F*ckShakespeare

Meet Marianna of the moated grange. She's the key to the bed-trick plan that will seal Angelo's fate. Or will it? In the second scene the Duke finds out that his little schemes ain't working quite as well as he had hoped they would. Because, you know, HUMANS! They don't behave according to prescription. That's what makes them fun.

The Duke/Friar meets the populace and sees that his little experiment ain't going so well. He also hears some interesting things about himself.

Then he has a magic speech (we discuss the form of it if you're interested) and casts a spell for the conclusion of his fuckery. How will it go? Stay tuned.

Brothers and sisters with their obscure nuances, eh? Act 3: Sc 1 is the crux of the play where we get to really see what it's all about. Or do we? Some kind of trauma happened back there in the dark and dirty past in this family. The word 'incest' is not one that you can ignore or ascribe some other meaning to.

Hear what we think and let us know what YOU think is going on there.

Get ready for Isabella v. Angelo Part 2! This time there are no witnesses, and you know that won't go well... It's a deadly and sexy game they're playing. Will there be any winners?

“The very roles of nun and judge have deep roots in classical pornography... " Listen as Isabella and Angelo go toe-to-toe in their exciting first meeting. It's a sexy power struggle and we'll map out the blow by blow... so to speak. You better believe Angelo's thinking about that.

Enter the comic relief! Meet Constable Elbow and his crew of malefactors. He's one of the reasons justice doesn't really get done properly in Vienna even though he keeps trying.

Also we learned some new Elizabethan slang - stewed prunes = nutsack. You're welcome.

The word 'nun' is Elizabethan slang for 'whore,' so you can see where there might be some confusion ahead. Isabella is a novice and hoping to be inducted into the Order of St. Clare, an extremely strict sect of nuns. She needs to be shut away from the world, for reasons we may discover as we go along. But just before she can take those vows Lucio comes to enlist her aid in speaking to Angelo on behalf of her brother who's been condemned to death for fucking. Rough times.

Debauchery, Lechery, and Perjury! Oh my! Welcome to Vienna, a city full of whores, pimps, fornicators, liars, drunkards and basically our favorite kinds of folks! Measure for Measure is said to be Shakespeare's most rancid play. What a send-up! We hope you're intrigued. Come on along for this wild ride.

There will be 3 people left standing at the end - who will they be? Not Lear, ya know, cuz he's OLD.

On the eve of battle between France and England there is a reunion, but also suspicion and secret plans afoot. Lear and Cordelia finally find each other again and Lear accepts that he is just a doddering old man. Edmund seeks the audience's advice on which sister he should settle down with, and we bid farewell to Gloucester.

Gloucester and Lear finally come together and we see what these mirror men have learned over the course of their rocky voyages. Gloucester tries to end it all, but Edgar tricks him out of that ending, and just when they think all is well they encounter the mad king. He has a lot to say about the state of the world as he left it.

Five short scenes that set the stage for the big wrap up. Everyone's heading for Dover to take a leap of faith.

Holy popping eyeballs, Batman!! The shit truly hits ye olde fan here. Lear slides into that dark hole of madness, imagining his daughters being tortured in hell. And Gloucester learns a very hard lesson - yer baby boys ain't all who they seem to be... Rough times in Britain.

WARNING: We discuss and discredit organized religion. Sorry not sorry.

Lear hits rock bottom. His meagre followers try to get him some shelter from the storm, only to be encountered with a wild, naked heath-man. Remember Edgar, that mild-mannered nobody from the first act? He's baaack and doing his best to repel all visitors to his disgusting abode. But Lear is fascinated with him and will not hear of being parted from him. Such are the strange twists and turns that life takes.

"Blow winds, and crack your cheeks!" Sounds painful. It is. There are two old men here who have a great deal to learn about perception and trust before this thing is done. With spies in every household and armies on the march it's a dangerous world for one diminished king and everyone loyal to him.

Lear finds his man in the stocks and finally has to face what his world has become. It ain't pretty. He ain't taking it well either. He might be having some mini strokes. He definitely calls his children bastards. That ain't good. A storm's a brewin'!

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Best. Fucking. Insult. Speech. Ever!!!

A little background on messengers and what their responsibilities were - not what you think. Oswald represents Goneril and Kent represents Lear, and never the twain shall meet. Well, they meet, but it does NOT go well.

Then we have a discussion about the treatment of the insane back in the day. Also not ideal.

Edmund is a natural child because it's totally natural for horny old goatish men to drop trow and have at it with the serving wenches outside the kitchen door. Is to any wonder he's a little pissed?? Two killer speeches in this scene let you know exactly what's up with him!

With Erin away being busy and important, Diana is left to her own devices and... this happened. A collection of useful resource information peppered about with rude shit as usual. If you hang in there you'll get some great insight into where to find invaluable nuggets that will make you sound like a savvy Shakespeare nerd without much effort. You're welcome!

TEACHERS: Pay attention!! Good classroom reference materials.

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The Mob rules! And it gets nasty. Especially for poor Cinna the Poet. After all, when chaos reigns, art is the first thing to go. Once Caesar is killed all of Rome has to deal with the aftermath, and with power up for grabs there are seismic shifts in personalities. Antony, for one, shows himself to be quite the douche. Such a shame. He had such promise with that pretty speech from the last scene...

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Big mistakes are made! Brutus says "Yes, sure, Antony, come and eulogize Caesar. You won't say anything mean about us murderers, right?" HA! Never has the word "honorable" sounded soooo nasty.

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And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

In which the deed is done, Brutus et al are delusional about Rome's reaction, the quiet guy in the corner is told to go tell the public about the conspirators fine actions, A servant is worried about shooting the messenger, Antony sets up THE SCENE, and then BAM!

In which there is a DREAM, some creative on the spot misdirection, some BIG HUBRIS (which is always dangerous in a tragedy), a soothsayer who lays down some sooth, and a very confused servant.

"Scurvy Politicians" - Harold Bloom

In which the noble Brutus is swayed by a note tossed in at his window, cloaked conspirators conspire, Portia demonstrates her badassery, and an old guy is miraculously rejuvenated by simply basking in the glow of Brutus.

You can tell Diana is travelling since my titles and episode descriptions are less well constructed. Ha!

Enjoy! 

Weather is a character in Act 1 of JC. Between the lightening and people catching on fire and lions roaming the streets, it's terrifying!! Plus fun ties between Hamlet and Caesar and big plans for Pompey's Porch are percolating. (There's some alliteration for ya. You're welcome.)

Want more fun? Check out our website: fckshakespeare.com

Have a compliment or a complaint? Tweet at us, if you must: @fckshakespod

See weird pix and more info on episodes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/

And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

Meet the big man himself! Oh, yeah, and Caesar too. 😁 Antony runs a naked race through the streets flogging women with a goat thong so they could be more fertile. Don't blame us. We didn't write it!

Want more fun? Check out our website: fckshakespeare.com

Have a compliment or a complaint? Tweet at us, if you must: @fckshakespod

See weird pix and more info on episodes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/

And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

Who are the villains? Who are the heroes? Are there any heroes in politics? Why do people like this play? Was JC a tyrant? Did Brutus stab him in the BALLS??!!! Answers to all these and more... will be attempted. 😏  We discuss Plutarch (*yawn*) and then quickly move on to blood and murder and overthrow of governments and some river named the Rubicon. Kicking off our second season with some hot Romans (at least we like to imagine Mark Antony with a sixpack and excellent cheekbones).

Want more fun? Check out our website: fckshakespeare.com

Have a compliment or a complaint? Tweet at us, if you must: @fckshakespod

See weird pix and more info on episodes on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fckshakespeare/

And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

Find out what's in store for you in our shiny new season! Oooooh....

Coming up first in Season 2: Julius Caesar!! Stay tuned. Starts February 2nd.

For more fun shit go to our website: fckshakespeare.com

Wrapping up Season 1 with this handy guide to all that useful shit we talk about with every play. We'll cover everything from "what is a comedy" to Line Ending Blueprints. Here's a taste, but for the FULL SUPER-DEE-DUPER TEXT go to our website!! We'll even make it downloadable, you lucky f*ckers!!

1) in a tragedy there are lots of dead bodies on stage at the end. In a comedy at least one couple gets married. In a "problem play" there are bits of both, which is problematic...

2) Iambic pentameter is just a rhythm (METER) with five (PENT) double beats (IAMBS, or "I am!"s)

3) Only 5% of the words contained in all of Shakespeare's plays are words we don't use anymore, so quit moaning about having to learn Olde English. 

4) Verse is when a line is written in rhythm (see Iambic Pentameter). There is also Prose, which is more like regular speaking. When a character who usually  speaks in verse suddenly starts speaking in prose, LISTEN UP cuz he's deranged... or sick, or lying...

All of these and more are fleshed out on the website: www.fckshakespeare.com 

69??? Well, we had to celebrate Drunk Shakespeare style! Here's to you, Othello and Desdemona! The final scene of Othello is a messy one, but hopefully Iago will get what's coming to him. It's unclear. 

We hope you've enjoyed Othello. UP NEXT: Julia Caesar

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Just before the real shit goes down there's one preview scene, Act 5: Scene 1, where Iago kills off one pesky whiner and maims another. He's losing his cool. 

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What to do when your husband thinks you've been cheating on him? In Act 4: Scene 3 of Othello we get two very different opinions from two very different women. It's one of those rare scenes in Shakespeare's plays that has only women in it, and if you think Shakespeare didn't care about women then you haven't listened to his female characters.

Also, there's a FckShakespeare holiday tune at the end. Don't miss it! 😁🎄

For more info, please visit our website: fckshakespeare.com 

Othello is not taking rejection well. He's pretty pissed. And Desdemona is totally confused. She finally has to appeal to Iago for help! Ooohhh the irony.

PLEASE, if you want to be part of this conversation leave us a comment or a question here or on the website: fckshakespeare.com

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And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

The animal imagery starts to get pretty heavy in Act 4 as Othello gets mind-f*cked by that demon, Iago. Goats, monkeys, minxes, skunks... There's no telling who or what is having sex in his imagination. He is sliding far from the noble, charismatic hero we first met back in Act 1. That's why they call it a tragedy...

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That handkerchief! Holy shit! What a piece of work! Othello suspects that Desdemona has given it to Cassio so he can wipe her smell out of his beard. In a jealous froth, he tells Des the story of where the handkerchief came from and it's f*cking terrifying!! It's all downhill from here for them.

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And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

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Is Iago in love with Othello? Does he hate that about himself? Wouldn't that be motivation to destroy first everyone else that Othello loves and then the man himself? Hey, it's a theory we have... see what you think. In this whopper of a scene, Act 3: Scene 3, the antitheses, the opposites in the themes of the play start to swap places. Watch as Othello's language changes and he begins adopting Iago's word choices - bestial imagery for sure. It's a fascinating study in psychological manipulation.

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In which Iago begins to implement his plan by first taking out Cassio and laying (snicker, I said laying) the groundwork for his ultimate goal.

Diana sings the songs, thankfully.

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Iago is one paranoid fucker. He thinks Othello has slept with his wife. He thinks Cassio has slept with his wife. Basically he's the one who is suffering from extreme jealousy. Pretty soon he will find some company for this misery. No fear. 

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Meet Desdemona. She's kind, beautiful and generous, and yes, she will ultimately be an innocent victim, but she ain't so virginal and proper. The girl knows what she wants! She knew exactly what she was attracted to and she went out and got it, and her father and the old white dudes in Venice can't believe their ears! 

Pay attention to the word 'ear' which gets repeated a LOT in this scene too. Is it a coincidence that ear is Elizabethan slang for vagina? 

PLEASE, if you want to be part of this conversation leave us a comment or a question here or on the website: fckshakespeare.com

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And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

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Meet the man himself. Hear him speak - calmly, eloquently, so very unlike a "savage." He is surrounded by savages, to be sure.

PLEASE, if you want to be part of this conversation leave us a comment or a question here or on the website: fckshakespeare.com

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And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

We don't have a plan for the next thing. Want to cast your vote for the next play? DM us or email us: fckshakespeare69@gmail.com

Meet Iago, foul-mouthed malevolent malcontent, and hear him tell you all about what kind of nasty fellow he is. He spews about his hatred of his fellow soldiers, and especially his hatred of the general of his army, the Moor. So when you hear people say "Oh Iago has no motive for the terrible things he does..." uh... just tell them to read the first f*cking scene!!!

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And if you are inclined to be a patron like Queen Elizabeth, you can support this podcast for as little as 99¢/month. Click the link below! Think of it like throwing money in the virtual hat while we crazy players do our little song and dance here. We thank you! (imagine us bowing now)

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Is this 'the racist play?' We will get into that right off the bat here and tell you what we think. It is certainly a deeply complex exploration of many many themes: love/hate, innocence/guilt, black/white, jealousy/trust, reality/fantasy... We can't wait to get into it, so here's a bit of a set-up so you know what you're in for.

And PLEASE, if you want to be part of this conversation leave us a comment or a question here or on the website: fckshakespeare.com

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We don't have a plan for the next thing. Want to cast your vote for the next play? DM us or email us: fckshakespeare69@gmail.com

This episode is done Drunk Shakespeare-style with your crazy hosts sipping whiskey throughout. We hope you giggle in places and still find the content useful. We tried to edit out some of the long pointless rambles, but ya know... 

By the way, theme song for Mac's last day: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day. Whaddaya think?  🎵 "My shadow's the only one that walks beside me..."🎶  "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage..."  Yes, these are the weird connections that occur in our brains. They burst forth after a bit of whiskey...

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That is... forest. 😁 

Since Act 5 goes back and forth from the Scottish to the English, we thought we'd just lump those English scenes in together here and tell you a bit about that invading army. Did you know that Siward was Malcolm's grandfather? That must have made some of those Scottish lords a bit uncomfortable, no? To think their future king was half English? But the listening King James was a similar hybrid. Context is everything.

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We don't have a plan for the next thing. Want to cast your vote for the next play? DM us or email us: fckshakespeare69@gmail.com