Pericles, Prince of Tyre
While there's no substitute for seeing a play live on stage, as it was intended, I'm thankful for the opportunity provided by the BBC and Netflix to work on my 95 by 65 goal #67, Experience all 37 of Shakespeare's plays (attend, watch, and/or read). Last night we watched their version of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Back in 2007 we'd seen a reduced version of the play produced by our local Mad Cow Theatre, but it's safe to say we remembered almost nothing. Wikipedia provided a synopsis that helped greatly in following the convoluted tale. Fortunately, the diction and accents were not as difficult as they often are with Shakespeare, because this version included no option for subtitles, which we often find very helpful.
It's not one of the classics, and is suspected of being a collaboration between Shakespeare and a lesser playwright. Nonetheless, Pericles was one of the most interesting plays we've seen so far, largely because of its unfamiliarity. There's another reason why it's not studied in high school—or at least not in our high school days: the play begins with incest, and goes on to attempted rape, prostitution, a hint at lesbianism, kidnapping, attempted murder, and some pretty bawdy lines. Mild for today, but NSFG (not safe for grandchildren)—except, of course, that much of it would fly over their heads, especially without subtitles.
