A Shakespeare Blog
I know it’s been awhile since I dropped a post here on Willy Wigglestick. But since today is April 23, I figured I’d take just a minute to say “Happy birthday!” to the Bard and all who celebrate his alleged birthday. (I guess it’s more fun than celebrating his actual death day, which we know was April 23…)
Since today is January 5, the evening of which is traditionally known as “Twelfth Night,” I thought I would finally get around to watching Trevor Nunn’s 1996 film version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Yes, I know the film is almost thirty years old, but it’s one of those Shakespeare films that I just never happened to watch, even though I have always loved the play upon which it’s based. I happened to find it for free (with ads) on the Roku Channel, so there was no reason not to watch it!
The film starts out more like a drama than a comedy, with a very effective shipwreck sequence that is merely described in the play, rather than shown. But, as the opening credits begin, things quickly transform into the comedic style, as Viola makes her transformation into Cesario. (A haircut and a fake mustache are apparently all it takes.) Eventually, of course, hilarity ensues. Just a quick question, though: does anyone else think Imogen Stubbs’ Cesario disguise makes her look a bit like comedian David Spade? But I digress…
The cast is quite excellent, some of Britain’s most well-known actors:
Just as I’ve always thought about the play, it’s hard to choose which plot line is more hilarious: the main plot of mistaken identity and gender-switching (which would have had an extra level of confusion in Shakespeare’s time), or the secondary plot about the pompous Malvolio. Mel Smith, Richard E. Grant, Imelda Staunton, and Ben Kingsley are so good as Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria, and Feste, that I can’t help thinking (as I often do) that I actually enjoy the secondary plot a bit more than the primary one. Nigel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Malvolio is suitably arrogant, which adds to the enjoyment.
Still, the primary plot is quite entertaining. Imogen Stubbs is an excellent Viola/Cesario, and Helena Bonham Carter strikes just the right balance between seriousness and giddy girlishness as Olivia. And as I mentioned above, the gender-switching and mistaken identities in the main plot make it pretty hilarious…one of Shakespeare’s best comedies.
I was a little worried that Trevor Nunn would not be up to the task of directing a film, as his fame was made as a stage director at the Royal Shakespeare Company (not to mention directing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats). But my impression of the film is that it works very well as a film, so no problems for this viewer in that regard. (I won’t pretend to be any sort of expert in the details of film directing, but I know what I like.)
Twelfth Night will always hold a special place in my heart, as it was one of the very first Shakespeare plays I ever read. I don’t know why it took me so long to watch this particular film version, but it was a great way to wrap up the 12 days of Christmastide. I’m glad I chose it today!
I hope you all have a lovely Christmas holiday, and a very happy New Year’s celebration!
For your Christmas enjoyment, here are a couple of AI images I just created of Shakespeare as Santa Claus. Enjoy!
During this lead-up to Christmas, I’ve been quite busy, so the posts here on Willy Wigglestick will be a bit sparse until we get closer to the New Year.
But I saw this image on Facebook just now, and I just had to share it. It’s a Shakespearean twist on the 12 Days of Christmas. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
I’ve been seeing quite a few end-of-the-year posts all over the place, as one usually does around this time. And, even though I intend to do at least a few more posts here on the Willy Wigglestick blog before the end of the year, I am a church musician, so this month will be pretty busy for me. So I thought I’d take just a few minutes to look back at this year’s Shakespeare blogging here on the WW blog, to reflect on how it’s gone.
The first few months of the year were uneventful, as I took a bit of a hiatus from my blogging activities for a little while, after consolidating all of my blogs into one personal blog at Corybanter.com. However, by April, I had begun taking a new look at all the work I had put into the Willy Wigglesticks design here on WordPress, and I decided to revive the blog. And that went pretty well for a little while: I discovered Cunk on Shakespeare, re-watched the excellent Shakespeare based comedy called Complete Works, and wrote a reader’s guide to the textual history of Hamlet for my colleagues who attend Shakespeare Allowed! here in Nashville.
Things cooled off for a little while as I got busy wrapping up the choir season at my church job, but I did manage to write a review of the excellent book, The Millionaire and the Bard, a history of Henry Folger, founder of The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. After the summer was over, things came back to life here, as I began to contemplate the upcoming 400th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio.
As I worked on various posts about the Folio and its history, I decided to revamp the design of the blog just a bit. After a few little technical glitches, I managed to craft it into a design that I think looks good, and is easy to navigate. Shortly after that, I expanded the social media presence of the blog, with new dedicated accounts on Instagram, Threads, Post.news, Pixelfed, Tribel, MeWe and Mastodon. And to keep all of those social media feeds straight, I created a Linktree for the blog.
So, dear reader, despite a few little gaps throughout the year, it’s been a productive one for the Willy Wigglestick blog, I think. If you’ve popped in occasionally to read my Shakespeare content, you have my deepest thanks. I hope it’s been enjoyable for you, and that you keep coming back. I’d love to hear from readers about what they’ve liked here, or what they haven’t liked. As we head to 2024, I hope to keep bringing you interesting and entertaining Shakespeare content in the New Year. I hope your holiday season is enjoyable and fulfilling! Thanks for reading.
Yesterday I was listening to Prince’s 1996 album, Chaos and Disorder. (Incidentally, the last album the artist recorded to fulfill his contract with Warner Bros.) It had been awhile since I’d heard the record, so I was surprised to hear a couple lines in the song “I Like It There” that referenced Shakespeare. The first line that caught my ear was “Can I count the ways that I’m diggin’ U?” That seemed to be a reference to the opening line of Sonnet 43: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” And sure enough, just a few lines later in the Prince song, I heard this: “What can I say Shakespeare hasn’t said before?” So clearly, the reference to the sonnet was completely intentional.
Here’s the song, in case you’ve never heard it. (I probably don’t need to warn the reader that, as one may expect, there are a few lines of the song that are loaded with sexual innuendo. Listen at your own risk.)
You just never know when and where you’re going to run into Shakespeare in popular culture!
Last year, I got a great vocabulary-oriented card came called League of the Lexicon. With fairly simple rules, it explores the English language in all of its messy glory. Since I purchased the game, I have been subscribed to an occasional newsletter put out by the game’s makers, called Word Sauce. The most recent issue of Word Sauce was Shakespeare themed, and had all kinds of fun facts about Shakespeare and his use of language. I’ll just share a couple highlights here (I don’t know how long the link to the newsletter will last).
This infographic has some fun little facts about Shakespeare’s plays in an easy to digest format.
Most fans of language, especially as it relates to Shakespeare, have seen this quote, or something like it.
This excerpt from YOLO Juliet is an entertaining little tidbit.
If you love the English language, I strongly encourage you to check out League of the Lexicon. It’s a fun game for the whole family, as they include one pack of cards that’s a little less challenging, for younger players or those who aren’t as confident in their skills, so players of different skill levels can all play together.
Since today is “Black Friday,” and since I’ve been looking at Macbeth a lot lately (in preparation for our next Shakespeare Allowed! reading in Nashville), I thought I would share one of my favorite Shakespeare oriented comedy videos: a hilarious sequence from the Rowan Atkinson/Richard Curtis series, Blackadder. In this clip, Rowan Atkinson’s Blackadder has some fun with some pompous actors concerning the superstition over speaking the name of “the Scottish play.”
As funny as the clip is, I personally know many actors who believe in the old superstition 100%. (I do not, but I’m not a particularly superstitious person.) Interestingly enough, I never even learned of the tradition until I was in my mid-20s, even though I had done theater for several years before that. When I was told of it, I honestly thought they were pulling my leg, and it wasn’t until I began to poke fun at the idea that I found that they were deadly serious. So, these days, out of respect for my friends, I don’t criticize the superstition, even though I don’t believe it myself.
Anyway, enjoy the clip below (it’s one I share on this blog a couple years ago), and enjoy the bonus clip I’m posting, of a Blackadder episode that poked a little fun at Samuel Johnson, who in addition to his famous dictionary, was also a noted Shakespeare scholar.
Finally, this “summary” of Macbeth showed up on my Threads feed a few days ago, and it cracked me up.
“I can no other answer make but thanks,
And thanks, and ever thanks.”
Twelfth Night
I almost missed this, but I was catching up on Shakespeare news just now, and saw that the PBS show, Great Performances, did a 2-hour special just a few days ago on the making of the First Folio. It’s entitled Making Shakespeare: The First Folio, and the synopsis of the program on PBS.org reads as follows:
Celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, which saved 18 plays from being lost. Tracing the First Folio’s story, the film also spotlights how New York City’s Public Theater presents Shakespeare’s work for today’s audiences.
I currently have a PBS Passport, which enables me to watch some things that aren’t available behind the PBS paywall, so I don’t know for sure if the entire program is available on the website or not. But here’s a preview of the program for your viewing pleasure…
Willy Wigglestick 