In the company of players

[nineweaving]

In the TLS, Charles Nicholl reviews Bart van Es’s Shakespeare in Company"He seeks to show that Shakespeare’s achievement as a writer was in crucial ways communal; that the contributions of his playhouse colleagues, indeed his whole immersion in the business and practice of the theatre, are woven into the fabric of his plays; and that in a broadly

Comments

[nightspore]

Ah - I read the review and looked forward to the book, but a chapter on Armin (I do "like this fellow" makes it pretty irresistible!

[nineweaving]

On Armin as a co-creator of Shakespeare's Fools: a figure (van Es argues) not just written to the actor's strengths, but in dialogue with his philosophy of fooling.

Cool.

Nine

[cimeara]

I have always thought the genius in Shakespeare's plays wasn't just literary but theatrical. They are so perfect as performances, so eminently actable.

[nineweaving]

Oh, absolutely! They've held the stage for over 400 years.

That said, thank heavens for Heminges and Condell: without their First Folio, we'd have never known half the plays. Can't stage without a script.

Nine

[nineweaving]

Interview.

Nine