Not That Kind Of Notebook

Lena Dunham and Doris Lessing = a good summary of my inspiration (hence the URL). Literature and theatre geek. Currently tackling an MA at KCL in Shakespeare Studies and working as a research intern at Shakespeare's Globe.

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Me and my idol.

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Measure for Measure: Political Relevance

By Lara Good, Globe Education researcher

Written at the time of a major political turning point, James I’s ascension to the throne, Measure for Measure is one of Shakespeare’s most politically resonant plays. James I came to the throne in 1603, and the Duke of the play is often understood to represent an oblique comment on the new and unknown king. But we must be cautious in assigning a direct parallel between the two. This blog explores some of the political contexts of the play.

‘Sith, ‘twas my fault to give the people scope’ (I.iii.35)

In Measure for Measure the Duke (Vincentio, played by Dominic Rowan in the Globe’s current production) explains the motives behind his disguise: he fears that ‘we have let slip’ the strict rules and laws of the land over the past years and desires to ‘visit both prince and people’ under the safety of his friar’s cloak (I.iii.20; 45). Although King James would not have been able to roam the streets of London undetected, even if disguised, there are contemporary reports of his attempts to secretly visit London’s Exchange in March 1604 in order to spy on the merchants unobserved. The plan was uncovered, and the would-be spying mission failed, but it suggests that both the King and the Duke wished to test their subjects’ behaviour and morality.

Dominic Rowan as Duke Vincentio © Marc Brenner 

‘One in place I cannot pardon’ (V.i.497)

Keep reading

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polaroid by robert mapplethorpe

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I saw this legendary woman on Thursday <3

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By Robin Craig, a Researcher at the Globe

As You Like It, performed in Georgian by Marjanishvili Theatre Company © John Haynes

What is the importance of the forest of Arden in As You Like It? It is not Shakespeare’s only play that features a move from the...

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My friend Robin wrote this yay! Also it’s a brilliant show go see it

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Realised whilst tidying yesterday that this one shelf basically defines the entirety of my interests...

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Had the best day/week MA-wise I’ve had in a long time today and feeling like a gleeful/passionate splurge just wants to come out (probably spurred on by finally getting some good essay marks yay!). Spent the day in the Globe library despite it being my day off to watch The Broken Heart - which has incidentally become my new fave EM play and will hopefully be super useful in my dissertation. Not to mention that the SWP production I watched today was for the most part genius. Then had the last company lecture (sad face) on Richard II - it’s always fun sitting in on those and getting to hear your research being used first hand as well as hearing the actors’ questions and thoughts. Had a quick break to get essay results and grab a celebratory wine before a Research in Action workshop on the ‘Great Outdoors’, looking at plays with outdoor scenes on the indoor stage. I’ve been excited about this for a while as I hoped it would be really useful for my project on privacy - and it was! Looking forward to typing up my copious excitable notes tomorrow.

All in all a perfect day which reminded me why I wanted to do this MA in the first place!

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There is now a broad consensus in the human sciences that space does not pre-exist social formations; rather, it is constituted by them, so that every change within a given social formation is accompanied by a change of its spatial characteristics

Russell West Spatial Representations and the Jacobean Stage

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I recently wrote a review of As You Like It, currently showing at the Globe: 

“'All the world's a stage' says Jacques in As You Like It, and for most of Monday evening I felt like my entire world was the stage - more precisely, the Globe's extended stage, which they utilised more than usual to depict the expansive Forest of Arden.”

Follow the link to read more and see my latest reviews of theatre shows and sometimes books.

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She took refuge in the firm ground of fiction, through which indeed there curled the blue river of truth

Henry James, What Maisie Knew

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The Falling

The Falling, starring Florence Pugh and Maisie Williams, follows a group of school girls in 1969 trying to find their comfort zone amidst the terrifyingly awkward phase which is adolescence. So already we can pretty much all relate. However, a good coming of age film is hard to come by, but this struck the perfect chord between the comical and unsettling, a combination which dictates most teenagers’ thoughts and actions.

But The Falling is more than a film about teenage girls surviving in a strict school and testing their friendships, its 1960s setting places it in the Ken Loach Doris Lessing trend of foregrounding female mental health in a period where it was heavily neglected and stigmatised. Following a tragedy, the girls all start to experience fainting fits, and the constant overhanging question remains: is this just teenage girl dramatics (we’ve all been there) or is it a symptom of repressed trauma? The absence of psychological understanding pervades the story of other characters too, and it begins not to matter whether the girls are faking it or not, they signify an important image of how flippantly female psychological problems were dismissed as ‘hysteria’ in the period.

As an extremely rare non Game of Thrones fan I’m not familiar with Maisie Williams, I saw her in the Channel 4 one off Cyberbully and couldn’t decide if she was terrible or brilliant - is she actually acting or just ‘doing’? Her overly realistic acting manner came out in The Falling too, but this time it was hard to deny the genius of it and how well her style was suited to this particular film. Her total naturalism and under-dramatic style just increased the sense of awkwardness and squirming feeling which often had me hanging off the edge of my seat, desperate to look away but never quite able to.

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Production pictures from The Jew of Malta. 

Photos by Ellie Kurttz © RSC 

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I went to see this a few weeks ago and it was brilliant. I fell in love with Marlowe before I realised my passion for early modern drama, plus the fact that his plays (apart from Dr Faustus) are rarely performed meant this was a special performance for me. My secret geek dream is basically to open a Marlowe-based theatre....

Anyway I loved the way this production so equally emphasised the villainy of Barabas and the sympathy we should feel for him. Both the programme and the production also really highlighted the evils and merciless nature of men of every faith, from Jew to Muslim to Christian - something that feels particularly apt at the moment. I particularly enjoyed Colin Ryan’s performance as Don Mathias - I saw him in Macbeth at the Globe a few years ago and despite his minor role he stood out so I’m looking forward to seeing what bigger roles he plays in the next few years.

The RSC have a brilliant season this summer and I’m planning to get tickets to Volpone soon!

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Meet some of the cats of Measure for Measure. From top:  Kurt Egyiawan (Angelo) Mariah Gale (Isabella) Dominic Rowan (Duke Vincentio)  Directed by Dominic Dromgoole. 

From 20 June.  See the whole cast on Facebook. Book your tickets on the website. 

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I’m so pleased this cast list has been announced! I recently wrote one of my final essays on the concept of virginity in the early modern period - how the virgin was perceived as a threat and the queer nature of her sexual status. Measure for Measure was the main play I studied for this and the question of Isabella’s transition from a virgin to a wife at the end of the play differs from performance to performance. Is she pleased to marry the Duke? Or does her silence represent her only option: obedience? I think this play has a lot to say about the confines of patriarchy and the function of non-normative sexual behaviour within society. I can’t wait to see how Mariah Gale plays Isabella!

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David Oakes’ pics of Research in Action last night on portrayal of gender. (it was filmed) the other performers are Guy Amos & Beth Parks

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I went to this on Thursday! Pretty interesting workshop on the perception of gender using 15 year old Guy from the Young Players company and Beth from the Globe. Really excited for the next one on outdoor/indoor playing as it should be useful for my dissertation.

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Some people are afraid of ghosts, some of spiders or snakes - in those days we were afraid of our fellow human beings.

I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai

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Who do you think is fit to rule? King John, opening 1 June. Find out more on our website. Richard II, opening 11 July. Find out more on our website. All photography © Bronwen Sharp 

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Have just started a new research project at The Globe which I am super excited about! Will be assisting the main researcher for Globe to Globe Hamlet in analysing responses to performances in African countries. Look out for some fun findings in the next few weeks.