The Shakespeare controversy

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The alleged mystery of William Shakespeare has been

been

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fascinated the world for more than a century. Did a lowly

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commoner from Stratford-on-Avon with only a few years

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of public schooling really could write some of the greatest

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works in the English language? Was he just a front man for

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an aristocrat who wanted the anonymity? Today’s authorities

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say that without a doubt, Shakespeare who was the true author.

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It is important to remember at the same time as that he did not

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just create plays on his own. He had fulfilled commissions, he

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contributed to plays which had scenes written by such different

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dramatists and he revised other writers' work. Nor did Shakespeare

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own of his manuscripts: they were the property of whichever acting

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company he was writing it for. He probably got his information

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on court intrigue from books and gossip but it is quite harder to

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imagine that an aristocrat reproducing the slang of the common

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tavern which is as much characteristic of Shakespeare’s plays as

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courtly language. Most readers find out more questions than

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answers in Shakespeare's plays, but whether they were written by a certain hard-working man from Stratford is no mystery at all.

Watching a successful theatre production is an amazing experience. The performance looks (1) ……… and everything goes smoothly but this often (2) ……… the amount of work that was actually involved. At the Palace Theatre, the average time from the first (3) ……… to opening nights is just four weeks of intensive work. Everyone involved attends the first read-through by the cast, so this is an ideal opportunity to get an (4) ……… into how a production germinates.

I took myself to the theatre on a (5) ……… October morning to attend a read-through of the theatre’s new production – the British premiere of Sive, by the acclaimed Irish (6) ……… John B Keane. It is about a young girl about to be married off for money to an old man, while her true love can only look on (7) ……… . It is a poignant portrayal of a rural family life, rich in comedy and filled with (8) ……… characters played by an Irish cast for linguistic (9) ……… .

“It’s important for people to have a sense of common purpose and (10) ……… ”, explains director Ben Barnes. “The play has been in pre-production since June but this is the first reading and it will be (11) ……… of how the actors work together. And it’s for the theatre staff as much as the actors.”

EFFORT

LIE

REHEARSE

SIGHT

CHILL

PLAY

HELP

MEMORY

AUTHENTIC

TEAM

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