https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/30038654/window-cleaner-portrait-william-shakespeare-worth-200m

This week, I spotted an article in The Sun about a “new” Shakespeare portrait that could be the “first ever”. So you know I’m clicking that.

And my first thought is, “I think I’ve seen that before?” But I can’t quite place it. I remind myself what the Flowers Portrait looks like — nope, that’s not the one.

So I do a reverse Google image search and quickly learn that this has been dubbed the Wadlow Portrait, and now it really rings a bell. I think I’ve corresponded with the owner, in fact. I go search my archives, and sure enough, June 2018, “What’s this about a Wadlow Portrait?“

I had to laugh at the opening disclaimer I wrote, even back then:

I had to double check my archives because sometimes what I think is new, I actually wrote about years ago. But so far the word “Wadlow” doesn’t appear in my archives.

Everything old is new again, it seems! Now I’m checking my archive because I did write about it years ago 🙂

Anyway, that was a nice thread because the owners (I think that’s the right word here. Representatives?) joined the conversation and offered plenty of resources for investigation.

A question dawns on me this time, though, that didn’t the first time. According to the new article, the painting is dated to 1595, when Shakespeare would have been 31. Where does that sit on the timeline? How wealthy was Shakespeare at that point? Would he be sitting for a portrait (and a fancy one at that) at this point in his life/career? I honestly don’t know, I’m asking. I assume that such portraits were expensive, and done only for people who (a) deserved and/or (b) could afford them.

According to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare had produced Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Titus Andronicus as well as his long poems. None of those plays, obviously are what we today think of as the most popular / famous. His poems at this time are dedicated to his patron, Henry Wriothesley. Would HW have paid for a portrait of Shakespeare at this stage of his career? Would Shakespeare have used his own money, and if he had his own money, would he still have had a patron? I’m honestly asking.

We know that at some point in his career Shakespeare was indeed a very wealthy man, purchasing New Place, one of the largest houses in Stratford. But this was in 1597, a few years after the Wadlow portrait is dated. Would a few extra years have made a significant change in his standing? Several of his most well-known plays (Richard III, Dream, Romeo and Juliet) date to this period.

There is a website Is This Shakespeare? dedicated to the Wadlow portrait. I honestly have no idea. I am neither academic nor historian, just a fascinated fan Whenever there’s a possibility that some new aspect of Shakespeare’s life has been discovered, I’m going to be curious.

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/shakespeares-globe-evacuated-mid-show-after-firework-lands-in-venue_1621435

I love the idea of a couple of old-timers, like Stater and Waldorf from The Muppets, seeing a random firework land in the middle of Shakespeare’s Globe and saying, “Here we go again!”

In this case, it was during a performance of Antony and Cleopatra. The firework apparently came from a nearby Algerian football club having a birthday celebration. No one was injured.

But in 1613 it was a production of Henry VIII and a piece of burnt wadding from the cannons set fire to the roof, and the whole place burned down. No one was here then, either, except for one poor fellow who famously “had his breeches set on fire that would perhaps have broiled him if he had not by the benefit of a provident wit put it out with bottle ale”.

When you do something (like talk about Shakespeare) for 20 years, you realize that over time, you’ve really explored all the options. Write a book? Did it, twice. Make an app? Did it, twice (though neither is still available). Sell merchandise? Check. Start a Shakespeare podcast … hmmmm. Haven’t started a podcast yet.

Enter Bardfilm, aka Keith. I met Keith here on the blog back in 2008, and we talk online nearly every day. Whenever I have a new idea for a project, he’s one of my staunchest supporters. He knows I lost my job recently and have time on my hands. This time, he’s the one who said, “Hey, wanna make a podcast?”

Infinite Variety: The Shakespeare Rewatch Podcast

Podcasts need structure. Nobody will listen to us geek out over Shakespeare for an hour a week. Besides, that’s what the blog and social media are for. Bardfilm asked if I was familiar with how “rewatch” podcasts work. In a rewatch podcast, the hosts agree on a show they’ve both seen, and then they independently watch it again, taking notes on what is most interesting to them. Then, they get back together and walk through the show, comparing notes and talking about the parts they find most interesting.

That’s where the “infinite variety” comes in because we’re not just talking about Shakespeare adaptations; we’re talking about anything and everything inspired by Shakespeare.

Slings & Arrows Season 1 Episode 1

For our inaugural episode, we’ve chosen the Canadian TV show Slings & Arrows, which many Shakespeare geeks have undoubtedly seen. Over three seasons, it told the story of a theatre troop struggling to balance “theatre as art” and “theater as business.” Each season focuses on a particular Shakespeare play (season one being Hamlet), but with plenty of other references galore.

By choosing a highly regarded TV show first, we can learn the ropes of podcasting and get our feet under ourselves about what we will make here. Of course, there are some bugs to work out. For starters, I’m not proud of the audio in this first one, but that’s easily remedied.

We mostly want your input, our loyal readers (turned listeners). What do you want us to talk about? Movies, or tv shows? Lots of Shakespeare or only hints of inspiration? As we get going, we’ll start taking listener questions and address them directly on the show.

But to do that, we need subscribers! If I set us up correctly, our new podcast should be available on all the major services – Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, PocketCasts, iHeartRadio. If I’ve missed the one you use, let me know and I’ll see if can get us added.

Do people remember Rain Main (1988)? Given the subject matter—Tom Cruise discovers that he’s got an autistic older brother, played by Hoffman, and immediately kidnaps him to go scam casinos—and the time period (1980s), I wonder if it’s one of those movies that, as they say, “didn’t age well.”

That doesn’t mean some stuff isn’t funny, though. I’d forgotten all about this scene until I tripped over it in one of those movie trivia “improvised scenes that made the final cut” lists. Cruise has Hoffman, his brother, trapped in a phone booth with him so he doesn’t wander away. Dustin, ever the method actor, needed to fart. So he went with it. Cruise’s response is about what you’d expect. It’s cinematic gold like this that surely helped Hoffman score the Best Actor Academy Award that year. He’s been nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award 7 times and won twice.

But why, may you ask, am I suddenly writing about it? Here, now, on a Shakespeare blog? Because what I didn’t know is that Hoffman himself has given interviews where he claims that he’s more proud of this scene than his Shakespeare work!

“And it’s one of the high moments of my life. I have done Shakespeare, and I have done plays by Arthur Miller, but nothing can touch the fart scene.”

Among other works, Hoffman played Shylock in Peter Hall’s 1989 Merchant of Venice, for which he was nominated for the Best Actor Tony.

There you go, all you Shakespearean actors out there looking to break free from the pack. The next time you want to play a little prank on a costar, especially if you find yourself trapped in tight quarters, go ahead and let it happen. It’s Dustin Hoffman approved.