Eugene Kusterer

Twelfth Night Eugene Kusterer

When you mention a scene with the yellow cross-gartered tights, anyone who vaguely remembers some of the Bard's plays will say, "Oh yeah -- the guy who was the head of the servants and thought the Countess was coming on to him. What was the name of that play?" The title doesn't give you much of a hint, but it's TWELFTH NIGHT!Of course, it's about much more than yellow tights. There are the twins - brother and sister - lost at sea in a shipwreck (what else!); the problems that ensue when, in order to get a job, she dresses as a man (naturally!). This play may be remembered as having the most songs of them all (e.g., O Mistress Mine). It may be remembered as containing a great deal of prose (only 1/3 is in some poetic form). But as with all Shakespeare, it's the language that sets the plays apart. That's the great glory; and, for so many potential readers and playgoers, a road-block as well. The All Clear! Shakespeare project wants to do something about that -- but not just by rendering everything into a prose version. Too, too much is "lost in translation" in solving the problem that way. Yes, footnotes are a burden well done away with; but jettisoning the poetry robs the overall experience of essential pleasures. With ALL CLEAR! you get a text needing no footnotes; and a text where the poetry is quite maneuverable.