Play of the Week: Love's Labour's Wonne

No you read it right. The title of this play is Love's Labour's Wonne. And no, it's not a reconstruction of the lost Shakespeare play.

This is the creation of playwright Don Nigro. The play starts with Shakespeare sneaking out of his retirement party, not wanting to leave the theatre and return to Stratford like he promised his wife and daughters. After a little philosophic and perhaps drunken musings, he falls into the trap door of the theatre an emerges back at the beginning of his career.

He journeys through earlier parts of his life and learns why things had to turn out the way they did. He confronts both the fears of his mortality and the tediousness of immortality through fame. He learns to take stock in what is real rather than that which is material and will fade away.

The play is a interesting romp through the Elizabethan Theatre with appearances by Philip Henslowe, Kit Marlowe, Robert Greene, Ned Alleyn, Richard Burbage, and the Dark Lady along with every sort of cliche and Shakespeare joke imaginable. Any Shakespeare buff will enjoy all the references to the cannon. The play as a whole is dark and deeply psychological - sometimes a little hard to get your head around, but the overall effect of the play is that of rebirth and redemption and well worth the read.


Happy Birthday:
July 25: Jason Robards (1922-2000)
July 26: George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)