The Bicks Pod
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Episode 13 - The True Story of Richard III
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Tuesday Oct 22, 2019
Richard III is supposed to have been a conniving and megalomaniacal ruler. Henry Tudor believed he was a usurper, having wrested control of the crown and throne of England from his brother, Edward IV’s, line of succession, which he later claimed was actually illegitimate. And he has stood accused of orchestrating the murders of his other elder brother George, Duke of Clarence, several advisors to his late brother King Edward IV, his own wife Anne Neville, and—most famously—his nephews, Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, the young Princes in the Tower.
Was Richard the evil usurping murderer that the Tudors and William Shakespeare himself would have us believe? Or was he, as Richardians insist, a victim of smear campaigns and propaganda at the hands of the victors of England’s bloodiest dynastic battle?
Richard III: Tyrannical Murderer or Misunderstood King? That's the question we want to discuss in today's episode of The Bicks Do Shakespeare.
Notes:
"Richard III: The King in the Car Park" - Channel 4 documentary"Richard III: Fact or Fiction""Britain's Real Monarch" with Tony Robinson
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Episode 12 - Titus Andronicus
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Tuesday Oct 08, 2019
Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's bloodiest plays, set around the Roman revenge tragedy of its titular character and the fateful fall of his family.
Along with most of the other characters as well.
S. Clarke Hulse, in his essay "Wresting the Alphabet: Oratory and Action in 'Titus Andronicus'", counts "14 killings, 9 of them on stage, 6 severed members, 1 rape (or 2 or 3, depending on how you count), 1 live burial, 1 case of insanity and 1 of cannibalism—an average of 5.2 atrocities per act, or one for every 97 lines." It can be a supremely challenging play to read and watch, in spite of its short length, and the distate for this play permeates its production history; it fell out of favour in the 18th and 19th century and is still considered one of Shakespeare's least-popular plays.
But if you can set aside the discomforting facts of the gruesome murders committed its 2500 or so lines, there are some interesting things being presented here. The conflation of civilized Rome and barbaric Goths, rape and revenge, the role of women as either mothers or monsters/virgins or whores, and the weaponization of language are all fascinating avenues of entry into the horror of the Bard's ancient Roman revenge fantasy.
In Marriage Counselling, Aidan and Lindsay debate "Who is responsible for everything that goes wrong in Titus Andronicus?"
Notes:
S. Clarke Hulse - "Wresting the Alphabet: Oratory and Action in 'Titus Andronicus'"David Willbern - "Rape and Revenge in 'Titus Andronicus'"Julie Taymor - Titus