Shakespeare on Ice

December 1603 was the first Christmas season at court for King James VI, and his players were naturally expected to perform. Dr. Paul Menzer gives us a backstage view of the King's Men as they try to devise a new entertainment for the new king, and all the while freeze in the tiring house of the Globe. Who really wants to play in an outdoor theatre in winter, anyway? For that matter, who wants to come to a play in an outdoor theatre?

A perchance fortunate turn of events comes when King James needs to relocate the performance to the Blackfriars, which the King's Men had been forbidden to play in. If they impress the new king, they might even be allowed to play there in the winter, which would mean that Mr. Shaxper and his fellow company members would no longer be on ice. But how to impress the new king? A masque? Women on stage? Italian stage machinery and special effects? Rehearsal?!? [gasp] but what if the octopoly finds out?

Shakespeare on Ice is a play full of inside jokes performed for the ultimate audience of insiders. I/we loved every minute of it, but if you're not a Shakespeare nerd, the jokes will fall flat. The only tenable solution for you is to cuddle up with as much Shakespearean history as you can, and cross your fingers that someday, somewhere, enough Shakespeare nerds will gather together in another theatre to warrant a performance of a play that satirizes just about every early modern theatre academy trope that a room full of PhDs could conceive of.

Herein I would generally provide a cast list, but I didn't manage to grab a program, so I'll leave that to someone who's a little more in the know than I (yes, I know most of you, but most is not all), and retire for the night. Join us again tomorrow for the final day of the Blackfriars conference, one more paper session, and discussions about the construction of the ASC's new Globe.