BITS & PIECES OF A MISPLACED LIFE:SHAKESPEARE #4

BRAM STOKER ,THE AUTHOR OF DRACULA,  REVIEWS
A PERFORMANCE OF HAMLET PERFORMED BY HIS DEAR FRIEND 
--  THE NOTED 19th CENTURY ACTOR HENRY IRVING


"...Irving returned for another season in Dublin, and 
Bram was impressed by the growth of his performance: 
Hamlet, as Mr. Irving now acts it, is the wild, fitful, irresolute, mystic melancholy prince that we know in the play; but given with a sad, picturesque gracefulness which is the actor's special gift.' But it is fair to say that, so far aa Irving was concerned, Bram's reviews could no longer be described as ' criticism'. His loyalty became so fierce 
that he could not bear to hear a word against his friend, 
let alone utter one himself."

Daniel Farson. The Man Who Wrote Dracula: a biography of  Bram Stoker 
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From filmmaker Nelson Breen

.. . an Olivier recollection of a performance of Hamlet before a supposedly learned audience at Stratford upon Avon: to ascertain whether anyone actually paid attention to the Bard's words, in the middle of the most famous speech of all, "To be or not to be..." Olivier inserted something like the following: "for breakfast I shall have scrambled eggs & bacon." Not a single audience member picked up on it.

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SHAKESPEARE'S GODSON

Although William Shakespeare was never appointed Poet 
Laureate of England, Shakespeare’s godson – Sir William
D’Avenant was named to the post in 1637.

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MACBETH AND THEATER SUPERSTITIONS

"Many people believe the play is cursed, since so many mishaps have happened in its 400-year history. Legend has it that for the very first performance circa 1606, William Shakespeare himself had to go on as Lady Macbeth because the actor playing the role suddenly died, according to History.com. Another actor was supposedly killed onstage in Amsterdam in the 17th century, when a prop dagger was replaced by a real one. Riots have also plagued the play at times, with the most tragic being a New York production in 1849 when 22 died and more than 100 were injured. As even a mere mention of the title may bring similar disasters, the play that shall not be named is often referred to as "The Scottish Play" or "The Bard's Play" instead. "

from Interesting Facts (February 28, 2023)

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WHEN TWO SHAKESPEAREAN LOVERS 
WENT OUT TO DINE

Romeoed
What Juliet.

Anon.

**

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DORIS KEANE PLAYS JULIET & MISSES THE OPENING
NIGHT'S CURTAIN CALL

"As for the curtain calls at the end of the performance, there were wild yells: 'We want Ellen. We want Quartermaine.' Doris never appeared....She was, in point of fact, rolling about Capulet's tomb in agony. Basil Sydney had neglected to change his real dagger for a trick dagger in the final scene. So when Juliet seized Romeo's
'happy dagger' to stab herself, it was a most unhappy and
 painful experience."

Reginald Denham. Stars in My Hair (New York: Crown Publishers, 1958)

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On Edwin Booth playing Hamlet

"You remember what they used to say about Booth: 
that it wasn't Booth playing Hamlet, but Hamlet 
playing Booth."

from "Referred to the Author" -- a short story 
by Christopher Morley
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SHAKESPEAREAN PUN BY THE CARTOONIST RUSSELL HARVEY

If my relatives were in the audience, naked, 
they could be my bare badkins,

**
Alfred Lord Tennyson died with a copy of Cymbeline open 
in his hand.
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SAMUEL PEPYS(1633-1703) GOES TO SEE 
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

" To the King's Theatre, where we saw Midsummer 
Night's Dream, which I had never seen before,
nor shall ever again, for it is the most insipid,
ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life."
 Samuel Pepys, from his Diary
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EVERYDAY, MY ARIEl

Everyday, my Ariel,
I put the world behind me, but it shoot back,
One generation & the next.
Light as sunlight thrushing
As thru the Spanish Cedars flash
Comorants magnific with their hooked beaks,
Always a fitful cornucopia
To take the breath away.
To take the breath away.
I press my life to the jumping dayshine.
What do I demand?
More space? More freedom?
Freedom to do what? Hungering for magic.
I stand on Prospero's isle.
Could I have been so wrong about my life?
Far out on the ocean,
Replenished & green,
One anonymous sailor
Fastens his shrouds.

Louis Phillips
from The Man on Prospero's Isle