Wicked women of the theatre.

Well, it has to be Monday somewhere. Just blew in from a free theatre event at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC. I love their free readings! They usually get some fun talent in and put on little produced plays. Which makes sense considering it is called their "Rediscovery Series". Today's selection was based on a true crime and was the first "domestic tragedy" of it's time. It's authorship is unknown (though rumors about about it being by Shakespeare, Marlowe, or Kyd). It is Arden of Faversham or The Lamentable and True Tragedie of M. Arden of Feversham in Kent. Who was most wickedly murdered by the meanes of his disloyall and wanton wyfe, who for the love she bare to one Mosbie, hyred two desperat ruffins Blackwill and Shakbag, to kill him.... I love how in those old stories, you could get the whole synopsis in the title.

However, this was not a straightforward killing. No, the "ruffins" were of the very bumbling sort and couldn't get the job done. The first attempt had an apprentice bookstore keeper slamming the stall door on Black Will's head, thus rendering him incapable of running through Arden with his sword. And it continued on. So much so that you would have thought they would have been smart enough to give up. But preserve they did, and it all led to everyone's deaths. Because of course they had to end up killing Arden right before a large dinner party at the Arden's house, but they killed him at the house and attempted to ditch the body behind the Abbey right when the snow storm ended so there was a clear path to their door. Idiots. So, the wife and her two servants were killed as traitors (the two females burned and the male servant hung, drawn, and quartered) while the lover and all the other conspirators were hung (except for Black Will who was burned as well). What a fun ending!

So, as you can see, two of my favorite things are books and theatre. So why not combine them? If ever I should be in Buenos Aires, I will have to look up the El Ateneo bookstore. It is housed inside an old theatre that was turned into a movie theatre which in 2000 was converted into a bookstore. How fabulous is that? And, you can eat on the stage because that is where they have the cafe!