The Mirror in my Mind

Well, as angevin2 reminded me, this is 30 Days of Shakespeare, not necessarily 30 Consecutive Days of Shakespeare. So, back to it.

It's really hard to define 'dialogue', as I discovered while trying to come up with answers for this day. Is it literally a piece of dialogue -- two lines, maybe three or four in total? Or can it encompass most of what we would think of as a scene even if it's not listed as such in the text?

Day #18: Your favourite dialogue - Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet

Much as I adore the stichomythic exchanges peppered throughout the First Tetralogy (including a_t_rain's answer, which is one of my absolute favourites), I expect everyone is thoroughly sick of hearing about those plays, so a bit of variety wouldn't go amiss. Three selections here, in no particular order.

Much Ado About Nothing, Act IV, Scene I, the final section.

a_t_rain has pinpointed everything I love about this scene, so I will just refer you all to her entry, which is wonderful and detailed and says everything I would have wanted to say only better :)

I love how many unexpected turns this particular dialogue takes -- Beatrice is grieving, she's furious, she's moved by Benedick's declaration but so very -- rightfully -- angry when he refuses to back it up with action. Much like Juliet, she has no interest in pretty words. The man she loves will rise to the occasion and defend a wronged woman even against his closest friends. But what makes me happiest is that Benedick does it.

Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene IV

This exchange between Mercutio and Romeo, when played properly, is hysterically funny because they are both such utter dorks who love puns and bad sex jokes. Also, unexpectedly poignant, I think, but that is because I, like any sensible person, believe Mercutio fancies Romeo, and that Romeo is either completely oblivious or aware of it but unsure of what to do, especially now that Juliet has entered the picture.

Also, it is far more fun when Mercutio actually tries to bite Romeo on 'I will bite thee by the ear for that jest', which he did in the production I directed.

Hamlet, Act II, Scene II

I love the exchange here between Hamlet and Polonius at least in part because of the RSC production that had me nearly falling out of my seat from laughter. It's also one of the few instances where I like the Q1 placement; having this exchange right after 'To be or not to be' and Hamlet's rejection of Ophelia (which Polonius has already seen) makes the entire thing both completely laughable and far, far creepier. Also, Hamlet is kind of a jerk, but we knew that already.

I can think of half a dozen other bits of dialogue that I love probably as much as these, but I will stop now. :)

( Full List of Questions )

Day #8: Your favourite comedy - Much Ado About Nothing

Twelfth Night is one of my favourite memories from undergrad -- it was my first big role and the cast had this really amazing rapport that lasted long after the production ended. Possibly I only feel this way because I was seventeen years old and life had been extremely boring before that point. ;)

That being said, my favourite Shakespearean comedy probably has to be Much Ado About Nothing. I could honestly watch Benedick and Beatrice forever. The year after Twelfth Night, I played Don Pedro in a gender-blind production and I must admit it still stings a bit that I never managed to play Beatrice. I don't know if I'd be any good, but she's just such a wonderful role and such a gift to an actress. And she and Benedick are such an easy couple to root for.

But the play has its darker aspects too, and that is part of what I love about it. The entire Hero-Claudio-Don John plotline reads like a test scenario for Iago's machinations in Othello, only in this case, the coincidences align just enough that things don't end in blood. One of the things I loved about the National Theatre's production that I saw in early 2008 was that they included this lovely, wordless moment between Hero and Leonato as Claudio is praying over her supposed grave where she watches him and, at the very end, gives this little nod to her father. Even if it's hard to necessarily believe in any great depth of affection between Hero and Claudio, considering they've known one another for a few days at most, there was something reassuring in that. (Of course, the absolutely best thing about that production was the chemistry between Simon Russell Beale as Benedick and Zoë Wanamaker as Beatrice, who were both just amazing.)

( Full List of Questions )