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Friday, December 2, 2016

In Context: The Winter’s Tale


Director Declan Donnellan and Cheek by Jowl take up Shakespeare’s most fundamental questions in this fiercely contemporary staging of the Bard’s late masterpiece of wit and wisdom. Context is everything, so get even closer to the production with this curated selection of related articles and videos. After you've attended the show, let us know what you thought by posting in the comments below and on social media using #TheWintersTale.

Program Notes

The Winter's Tale (PDF)

Read

Article
How We Met: Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod (The Independent)
Cheek by Jowl founders Nick Ormerod and Declan Donnellan tell their origin story.

Website
The Winter's Tale (Folger Shakespeare Library)
A brief overview of the plot, plus some vintage etchings and photographs of early productions from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s collections.

Article
The Winter’s Tale: Women and Issue (Google Books)
An excerpt from Carol Thomas Neely’s essay, which makes a feminist case for Shakespeare’s violent late play.

Watch & Listen

Video
Declan Donnellan discusses Language (YouTube)
Director Declan Donnellan discusses the power, responsibility, and fluidity of language: “The word is movement, and movement is the word.”

Video
Finger Puppet Shakespeare: The Winter's Tale (YouTube)
A thorough plot summary of The Winter’s Tale performed by finger puppets.

Now your turn...

What did you think? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below and on social media using #TheWintersTale.

3 comments:

  1. Both crazy and charming from the get-go, Leontes. Loved his first scene - ominously swift. He was true to his tortured, ambivalent self throughout.

    Slap-happiness is traditional for British Advent ("The Winter's Tale", right?). Pantos, hobbys, masks, pranks, poppers, et.al. The clever upstage container is reminiscent of early traveling companies. Appreciated the pack it up and move on to the next town feel. Sure, it's a bit rough around the edges. But that is a genuine asset of this delightful 20th century company. One quibble - not enough lighting at times, especially on Paulina. She's wonderful and we want to see her. BTW - love her purse.

    Anyway, I think the anachronisms were well done. Shout out to Autolycus, Mopsa and Dorcas! And I loved Perdita, accent, attitude, and all. No wispy maiden, she. The final tableau is just delicious.

    Thanks to all the actors. I had a seriously fun and delightfully emotional time.

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  2. I thought I had posted my comments on the show but they seem to have vanished. No matter. Thank you to Mary for adding additional context to the play with her comments. I was hoping attendees having more knowledge and experience with the play would post, because my review was based on having seen it for the first time and having nothing to compare! Much appreciated!

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  3. Wonderful production, extraordinarily talented company. Would love to see what they bring next.

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