Latest news with #Cymbeline
Scroll.in
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
How to live through the end of the world: Read William Shakespeare's play ‘Cymbeline'
Written in 1611, Shakespeare's Cymbeline is a raw mess – full of feeling and as messy as life. The 18th-century man of letters, Samuel Johnson decried the play as a work of 'unresisting imbecility', a hotch-potch of incongruities. It's true that it's hard to even know what kind of play Cymbeline is. The First Folio, the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, presents it as the last of his tragedies. But it's also, all at once, a history play, a pastoral, a fairytale, a pantomime and a tragicomedy. Set in ancient Britain at the time of the birth of Christ, Cymbeline stitches together three plots. In one, Posthumus (the banished husband of Innogen, King Cymbeline's daughter) accepts a wager with Iachimo that the sleazy Italian will not be able to seduce his wife. In the second, after 20 years, King Cymbeline's abducted sons (and Innogen's brothers) are restored to him. And in the third, refusing to pay tribute to the emperor, tiny Britain picks a fight with the majesty of imperial Rome. In the age of anxiety What makes Cymbeline such a potent play for our own age of anxiety is how Shakespeare weaves a tale about the collapse of everything known, as connections dissolve, and lays out how we may discover ourselves anew in the radically altered world. Written late in his career, in Cymbeline, Shakespeare rips up all the ways he's been doing things and suddenly starts afresh. Here, some few years before his retirement, he foregoes the complex psychology of his great tragedies and opts for archetypes of fairytale and romance. But in striking out for this new artistic territory, he also turns to himself as his own best source. Like an ageing rock band contracted for one last farewell tour, in Cymbeline, Shakespeare's back playing the hits. Like King Lea r, Cymbeline is set in ancient Britain. Sneering Iachimo is Iago's ghost and Posthumus, a dollar-store Othello. Innogen is Shakespeare's last cross-dressing heroine, passing as a boy, a faded echo of witty Rosalind of As You Like It and sad Viola of Twelfth Night. There's fun in Rosalind and Viola's changed identities, but Innogen puts on boy's clothes to escape. Her father condemns her as disobedient for marrying Posthumus, and instead pushes her towards her step-brother, the fatuous bully Cloten. Innogen's time as a boy is joyless, as she learns that her beloved Posthumus wants her killed. She's a new person now, not Innogen, but 'Fidele'. Unmoored, adrift, she unwittingly finds her brothers, falls ill and mistakenly consumes a drug that puts her into a sleep so deep she appears to be dead. She wakes from this seeming death beside a headless body that she takes to be her murdered husband, but is in fact the villainous Cloten. Desperate with grief, she touches the flowers that have been strewn on the corpse, and smears herself with his blood. It's as stark a scene as Shakespeare ever wrote in its unstable unity of tender beauty and suffering. Innogen sighs: 'These flowers are like the pleasures of the world, This bloody man, the care on't,' and in that conjunction sums up the extremities of life and of this play. When a Roman soldier finds her, she tells him: 'I am nothing; or if not, Nothing to be were better.' Dying to live Politically, too, things are disintegrating. The play multiplies broken bonds, unpaid debts and contracts denied – including both the marriage contract, and the debt of tribute owed to Rome by Britain. Following Innogen's passage through suffering and figurative death, Posthumus undergoes the same process. He has already earned his name by outliving his parents. Reduced, like Innogen, to all but nothing, believed to be dead, but actually in prison, Posthumus receives a vision of his dead family and of forgiving Jove, the divine father of the Roman Gods. Love and social unity have died, but in this mystical scene, the possibility returns of renewal. Both Innogen and Posthumus must 'die' to live. Off stage, in distant Bethlehem, a nativity takes place that signals the death of the old Rome – but also the regeneration of all things. And so the story commits itself to the reconciliation achieved in wonder. This is a play where the word 'miracle' becomes a verb, just as Innogen and Posthumus, and old, foolish King Cymbeline himself come to understand how even the most distressed life may open to bliss. 'The gods do mean to strike me to death with mortal joy,' declares an amazed Cymbeline, as the play offers us a vision of that astonishing unity of suffering and redemption. We may doubt that such wonder could exist for us today. But Shakespeare's full look at the worst enables us too to imagine the sense of hopeful possibility found in his brilliant conclusion. It is a wonderful play.
Euronews
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Letter fragment suggests Shakespeare did not abandon his wife in Stratford
ADVERTISEMENT New research examining a fragment of a 17th century letter addressed to 'good Mrs Shakspaire' suggests that William Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway was happier than previously thought. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1852, when he was 18 and she was about 26 and pregnant. The couple had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. For more than 200 years, it has been assumed that the English playwright left his wife in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon to pursue his career in London. The belief even inspired writer Maggie O'Farrell, who chronicled the unhappy relationship in her 2020 novel "Hamnet", about the death of Shakespeare's only son Hamnet at 11 years old. The forgotten letter, preserved by accident in the binding of a book in Hereford, England, appears to show that the couple lived together in London at some point between 1600 and 1610. It is the first written evidence supporting this claim. It alleges that Shakespeare was withholding money from a fatherless apprentice named John Butts. The author of the letter then asks Mrs Shakespeare herself for money. Related Shakespeare with northern accents creates social media furore after audience 'complaint' Why Shakespeare is totally overrated Director Jennifer Tang on theatre in 2025, gender-swapping and her 'slightly bonkers' Cymbeline 'First discovered in 1978, the letter's been known for a while, but no-one could identify the names or places involved or see any reason to think that the Mr Shakespeare in the letter was necessarily William rather than anyone else of the same name in the general period', said Professor Matthew Steggle of the University of Bristol, who published the research in Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare association. The scholar tracked down people and addresses mentioned in the letter to find out if the playwright and his wife could possibly have been in London at that time. 'In short - it's two steps', Professor Steggle explained. 'You identify the boy involved, and given that it's him and that fixes the date, then Shakespeare is much the best recorded candidate to be the London-based 'Mr Shakspaire.' The letter gives Shakespeare a previously unknown address in Trinity Lane, in central London. It also casts new light on Anne Hathaway's life. 'It seems to show her being involved with her husband's money affairs and social networks. So, it's a game-changer in terms of thinking about the Shakespeares' marriage', Professor Steggle said. The back of the fragment also contains a reply from Mrs Shakespeare, which would be the first ever recorded words from Anne Hathaway. The fragment of the letter is held at Hereford Cathedral Library.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Letter fragment suggests Shakespeare did not abandon his wife in Stratford
New research examining a fragment of a 17th century letter addressed to 'good Mrs Shakspaire' suggests that William Shakespeare's marriage to Anne Hathaway was happier than previously thought. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway in 1852, when he was 18 and she was about 26 and pregnant. The couple had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. For more than 200 years, it has been assumed that the English playwright left his wife in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon to pursue his career in London. The belief even inspired writer Maggie O'Farrell, who chronicled the unhappy relationship in her 2020 novel "Hamnet", about the death of Shakespeare's only son Hamnet at 11 years old. The forgotten letter, preserved by accident in the binding of a book in Hereford, England, appears to show that the couple lived together in London at some point between 1600 and 1610. It is the first written evidence supporting this claim. It alleges that Shakespeare was withholding money from a fatherless apprentice named John Butts. The author of the letter then asks Mrs Shakespeare herself for money. Related Shakespeare with northern accents creates social media furore after audience 'complaint' Why Shakespeare is totally overrated Director Jennifer Tang on theatre in 2025, gender-swapping and her 'slightly bonkers' Cymbeline 'First discovered in 1978, the letter's been known for a while, but no-one could identify the names or places involved or see any reason to think that the Mr Shakespeare in the letter was necessarily William rather than anyone else of the same name in the general period', said Professor Matthew Steggle of the University of Bristol, who published the research in Shakespeare, the journal of the British Shakespeare association. The scholar tracked down people and addresses mentioned in the letter to find out if the playwright and his wife could possibly have been in London at that time. 'In short - it's two steps', Professor Steggle explained. 'You identify the boy involved, and given that it's him and that fixes the date, then Shakespeare is much the best recorded candidate to be the London-based 'Mr Shakspaire.' The letter gives Shakespeare a previously unknown address in Trinity Lane, in central London. It also casts new light on Anne Hathaway's life. 'It seems to show her being involved with her husband's money affairs and social networks. So, it's a game-changer in terms of thinking about the Shakespeares' marriage', Professor Steggle said. The back of the fragment also contains a reply from Mrs Shakespeare, which would be the first ever recorded words from Anne Hathaway. The fragment of the letter is held at Hereford Cathedral Library.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Odessa College helps the arts thrive in the Permian Basin
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – For 50 years Odessa College has hosted live performances at the Globe Theatre. This year an energetic group of performers came together to perform Cymbeline, created by William Shakespeare, and locally directed by Aaron Ganz, Odessa College's theatre director. KMID's very own Madeline Dunn played the main role in the performance, alongside several other local actors and theatre lovers. Dunn encourages anyone to tryout for future plays and pursue their passions. 'If you're thinking about auditioning just try it,' Dunn said. 'I mean even if you get a small role its still like your playing a huge part in this you know, and you're bringing a story to life.' Aiden Crow has acted for several years, and also played part in the Cymbeline performance. He gives credit to his colleagues for the heartfelt acts they put on this year. 'I have such a wonderful amazing group, all of these actors are so talented in all if their different ways that I've gotten close in and have made life-long friendships with with these people in this company,' Crow said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Theatre Week' at Odessa College: workshops & community fun
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Members of the community got to experience the world of theater this week at Odessa College. Classes and workshops were offered to community members at the Globe Theatre. They included a wide range of topics, from choreography to acting and directing. 'Theatre Week 2025: it's an entire week that opens up the doors of opportunity for the members of the community here in the Permian Basin,' said the head of the Odessa College drama department, Aaron Ganz. 'We've got, each day, a themed set of workshops and community fun.' Theatre Week also featured guest artists from around the country, including an actor from Los Angeles and professional fight choreographers. 'If you're in the theater program or you're somebody who is considering doing acting, you know, born and raised in L.A., I've studied at quite a few places,' Martin Mendez, an actor playing King Cymbeline in the Globe's production of 'Cymbeline,' said. 'You guys are so lucky to have Aaron, I can't even stress that enough to you. He is brilliant at what he does. And I think that if you want to be an artist, or you want to be an actor, or just involved in theater in some other way, he's the perfect person to learn from.' The Globe Theatre plans to put on more events like this in the future. If you're interested in attending, be sure to follow the theater on Facebook for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
