Friday, March 16, 2007

A Resurrected Shakespeare Introducing King Richard III to a Modern Audience

“Thank you for coming. That this is not the Globe Theatre, I am well aware. You all seem so terribly placid and reluctant to join the fray. Over the many years, spontaneity seems to have been muted in the hearts of men; joy no longer whirls its spirited tempest the way it used to when my heart beat within this bony cage and breath filled these long departed lungs.

“Nonetheless, I have resurrected myself at no small cost. Why did I stir myself from oblivion’s sweet embrace? Why did I dare to walk among human who seem more tired, hopeless and dim witted then when I knew them? Only to tell you this. It seems like such an utter waste of sperms and the eggs that propel them to see that the ways of men have not changed since when I first was inspired to take pen to parchment. The vanity, the intrigue, the duplicity, the pride, the jealousy, the hubris and the arrogance are very much with your people as they were with mine. Why does the species stagnate so in its own excrement? Why are we all as feeble minded as ever? Listen up and listen well. Listen with your heart bent on listening, for the time for change is narrow and the risk of damnation great. Listen so that my bones can finally retire into the little plot of earth that contains them. Cheers!”

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