According to theater legend, Queen Elizabeth was so taken with the comic characters of Henry IV that she conveyed a message to her favorite company of actors: “I want to see Falstaff in love.”

Obviously, this was more than a request from an avid fan. This was a royal command performance. Shakespeare complied, by taking Falstaff out of his venue of comic relief in a historical epic, and placing him front and center in a bawdy sex romp, The Merry Wives of Windsor . At least, that’s the story. But since our only source for the quote is John Dennis, who produced a revival of the play in 1702, one hundred years later, we are forced to conclude that he may have been indulging in promoter’s hyperbole. (His version flopped, by the way.)

Join us on Monday, August 9th, as we see literature’s most famous fat slob, Falstaff, abused by those very Merry Wives. We meet on Zoom at 7pm to watch scenes from the play on video, then start reading ourselves at 7:30pm. Leave a message below, or on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TokyoShakespeareGroup if you want an invitation.

You can see the summary and some background information on the files page of this site.

We will finish reading the history of Henry V on Zoom on June 14th. You can watch segments of a BBC production beginning at 7pm, then we start reading about 7:30. Leave a message below if you want an invitation to the Zoom meeting. All nationalities welcome, and no experience necessary!

Also, see the Files Page of this site for notes and background information to help you understand the play. Hover over the Files tab, then click on the title you want to see.

We will continue reading The Tempest on April 5th and 26th. We will watch scenes on video from 7pm, then read beginning around 7:30. Please leave a message below if you’d like a ZOOM invitation.

For notes and background information, go to the Files menu above and click on Tempest.

2020 is over at last; the vaccine is on its way; but Shakespeare will never die.

On March 1st and 22nd we will finish reading Henry IV Part Two, and start a new play (A COMEDY WE WILL VOTE ON). Join us on Zoom at 7pm Tokyo time to watch part of a BBC production on video first, then jump into the reading at 7:30. Leave a message below if you want an invitation.

Britain has begun inoculating its citizens, including a man named William Shakespeare. Be warned: puns ahoy!

Join us to read Cymbeline on December 14th and 28th, vaccinated or not. We watch part of a BBC production on video first, then jump into the reading. See the notes on the Files page to brush up, then join us on Zoom at 7pm Tokyo time. Leave a message here or on our Facebook page if you would like a Zoom invitation. https://www.facebook.com/TokyoShakespeareGroup

Enjoying Halloween? For more spooky action, join Hamlet in the graveyard on November 9 for our Zoom reading of Hamlet, who discourses on corpses, then goes on to make more.

Act Five of Hamlet, the exciting conclusion, on Monday November 9 on Zoom!
Leave a message below if you want an invitation.

No virus can stop the Bard! In September we begin reading Hamlet on Zoom. You can be part of it by leaving a request below for the access information. Act Two is September 28th. We watch a professional group on video at 7pm, then read the scenes ourselves starting at 7:30.
A new feature: notes and background on our current play. Check out the intimate details on the Files page of this site.

Edit: previously the date was in error. 9/28 is correct.

We read As You Like It (on Zoom) on August 24th at 7pm. Please reply here, or visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TokyoShakespeareGroup/?ref=bookmarks and post a reply to get the Zoom address.

The NY Metropolitan Opera has been offering free streams of past
performances on their website. They will feature Verdi’s “Otello” on 6/6
(Sunday morning in Tokyo, for approximately 24 hours)
https://www.metopera.org/season/on-demand/opera/?upc=811357018026

Maybe not exactly Shakespeare, but close.

PS If the above link doesn’t work, go to this link and click on the
corresponding title:
https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/

They usually make the opera of the day around 8:30 AM Tokyo time, and
can be free-streamed for about 24 hours. Before and after that, you’ll
pay $4.99 for the Opera on Demand.

Our Shakespeare readings are now online, 6/8 and 6/22 on ZOOM to read Antony and Cleopatra. If you want to be a part of the fun, just leave a note below or message me for the details.

That’s Act IV of Antony & Cleopatra on June 8th at 7:30pm. Please procure your own script. We’ll provide the Nile barge!