Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

On National Public Radio's Weekend Edition today, Scott Simon interviewed Mark Rylance, starring currently in the French farce, Boeing Boeing . The Broadway play also features Gina Gershon and Christine Baranski and Rylance has just been nominated for a Tony award. I think you will enjoy the interview. Rylance is very engaging. Rylance was also interviewed on the authorship issue, but that was not broadcast, only placed on the website. NPR also provided a link to the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt. View the NPR story page and links here.

I was pleased to find an article in the Detroit Free Press (May 28, 2008) on the work needed at Shakespeare's gravesite in Stratford-upon-Avon. Apparently the stones above the gravesite in Holy Trinity Church need some repairing. The difficulty is that pesky inscription about being cursed if one "moves my bones". So the repairman will have to be very careful when they do their work. Come to think of it, maybe this is a great opportunity for the Stratfordians. They already replaced the memorial bust when it "needed repairs", making it more palatable to the idea of the man being an author rather than a grain-dealer. Now they can replace the doggerel verse on the marker above Shakespeare's grave with something that fits better with the Works as we know them. You can read the article for yourself. It's quite fun.

From Midsummer in Baghdad to Richard in Kuwait, directors seem to be keen on a mid-eastern setting for the works of Shakespeare. On March 20, 21, and 22, 2009, the University Musical Society will present the Sulayman Al-Bassam Theatre's Richard III -- An Arab Tragedy based on Richard III by William Shakespeare at the Power Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Al-Bassam group produced The Al-Hamlet Summit (2002-2005) and were commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company to create the Richard adaption as part of their Complete Works Festival in 2007. The UMS brochure says: Performed with a company of actors from England and across the Arab world, the work is accompanied by a live Arab musical score. Performed in Arabic with English supertitles, this work will be seen exclusively at UMS and the Kennedy Center.

Linda Theil invited me to share with you some of the fine arts events scheduled at Interlochen Center for the Arts this summer. If you have any questions, please email me and I’ll be happy to get you more information. Hope to see you up here this summer. Let me know when you’re coming and I’ll give you a personal tour of Interlochen’s campus. Thanks. Gordon Berg berggm@interlochen.org NEW! Interlochen Shakespeare Festival (June 26-29 and July 3-6) This year Interlochen is presenting as part of their summer-events schedule the first Interlochen Shakespeare Festival. For this inaugural year, they're performing "Twelfth Night." The company is comprised of a core ensemble of Interlochen faculty and alumni under the artistic direction of William Church. Surrealist painter René Magritte provides the inspiration for the mythical setting of Illyria. It will be performed in the intimate, 200-seat, Harvey Theatre. Tickets are $25. Click here and scroll for "Twelfth Night"...

I'm beginning to think that Stratford, Ontario has a real rival in The Chicago Shakespeare Theater . In my long experience of going to this venue (a total of four times so far) I have never ceased to be amazed at what is being accomplished there. Who would have thought that such good theater could be found on Navy Pier in Chicago, home to a giant ferris wheel, a number of overpriced tourist shops, an IMAX theater, a Children's Museum, a beer hall, and about six places selling elephant ears (summer only)? Anyway, about the performance I saw there last night. I had to go to Chicago for a medical conference (I try to fit them in between Shakespeare conferences) and couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit the Pier once again (even though the elephant ear places were not yet open). While not as astounding as the last time I was there ( Othello -one of the best performances I've ever seen), the current production of The Comedy of Errors was quite enjoyable. Actually, this...