William Shakespeare, whose birthday we celebrate today, appears as a minor character in my novel The Bookman’s Tale (if it were a play, he’d be drinking down at the pub for all of Acts 2 & 3) and the question of his true identity is one of the key mysteries in the novel. I’ve had the good fortune to approach Shakespeare as an actor, an audience member, a playwright, and a novelist and in each case it has been a rewarding experience. I’ve played the lead (in Measure for Measure) and my favorite Shakespeare character (Feste in Twelfth Night); I’ve seen Shakespeare productions around the US and UK; and I’ve written four plays for children based on or inspired by Shakespeare’s works.
A Perfect Likeness
As long as we’re talking about the anniversaries of plays (see last week’s blog), I’d like to take a minute to tell you about a play that premiered a year ago today. It was written by a friend of mine named Dan Singer (best known as one of the creators of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged). The play is called A Perfect Likeness and it depicts a fictional meeting between Charles Dickens and Lewis Carroll—two men who certainly knew about each other (Carroll was a big fan of Dickens) but who apparently never met.
How I Became a Children’s Playwright
Today is the twelfth anniversary of the world premiere of my first children’s play, Twinderella. Since that day, I’ve published nineteen plays for young audiences which have been seen in well over 3000 productions worldwide. I’m no longer actively writing plays for children, but I still enjoy hearing from young performers who are involved in productions of my plays. On Twinderella’s birthday, I thought I’d look back to how it all started.
Who Was This Shakespeare Fellow?
I originally wrote this article for middle and high school teachers who are introducing their students to Shakespeare, but I have had so many readers of The Bookman’s Tale ask me where I stand on the authorship controversy, that it seems worth republishing here.
William Shakespeare has been good to me. He has entertained me in theatres on two continents and given me some of the juiciest roles I’ve ever had the pleasure to play on stage. On four occasions as a playwright I’ve taken my inspiration from him in writing comedies for young audiences.
The Ghost of Durham Hall
I am both a playwright and the author of a novel at least part of which is historical fiction (The Bookman’s Tale); my wife is a director. So, when I had the chance this weekend to travel to Amherst, MA, to see a play written and directed by my daughter, Lucy, that was itself a work of historical fiction, it was a pretty special weekend. For those of you who have to wait until it comes to Broadway—The Ghost of Durham Hall is a sort of Downton Abbey meets Jane Eyre meets The Secret Garden ghost story, filled with spine tingling moments and spooky special effects. (I don’t want to give anything away here, but look out for those pictures on the wall!) Not only was it exciting to see how well my daughter has mastered the arts of playwriting and directing, but it was nice to see the influence of books throughout her work. She did a great job of giving every character an interesting back story, the dialogue rang true, and the action moved along, while still having a pace that seemed to fit the “it’s 1887 and we’re in a huge country house in the North of England” setting of the play. It’s not an easy thing to make the past feel natural—if we write it completely accurately, it may be difficult for the modern reader (or playgoer) to relate. If we write too much for the modern ear, we lose our historical basis. I think Lucy struck a nice balance, and I send kudos to her, to designer Jalana Sloatman, and to all the creative crew of Durham Hall. I can only hope that the historical sections of my novel work as well.
It’s Not Just About the Books
I am a book collector—just ask anyone who knows me. Or better yet, come to the house and look around for empty shelves. It’s true that books multiply to fill the available space (and then some). But being a book collector also means that I have lots of things in my collection that are not books. LOTS of things. Magazines, newspapers, playbills, clippings, letters, photographs—all of those things that generally go under the umbrella term ephemera—form an important part of my collection. Ephemera literally means things that are not intended to last, but I’m doing my best to defy that definition by preserving these things in my collection. The primary focus of my collection is the works of Lewis Carroll, but the addition of ephemera has allowed me to make that collection richer, and to put many of my books into a broader context. I’m especially a fan of Victorian theatrical memorabilia. Lewis Carroll was an avid playgoer and wrote several essays about the theatre. He counted many Victorian stage luminaries among his close friends. To me, these facts are illuminated by my collection—playbills from productions Carroll attended, photographs of actors he knew, etc. One example is a print from The Illustrated London News of the first theatrical production Lewis Carroll records seeing in London. It was a production of Henry VIII starring Charles Kean, and Carroll was especially taken by the scene in which Queen Catherine has a vision of angels. While a black and white print may not be able to fully capture a stage production, having that print in my collection helps me, in a small way, to connect with Lewis Carroll’s own experience at the theatre that night—an experience that changed his life. So, I say, though it may be something of an oxymoron—Long Live Ephemera!