Historical Context - Week 6

Loves Labours Lost

What is the play about and when was it first performed?

Love's Labour's Lost was first written in 1595 and was first performed in 1597 at the Inns of Queen Elizabeth I Court. Some of the characters in the play are loosely based of historical figures. It is one of Shakespeare's most early comedies, but his is a very odd comedy as it ends in tragedy with the death of the King Of France. 

Contemporary Play Of LLL

Love's Labour's Lost has been done by the Royal Shakespeare Company and has also been performed at the Globe Theatre.

I am going to look at the one that has been done at the Globe Theatre in 2009, below is the trailer for the play that was performed at the Globe. 

The trailer from the Globe Theatre's Love's Labour's Lost shows that they have kept the period clothes. And from the way it looks there is not much of a set other than the pillars and the stretched platforms that go into the audience. By having a minimal set there is a lot relying on the word play. The costumes are amazing, really decade appropriate and fit with the extravagance of the characters.

 The Princess of France in this version is played by Michelle Terry, from watching the trailer I can see she brought a sense of power with her character which is something I defiantly want to do with my character. 

Most women in Shakespeare's plays are either, going to die, witches, pathetic or just plain evil. Women were considered to be the "weaker vessel" and in Love's Labour's Lost the main group of girls are defiantly not dominated by the men, not until the end anyway. Michelle Terry's version of the Princess shows the fire behind her eyes, the sheer passion behind her words are really shown with her physicality and body language. I only wish to have that same fire and passion that she has.