PERFORMANCE EVALUATION: CLASSICAL SHAKESPEARE TEXT SCENES

23/10/13

        YR 2. SHAKESPEARE SCENES: MACBETH FIGHT SCENE EVALUATION

On Wednesday 23rd October all of us had our 10-20 minute Classical Shakespeare text pieces, from the Elizabethan era. Before we started our scenes we had classical music playing in the background whilst all of us actors/actresses were changing, wishing each other luck and warming up on stage. This was Shakespearean style/Theatre while we were warming up on stage, what the actors used to do before every performance they would get changed into there costumes or do vocal exercises while the audience is waiting for the show to begin. The opening/introduction to me and Prince' fight scene was very well we used the whole space since we didn't have any tables/chairs-all we had was our cains. Also there were no mistakes in this opening so I assume this was a solid start. I think I did quite well in the opening of our scene, I had to remind myself to just relax, loosen up and clear away the stress and tension from my body before I delivered my line ''Turn Hell-Hound Turn!!!'', and after I said this line everyone was able to hear me which means that my projection was there and it had to fill the whole Drama studio so that people could hear me at the back of the room. Also I had to make sure that I breathe before I went on stage and said my line, by doing this I felt more relaxed & refreshed. Prince also did a brilliant job as well, he had good control of the space, thought process and great awareness. I don't remember the energy dropping from both of us, despite that I knocked Prince's Cain towards the audience both of us still worked through the problem and maintained our energy throughout so that the 1st Years do not switch off or loose interest in our piece. Another mistake that happened at the last fight scene is that I accidently hit Prince in the face with the cain and reacted to it very well as if it was part of our piece but it wasn't, but the good thing is is that no one knew about it. As I kill Prince at the end, I think I screwed up big time because when I go to stab him in his rib cage I missed the first strike and styled it out and went for the stomach instead. Again I'm, happy that no one noticed, except Tyler because he has been working on it with us. During the performance I felt comfortable on stage, the pace was going quick and my energy did not drop. Overall I think both of us did good but I still think that could have done more with my physicality because it is my first time doing a fight scene/stage combat I think the staff expect me not to do great with it. However Prince is 100x better than me at this and has experience since he was in Blood Wedding, a tragic play which had alot of fighting in it. I personally think that our piece looked a bit tacky but what I am happy about the most is that we kept the 1st Years engaged with our scene and they were really into it.

After we performed our piece both of us got a huge round of applaud and got some great feedback from the audience saying that our fight scene was really good and they asking us questions on how we did it and who choreographed it. Thanks to Tyler & Alex (Tyler mainly) our piece looked good it was sharp. Overall I think both us did brilliantly and again we knew our stuff. Not just me & Prince the whole class did great !. Out of 10 I would give an 8.

My Strengths

* I didn't forget my lines

* The projection was there

* Emotional connection, Intent

* I kept the energy going

* We used the whole space

* I had my prop ready

* Our staging was on point, we opened up and we didn't block each other

* We made the corrections from Alex, Yusuf and Tyler

* The pace was quick and the scene didn't drag

My Weaknesses

* I feel that I could have done a lot more with the fight scene to make our piece more interesting, instead of just delivering my lines with the intention

* Clarity!!, After our performance Gary said that our point we have to work on is clarity because most of the 1st years didn't understand what we were saying at times. So that's a main thing we all have to work on

* Also I feel that I could have done more with my physicality-Physicality has always been my main problem. 

Preparation/Rehearsals

I pretty much enjoyed rehearsals, with our fight scene we could do a lot with it and we tired different things with our piece. At times I struggled with this fight scene because 1. Lack of experience, 2. My physicality and 3. I wasn't loose enough. It took about 3 weeks for me to work on my physicality and loosen up. Also getting into the character of Macduff was quite tough because me and Prince have got to want to kill each other look at each other as enemies. Outside class we're close mates but in class/rehearsals we are enemies. For me to get into the character of Macduff I used the Stanislavski technique which was to think of someone I didn't like in my secondary school and imagine that Prince is that person so that I am able to draw a believable emotion our performance. This exercise actually worked, each time I had to avoid Prince and just don't talk to him. People thought that both of us had fallen out since we are close buddies, by them thinking that it means that this exercise is working perfectly. On certain days it was quite hard for me because Prince missed some days because he was ill which meant that I had to take responsibilities and make sure that he was in because it is not fair on somebody who is willing to work and their partner is not here even when they have a main part and know that they're supposed to come in. This started to annoy me because last year Prince wasn't like this, always on time and willing to work but now it's shocking, maybe because something is going on at home. Overall it was nothing major, I just hope that it doesn't continue for the next project when we do our Film & TV unit.   

WEEK 6: LOGBOOK 19TH OCTOBER

WEEK 6:

                                REHEARSALS THIS WEEK

 Tuesday 15th October

During rehearsals this week me & Prince continued working on our fight scene, going through the sequences, transitions and the movements. Also both of us were uniting our scripts writing down which sequence should go. Mainly me & Prince have just been playing around with our scene and getting into character, since the intent wasn't there last week. For this scene we've got to want to kill each other: Outside both of us are close mates but in class we're enemies. With the of Tyler he did an exercise to help us think about our character's more and what there objective is within the scene and visualise what's around us. While Alex was watching other groups pieces Tyler took me & Prince out to do the character exercise. With this exercise Tyler too us to the college field (On wet conditions) and look at as if it's the battlefield where Macbeth and Macduff meet. Both of us had to close our eyes for 20 seconds and think about our characters current situation, feelings, desires and objective. As I close my eyes allot of things slowly came to mind, issues/problems I have had at school, troubles at home and certain people I did not like in my secondary school. Instead of me just looking at Prince just portraying Macbeth, I decided to look at him as a boy I din't like at school who I really wanted to beat up, named Shaquille. When we opened our eyes, Tyler was asking both of us what we have got out of this exercise and what we're going to do to maintain the intent in our scene. What me & Prince decided to is as we went back to the Drama studio is to just not talk to each other and each time we made eye contact we would give each other dirty looks/screw face. The others seemed confused, they were not sure what was going on between us two thought that both of us had fallen out. This meant that this was working for both of  us, thanks to Tyler the hatred between both of us is starting to build. Later on Tyler helped me and Prince choreograph our scene properly. As soon as we started I had to make sure that that I scare Prince and start strong as I deliver my line ''Turn, Hell-Hound Hound!!!'' when I deliver this line the anger and the hate has to be there. Also I want to make sure I scare the audience as well as Prince. By doing I felt that I had more of a connection with my character. Whenever it comes to me striking at Prince, my energy always seems to drop and I am always losing control of where I'm attacking. I have to remind myself that I am attacking & Prince is defending. The only good thing is, is that the intention within this scene is there. Now we could focus on the cool stuff now the FIGHTING :D. Tyler showed us a range of stage combat skills we could use in our scene. Some of them worked, Some didn't and some were not needed. Me and Prince have decided that me slashing of his head at the end is cut out because I feel that it does not make sense and I wouldn't be believable to an audience perspective, cutting off Macbeth's head with a bamboo stick seemed a bit tacky to me. So we have agreed to just end it with me stabbing Prince and saying my last line. After we ran the scene plenty of times Prince was really knackered because I kept making those stupid little mistakes which got Tyler & Prince a bit angry with me, but at the same time it's a learning process. I think the only problem with me is that while me Prince are running, the others come and watch and I'm too cautious or agitated of why they're watching our piece, maybe because I'm not giving enough energy or it looks great from what they can hear. To be honest I think that's why I'm messing up with sequences. To make our piece better me & Prince are going to message each other our lines and the sequences so that we don't forget what Tyler has taught us for me especially me I feel that I am the one bringing the scene down.

Since Tyler is not in on Fridays me and Prince remembered what he gave us here's some photos/videos of us rehearsing our piece!

 

LOGBOOK 1ST OCTOBER 2013: WEEK 4

01/10/13

                       REHEARSALS (DRAMA WITH YUSUF) PEER FEEDBACK

Continuing on from yesterday, Yusuf saw Mauricia, Simone and Bicton-Macbeth Act 5 Scene 1 when Lady Macbeth goes crazy and sees ghosts of the people her husband has killed. Now that Simone is completely refreshed we were able to watch their whole scene. The opening of their piece is much better, Simone is much more relaxed and has looked into her character, Mauricia as always is doping well but what she has to do is to reduce her volume its great that we can hear her and that she is trying to fill the space but she has to be more quieter. Overall she's doing great :D. On the other hand Bicton is coming along fine but he needs to bring more urgency, slow it down and break it down. He's got good emphasis as he delivers his lines but he needs to take it apart more. I think their piece is alot stronger and it is starting to become understandable. 

Next pairs up was Sean and Tracy-Hamlet, Act 4 Scene 3. Their piece is much better than it was before and it's clear that they have been rehearsing it between break/lunch times and it has come alot stronger. Sean has got nice energy but he has to experiment abit more with his character so he is able to maintain his energy throughout as we are wathching their scene. Tracy is also doing great, she is more grounded/suttle with her character also she is more engaged and has a strong connection. At the moment Tracy & Sean's piece is he best so far.

       

ME & PRINCE REHEARSING OUR FIGHT SCENE FROM MACBETH


The feedback that me & Prince got from Sintisha is that at the moment our piece is at a high level but it's not at the standard at where it should be. We've got the sequences and movements right but the only thing that is missing is the intention within this scene- meaning that me & Prince have to wanna really kill each other. I think at the moment that I'm not giving it enough and playing too safe, it's too camp and I think about my mistakes too much with this piece. Every time I have second thoughts I have this feeling that I'm  going to break the Cain as I strike Prince, my physicality and all sorts of little things, because I think about these stuff a lot I am not performing to the best of my ability and the piece is looking to cliché. Alex says it looks a lot better with us using cains and it's believable. Hopefully next week our piece would be much better and we should have the swords (replicas) by then.

     

                     

     

                

     

LOGBOOK 30TH SEPTEMBER 2013: WEEK 4

30/09/13

DIARY ENTRY

                          REHEARSALS (DRAMA WITH YUSUF) PEER FEEDBACK

In rehearsals me & Prince continued working on our piece and trying to sort out the sword fighting. Today Yusuf was helping us block our scenes. The first group that was up was Simone,Bicton and Mauricia, the scene that they are doing is from Macbeth. It started of fine but at the moment it looks all rushed - Simone has to slow down a bit so that we can understand what she's saying-Bicton is doing great but he has to be a little bit bigger with his character also he has to work on his posture more. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Maurcicia's part properly because Simone wasn't feeling herself today so we just had to move on to the next group. Within two weeks their piece should be stronger.




Next pairs up was Cameron & Penny, the scene they are doing is from 'The Taming Of The Shrew' where Cameron is playing Petruchio and Penny playing Katherine (Simply called Kate,but likes to be called by full name Katherine).  There scene has a solid start, the energy is good but they have to think about the intentions within the scene, Cameron is doing a great job but he has to be more flirty/cheesy so we get clear image of Petruchio. Also as he makes his entrance he should be sitting on a chair with his legs up on the table which makes it more effective. On the other hand Penny is doing brilliantly but for her to make her character more self-secure and aggressive she has to respond straight away after Cameron delivers his lines. The main thing that is needed in their scene is fast pace so that it does not drag. Also while they are delivering their lines they should pronounce/annunciate on each phrase and syllable. Cameron and Penny should slow down and look into their scene a bit more.Overall it's much better but as soon as Cameron is off script, hopefully Yusuf would be able to block it properly. My 2nd Shakespeare monologue is also from the ''The Taming Of The Shrew'' by watching their piece I have started to watch Cameron carefully so I can develop some ideas on how to portray my character because I'm also playing Petruchio.

2nd Period

After lunch Yusuf Continued helping others he hasn't seen with their scenes. The next group that was up was Esther, Yvonne and Bicton. The scene their play is from is ''As You Like It''. It's got a good start but what I think Esther has to work on is her moments within the scene as the Duke (played by Bicton enters and announces that she is not her fathers daughter and she is banished. What Esther has to do after Bicton delivers his lines is to really go for it and explode. Yvonne, much better with her character, she has researched the play/her character, but she has to react more after Esther delivers her lines. Overall their scene is much better since the last time I saw it.

Next pairs was Bradley and Mahin - Merchants Of Venice. With their scene Bradley has been trying to work on his accent because of who he's portraying which is Shylock. So far the accnent is coming along well but at times I couldn't hear him on certain bits when he was delivering his lines. Bradley has to pronounce his words more and make his voice more rusty/husky so all of us get a better view of his charcter 2nd time round when they ran through their scene it was much better but Bradley has to play more with his character and enjoy it. Mahin is doing alright but he has to work on his physicality. Overall their scene is coming along fine.

Next up was Mauricia and Brendan - Julius Caesar. It's got a nice solid start  and it's a lot better since we last saw it but towards the end of their scene I didn't quite understand what Brendan was trying to say but all I heard was ''Ha.......Hark Hark'' *stutters*, because we didn't understand what that was supposed to mean, before Brendan delivered that line Yusuf added in a knock on the door sound/beat to create a transition so that it is easier for Brendan to come in confidently as he delivers that line. Another thing Brendan should do is to relax more and playing around much more with his character. At the moment he's got everything right but he has to loosen up more. So far the scene has come a lot more stronger/clearer.



Unfortunately me & Prince didn't get to show ours because time was running out but there's still time for us to work on our piece. Me & Prince have been working on our scene independently and have been trying different things.

Today was fine...........

WORKSHOP DAY

25/09/13

            WORKSHOP WITH MATT & MICHAEL PARR (EMMERDALE)

Today we had two people (both actors) come in and did workshops with us and those are close friends of Yusuf. Matt & Michael are both ex-students of East 15. Mike at the moment is appearing on Emmerdale as a carjacker.

Matt (left), Michael (right)





















  
Michael in Emmerdale

Since two staff were off sick today Alex couldn't teach us so we had Matt & Mike work with us for the whole day. Matt was helping us with our scenes and telling us on what things we should and shouldn't do. Here's some videos of others working on there scenes............

 

 
 
 
 
 

I really wanted go up and show my piece but because my partner (Prince) wasn't in, there was nothing else to do except just watch others and take notes.

Today was fine.......

LOGBOOK 23RD SEPTEMBER 2013

23/09/13

DIARY ENTRY            REHEARSALS FOR OUR SHAKESPEARE SCENES (DRAMA WITH YUSUF)

In today's lesson all of us continued working on our Shakespeare scenes. We were sent to go with our pairs and run our lines outside the classroom, what we had to do is find some public areas in the college where there are a lot of people and go through our lines with our partners. This is a drama school exercise Yusuf told us about, what he did when he was at Arts Ed, how him & his classmates would go to Sainsbury's and run lines with their partners as they were shopping. While we were running lines all of us had to make sure that as you deliver your lines you have to make sure that you are truthful & natural in what you're saying so that people do not look at you weirdly, but if people look at you in a strange way then something is not right whether you didn't say your line properly or whether you are not truthful enough- because it's Shakespeare I expect people to look at me in a strange way because I know that with Shakespeare there's going to a word that I would struggle with trying to pronounce. When we sent of to do this task me & Prince (My partner for this project) went to different places in the College such as......... The Street, Canteen, Corridors near the reception office, sports department, field, football/basketball path and obviously the expressive arts department. First place me and Prince went to was the canteen and I expected to see a couple of my mates and people I know to be there but that didn't distract me and all I had to do was just keep on top on what I'm doing. As me & Prince were going over our lines, I noticed that people were not paying attention to us and they were not looking at us in a strange way- this meant that we were doing this exercise the right way and we kept it natural. The whole concept of this was to run our lines as if we are having a conversation with our partners. Next place we went to was the corridors near reception, as we walked through saying our lines in a natural tone people didn't take notice of us because we still ran them in the same way & same tone as we did when we were in the canteen. In the canteen before when I saw a few of my friends I was expecting them to at least try and talk to me when they saw me & Prince but because we were sitting down on the table and resitting our lines they didn't pay attention to us may be because of the way both of us delivered our lines or probably the way how we looked whether we had a happy/sad face. Before Yusuf said he would come round and check on us but for some reason I didn't see him anywhere. Last place where me & Prince went to was the field, where the football/basketball path is. As we were going over our lines the guys that were playing football took no notice of us, obviously because they're too concentrated on what they are doing but not once they even made eye contact with us. However guys that were watching or waiting go on and play looked at us a few times but not in a weird way maybe because they are trying to spy on us and spread stupid rumours, but anyway it's nothing major. 


I actually enjoyed this exercise, I wasn't too cautious of what others would think when they saw me going over lines. To be honest out of all the character exercises that Yusuf has made us do this one hasn't been a struggle for me. It just looked simple & basic.  Hopefully in the future at any point for our next project we should do this exercise :D.

 Today was fine...........

LOGBOOK 16TH SEPTEMBER 2013

16/09/13                     

DIARY ENTRY        DRAMA WITH YUSUF

In today's lesson all of us started working on our Shakespeare pieces. The first pairs that went up was Tracy & Sean, the piece they were showing us was a scene from Hamlet. It started of flat because they needed pace and energy. Also they had to sort out the staging. As Yusuf picked up on certain bits and changed how Sean should make his entrance it started to become better and felt much clearer. Obviously within 6 weeks their piece would be stronger. Next person that went up was Tiffany and Stella, again their scene was from Hamlet and in this scene Tiffany starts of with the monologue ''To Be or not To Be''. What I picked up on is that as Tiffany made her entrance on stage it didn't look like there was a thought process, she had to be more suttle, projection had to be there, she had to be more grounded. Instead of her just standing delivering her lines, a better solution was for her to squat down on her knees and stay more grounded so that it is easier for us to understand her character's emotions and what she is saying. Also Tiffany had to be thinking to herself. 2nd time round  when she did her monologue it was much, but a lot of things to work on.

                             

2nd Period

After lunch we continued looking at peoples pieces/scenes. Next piece we watched was Charles and Ahmed, their piece is a scene from Othello. It's all good but I couldn't hear them. The projection just wasn't there. Also they had to slow down while they were delivering their lines otherwise we wouldn't understand what's going on in there scene. The main things Yusuf picked up on was clarity and projection. To be honest I think their scene has a lot of potential but what they have to do is relax and play abit more so that there scene is understandable for the audience. Next pairs-Mauricia & Brendan, the scene they're doing is from Julius Caesar where Mauricia is playing Portia and Brendan playing Brutus. I think what they have showed to us is good but I feel that Mauricia has to slow down and relax, her energy is good but she has to explain what she is saying in her lines . Brendan is doing alright but he needs to put more energy and build more into his character, because Brutus is the complete opposite to Brendan it could be a challenge for him but in a couple of weeks he would be more string with his character. Next guys up- Bradley and Mahin, Merchants of Venice. What they've got is good but it's Bradley we've been mainly helping as well as Mahin. Bradley started his monologue very well but as he was delivering his lines I couldn't hear a word what he was saying. I'm not gonna lie but his energy was good but all he has to do is slow down, take a breath, and pronounce each word/syllable. After Yusuf sorted that out it looked a lot better. :D







I really wanted to go up and do my scene but unfortunately because my partner (Prince) wasn't in there was nothing I could do except watch others. Hopefully when we do this again I will be able to go up.

Today was fine

During today's lesson...........

Tracy & Sean on their scene Hamlet

Tiffany working on her Monologue from Hamlet

Yvonne & Esther



Charles (playing Othello) working on Othello scene



  
Ahmed as Iago

  

LOGBOOK 10TH SEPTEMBER 2013

10/09/13

DIARY ENTRY                DRAMA WITH YUSUF

In today's lesson all of us were looking at William Shakespeare-his life and 30 facts about him. All of us had to get partner up and read through the sheets we were given which were 30 facts about Shakespeare and his life, I partnered up with Pierce and both of us read the facts, well I wanted to read it but I decided to let Pierce read it since I knew that I would be slow at it and would take forever. Here are facts that me & Pierce learnt about Shakespeare..................



1. Shakespeare lived to 52. It is known that he was born in April 1564 and that he died on 23rd April 1616. We know that he was baptised on 26th April 1564 and scholars now believe that he was born on April 23rd. He therefore died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. How fitting that the great English Writer is so closely identified with the patron saint of England!

2. Shakespeare had seven siblings. They were: Joan (1558); Margaret (1562); Gilbert (1566); Joan II (1569); Anne (1571); Richard (1574) and Edmund (1580).

3. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway when he was 18. She was 26 and she was pregnant when they married. Their first child was born six months after the wedding.

4. Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway had three children together – a son, Hamnet, who died in 1596, and two daughters, Susanna and Judith. His only granddaughter Elizabeth – daughter of Susanna – died childless in 1670. Shakespeare therefore has no descendants.

5. Shakespeare died a rich man. He made several gifts to various people but left his property to his daughter, Susanna. The only mention of his wife in Shakespeare’s own will is: “I gyve unto my wief my second best bed with the furniture”. The “furniture” was the bedclothes for the bed.

6. Shakespeare was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. He put a curse on anyone daring to move his body from that final resting place. His epitaph was:

Good friend for Jesus’ sake forbear,
To dig the dust enclosed here:
Blest be the man that spares these stones,
And curst be he that moves my bones.

Though it was customary to dig up the bones from previous graves to make room for others, Shakespeare’s remains are still undisturbed.

7. One of Shakespeare’s relatives on his mother’s side, William Arden, was arrested for plotting against Queen Elizabeth I, imprisoned in the Tower of London and executed.

8. During his life, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets! This means an average 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589. His last play The Two Noble Kinsmen is reckoned to have been written in 1613 when he was 49 years old. While he was writing the plays at such a pace he was also conducting a family life, a social life and a full business life, running an acting company and a theatre.

9. Few people realise that apart from writing his numerous plays and sonnets, Shakespeare was also an actor who performed many of his own plays as well as those of other playwrights. During his life Shakespeare performed before Queen Elizabeth I and, later, before James I who was an enthusiastic patron of his work.

10. Shakespeare’s profession was acting. He is listed in documents of 1592, 1598 and 1603 as an actor. We know that he acted in a Ben Jonson play and also in his own plays but it’s thought that, as a very busy man, writing, managing the theatre and commuting between London and his home in Stratford where is family was, he didn’t undertake big parts. There is evidence that he played the ghost in Hamlet and Adam in As You Like It.

11. In Elizabethan theatre circles it was common for writers to collaborate on writing plays. Towards the end of his career Shakespeare worked with other writers on plays that have been credited to those writers. Other writers also worked on plays that are credited to Shakespeare. We know for certain that Timon of Athens was a collaboration with Thoma Middleton; Pericles with George Wilkins; and The Two Noble Kinsmen with John Fletcher.

12.  Some scholars have maintained that Shakespeare did not write the Shakespeare plays, with at least fifty writers having been suggested as the “real” author. However, the evidence for Shakespeare’s having written the plays is very strong.

13. Shakespeare is the second most quoted writer in the English language – after the various writers of the Bible.

14. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre burnt down on 29th June 1613 after a cannon shot set fire to it during a performance of Henry VIII. (See our article on interesting facts on The Globe Theatre.)

15. Shakespeare is always referred to as an Elizabethan playwright, but as most of his most popular plays were written after Elizabeth’s death he was actually more of a Jacobean writer. His later plays also show the distinct characteristics of Jacobean drama.

16.  Almost four hundred years after Shakespeare’s death there are 157 million pages referring to him on Google. There are 132 million for God, 2.7 million for Elvis Presley, and coming up on Shakespeare’s heels, George W Bush with 14.7 million.

17. Suicide occurs an unlucky thirteen times in Shakespeare’s plays. It occurs in Romeo and Juliet where both Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, in Julius Caesar where both Cassius and Brutus die by consensual stabbing, as well as Brutus’ wife Portia.

18. Some of Shakespeare’s signatures have survived on original documents. In none of them does he spell his name in what has become the standard way. He spells it Shakespe; Shakspe; Shakspere and Shakespear.

19. Shakespeare lived a double life. By the seventeenth century he had become a famous playwright in London but in his hometown of Stratford Uppon , where his wife and children were, and which he visited frequently, he was a well known and highly respected businessman and property owner.

20. The American President Abraham Lincoln was a great lover of Shakespeare’s plays and frequently recited from them to his friends. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth was a famous Shakespearean actor.

21. Although it was illegal to be a Catholic in Shakespeare’s lifetime, the Anglican Archdeacon, Richard Davies of Lichfield, who had known him wrote some time after Shakespeare’s death that he had been a Catholic.

22. Candles were very expensive in Shakespeare’s time so they were used only for emergencies, for a short time. Most writers wrote in the daytime and socialised in the evenings. There is no reason to think that Shakespeare was any different to his contemporaries.

23. It was illegal for women and girls to perform in the theatre in Shakespeare’s lifetime so all the female parts were written for boys. The text of some plays like Hamlet and Antony and Cleopatra refer to that. It was only much later, during the Restoration, that the first woman appeared on the English stage.

24. There are only two Shakespeare plays written entirely in verse: they are Richard II and King John. Many of the plays have half of the text in prose.

25. Shakespeare wrote many more plays than the ones we know about. It’s certain that he wrote a play titled Cardenio, which has been lost, but scholars think he wrote about twenty that have gone without a trace.

26. Shakespeare’s shortest play, The Comedy of Errors is only a third of the length of his longest, Hamlet, which takes four hours to perform.

27. Two of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, have been translated into Klingon. The Klingon Language Institute plans to translate more! (If you’re into quirky Shakespeare facts check our our  list of 23 things you never knew about Shakespeare)

28. All Uranus’ satellites are named after Shakespearean characters.

29. ‘William Shakespeare’ is an anagram of ‘I am a weakish speller’.

30. Shakespeare’s original grave marker showed him holding a bag of grain. Citizens of Stratford replaced the bag with a quill in 1747.