Shakespeare References in Dear Me

Peter Ustinov’s autobiography Dear Me contains a lot of Shakespeare references. The first is to Shakespeare himself, with Ustinov writing, “And, after all, he was in good company, since as great a writer as Shakespeare could never decide exactly how his own name should be spelled” (p. 27). The next is to Othello, with Ustinov talking about his own jealousy, and how he considered jealousy to be a “base and fundamentally stupid vice.” He goes on: “Othello, clutching his handkerchief and rolling his eyes, has always struck me as a bit of an ass, and I only began to lose my lofty sense of ignorance in the face of jealousy when I became a father of more than a single child myself, and could watch human relations in their most unsophisticated form, in the nursery” (p. 55). We then get a mention of Romeo And Juliet: “How could Tristan and Isolde have survived if there had been a child, or Romeo and Juliet? All the poetry would have been lost in irritation at feeding time” (p. 63). Then, regarding his parents’ love story, he says, “Nor would Shakespeare have been right, as an author” (p. 63). A little later he again refers to Romeo And Juliet: “They realized they would have to part, like star-crossed lovers, since the weight of race and geopolitics lay too heavy in the balance; mere personal affection had to make way for great historical realities” (p. 77). And this: “with the result that the shipboard Romeo went to the B.B.C.” (p. 171). Regarding cigars, Ustinov writes: “What would we prefer, Uppmann, Hoyo de Monterey, Punch, Romeo y Julieta, Henry Clay?” (p. 173). This book contains a lot of reference to Romeo And Juliet, in part because Peter Ustinov wrote a play titled Romanoff And Juliet, and there are many mentions of this play. Ustinov writes, “When, many years later, I performed my play Romanoff and Juliet on Broadway, I used the sets of M. Jean-Denis Malcles, a leading French artist” (p. 89). And then later: “I had been writing Romanoff and Juliet” (p. 251). And then: “But by then, I had already completed Romanoff and Juliet, a three-act play absolutely neo-classical in form” (p. 256). And then: “The theme was a variation on the tragic love of Romeo and Juliet, with Romeo as son of the Soviet Ambassador and Juliet the daughter of the American Ambassador. The intractable families, the Capulets and the Montagues, were replaced by the governments of the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R., and the scene was a small neutral country” (p. 257). And then: “Romanoff and Juliet opened at the Piccadilly Theatre in London and was an immediate success” (p. 258). And: “Was all this inherent in Romanoff and Juliet?” (p. 265). And “During the run of Romanoff and Juliet, I accepted an invitation to play tennis in the Soviet Embassy in London” (p. 266). And “I came out of Romanoff and Juliet, and was told by a celebrated doctor that I would have to wear a corset for life and that tennis was out of the question for the same length of time” (p. 267). And: “Before performing Romanoff and Juliet in America, I shot a film in Paris” (p. 268). And: “I was none too enthusiastic, since I felt I had exhausted the subject of the Russians and the Americans in Romanoff and Juliet, and I also sensed that nothing that might happen on the moon could not happen more effectively and more comprehensibly here on Earth” (p. 272). And: “The year of Romanoff and Juliet ended, and we went straight to Hollywood” (p. 273). And: “They said they would be interested in a film version of my play Romanoff and Juliet, so long as it cost no more than $750,000” (p. 285). And: “Bob Krasker was the cameraman, as he had been in Romanoff and Juliet” (p. 288).

But there are many other Shakespeare references in this book. At one point he mentions several plays that he wrote, including “a Pirandello-like drama entitled Uneasy Lies The Head, in which the characters created by reprehensible dramatist come to life and badger him into an introspective suicide” (p. 98). That play’s title is a reference to a line from The Second Part Of King Henry The Fourth, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Then we get a reference to Shakespeare: “‘I don’t know what kind of parts you can play,’ he said coolly – ‘Shakespearean clowns a la rigueur, and then… Shakespearean clowns are not wanted every day’” (p. 112). A little later, he writes, “Now I was offered the understudy of George Devine, who was going to play Lopakhin, which was not bad going for a Shakespearean clown in retirement before the start of his career” (p. 116). And then: “I enjoyed my success to the full, especially since I had made a small breakthrough without the overwhelming assistance of Shakespeare and one of his incomprehensible clowns, and without ever having had to understudy or to carry a spear in Laurence Olivier’s Macbeth, which some of my chosen contemporaries had had the privilege of doing” (p. 120). And, only two pages later: “Shakespeare gave his actors more elbow-room than they really needed” (p. 122). Then: “He had, apparently, been assistant stage-manager at the Shakespeare Festivals in Regent’s Park” (p. 138). Peter Ustinov mentions Shakespeare fairly often in this book. Here is another instance: “‘Because the greatest psychiatric literature was written before Freud,’ I suggested. ‘Shakespeare and Dostoievsky achieved by sheer observation and instinct what no one has been able to achieve since these seas were charted’” (p. 156). And then: “I left them arguing fiercely about Shakespeare, Dostoievsky, Freud, Jung, and their man at Watford” (p. 156).

Regarding his play The Moment Of Truth, Ustinov writes, “It was the title chosen because the producers feared the original one, King Lear’s Photographer, would sound facetious” (p. 164). And then he adds: “There are other King Lears on record: Hindenburg, Badoglio, Franco. It was the tragedy of a man who outlives his life, if I may coin a phrase, and of another man who pragmatically exploits the reputation of this living legend” (p. 164). A little later he writes, “One distinguished admiral was even compelled to admit to Edith Evans, ‘By Jove, I’m embarrassed to say that this is the first play by Shakespeare I’ve seen since Richard of Bordeaux!’” (p. 182). And no, the play in question was not Shakespeare’s. There is also a reference to one of Shakespeare’s most beloved characters: “He was then playing Falstaff at the Old Vic, and in the finest fettle” (p. 197). The Shakespeare references continue: “The conviction was growing in me that, whereas Shakespeare was admittedly the greatest of our playwrights, there was a general recognition of the fact that Sir Arthur Pinero was the best of them. To attempt any kind of an emulation of Shakespeare was, of course, foolhardy on a purely artistic level, but quite apart from that, it was also regarded as a form of heresy, an act of shocking self-confidence, whereas an emulation of Pinero was eminently acceptable” (p. 208).

Peter Ustinov also refers to Hamlet: “It is no error that ‘To be or not to be, that is the question’ is an essay in profundity which has become the property of all, even if the vast majority have not the faintest notion of how the speech continues. And yet, what the hell does it mean? It is merely a key to what follows, which is unknown to most people, and yet it is accepted as the acme of human vision by those who have never bothered to examine it or to open the door to which it is the key. ‘The evil that men do lives after them,’ ‘Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown’, ‘To be or not to be’: Shakespeare, thank God was not afraid of squareness” (pages 220-221). The line “The evil that men do lives after them” is from Julius Caesar, and “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” is from The Second Part Of King Henry The Fourth. The book contains another mention of Othello: “Her name was Suzanne Cloutier, and she was a young French-Canadian actress who had played Desdemona in Orson Welles’s film of Othello” (pages 238-239). King Lear is then mentioned again: “the first playing a kind of free paraphrase on both Marshal Petain and King Lear” (p. 241). Later Ustinov writes, regarding Laurence Olivier, “He has played sufficient Shakespearean villains superbly well to have a great confidence in his own powers of persuasion” (p. 276). King Lear is mentioned again: “Knowing that Laughton was shortly to attempt the role of King Lear at Stratford, rather late in life, Larry gave him some hints as to where the dead spots were to be found on the stage as far as acoustics were concerned, a solicitude which Laughton interpreted as veiled hostility in the guise of ostentatious comradeship” (p. 276). More about Olivier: “His Richard III had a hypnotic power, an evil elegance and wit the like of which I had never seen before, and have not seen since, and in certain comic parts his imaginative brio is quite superlative. For my taste, his Hamlet, prefixed as the story of a man ‘who could not make up his mind’, was rather less suited to him, since of all actors he is the most difficult to imagine as one who has not made up his mind” (p. 278). Kiss Me Kate, which is based on The Taming Of The Shrew, is also mentioned: “Ponnelle meanwhile had a dress-rehearsal of Kiss Me Kate at Dusseldorf” (p. 292). And then we get a mention of The Tempest: “more especially since The Magic Flute is a kind of pantomime, with something of a popular farce and something of The Tempest, its grave moments sublimely elevated by Mozart on to a celestial plane” (p. 293). There is also a play on one of Othello’s most famous line, with Ustinov writing, “Don Giovanni, described by Mozart and Da Ponte as a Dramma Giocosa, had been brainwashed even more thoroughly than The Magic Flute by the intervening generations of those who loved their opera unwisely, but too well” (p. 294). Othello’s line is “Then must you speak/Of one that loved not wisely, but too well.” There is also a reference to one of Antony’s famous lines from Julius Caesar: “that the old teacher produced the unkindest cut of all, in guise of the greatest compliment he could pay” (p. 316). Antony’s line, referring to Brutus stabbing Caesar, is “This was the most unkindest cut of all.” This book actually concludes with a reference to Hamlet, Ustinov writing, “Don’t mention it, all too solid flesh” (p. 350).

Dear Me was published in 1977. It was published by Penguin Books in 1978, reprinted in 1979.

A Christmas Carol (A Noise Within 2021 Production) Theatre Review

In these strange and rather twisted times, we can all use a story of redemption and forgiveness. We can appreciate and enjoy a story of a selfish man undergoing a change of heart, for it gives us hope for the larger world. And what’s more, we can all use a little magic in our lives. A Noise Within gives us that in its current production of A Christmas Carol, adapted from the Charles Dickens novella by Geoff Elliott, who also co-directed the play and stars as Ebenezer Scrooge.

Before the performance begins, the stage is bathed in purple and gold light, with gold holiday lights hanging above, and a series of golden bulbs dangling above the seats, helping to pull the audience into the magical realm of the production as soon as they enter the theatre. There is also green light on the backdrop and blue lights on the sides, and the overall effect is pretty. Some bare trees are upstage left, giving us the sense of winter, a time of sleep, which of course plays a big part in the story. Just before the performance begins, a platform is lowered, connecting the front of the stage to one of the aisles, which is made use of for entrances and exits by the cast. They often enter from other aisles as well, further immersing the audience in the world of the play.

When we first meet Ebenezer Scrooge, he has an umbrella in one hand, a cane in the other, and smacks one of the trees with the cane, a humorous and effective way of establishing his character before even a line of dialogue is spoken. The play has a narrator (Frederick Stuart), who effectively works as the voice of Charles Dickens, reading lines straight out of the story. Yet from his delivery, we get the sense he has some affection for the old man, even as he describes his miserly ways. There is a rather sweet and light tone here, which works in part because all of us (or most of us, anyway) know this story and know where it’s going. And, hey, is it horrible of me to kind of side with Scrooge when he shuts up the carolers? And perhaps that is the point here. We kind of like the guy, just as the narrator kind of likes him. So when he is redeemed, we in the audience perhaps feel a need to change ourselves as well. I love that the narrator comments “Nobody under the bed” before Ebenezer looks there, which makes Scrooge appear somewhat foolish, but also obstinate even when alone. He is going to check regardless of what the narrator has said. Of course, Ebenezer is not alone for long.

The entrance of the ghost of Marley (Jeremy Rabb) is fantastic, his chains stretching all the way to the ceiling at the back of the audience, as if some greater power resides up there, a power which can yank him back at any moment. Jeremy Rabb was wonderful as Camillo in last year’s production of The Winter’s Tale (which went up before the pandemic shut everything down), and gives another delightful performance as Marley, in a wild white wig. As he enters, several other chains descend upon the stage, immediately changing Ebenezer’s chamber into a scary place, dominated by a sense of powerlessness. The sound changes as well, with Marley’s “Business?” echoed in a strong and eerie manner. And the chains do pull Marley back, leading to his “My time is nearly gone” line. It is a spectacular scene, and yet somehow this production is able to match that in its introductions of the other three spirits that visit Ebenezer. The first, the Ghost of Christmas Past (played by Deborah Strang, who was excellent as Paulina in that production of The Winter’s Tale and also did a great job as Prospero several years back), enters on a swing above the stage. Wearing a white dress and a black top hat, she seems the perfect vision to lead Ebenezer into his dream world, to a place where women in pink wigs dance. And it isn’t long before we see some change in Scrooge, for, perhaps without even realizing it, he, caught up in the scene playing out before him, dances a bit himself.

The Ghost of Christmas Present is quite a sight, like a giant, jolly holiday decoration himself, like a Christmas tree hung with fruit and leaves. He is played by Alan Blumenfeld, who was also delightful as the Shepherd in The Winter’s Tale. When the narrator says, “which was not dispelled for a full five minutes,” the Ghost of Christmas Present waves his wand and those five minutes are gone, a cute moment, and one in keeping with the magical sense of the entire production. The third spirit, Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, is frightening, a silent being of shadow and darkness, with twigs for arms, an ominous presence. He is played by Jose Donado, who did an excellent job as Theseus in a recent production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The thieves are delightful, even before their song (and their song is great). While not completely a musical, this production does contain quite a bit of music. The original music score is by Robert Oriol.

All of the set pieces are on wheels, allowing for an easy and quick change of scenery, and also adding to the magical, dreamlike atmosphere of the production. For in dreams scenes change without warning, and people move from one place to another often without effort. Of course, this also helps keep the production moving at a brisk pace, for this performance is done without intermission, a breezy ninety minutes or so. The original scenic concept was done by Jeanine A. Ringer, and the costume design by Angela Balogh Calin. The production was directed by Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott. In addition to the actors already mentioned, this production features Kasey Mahaffy as Mr. Cratchit, Emily Kosloski as Mrs. Cratchit, Rafael Goldenstein as Fred, Sydney A Mason as Fred’s Wife, Roshni Shukla as Belle, Gioya Tuma-Waku as Martha Cratchit, Darius De La Cruz as Peter Cratchit, and Aarush Mehta as Tiny Tim (he celebrated his birthday at the end of today’s performance). Stella Bullock, Amalia “Molly” Morris, Kwayi Grimstad Ndjamen and Clara Duffy play the other Cratchit children.

This production runs through December 23rd, and there are both matinee and evening performances between now and then, including two performances on both December 22nd and December 23rd. Check the official website for A Noise Within for the complete schedule. And be prepared to show your vaccination card upon entering the theatre.

Henry VI Part 1 (Shakespeare By The Sea 2021 Production) Theatre Review

Outdoor theatre in December? Sure thing! After all, this is southern California, and the pandemic hasn’t yet come to a close. In better times, Shakespeare By The Sea travels all around the area in the summer, bringing two of Shakespeare’s plays to various parks. The pandemic caused the company to remain in San Pedro the last two seasons, performing virtually, filming the productions from a stage built in the parking lot outside their theatre in San Pedro. Then, this summer, with more and more people being vaccinated, they invited an audience to enjoy productions of Richard III and Love’s Labour’s Lost, and now their latest production, a staged reading of one of Shakespeare’s rarely performed plays, The First Part Of King Henry The Sixth. And even though it’s southern California, it still gets cold at night, so the audience came prepared, bundled up in coats, scarves, even furs.

The stage and backdrop were all black, the only color being a basket of white roses and a basket of red roses, set on either side of the main entrance up center, highlighting the division within the kingdom. Before the performance began, pink lights bathed the stage on the side with the red roses, while blue and white lights shone on the side with the white roses. The set itself was fairly simple, with a black bench positioned up right, and a sword seemingly embedded in the stage just down from the bench. There were chairs off to either side of the stage that the audience was instructed not to sit on as they entered, and these chairs were used by the cast when not on stage. The cast also used those areas to change costumes, as most actors played more than one character.

The performance began at 7:10 p.m., with Brendan Kane as Henry VI also functioning as a chorus or narrator, giving short bits of information to help the audience keep the many characters and situations clear. And he remains a presence on stage through much of the performance, often observing from upstage. Though it is a staged reading (with some actors more off book than others), the cast is in period costumes. The play begins with the funeral of Henry V, and the cast indicates that the king’s body is downstage center through looks and gestures rather than actually having someone play the dead king. Exeter’s line “We mourn in black” stands out in part because of the color of the set, helping to show that all the action that is to take place on the stage is the result, more or less, of Henry V’s death. Though some male characters are played by women in this production, those characters seem to retain their gender, as shown when Winchester (Mark Rimer) tells Gloucester (played by Jane Hink) “Thy wife is proud.”

Joan La Pucell (played by Olivia Schlueter-Corey, who was phenomenal as Katharine in the company’s 2019 production of Henry V) enters in chain mail and carrying a sword. She speaks with a vibrant energy, and it is clear from her voice and the way she carries herself that she is sure of herself. Not a trace of worry can be detected. When Charles (Azim Rizk) challenges Joan to combat, he lifts the sword from the stage. The combat is brief, and Charles is on his knees when delivering his line about being her servant, making clear his sexual attraction to her. By the way, the sword is then returned to its spot in the stage, to be used at various times throughout the performance. For example, Henry VI hands it to Talbot (Patrick Vest) to fight Joan after the death of Salisbury (Bridget Garwood). Joan at this point has a joy that borders on arrogance in her delivery, even before entering with Charles, triumphant.

As for the famous choosing-of-the-roses scene, I love that Richard Plantagenet (Jonathan Fisher) looks around and sees the roses before delivering that line about plucking a white rose. You get the sense that it is only because the roses are handy, and if the roses hadn’t been present, it might have some other thing at hand he would have chosen to represent his side. That moment, in showing the roses were basically an arbitrary symbol, also helps illustrate the sort of juvenile aspect to the whole division. This production does have a bit of re-ordering of certain scenes, with the roses scene happening before Talbot is lured by a messenger to the castle of the Countess of Auvergne. That scene with Lord Talbot and the Countess (Pantea Ommi Mohajer) is fantastic, both actors delivering good performances. I especially love the playfulness of the Countess in teasing Talbot, and her sudden change once she sees the soldiers. Another excellent moment is when the French call a parley with Burgundy (Mark Rimer). I imagine it might be difficult to portray such a sudden shift in allegiance, but Rimer does a really good job as he is swayed by Joan’s words. Then Brendan Kane is great in the scene where he meets Talbot, particularly his delivery of the speech where he tells Talbot “Because till now we never saw your face.”

Another highlight of this production is the scene where Henry VI is crowned and then tries to forge a peace between Plantagenet and Somerset. It is an exciting scene, because here is the king finally acting as king, and he can’t even bring peace among his own people. And the look of shock on his face when the quarrel continues is excellent. Perhaps in that moment he senses his own weakness, but doesn’t give up his effort. Brendan Kane also plays the young John Talbot, turning in another good performance. The scenes with the two Talbots are quite moving, especially their deaths. Patrick Vest shines there. What Brendan Kane really nails in his portrayal of Henry VI is his youth. That look of shock when his words fail to have an immediate and lasting effect is a perfect example. But also excellent is his initial response of surprise when the subject of his marriage is raised. And then he quickly changes as he realizes his duty, a nice moment. And speaking of change, Olivia Schlueter-Corey as Joan displays a great change in her demeanor when she kneels in seeking the help of the spirits and does not receive it. We see clearly that underneath that proud and haughty exterior, there is a frightened person who will soon try all sorts of pretexts to avoid her execution.

Roberto Williams and Bridget Garwood as Suffolk and Margaret respectively are wonderful and funny in the wooing scene. Suffolk kisses Margaret on the cheek on “Farewell, sweet madam” rather than on “And this withal.” After Suffolk’s “But I will rule both her, the king, and the realm,” there is another short speech given by Henry VI, which concludes the performance. The last words are “made their England bleed,” which is actually taken from the Chorus’ speech at the end of Henry The Fifth. The performance ended at 9:17 p.m.

This production was directed by Stephanie Coltrin, and the performance includes one fifteen-minute intermission, coming at the end of Act III. There were only two performances, but the performance last night was filmed, and will be available to watch online beginning December 19th at 2 p.m. On that date, there is also scheduled an online discussion with the director and cast. Visit the Shakespeare By The Sea website for more information.