Austin Tichenor
Sonnets & Chill: What did Shakespeare’s audiences do when the theaters were closed?
Speed reading Launce’s letter : / J. Gilbert ; W. Thomas, sc. 19th century. Folger Shakespeare Library. ART File S528t7 no.10 (size XS)All right, enough. We’ve all heard how super-productive William Shakespeare was when the plague shut down his theaters:…
Beware the Ides of March — and confusing interpretations of 'Julius Caesar'
Brutus (Anthony Cochrane, left) and Julius Caesar (Michael Sharon, right), Julius Caesar, directed by Robert Richmond, Folger Theatre, 2014. Photo by Teresa Wood. In 1599, in the 40th year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, when she had no heir or obvious…
"A goodly prize": Award-winning Shakespeare movies
Since we’ve just completed the annual Hollywood marathon called “Awards Season” — several self-congratulatory months filled with the Independent Spirit Awards, the Golden Globe Awards, various guild awards from around the world, the British Film & Television Academy Awards (the…
"This wide and universal theater": Tricks of the theatrical trade in Shakespeare's plays
“Write what you know” is the age-old wisdom young writers are always given, and though he never wrote a backstage comedy (or, for that matter, a backstage history, tragedy, or romance), William Shakespeare filled his plays with the tricks of…
Have yourself a merry Shakespeare Christmas
It’s that time of year, when some of us have visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, many are looking forward to (or dreading) gathering with family and friends, and a certain subset of us wonder, somewhat longingly and…
'Our humble author will continue the story': Shakespearean prequels and sequels
Claudius (Craig Wallace, center), Rosencrantz (Romell Witherspoon, right), and Guildenstern (Adam Wesley Brown). Gertrude (Kimberly Schraf) pictured in background. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Folger Theatre, 2015. Photo by Jeff Malet. Maybe ’twas ever thus, but the current crop of…
The King, Prince Hal, and Falstaff: Shakespeare’s father-son triangle onstage and onscreen
Timothée Chalamet (Hal) in The King, 2019. IMDB One of Shakespeare’s most moving love triangles isn’t romantic, it’s filial. The tension between Prince Hal and his two father figures — King Henry IV and Sir John Falstaff — fuels both…
Shakespeare's muses: The magic in his method
Shakspere / . 1832. Folger ART Box R167 no.1 (size L)It’s a tantalizing mystery: What was Shakespeare’s inspiration? What was the source of his talent? How on earth did he do what he did? Were his abilities and success the…
"The heavens speed thee in thine Enterprise!": Shakespeare in Star Trek
Star Trek owes a striking thematic and linguistic debt to William Shakespeare, as in classic episodes like “The Conscience of the King” and “The Defector.”
Can you feel the Shakespeare love tonight?
In many ways Simba resembles Prince Hal more than Hamlet, in that he’s also a headstrong prince who disobeys his father but ultimately learns to accept responsibility and claim his throne.
Ben Elton’s 'Upstart Crow' and 'All Is True': Shakespeare in different keys
Kenneth Branagh in All Is True and David Mitchell in Upstart Crow. (IMDB) Ben Elton is no stranger to Shakespeare. The British author and actor played Verges alongside Michael Keaton’s Dogberry in Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing.…
Love's Labor's Lost: The end of study
“What’s especially delightful about Love’s Labor’s Lost is that it’s a comedy about melancholy, a satire on youthful arrogance, intellectual pretension, and romantic naiveté,” writes Austin Tichenor.