Three Plays, About a Million Words: Shakespeare at Winedale

We just returned from our annual trip to the University of Texas's Shakespeare at Winedale program. Each summer, an ensemble of college students explores three works from Shakespeare. If you stay the night, you can see all the plays in one weekend. Val, Stephanie and I look forward to immersing ourselves in Shakespeare plays the same way that some people devote themselves to Broadway musicals. We are not super intellectual or anything like that. We just enjoy the chance to get away and absorb some good acting. Part of the appeal lies in the ability to spend some quality family time together (or at least 3/4 of the family). This year, we stayed at a renovated 1899 farmhouse, which had two upstairs bedrooms for Stephanie to choose from, but which required ascending a narrow staircase.

This year we saw Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing and Richard the Third. This was my first time to see Cymbeline, which is one of the lesser known plays. However, it was well worth it. Cymbeline is a dark comedy set in the days of the ancient Britons. However, it has all the elements of a modern soap. The king has a daughter who wants to marry a commoner. This poses a threat to the realm since the king's two male sons disappeared mysteriously many years ago. The daughter runs away. Meanwhile, the Step-Queen is scheming to get her son on the throne and would like nothing better for the daughter to go away. In the midst of all this, the Romans invade. Who could hope for more drama?

Much Ado About Nothing is like a screwball 1950s comedy with Cary Grant, except that it is 400 years old (think Bringing Up Baby, the Philadelphia Story). Friends conspire to unite the disdainful Beatrice with the haughty Benedict. Verbal banter flies. Meanwhile, the evil Don John, the bastard prince, maliciously impugns the honor of the noble Hero (which is the name of a girl, not an actual hero).

Richard III is a history involving one of the two most hated figures in English history. Clocking in at a butt-numbing three hours, this is a fast-moving and exciting drama. The hunchbacked, black-clad Richard spreads deceit in his effort to eliminate the many claimants between him and the throne. He has his brother murdered, causes the king's sons to be smothered, seduces the widow of a man he has killed. You get the idea, he's a bad dude. Of course, no sooner does he get the throne, then "a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse" and he's out of there.

A few thoughts about the plays. These plays show how similar themes show up in Shakespeare with different variations. The plot device of the helpful friar who feigns the death of a girl is central to Romeo & Juliet. However, it also appears in Much Ado About Nothing. The main difference is that in Much Ado About Nothing, the friar's plot does not miscarry and ends up with a wedding instead of multiple deaths. The Romeo & Juliet comparison is also present in Cymbeline in which a girl is drugged with a potion given to her by the evil step-Queen, which has been altered to merely feign death by a good doctor, who then wakes up next to the decapitated body of a man dressed in her husband's clothes. Of course, since this is a comedy, albeit a dark one, the girl is ultimately reunited with her husband who still has his head about him. These plays demonstrate the fine line between comedy and tragedy. In Romeo & Juliet, the well-meaning friar's plan goes awry with a missed message and everyone ends up dead. Here, everyone enjoys a good laugh when they are reunited.

Each play has a scene which defines it. In Cymbeline, there is a scene where Posthumous (the good guy) despairs. He is visited by the ghosts of his mother, father and brothers, who appeal to Jupiter to save him. In a totally campy scene, the barechested Jupiter appears and is lowered to earth on the hands of the ghosts. This scene shifts the tone of the play from possible tragedy to ultimate comedy. The director's choice to play this as camp rather than drama made the scene all the more memorable.

In Richard the Third, the defining moment is the night before the battle between Richard the III and Richmond. During the night, the ghosts of Richard's victims appear to him and bid him to "despair and die." While Richard regains his composure and rallies his troops to battle the next day, the outcome is clear.

In Much Ado About Nothing, "the scene" is the Constable's interrogation of the villains. The Constable is a clown, mangling his words worse than Sarah Palin saying good bye. However, despite his fractured syntax and opposite meanings, he is able to bring the plot of the evil Don John to light. Once the plot is uncovered, the good guys are able to shame the other good guys into repentence and everyone gets married and lives happily ever after.