Did he or didn’t he? Come decide for yourself whether Two Noble Kinsmen deserves a place among Shakespeare’s better-known works. We’ll be reading the first part on Monday July 13, 7pm.

We get together on ZOOM, first watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time.

Leave a message if you want a ZOOM invitation for the next reading, 7/13.

One small problem: I can’t seem to find a modern extext version of the script. Since it’s not usually considered one of the Bard’s works, the only one I could find on the internet has archaic vocabulary and spelling. I moderned it up for you: please go to the Files page of this site, and click on the file marked “The Two Noble Kinsmen – Modern Spelling”.

For more information about the play, you can click on the file marked “Two Noble Kinsmen: Did he (write it) or didn’t he?”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play, and download a clean copy of the script.

Something rotten in the state of Denmark! The rotting completes on Monday, June 1st, as young Prince Hamlet deals with Daddy issues that would make Oedipus even more complex.

To be there? Or not to be there? Be there!

We get together on ZOOM, first watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time.

Leave a message if you want a ZOOM invitation for the next reading, 6/1.

For more information about the play, go to the Files page of this site and click on the file marked “Hamlet”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

Many of Shakespeare’s critics complain that he wasn’t original, in that he appropriated his plots from earlier writers. When it comes to Twelfth Night, the shoe fits in an entirely different way — Shakespeare actually recycled plot elements from HIS OWN earlier works, incorporating elements from Merchant of Venice, Comedy of Errors, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It.

The vain and hypocritical character Malvolio, however, one of literature’s most recognizable villains, was entirely Shakespeare’s creation.

Come read Twelfth Night with us, finishing on March 30th. We get together on ZOOM, first watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time.

Leave a message if you want a ZOOM invitation for the next reading, 3/30.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Twelfth Night”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

Join us as we read the tragic conclusion of Richard II.

We get together on ZOOM, first watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a message if you want a ZOOM invitation for the next reading, 2/16.

For more information, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Richard the Second”. You can see the summary and some background on the play.

Come see the evil Don John get his comeuppance, and Beatrice and Benedick also get what they deserve (each other, of course) in the thrilling conclusion of Much Ado About Nothing.

We get together on ZOOM, first watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a message if you want a ZOOM invitation.

We continue reading Much Ado About Nothing on Monday, December 8. Leave a message if you would like to be included.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Much Ado”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

King Lear has been called, by no less an authority than the poet Shelley, “the most perfect specimen of dramatic poetry in the world”. The story is famous for wonderful lines, such as “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” and has inspired other masterpieces, including Akira Kurosawa’s classic “RAN“. At the same time it is rarely performed, especially by amateur groups, because it is so difficult to do it justice.

We meet on ZOOM, first watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a message if you want a ZOOM invitation.

For more information about the play, go to

shakespearetokyo.news.blog/king-lear/

and click on the file marked “Lear”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

As one does, we are taking August off. We will still meet from time to time to watch movies and related media, then start King Lear in September. Stay posted.

Years ago I had a literary exchange, in the editorial pages of the International Herald Tribune, about whether Shakespeare was boring. (I hope this is obvious, but I argued against the hypothesis.) The argument is summarized in the Bonus Materials section of our website https://shakespearetokyo.news.blog/in-defense-of-the-bard/, under the title “In defense of the Bard”, and it refers to our current play.

We will finish reading The Winter’s Tale on Monday July 14th on ZOOM.  As usual, we watch scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site

shakespearetokyo.news.blog/the-winters-tale/

and click on the file marked “Winter’s Tale”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

Othello has been portrayed on stage and screen by some of the leading African-American actors of the past century, including Paul Robeson, Lawrence Fishburne, and James Earl Jones (the last of which I myself was privileged to witness.) Othello has in the age of racial integration become a symbol for two lovers turning their backs on the prejudices of society, and the intransigence of racists like Iago who will not permit them to be happy. You will hear me harp on this point at length, but I do not agree with this interpretation. It’s very clear from the text that Iago’s motivation was his jealousy at being passed over for promotion, not any racial prejudice on his part. Othello’s ethnicity and physical appearance played a role, but it was not the key factor of his life. He was noble, eloquent, perhaps too hot-blooded for his own good, but an excellent general who would have made a fine husband to Desdemona were it not for the evil machinations of Iago.

(In addition to my other objection, which you will hear me gas on about: Othello was NOT BLACK.)

Join us for The Tragedy of Othello on 5/12 on ZOOM. We will begin by watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Othello”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.

There has been friction between husbands and wives for as long as there has been marriage, and there have been plays about marital strife as long as there have been plays. Our present play, one of Shakespeare’s relatively early comedies, is probably the greatest example of this theme of the long-suffering husband attempting to deal with an insufferable wife.

That’s The Taming of The Shrew on 2/17 on ZOOM. We will begin by watching scenes from the play on video, about 7:00pm, Japan time. Leave a reply below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

For more information about the play, go to the Files Page of this site and click on the file marked “Taming of The Shrew”. You can see the summary and some background information on the play.