Bagley Wright Theatre Equivocation Written by Bill Cain Directed by Bill Rauch November 18 - December 13, 2009 Running Time: 2 hours and 55 minutes with one intermission
William Shakespeare’s plays are widely produced around the world, but our fascination with him goes beyond the playwright’s words. Did he really write all of those plays? What was his relationship with his family really like? How the heck do we spell his name anyway? And if he was able to write such beautiful poetry and love stories, he must be a great romantic…right?
The Shakespeare (or Shagspeare, as playwright Bill Cain spells his name) of Equivocation is already established as a playwright, nearing the end of his career at the age of 40. He’s an idealist, an insecure artist, and an imperfect father. But plays, movies, and books have imagined the playwright in a myriad of ways. Here’s a look at some of those other fictional accounts of the Bard.
On Stage: The Beard of Avon by Amy Freed Freed’s play takes a look at the age-old debate as to who actually wrote Shakespeare’s plays. And she plays “what if,” imagining that the man named Shakespere (Freed’s spelling) wasn’t the playwright. Freed's Shakespere is extremely humble, an actor offered a silent “spear shaker” role, a man who couldn’t possibly have captured the range of experiences, insights and, in particular, feminine perspectives found in his plays.
On Stage: Loves Labours Wonne by Don Nigro In this play, a drunken Shakespeare at the age of retirement longs for the quiet of Stratford while grieving for the London theatre world that has been his life. He falls through a trapdoor in the theatre and emerges back at the early part of his career. Recreated as a wild hallucination, we see a young Shakespeare obsessed with his work and haunted by memories.
On Stage: Second Best Bed by Richard Nash The title comes from the famous bequest in Shakespeare’s will that his wife Anne Hathaway would receive his “second-best bed.” This play (which opened on Broadway in 1946) is a comedy about the turbulent but affectionate marriage of young Will Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. Will is portrayed as a witty rogue, pitted against a country bumpkin named Poggs.
On Screen: Shakespeare in Love Joseph Fiennes made William Shakespeare into a romantic sex symbol in this Oscar-winning 1998 film. The romantic comedy follows an illicit romance between Shakespeare and young, wealthy Viola, an aspiring actress who dresses up as a boy to land the part of Romeo in Will’s play. Viola is betrothed to someone else, but that doesn’t stop their affair, which provides rich inspiration for Shakespeare’s writing.
In Print: Ill Met By Moonlight, All Night Awake, and Any Man So Daring by Sarah A. Hoyt In this fantasy trilogy, young schoolteacher Will Shakespeare is struggling to support his new wife and baby daughter. He comes home one day to find them missing. He ventures into the forest after them but instead ends up in the Land of Faerie. He does become the most successful playwright of his time, but he suspects his dealings with the Elven King Quicksilver might have had something to do with it.
In Print: The Players: A Novel of the Young Shakespeare by Stephanie Cowell Another story that imagines that Will’s romantic encounters shaped his life. This one places Shakespeare as a young apprentice, a poverty-stricken actor, and playwright unhappily married. A tumultuous love triangle helps Will grow as a person and a writer.
In Print: Will by Grace Tiffany This account of Shakespeare’s life weaves fact and fiction, starting with a young Will learning the beauty of the written word. This imagined life of Shakespeare paints him as more of a family man, one who misses his family even though his passion for the stage keeps them apart.
Want more Shakespeare fiction? Read this Amazon.com list of modern fiction featuring Will as a character (warning: lots of teen novels).
