Hamlet: The Lion King 2

What came first-The chicken or the egg? Hamlet or The Lion king?

As soon as I began reading this play, my immediate thoughts were how strikingly similar Claudius is to 'Scar', (an evil character in The Lion King for those of you who are unaware of their DISNEY CLASSICS!). Let me divulge into the similarities that make me question if Walt Disney was basing a childrens favorite on the works of an English playright. It may be a farfetched theory, but their is undoubtetdly proof to support such a claim.

Scar is the brother of Mufasa, a kindhearted, generous and majestic king who is stern on his son, Simba, but only to teach him to become a responsible adult and future king. As Mufasas brother, Scar was next in line for the throne until Simba was born. Throuhgout the movie, he is obsessed with the need to possess the kingdom in anyway he can. He is evil and cunning and while masquerading as a good man to his nephew, he plots to kill Mufasa and successfully does so.

Claudius is the brother of Hamlet's recently deceased father, and thus the uncle of Hamlet. He is the antagonist of the play, just as Scar is of the movie. He has a unwavering lust for power, and is ambitious, manipulating and villainous.

Check out the two photos posted...Two Conniving Look-A-Likes.

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Hamlet's first soliloquy in act 1 scene 11, expresses Hamlets disraughtness from the death of his father so much that he consideres suicide as he wishes god hadn't made it sinful as he says, " Or that the Everlasting had not fix’dHis canon ’gainst self-slaughter!" He is also even more so distresssed and disgusted by his Mothers marriage to Claudius. The idea lies behind a sort of incest as he says, "with such dexterity to incestuous sheets. ”He harps on the marriage being bad for Denmark as it " is not nor it cannot come to good.”

As You Like It

The mirroring of biblical stories is apparent from the start of this play. The dueling between brothers Oliver and Orlando directly reflects the story of Cain and Abel. Cains murder of Abel seems to resonate, in a lesser scale, within Oliver's unwillingness to educate or share his own fortuned education with his Orlando.

Rosalind and Celias freinship in the beinging scenes of act 1 seem to me to have some underlying tendencies towards more than just friends... as Shakespeare wites himself they were "coupled and inseparable" and had a strange sort of bond deeper than a sisters bond...that would mean to me a romantic relationship. But instead ends up getting married to a man to suppress her love for another woman. But I don't know, I'm not a relationship connoseiur.

SPeaking of love and relationships, as we readers meet the character Silvius, we see his utter, uncontrollable attraction to Phoebe. He is so in love, that he feels he is a victim to love. It is just that powerful. As this takes place we see Shakespeare hints at idea of foolishness arising from this raging passion and love, and that it is the foolishness that we fall victim to.

But some people love to become foolish in love...

how do you like it?

Who brought Drama to the party!?

The Connecticut Repertory Theatres adaption of Comedy of Errors was...interesting. It was definetly a lively play that kept the audience amused with it's fast paced movement of characters runing up and down the aisles and leaping around and off stage. I mean, I thoguht I was going to be snoozing throughout (dreaming about shakespeare of course), but I was wide awake! The actions of the characters were reminsicnt of Cartoon characters actions in akwarkd or need-to-escape moments in which they freeze in running position in air before exiting stage.

The setting aided the plays production in which the lightning and multi-leveled platform was fitting for the context and for the optimal viewing for the audience.

I really enjoyed the fast-forward time setting of the play. The 1940's feel added a whole different style to the play and gave it a fresh feeling rather than the typical, exhausted language of most shakespeare places. The wardrobe and jazzy music coupled with Solinus looking like a mafia head rather than a Duke all played into this effective twist.