Living with Shakespeare: Essays by Writers, Actors and Directors
Ed. by Susannah Carson, Foreword by Harold Bloom
Vintage (April 2013)
This arrived on my desk at work today and I'm absolutely beside myself with joy. I hadn't heard of it; somehow it managed to evade even my radar, which is quite far-reaching. I think it's impossible for a book to sneak up on me, as much as I scour the pre-pub lists, but somehow a few strays manage it. Fine by me. Each unsolicited review copy I receive is like opening a Christmas present I haven't included on my list. A present from a friend who knows me well.
Couple favorite quotes so far:
Bill Willingham, novelist
"Not only is every performance of every play a different story, every audience member co-creates his own unique story. Given that, Shakespeare turns out to be far more prolific than we imagined."
Sir Anthony Sher, actor, author, playwright, painter
"The essence of Shakespeare is the text. The essence of good Shakespeare acting is an ability to speak the text. There's no amount of showing off which can compensate."
Next up, Camille Paglia irritated me with her need to distinguish between how the Brits see Shakespeare (absorbed the plays through their mother's milk) and how different the American experience is (poor dears, who know no better.) Suggestions the brow's higher across the pond are a crock filled with a malodorous substance extruded from living beings. So wearying to hear the old stereotypes lauded, so saddening an academic feels the need to perpetuate stale, stock phrases. Perhaps she didn't mean to be such a cow but she certainly came off that way. Could be it's all academic but it certainly made no positive impression on me.
I did find a few interesting quotes in her essay and will - begrudgingly - share this one:Camille Paglia, University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
"Who wrote Shakespeare's plays? An actor. No aristocrat, such as Sir Francis Bacon or the Earl of Oxford, could have produced these nearly forty plays, which show such intimate knowledge of the demands and dynamics of ensemble performance."
More later. Duty calls.
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