King Lear by William Shakespeare

A novel I was really excited to read referenced King Lear by William Shakespeare on the back of the book, so of course I had to pick it up and read it immediately. Although I read a lot, I am pretty much a failure when it comes to classics and I've only read a handful of the many "must reads" that exist. However, a play, even a Shakespeare one, isn't that much of a time commitment, so I picked it up. It turned out that it wasn't at all necessary to read it for the book that mentioned it, but the end result was me being a little more well-read, so no harm done.

I am always afraid when reading a classic that there's some deep meaning I'm missing, so I actually read 3 different versions of King Lear at the same time to make sure I got the full impact and analysis. I actually found it a lot of fun to read that way, and I definitely plan to pick up more Shakespeare in the future. In terms of King Lear itself, it's the story of an aging King, who asks his daughters who loves him. While the two older daughters make grand pronouncements, the youngest, Cordelia, refuses to and is cast out by her father. However it turns out that the two older daughter quickly ally themselves in a quest to take over as King Lear is so upset he begins to descend into madness.

As I said, I really enjoyed King Lear. It's hard to critic somebody like Shakespeare, but this definitely one of my favourite plays I've read by him. Although it's a classic, I didn't know how things turned out, and I really enjoyed the ending because it was unexpected and left a big impact. There is flowery prose, but there is also a strong message about love and death. I'm not one to say anything given how poor my own classic reading is, but it is definitely worth picking this one up!

Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock

A lesser-known fact about me: I'm a Theatre minor! I am really passionate about the theatrical world, where I've been involved since I was 13. Acting, stage managing, costuming, make-up, construction, run crew--been there, done it all! So I was really excited to get the opportunity to discuss a play I read and enjoyed here on In the Next Room. Hopefully, this will be the first play of many I'll review for the site!

Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock is still a fairly new play, first staged by Roundabout Theatre Company to many positive reviews. Since then, Rosenstock has gone on to cement her position as a writer, most notably for the hit show "The New Girl" starring Zooey Deschanel. And believe me, if you enjoy "The New Girl," you'll love this play.

Rosenstock's dark humor and sensitivity to nuances in character is showcased as she tells the story of Sherry, a recent graduate with a failing job search. After being so disheartened that she moves home and retreats to her childhood bed, Sherry gets her first position as an art therapist, a job that galvanizes her into renewed hope and optimism. Throughout the play, she tries to bring this attitude to her resistant first patient, her depressed and overweight mother, and her grieving sister, who was abandoned by her fiance and struggling to come to terms with the break-up. As if that wasn't enough for one person to deal with, a tiger has escaped from the local zoo!

What really stood out to me in this comedy were the relationships between characters. They were humorous and stretched the bounds of reality, but in a good way--I would love to see this staged! Not only that, but there are real moments of unexpected poignancy that stuck with me after the play ended. Tigers Be Still may not be a theatrical masterpiece, but it was an enjoyable read with strong high points. I'd suggest checking it out, especially if it is playing on a stage near you.

I leave you with this, my favorite quote from the entirety of the script:

Recommended to: people who follow "The New Girl," anyone who enjoys a darker brand of comedy, recent grads desperate for jobs, people who want to ease into the practice of reading plays

Book/Item: TIGERS BE STILL (NOT YET PUBLISHED. AVAILABLE ONLY IN PHOTOCOPIED MANUSCRIPT.)
Book Type: NYP Price: $20.00 ISBN/Code: 978-0-8222-2540-9

This is a review by Meghan. You can find her here on Goodreads or on Twitter @meghanc303

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

"Yes, we’re going to save you, whether you like it or not."

Lysistrata is a classic play written in 411 BC by Aristophanes which centres around a woman named Lysistrata who frustrated by an ongoing civil war organizes the women of Athens to take matters into their own hands. Lysistrata persuades the female population not to have sex with their husbands until a treaty has been signed and the war is over. Faced-paced and filled with shocking behaviour and comments this sex comedy has managed to stay both relevant and humorous over the years.

Lysistrata definitely managed to shock me, at times I could hardly believe I was reading a classic Greek play. Not only do men walk around with large, painful erections on stage but there are references to masturbation, sex toys, and all sorts of other sexual humour that honestly made me blush a little at times.

What I particularly loved about the play was the cleverness of it, the characters are constantly making puns, sexual and otherwise, like when Lysistrata says she has summoned the women regarding something larger and another character looks intrigued and asks her if it is thick also. As outlandish as the play is at times, it is also intelligently written and the dialogue flows smoothly and enjoyably. Even though sex is the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the play, it's also not just about sex. Here's one example of a conversation that is both clever and still relevant:

Lysistrata: If only you had common sense, you would always do in politics the same as we do with our yarn.

Magistrate: Come, how is that, eh?

Lysistrata: First we wash the yarn to separate the grease and filth; do the same with all bad citizens, sort them out and drive them forth with rods — they're the refuse of the city. Then for all such as come crowding up in search of employments and offices, we must card them thoroughly; then, to bring them all to the same standard, pitch them pell-mell into the same basket, resident aliens or no, allies, debtors to the State, all mixed up together. Then as for our Colonies,you must think of them as so many isolated hanks; find the ends of the separate threads, draw them to a centre here, wind them into one, make one great hank of the lot, out of which the public can weave itself a good, stout tunic.

Clearly, there are many reasons why Lysistrata has lasted so long as a play. The only issue I had reading it was that it felt rushed and came to a resolution too quickly. I do think if I ever saw it performed live that the pacing would probably be better, but I read the entire thing at a similar speed (I'm pretty sure that's how everyone reads?) and so the play felt heavy on the beginning and light in the middle, with some odd pacing going on near the end. I'm also perpetually skeptical of the use of a chorus in a play but that's a personal preference and I realize that traditionally they have been very popular.

Overall, Lysistrata is both a shocking and humorous play. In addition to some lewd behaviour and clever innuendo, Aristophanes makes an interesting comment on politics and Lysistrata certainly leaves a lot of possibility for discussion when it comes to the role of the females. Ultimately, this is one easy to read and easy to recommend classic play and while it may make you blush, it will certainly make you laugh as well.

Release Date: 411 BC
Pages: 64
Source: Free Ebook
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The Tempest by William Shakespeare

"like one
Who having into truth, by telling of it,
Made such a sinner of his memory
To credit his own lie—he did believe"

The Tempest by William Shakespeare is just one of the many classic plays I know the basic premise of but have never actually read. When it turned out a book I was planning read, The Dream of Perpetual Motion, drew inspiration from The Tempest, I knew it was the excuse I'd been waiting for. For those unfamiliar with what is thought to have been Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest is the story of a powerful magician, Prospero, who is abandoned on an island with his beautiful daughter Miranda when his brother, Antonio, takes over his rightful place as Duke of Milan. When a ship carrying his brother, as well as his complicit Alonso, King of Naples, is traveling nearby Prospero has the perfect opportunity to regain his rightful place. Prospero creates a storm, resulting in his enemies arriving shipwrecked at the island where Prospero uses his magic to manipulate them. Helping Prospero with his plan is Ariel, a spirit, and Caliban, a man enslaved to Prospero after his witch mother gave birth to him on the island.

Although I have never seen a live performance of The Tempest, I found myself enjoying the play a surprising amount. The storyline was easy to follow, and the magical tint worked perfectly. I also found myself really involved with the characters, in particular Ariel who Prospero has promised to free if only he will perform these last tasks on his behalf. Prospero himself felt larger than life, and I had vivid images of him as I was reading. Overall, I felt I was really able to get into the play and enjoy it, with some help translating some of what was being said using "No Fear Shakespeare" of course. Like many of Shakespeares' plays, The Tempest also features a couple quickly falling in love when they are basically still strangers, but somehow it worked better for me in this instance than it has in the past (for example, Romeo and Juliet). I think that is mostly due to the sweet and naive exchanges between Miranda and Ferdinand, who is the son of Alonso, which felt charming rather than creepy.

Probably the weakest character of the play for me was Caliban, whose motivations I never really quite understand and who sometimes came across evil, for example trying to rape Miranda, but other times really just felt like a confused and abandoned child. Prospero was so cruel to Caliban, I felt difficulty hating him even if he was a bad person, and in the end I was unsure how I really felt about him.

Although the play itself is not a comedy, there were certainly a few comedic moments, especially when it came to exchanges between the shipcrew. For example:

ANTONIO: He misses not much.
SEBASTIAN: No; he doth but mistake the truth totally.

Conversations like that made me laugh, but overall it was the dark aspects of the play that stuck with me the most. I'm pretty sure The Tempest is the first Shakespeare I have read since graduating highschool almost half a decade ago, and I was honestly surprised how easy a read it was. Perhaps I've gotten a little smarter, but I think the key was just sitting down and enjoying the play without having to worry about over-analyzing every sentence. I'm sure there are plenty of subtleties I didn't pick up on, but I'm not getting graded on this and it didn't bother me. In the end I just relaxed and enjoyed The Tempest, a great piece of classic drama filled with Shakespeare's dark magic and a sensational story. 

Release Date: 1609
Pages: 218
Overall: 5/5
Source: Online Ebook
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