child is a metaphor for Italy. It seemed Italy was cured by American medicine- I wonder was this says about the point of view of the author.
The Facts: Born 1452. Richard III was born with a deformed shoulder, which is exaggerated in the Tudor Histories. He was crowned in 1583 and reigned for 2 years. Historically he was married to Ann for 14 years. They had a daughter who died of natural causes. Ann is said to have died of grief form the loss and of TB. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field was the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses and is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England.
The Myth: Legend says Richard III's mother had a 16 to 18 month pregnancy and Richard III was born with teeth - "I came to bite the world."
The Play: Richard III was first played by Richard Burbage (Shakespeare’s leading and probably favorite actor). Women are pawns in historical drama. Richard' s relations with Ann can be described as "Meeting Cute" - a hate to love relationship. Elizabethan courtship consisted of the negotiate (between the parents), the ceremony (the wedding), and the consummation.
"It’s not enough to speak Richard III. You have to whistle it too.” – George Bernard Shaw.
Nicole and I walked around town some more and visited the local shops. In the Tudor Gift Shop I bought a pair of tragedy mask earrings and a sterling silver bracelet with a white stone in the center.
We watched a show on the lawn in front of the Elizabethan Stage. The show combined jazz music and dance. There were live singers, dancers and musicians.
At 8:30 PM we attended Napoli Milionaria! It is a dark comedy, by playwright Eduardo De Filippo. It is a study of a Naples family, struggling through World War II, seamlessly transitioning between comedy and tragedy. Some of the scenes seem very Vaudeville-like, but before I knew it I was back in the moment wondering whether I should be laughing or weeping.
The play revolves around American occupied Southern Italy. When the play begins we see that rebel Italians have retreated to northern Italy, with casualties on both sides. Napes suffered heavy bombing and we are left with the aftermath of war. Life is sustained by a black market where everything tangible becomes a commodity. Aristocrats are the dominant culture, while the people of Naples suffer.
I became very interesting in the father figure of the play. He seemed to preach about morality, yet there are times that, perhaps without thought, he takes from his children. He literally takes bread out of the hands of his child. I also wonder about his “reservations”. At one point he plays dead and the audience sees him return to life. As the family scrambles around town to find medicine for their sick child (whom the audience never sees), I quickly realized that the child wasn’t a child at all; The child is a metaphor for Italy. It seemed Italy was cured by American medicine- I wonder was this says about the point of view of the author.
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