13 Jun 2011

Shakespeare in a word

(M)y kids and I have come to the conclusion that we are probably the groundlings...we attend the free performances and laugh most heartily at the low-brow humor. The academic crowd may say what they want about Shakespeare; I say he's funny! :)

Charlotte Mason in the City
This quote in the comments of my previous post sums up our first family Shakespeare performance just about perfectly (except the free bit - it wasn't). Bell Shakespeare's contemporary interpretation of the original romantic comedy - Much Ado About Nothing was laugh-out-loud funny from the very first line. Toby Schmitz and Blazey Best were perfectly cast as the sharp tongued but loyal pair Benedick and Beatrice, and they owned the bard's archaic language as naturally as if it was their own.

Jemimah was on the edge of her seat for the entire performance, and Max Gillies' depiction of the bumbling Dogberry had her in tears of laughter. It was worth every cent of the ticket price just to see her sheer pleasure in being there.

As we travelled home in the car after the performance, I asked my family for a word to describe Shakespeare.

Jemimah :: Hilarious.
Daddy:: Entertaining.
Mummy:: Successful.

What more can I say? We'll be doing it again.

12 comments:

  1. Glad you all had a good night out!

    Love that red dress in the mid photo...

    Love,
    J

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  2. Oh yes, Jeana - the 50's costumes were to die for!

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  3. It looks like a blast! So glad you all had so much fun.

    Re: Shakespeare
    My guys have a hard time making it through anything remotely lovey-dovey without making loud gagging sounds. Fight sequences, now that's another story.

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  4. Wonderful! Glad it was a success

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  5. Looks wonderful Jeanne! We must finish up our Midsummer Night's Dream reading.

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  6. Happy for you all. It is such a laugh out loud play!

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  7. I can't wait till I take Rebekah to one of these! btw, mentioned you in my recent post about switching to AO :)

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  8. Oh that is fantastic Jeanne. Looks like lots of family fun.

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  9. Love it! You have inspired me to go ahead in the fall and add Shakespeare to our studies!

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  10. Glad the performance achieved your goals. Sounds like a great night for all.

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  11. Hey, what fun it is to see my comment on your post! :)

    I'm glad you had a good time at the show. I agree - those costumes look wonderful.

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I'd love you to leave me a message. Tell me what you like - and what you don't. Just remember that this is what we do in our family - it doesn't have to be what you do in yours...