Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚, Patrick Page's excellent one-man Shakespearean show, is at The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a strong run that generated very positive reviews in New York last year around this time. We attended the Minneapolis show and it was amazing, thoughtfully-written and edited, and very nicely supported with simple lighting and costume effects, but Page's acting is really the centerpiece. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune calls it "One of 2024′s best shows": The show has been designed in such a way that one does not have to know entire plots of the plays from which the villains lines are taken: Page gives enough information as needed, and then dives in, and it is all remarkably effective. The title comes from Shakespeare’s late play, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘴𝘵: “Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.” Page explores some of the most famous villains, most of them male, but a few female, and he also admits in part of the s...

I attended the last performance of #King Lear at the #Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota tonight. The backdrop to the stage made it seem the story was unfolding in a missile silo. It was acted very enthusiastically, with Edmund sometimes clownish in his villainy. [ Trailer ] Please chime in to discuss the play if you're a Lear fan. I was struck at how Lear's discussion with Burgundy of Cordelia's dowry treated her like a whore for sale, and reminded me of Ophelia speaking of Hamlet's "tenders" of his affection, and her father saying she should charge a higher rate (legal tender), as well as other Shakespearean moments where a wife complains about a husband's secrecy and that she feels treated like a whore, for pleasure and comfort, but not for the sharing of secrets. Favorite lines: "'Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind." "Get thee glass eyes; And like a scurvy politician, seem To see the things ...