Tag: Shakespeare

Did he or didn’t he? That’s the question that has laid siege to our popular imagination in the wake of the release of Anonymous, a film that draws on all of the trappings of the lavishly appointed costume drama to advance the notion that Shakespeare’s plays were not actually written by him but by the aristocratic Earl of Oxford.

Everyone, from the “groundlings” to the wisest of our cultural critics, has had something to say. Some call the attribution heresy, others deem it innovative scholarship and still others confess that they don’t much care, one way or another. After all, the play’s the thing, no?

For a sense of what’s at stake in this debate, I suggest you make a beeline for GW’s Betts Theatre where this coming Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the student theatrical troupe, MainStage, will be putting on The Merchant of Venice. Under the lively direction of Leslie Jacobson and with the esteemed and nimble actor, Rick Foucheux, as Shylock, this production promises to set tongues wagging.