#ersm4m

The Public’s Shakespeare Initiative joined Public Forum to talk about justice and Measure for Measure - and it was a joy to watch actors like Jefferson Mays and Zainab Jah go toe-to-toe as Angelo and Isabella, not to mention catch wisdom about the play from brilliant minds like Lauren Robertson!

Ah, technology.

Some of Shakespeare’s plays have more questions than answers. That sometimes encourages people to classify them as problem plays. The ambiguity of the ending coupled with the fact that this play structurally doesn’t fit in one box, tragedy, or the other, comedy, makes Measure for Measure one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays and this article goes in depth about it.  

During the concept and creation of Elevator Repair Services’ production of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure they took some major influences from the Marx Brothers Duck Soup. Slapstick comedy has been prevalent in the presentation of Shakespeare’s works, but the Marx Brothers created their own brand. Here’s a clip from Duck Soup.

We’re all familiar with the teleprompter’s presence in national politics (Obama’s reliance on it, Trump’s disdain for it, Bill Clinton’s ability to ‘converse’ with it) - but where did the device come from? If seeing prompter-like devices onstage made you curious, Smithsonian Magazine has the answers!

Measure for Measure is, at its core, a play about (as John Collins called it) “overzealous law enforcement.” That quote was kicking around our heads when we opened the New York Times to find this full-page ad from author Don Winslow - a man who knows his law enforcement - highlighting some overzealous law enforcement happening in America today.

John Mullan examines different perspectives on punishment; by the state, religious ideals, characters in Measure for Measure, and Shakespeare himself.