'Shakespeare's lost play' not hoax21: 27 15/03/2010, Mark Brown, books, culture, guardian.co.uk, news, Royal Shakespeare Company, stage, news, UK, Wil

'Shakespeare's lost play' not hoax21: 27 15/03/2010, Mark Brown, books, culture, guardian.co.uk, news, Royal Shakespeare Company, stage, news, UK, William Shakespeare, Guardian Unlimited

Further evidence that the falsehood was twofold, as 18th-century playwright Lewis Theobald said, based on Bard's Cardenio


It has excitement, spills, sword fights, and violent sexual assault - to modern ears - a terrible end, but the game little known 18th century was driven by double lie literary limelight today when it has been claimed as lost Shakespeare.

Professor Brean Hammond, University of Nottingham published new evidence that next week the work, a romantic tragicomedy comedy of Lewis Theobald is - as the author has always maintained it was - based primarily on a real Shakespeare play called Cardenio.

Hammond has been supported in his claim that the editor of Arden Shakespeare and there were unconfirmed rumors that the game will open at The Swan Company Royal Shakespeare Theater in Stratford, when the place reopens after closure of three years.

The claim represents 10 years of literary detective work by Hammond. "I do not think it can be completely 100% but yes, I am convinced that it is of Shakespeare," he said. "It's fair to say that was something of an obsession. You have to ask my wife, but a fair few waking hours are devoted to this issue."

Double Theobald falsehood, or lovers Distrest premiered in 1727 at Drury Lane Theater in London, along with the remarkable assertion that was based on Shakespeare's "lost play" Cardenio, which premiered in 1613. Theobald said to be three original texts of Cardenio.

Double falsehood down well with the public, but was poorly received by expert observers who dismissed the Theobald as a counterfeiter. Alexander Pope, in particular, with disdain, but both were committed enemies. "Theobald was the author of a volume called Shakespeare restored in 1726, it was a hatchet job in Pope's edition of" Hamlet, "Hammond said." In this volume Theobald made it quite clear that he considered himself superior to the Pope. "

The complaint was accepted as a fact: Theobald was little more than a trickster, but very bold. The work was later greatly to the land, apart from a performance in 1846, when - after the audience shouted "author: Author?" - A plaster bust of Shakespeare was conducted. He laughed off the stage.

The book reads like Shakespeare, but Shakespeare reworked. Hammond called Double Falsehood "a bad game," adding: "This version of Shakespeare's work has been manipulated. Theobald cut the material that is not appropriate, but this was very common. Shakespeare was often rewritten in the 17 and the 18th century. "

Bitty The work is much shorter and more of a Shakespearean normal and no long speeches. But there's plenty of action focuses on two men and two women, including an aristocratic villain named Henriquez driven away by the virtuous young girl Violante. In the end he has repented, and is amazingly forgiven by all.

The general editor of Arden Shakespeare, Richard Proudfoot, said the work was becoming accessible for the first time in 250 years. "I think the detective work Brean Hammond has been excellent. He is very open to the obvious fact that there is an element of speculation, but we both believe that the balance of the doubt is in favor of his claim to be authentic and not a total fabrication. "

During the years of some 77 works have been attributed in whole or in part, to Shakespeare, half of them improperly. There are also plenty of theories and books claim the works of Shakespeare were written by Edward de Vere, Sir Francis Bacon or Christopher Marlowe.

Act 2, Scene 1 of the double lie
López [Fabian]: mild, soft you, neighbor, who comes here? I pray, furtively aside. [To be removed.]

Henríquez: Ha! It's come to this? Or the devil, the devil, the devil!

Fabian [Lopez]: What now, in the absence of the spoon discrete brain a fresh understanding of this subject will boil!

Henríquez: enjoy'd To her, I would have - What?

All I could now have my own,

And the reversal of the world to boot

The inheritance was mine. And now --

Just punishment for guilty pleasures! - It hurts so much

I have looted all the shops beauty

The charms of the naive innocence and love,

As just before I was devoured by grief,

Refus'd that my votes and close the door

In my ardent desires.

López [Fabian]: Love! Love! One Love! I see the folly of it.

William Shakespeare
Royal Shakespeare Company
Mark Brown


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