Day 120: New Play Tuesday! A Midsummer Night's Dream

These spineless classics are awesome

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most famous and most popular plays. It's a lot of people's favourite, including my partner Mike and my mom. It's not one of mine, however. Luckily, I've already read it, so maybe I can just read it quickly this time. I'm just hoping I can get through the week without Mike quoting Puck: 

If we shadows have offended,Think but this, and all is mended,That you have but slumbered hereWhile these visions did appear.

He quotes that a lot. Like, a LOT, a lot. Which is weird because how often can it possibly come up naturally in a conversation? 

Sigh. It's going to be a long week.

Day 119: What I Learned: Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Penguin Shakespeare from kobobooks.com

I'm learning that it's no fun to be a female in any of the societies that Shakespeare describes, whether they're versions of his own or versions of other times or places. Women do not come out on top. In this case, one princess is the victim of incest at the hands of her father (which, the audience is assured, is mostly her fault), while another is won in a jousting contest, only to be tossed into the sea in a trunk after she gives birth to her daughter. The daughter, also a princess, is abandoned, ordered to be murdered, captured by pirates then sold into prostitution at a brothel, while everyone argues about who gets to rape her first. It's all kinds of awful.

But don't worry, little Princess Marina (Get it? Because she was born at sea?) is so virtuous and good that she's able to fend off her would-be rapists. Because that's the real lesson here. That if a woman is virtuous enough, she won't get herself raped. And if she DOES get raped, well, you can fill in the blanks about her virtue...

So what did I learn? I learned, once again, FUCK YOU, SHAKESPEARE!

Day 118: Last chance to win SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE, by Laura Bates!

I'm so excited that My Shakespeare Year gets to be a part of its very first BOOK GIVEAWAY! You can win a copy of Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary With the Bard, by Laura Bates, which is a FANTASTIC read and probably my second favourite book about reading Shakespeare that I've ever read (the first being Ben Crystal's Shakespeare on Toast). 

There are only a couple of days left before the contest ends, so enter now!

You can enter to win HERE.

Day 117: Pericles, Prince of TIRES...get it?

litbrick.com

Heh heh. Mike asked me if anyone had ever done a Pericles tire shop and I was all like, "Already got it covered, dude." By "covered" I meant, of course, that I had already discovered this comic by John S. Troutman of LitBrick.com. Sweet.

Day 116: Another 3-hour BBC production...oh goodie

Have you been dying to see a performance of Pericles, Prince of Tyre but are worried that you'd be distracted by high production values or good film quality? Do you have three hours to spare, or are perhaps looking to cure insomnia? Have I got the solution for you! It's the BBC production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre!

You can watch it here or on YouTube:

Let me know if it's any good. I'm not even going to try.

Day 115: So WHO wrote Pericles?

Shakespeare and Wilkins fight to the finish in the play by The Rude Mechanicals

Was Pericles, Prince of Tyre written by William Shakespeare?  Well, maybe. Apparently the common consensus is that it was a collaboration between him and George Wilkins, a dramatist and, *ahem* bawdy innkeeper. A pimp. He was a pimp. That explains a LOT about the entire middle part of the play. (Hint: There are a tonne of pimps. And pirates. And possibly pimp pirates. Yeah, the whole thing's a mess.)

Day 114: Pericles: Real guy...who knew? I mean, uh, I knew. I totally knew.

Bust of Pericles bearing the inscription "Pericles, son of Xanthippus, Athenian". Marble, Roman copy after a Greek original from ca. 430 BC

(from WikiCommons)

Bust of Pericles bearing the inscription "Pericles, son of Xanthippus, Athenian". Marble, Roman copy after a Greek original from ca. 430 BC

Pericles, as we all know, was a Greek statesman who lived in Athens from 495-429 B.C. I mean, I totally knew that. I didn't even have to look it up or anything.

So, gee, I hope this play is true to the original story since I, uh, know it so well and would be able to spot inconsistencies. I mean, who doesn't know the story of Pericles, as told by his contemporary biographer,  Thucydides?

(Nailed it again, Wikipedia! Now everyone thinks I'm super smart!)

Also, Perikles is a board game, for all you board game geeks out there (I'm guessing at least one member of my household DID know that already).

Perikles 2006 

Day 113: New Play Tuesday! Pericles, Prince of Tyre

SCC English Pericles wordle

Off the top of my head? I'd say this play is about muthahfuckin' Pericles. Word.

Day 112: What I Learned: Cymbeline

Penguin Shakespeare

Cymbeline is a lot of stories wrapped up into one. It's like Snow White meets, like, five other Shakespeare plays. It starts out with a king, Cymbeline (wait, Cymbeline's not a girl?) worried about his empire, hoping to marry his daughter off to the son of his second wife (who plays up the whole "wicked stepmother" angle to a tee, manipulating the situation to her son's advantage as much as she can, but then devolving into pettiness and even poison because, well, why not?). The daughter, Imogen (not Cymbeline, even though it totally sounds like a girl's name), is already in love and married to her father's ally, Posthumus Leonatus (a name given to him after his father, Leonatus, died...hence "posthumously"...ugh) and so they have the whole "star-crossed lovers" thing going on, which results in them being separated and Posthumus (okay, had Shakespeare just given up when he wrote that name?) being subjected to all kinds of doubts about his bride's fidelity. This results in hilarious death threats.

In the beginning, Cymbeline is a combination of Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and maybe a little of The Merchant of Venice. Plus, of course, fairy tales like Snow White or Cinderella. Imogen even has to disguise herself as a man and takes poison from her stepmother...sort of.

Then BOOM! Beheading! What the what? I did NOT see that coming.

After that the whole play gets messy. Not "bloody" messy so much as muddled. There's a war, long lost sons, death threats both made and revoked, a dead queen (but nobody liked her apparently) and a supposed "happy ending" except that it's weird that anyone would be happy after all of that. 

Oh and there are ghosts and an appearance by the god Jupiter. But that does lead to the play's best moment, when Jupiter says, "Mount, eagle, to my palace crystalline" and then ascends (to his crystal palace I assume) and shortly after everyone on stage says in unison, "Thanks Jupiter!" 

That's Saturday morning cartoon gold right there.

via

Day 111: Oh I almost forgot!

I came across this the other day and I meant to post it with my Julius Caesar post. It's a film called "I, Cinna (The Poet)" by Tim Crouch, part of his series of solo shows based on Shakespeare's less characters. I particularly loved it because Cinna the poet is part of Mike's favourite scene in Julius Caesar, when the mob is attacking Cinna for being a conspirator against Caesar. "Get him for being a traitor!" they cry. "But I'm not that Cinna! I'm Cinna the poet!" he protests. "Get him for his bad verses!" they immediately answer. Poor poet can't win.

Day 110: And finally...What I Learned: Julius Caesar (Part 2 of 2)

I finally finished Julius Caesar...again. Technically, I suppose I could have skipped it altogether, considering I definitely read it in high school so I don't need to read it again in order to check it off my list. But I didn't like the idea of skipping over plays just because I had read them before. It seemed not to fit the spirit of the project.

So what did I learn the second time around? Probably less than I did the first time, back when I had weeks of class discussions, handouts, additional reading and a teacher explaining everything to me line by line. But I did learn that Julius Caesar has a LOT of great dialogue and that it is impossible to go through life without having heard at least some of it (Et tu, Brute? Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears...Beware the Ides of March...).

I also learned that if Caesar had just listened to his wife none of this would have happened. She TOLD him it was a bad idea for him to go out that day. But did he listen? NOOoooo. And look where it got him.

Day 109: HOLY COW! NEXT YEAR MARKS THE BARD'S 450TH BIRTHDAY!!

(via WikiCommons)

I wish I could go to England next year for all of the Shakespeare Day celebrations! (Is it called Shakespeare Day? It should be, especially considering he was born and died on the same day.*

One thing they're apparently doing in schools there is having a week-long celebration of Shakespeare, even for kids as young as five. They'll be making Tudor-era food (Ick? I'm guessing maybe ick?*) and playing Tudor-style tennis (like modern tennis except everyone wears ruffs*).

Hopefully they won't actually be teaching the plays to kids that young because, honestly, I have yet to find one that's appropriate for children. Let's see...what's the least rapey-murdery-racisty-"kill your kids and/or your parents and/or your wife and/or yourselves" of the plays? The Tempest maybe? Still, it's a little murdery.

Anyway, here's the article about the Shakespeare in school plans:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/shakespeare-to-be-celebrated-in-schools-with-children-as-young-as-five-8575328.html

*probably

Day 108: How long would it be if they weren't speaking so fast? 12 hours?

Hey! Want to watch the 3-hour BBC Cymbeline? No? Of course you don't! But just in case, here it is:

I only made it about five minutes in. How does it end?

Day 107: I am not comforted by the fact that Cymbeline is a "problem play"

Cymbeline wordle from SCC English

Is "problem play" code for "rape" and "murder" but don't worry, the hero's fine? Because I'm a little nervous that it is.

Here's a great article about the subject (I'm almost afraid to read it):

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Cymbeline?

Day 106: New Play Tuesday! Cymbeline

Scene ii Act IV from Cymbeline by William Shakespeare 1564-1616, by Henry Singleton (via)

Please let there be no rape in it. Please let there be no rape in it.

This painting is not filling me with hope.

Day 105: What I Learned: The Two Gentlemen of Verona, or Goddammit! This play has rape in it too? I'm so freaking sick of this!

Luigi Schiavonetti, “Valentine, Proteus, Silvia and Julia”
from “Two Gentlemen of Verona” (1852)

Oh come on, Shakespeare! Can't a just read a play that doesn't condone rape? Apparently not this month, I can't. After the horror that was Titus Andronicus, I was looking forward to a light comedy in the form of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. 

Be careful what you wish for because Shakespeare's "light" comedies usually involve something horrific.

What would it be this time? Racism? Anti-Semitism? Physical violence? Well, yes, to an extent. All of the above. Oh and rape.

One of the "gentlemen," Proteus, is "in love" with Silvia (he's "in love" with all the female characters at one point or another, not that there are very many of them) and if she doesn't feel the same way, why he'll just "woo you like a soldier, at arms' end, and love you 'gainst the nature of love,--force ye...I'll force thee yield to my desire." Charming.

But never fear! Valentine is here! He "saves" Silvia. I say he "saves" her in that he stops the rape, but then Proteus apologizes--more to Valentine than to Silvia--and how does Valentine respond? He basically says, "Aw shucks. That's okay. As long as WE'RE still friends." And then he gives Silvia to Proteus as a sign of their friendship! 

Oh and did I mention that Julia, another woman that Proteus has claimed to be in love with, sees this and freaks out because she wanted Proteus to herself? HOLY SHIT.

You know, plays like Macbeth and King Lear and Othello make me appreciate just how wonderful and timeless Shakespeare's words can be. But honestly, if he were only famous for plays like Titus Andronicus and Love's Labour's Lost and The Two Gentlemen of Verona...well I doubt he'd be famous at all. 

If you're looking to read ALL of Shakespeare's plays because, like me, you're on some sort of personal Shakespeare-based mission, then yes, you'll have to read these ones. But if you're just looking to get better acquainted with the bard to find out why he's still talked about and studied over 400 years later, then move on. These are not the plays you are looking for. 

Go back to the ones that are really, really famous. Turns out people like those ones best for a reason.

Day 104: Some Two Gentlemen posters

Swell.

via

Boobs.

via

Groovy.

via

Day 103: Shakespeare's plays as single page posters

I love these single page posters of Shakespeare's plays (and other classics) from Spineless Classics (spinelessclassics.com). Great gift for the bookish college student in your life!

via

Day 102: The History of English in Ten Minutes...very cool

This is hands down the best thing I've seen in a while. It's a video about the history of the English language...in ten minutes. So cool!

Thanks to Amy K, who shared this with me because she knows I'm always wondering what happened to the Jutes.

Day 101: OMFG! TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA HAS A PUPPY DOG IN IT!!!!

I'm sure I should be spending my time actually reading the play and trying to figure out what it means, but who has time for that? I just found out that this play has a DOG IN IT! A CUTE L'IL PUPPY DOG!!!

Look, here he is:

via

And here he is again:

via

Look, here's him:

via

Oh and again:

via

Who's a good boy?

via

You are! Yes you are!

via

BEST PLAY EVAHHHHH!

via

Note: Besides the dog, I have no idea what this play is about.

Day 100: TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!!!

In honour of Shakespeare's upcoming birthday (April 23rd) and because it's my 100th post (!!!), I'm giving away a copy of Laura Bates' Shakespeare Saved My Life. Yay! You can read all about the contest below, and keep reading for an exclusive interview with the author. Yeah, I'm kicking all kinds of ass at this.

Recently I reviewed the book, Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard, A Memoir by Laura Bates. Dr. Laura Bates is an English professor at Indiana State University who has been teaching Shakespeare in prison facilities, including solitary confinement, for many years. The book is a fascinating read and I highly recommend it, particularly if you read a lot of Shakespeare. Some of the prisoners' interpretations of the play are sure to have you re-thinking how you've been reading Shakespeare all these years!

As you may know, April is not only National Poetry Month (at least in Canada), it's also the month in which Shakespeare was born AND died. His birthday AND the anniversary of his death is April 23 (he died on his birthday, y'all...bummer). In honour of Shakespeare's birthday (and to, you know, promote this book) the publisher is sponsoring a GIVEAWAY on my blog! YAY!

If you live in Canada or the United States, you can enter to win one (1) copy of Shakespeare Saved My Life, by Laura Bates, sent to you directly by Sourcebooks (again, YAY!). The contest ends on April 30, 2013. The winner will be announced on May 1, 2013. All you have to do is use the Rafflecopter widget below. 

Oh, and don't forget to keep reading for an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR LAURA BATES!

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Day 99: New Play Tuesday! The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Boy, these SCC English wordles keep getting prettier, don't they? Based on this, it looks like this is a romantic comedy about Proteus and Valentine (are they the two gentlemen?), with Julia, Silvia and Lucetta. Am I close? I actually don't know anything about this play yet. Looks like there's a duke in it. 

Yay! That means I'm finished with the Roman plays for a while (Or for good? Are there more? What's Pericles, Prince of Tyre about? Or Cymbelline? Ah, I'll worry about that when it comes.)

On to Verona!

Day 98: What I Learned: Titus Andronicus (or, If I Haven't Finished This Play by Now, I Might As Well Give Up on the Whole Project)

via
This drawing fails to capture the gruesomeness disgustingness of this play.

What did I learn from Titus Andronicus? Uh, I learned that if Coriolanus is like 24, then Titus Andronicus is like Saw. Or Faces of Death. Or some lost episode of South Park that takes place entirely inside Eric Cartman's brain (see below).

Samuel Woodforde illustration of Tamora watching Lavinia dragged away to be raped, from Act 2, Scene 3; engraved by Anker S. Smith (1793) via Wikipedia
Wondering if the violence is all murder-based? Oh no, there's rape too. Fucking hell, Shakespeare.

Young Lucius stares at the body of Aaron's baby in Jane Howell's adaptation for the BBC Television Shakespeare; in the background, his father is being inaugurated as the new emperor via Wikipedia
Wondering what that is? Trust me, you don't want to know. A baby coffin. It's a fucking baby coffin. Goddammit, Shakespeare!

Tereus Confronted with the Head of his Son Itylus by Peter Paul Rubens (1637) via Wikipedia
Offended by the bosoms? Perhaps you missed the severed heads. FREAKING SEVERED HEADS, SHAKESPEARE! And I didn't even mention the MULTIPLE SEVERED HANDS and SEVERED TONGUE.

South Park Season 5, Episode 4: "Scott Tenorman Must Die" 
Oh yeah...and FORCED CANNIBALISM. Really, Shakespeare? Really?
Oh hey! Wikipedia agrees with me: The plot of "Scott Tenorman Must Die" has been compared to that of the Shakespeare tragedy Titus Andronicus, in which the humiliated protagonist also exacts revenge by feeding his enemies their own relatives. Some authors viewed the episode as not only an allusion to the violent Shakespearean tragedy, but an actual retelling of it.

What did I learn from Titus Andronicus? Uh, I learned that you can't claim to have read all of Shakespeare's plays without having read this one. Which is kind of like saying you can't really call yourself a "movie buff" without forcing yourself to watch torture porn. Goddammit, Shakespeare. Seriously, dude. This play was messed up.

Day 97: Book Review: Shakespeare Saved My Life

Here's a book that I reviewed recently on my other blog, Cozy Little Book Journal. It's called Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard, A Memoir. At first I thought author Laura Bates was, herself, in solitary confinement for ten years, reading Shakespeare (and then writing a book about it) and I thought, "Great! EVERYONE'S reading Shakespeare before I do!" Turns out she's actually an English professor who spent ten years teaching Shakespeare to prisoners, many of whom were in solitary. But yes, those prisoners did read Shakespeare. And they were great at it.

Shakespeare Saved My Life: 

Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard

Author: Laura Bates

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Publication Date: April 1, 2013

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.ca

Turns out that prison--especially solitary confinement--sucks (of course it does) in just about every way but it IS great for catching up on your reading. Or at least the reading that you're allowed to have, since many things--including heavy books--are contraband. Dr. Bates had to give her students their reading assignments a few pages at a time, a week in advance. That meant that each week, she met with a group of men who had spent the last seven days poring over the scenes she had photocopied for them (they had very few other reading materials available to them in most cases) and they had a LOT to say about them. The prisoners' insights about certain plays were my favourite part of the book, for sure.

And that got me thinking. I always used to say that The Complete Works of Shakespeare was my Number One choice for my "desert island list." You know, as in, "If you were trapped on a deserted island, what one book--or three books or whatever--would you want to have with you?" I always said Shakespeare because if I were stuck on a deserted island, at least I'd have no choice but to finally get around to reading it! Now that I've committed to read the entire Complete Works this year, I guess I'll need a new answer to that question.

But the truth is, almost nobody is really stuck on a "deserted island." It's a party game question. But lots of people are stuck in prison. And the fact that Laura Bates got some of them to read Shakespeare--carefully and with great insight--is pretty fucking awesome.

Hit the jump to read the full review I posted on my other blog.

Day 96: What I Learned: Coriolanus, Part 2 of 2 (or, How Shakespeare's Coriolanus is like a season of 24)

Coriolanus is a little like a season of the show 24, except set in ancient Rome. Rome is facing a national (sort of) crisis. The people are threatening to revolt because of famine (possibly caused by terrorists?) and neighbouring city states are planning to attack (definitely terrorists). There's only one man who can save them.

Jack Bauer.

Coriolanus.

Caius Martius (he becomes Coriolanus later).

Sure, some people are going to die. And Caius Martius doesn't care if people suffer (like terrorists being tortured?). Hell, he even welcomes it. Plus he has a messed up family who encourage that sort of thing (Remember Day 6 of 24 when it turns out Jack's dad was an international bad guy who didn't care if his whole family died? Caius Martius' mom is sort of like that.).

In other words, Caius Martius can get the job done.

And get it done he does. He defeats the Volscians and his arch-nemesis, Aufidius, and takes the city of Corioles. Yay! He's a hero! They even call him Coriolanus now because he is so awesome. 

Except...

Just like Jack Bauer, Caius Martius' Coriolanus' success comes with a price. People are fickle and Coriolanus isn't really much of a people person. So before long there is a plot against him that results in him being an enemy of the state. Just like what happens to Jack in every season of 24. Every. Single. Season.

So what does this renegade man-without-a-country do? He enlists the help of his enemy, of course! Remember all those times when Jack has to pair up with a former terrorist (as in, up until five minutes ago) to stop the evil nuclear strike/government conspiracy/even more menacing terrorist played by the even bigger guest star? That's what Coriolanus does with Aufidius. Except he's mostly just plotting revenge against Rome instead of trying to stop a nuclear bomb.

Then it all goes sideways.

People beg Coriolanus to reconsider his crazy maverick renegade plan to single-handedly take down the empire, even though they all know that he totally could because he's so badass. Finally his mom flat out forbids it and Coriolanus apologizes and promises to stop trying to destroy Rome (I'm paraphrasing). The problem is that Aufidius is having none of Coriolanus' excuses. He's all like, "You said we were going to take over Rome, yo!" And Coriolanus is all like, "Sorry, but my mom said no." And Aufidius was all like, "TREASON! TREASON! TREASON!"

Then Aufidius takes Coriolanus and tears him apart (I'm so sorry to be gross, but that's actually what he does). That would never happen to Jack Bauer (although he has been captured by enemies a lot. Like a LOT.).

Day 95: Are you near Orlando, Florida? If so, you can go see Titus Andronicus at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater!

The original caption for this photo reads:
"Chiron (Greg Joubert) has his wicked way with Lavinia (Kelly Kilgore) in "Titus Andronicus." (Tony Firriolo)"
I guess they figured "has his wicked way" accurately described "brutally raped and terrorized"
From the review in the Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Orlando, Florida, is running a production of Titus Andronicus until April 28, 2013. Here's what critic Matt J. Palm had to say:

Like a graphic novel come to life, Orlando Shakespeare Theater's "Titus Andronicus" is bold, stylish and in your face. In terms of verve and theatricality, it succeeds in a most entertaining manner.

But the play's stylized trappings — raucous rock music, the actors' rock-star garb — spark conflict in a viewer's mind: Are we supposed to be laughing at the horrific bloodshed? Are we supposed to be enjoying the spectacle of brutal revenge?

Director Jim Helsinger's production is so focused on its visual thrills that it seemingly forgets there could be something more to Shakespeare's tale — admittedly one of the playwright's weaker efforts.

For more information, visit OrlandoShakes.org

Day 94: Titus Andronicus Lego: Recreate the carnage with lego!

I've posted these before, from brickshelf

I don't even want to know what the bowl is for.

Day 93: The biggest problem with a Titus Andronicus stage production seems to be sourcing all the blood

Poster for Bill Alexander's 2003 production
from Wikipedia

 So Titus Andronicus has got some blood. Like, A LOT. It must be a challenge for directors to figure out how to capture the bloodiness of the play on stage. Ick.

Hitomi Manaka as Lavinia in Yukio Ninagawa's 2006 production (Taitasu Andoronikasu) at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre; note the use of red ribbons as a stylised substitute for bloodfrom Wikipedia

I actually like the red ribbons. It's pretty gruesome (but gruesomely pretty? no, too far). Plus it's a  lot less sticky for the actors than fake blood sauce.

Laura Rees as Lavinia in Lucy Bailey's 2006 production at Shakespeare's Globe; note the 'realistic' effects and bloodfrom Wikipedia

My hands! My hands!

Day 92: New Play Tuesday! Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus wordle from SCC English

So based on the word cloud, one could assume that Titus Andronicus is a very polite play. Lots of "thous" and "thys," people's names used a lot, words like "sweet," "come," "enter" and "speak" cropping up. 

One would be wrong.

Titus Andronicus is a nightmare of carnage and flesh-eating. Based on the description, I'm pretty sure it's an ancient Roman version of the South Park episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die." Remember that? Times a million and you have Titus Andronicus. 

Eric Cartman licking Scott Tenorman's tears after making him eat a bowl of chili containing flesh from his parents. Holy shit.

Day 91: What I Learned From Coriolanus (Part 1 of 2)

via dvdtalk.com

 Coriolanus. The man. The myth. The total douche bag.

Okay, to be fair, I haven't finished Coriolanus yet (OMFG I'm getting so behind in this project!) so this post will have a part two. But so far what I know is that Coriolanus is a total prick who hates poor people and loves war. Loooooooves it. Loves it like his mother's love depends upon it (which, btw, it totally does). Also Coriolanus isn't his real name, it's the name he's given after a victory at Corioli, which makes the beginning of the play very confusing.

So until I finish the play, here are some more pictures inspired by it. I don't understand them...not yet anyway.

via

Were there really this many women in Coriolanus? Including the boob-exposing Roman centurion woman? I don't remember that part... Man, painters love to show boob-exposure in those war scenes... (you can read that as "Man! Painters.." or "Man-painters").

I'm not sure what's going on in this Japanese version...Moving sidewalk karaoke?

from the japan centre blog

Are they the same touring company who performed at the Globe?