Was Shakespeare a Catholic? The Historical Sources Revisited

Join Thomas McCoog, Archivist, British Province of the Society of Jesus in London as he presents his lecture "Was Shakespeare a Catholic? The Historical Sources Revisted" at UNLV. McCoog presents evidence in this free lecture.

One of the most controversial areas of recent Shakespeare scholarship concerns his religion: was he a Catholic? Shakespeare lived during an age, the end of the sixteenth century, when to be a Catholic involved persecution, fines, imprisonment, and sometimes execution. His possible Catholicism has been advanced as one of the principal reasons that we know so little about his personal life. There is considerable evidence of the activities of the Jesuits around Stratford-upon-Avon and also of other Catholic influences upon his life, but does the evidence warrant a claim that Shakespeare was a Catholic?

The lecture is co-sponsored by the UNLV Department of English. The event is Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m in the Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium on the campus of UNLV.

Image Credit: (Occidental College)

Happy St. Piran's Day!

Happy St. Piran's Day, the National Day of Cornwall! St. Piran's Day has been observed since the late 19th/early 20th century as a way for people to celebrate Cornwall, similar to other national celebrations. Saint Piran is the patron saint of tin-miners and was a 6th century abbot and said, believed to be of Irish descent. He is credited with re-discovering tin-smelting when his tin rose out of his black hearthstone and settled on the surface in the form of a white cross, creating the image used today in St. Piran's Flag. The Cornish celebrate the day by marching across the Penhale sand dunes to St. Piran's cross, carrying daffodils to be placed at the cross.

Many Cornish immigrants came to the United States looking for mining work in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of these settled areas still celebrate St. Piran's Day, such as in Southwest Wisconsin and Grass Valley, California.

The Cornish also settled in Nevada, not surprising due to our mining industries. To celebrate St. Piran's Day in Las Vegas, big kids can try speaking Cornish, completing a mining word search or make a castle. Younger kids can listen to Jack and the Beanstalk, which is set in Cornwall, or try their hand at colouring pages. Make some Cornish pasties or crab soup, and have some puddings or pastries for desert.

Image credits: (BBC, Wikipedia)

Celebrating St. David's Day!

The Welsh have honored March 1st as St. David's Day since the 18th century. Dewi Sant, St. David, was a Celtic monk who helped spread Christianity in Wales in the 6th century.

Traditionally, school children performed concerts or eisteddfadau, reciting poems and singing. Some schools are open for a half day only to extend the celebrations. Daffodil and leek emblems are typically worn to honor St. David. Daffodils commonly bloom in March, and leeks are the personal symbol of St. David. Additionally, in the Welsh language the words are similar: Cenin (leek) and Cenin Bedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek"). In the South of Wales, young men wear leeks while young girls wear daffodils, but in North Wales the daffodil is the most popular. The Welsh traditional costume consists of a long wool skirt, white blouse, woolen shawl and Welsh black felt hat.

To celebrate St. David's Day in Las Vegas, pick up some dadffodils. Big kids can make traditional costume craft or a clay dadffodil magnet , while younger children can do some coloring pages. Finish off the celebration with some traditional Welsh dishes such as welsh rarebit, welsh cakes or Bara Brith, or visit Whole Foods to pick up ingredients for a goat cheese and leek quiche.

Image credits: (Clare Matson, Richard)

A Night at the Dogs: UK Theatre in Las Vegas

Join the British National Theatres of America as they present A NIGHT AT THE DOGS by Matt Charman

'This year’s Verity Bargate Award came up with a gifted winner in Matt Charman’s keen, quick A Night at the Dogs' The Observer, UK

A NIGHT AT THE DOGS, Matt Charman’s award winning first play, will make its U.S. debut at the Backstage Theatre on the 2nd March, 2010, directed by Jo Cattell. The cast will include Sam Welbourne, John Brady, Martin Andrew, Miles Coleman and Andrew Sefia

Carl has put together a dog-racing syndicate, a ‘leg each’, with his fellow car mechanics. Excitement infuses the characters as they all await for their newly purchased dog, which they hope will fulfill their dreams, bringing them respect and wealth. Danny, Carl’s younger brother, isn’t convinced and has chosen to not be a part of it all, even though Carl is determined to convince him. Anticipation builds as the group readies themselves for the arrival of Rick with the dog, however it is short lived with the appearance of “Punchy Paul”, their brutish manager and unexpected fifth member of the syndicate. The mood quickly changes as it becomes apparent Paul has other concerns and is determined to make someone, anyone, pay for the apparent rape of his child.

A NIGHT AT THE DOGS is an intense black comedy, with sharp dialogue that keeps the temperature rising throughout. Fast paced, funny, yet brutally dark, A Night at the Dogs by 25 year old Matt Charman was chosen from over 700 submissions in Soho Theatre’s nationwide hunt for the best new play by a first-time playwright, the UK Verity Bargate Award 2004.

Performances: 2, 3, 9 & 10th March 2010 at 7.30pm at the Backstage Theatre, CSN (Cheyenne Campus) Las Vegas. Tickets will be available to purchase at http://www.bntofa.org/ and at the door. Ticket price: $12.00

For Further Information contact Jo Cattell at T: 702-497-0159 or jo@bntofa.org

Panto in Las Vegas - BNTA Presents Snow White

A local Brit who organizes the British National Theater of America (BNTA) has invited the Las Vegas community to share in the panto tradition with a production of Snow White. So what is panto? It is a style of British musical comedy theater in which traditional children's stories are turned on their heads with music hall, modern references and audience participation to create a fun atmosphere for the whole family. Panto has strong influence from Commedia dell’arte often performed around Christmas and it originated in the UK sometime in the late 18th Century.

BNTA's current show is not the typical Snow White... The fair lass finds herself stuck in Las Vegas, stage manager to her evil & famous step-mother, Posh Nosh. Jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty & talent, the Posh Nosh hires a mafia hit man to rid herself of fair Snow White. The hit man, unable to bring himself to do the deed, leaves Snow White in the 14 jazz hands of 7 dwarfs. However, it is only a matter of time until the evil Posh Nosh finds out that Snow White lives. Determined to do the job properly herself, Posh Nosh poisons Snow White so that she may claim that she is the “Fairest of them All” once again....This Las Vegas reworking of the traditional story continues BNTA's goal of making British Panto a Las Vegas tradition. Snow White runs November 17, 18, 24 and 25th at 7p. Support local Brits in the community by attending - tickets are from $10-15 and can be purchased on the BNTA site.

Do your kids have the acting bug? BNTA also offers a 16 week session for 9-12 year olds to learn theater, dance and acrobatics while working with local professionals, culminating in participation in an upcoming production. For more information, contact jo@bntofa.org .

British National Theatre of America (BNTA) was formed in April 2008 by Rob Winch, Rich Perkin and Jo Cattell who met whilst working together on Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatle’s LOVE. It is a non profit theatre company based in Las Vegas that exists to engage, entertain and inspire the community through traditional and contemporary theatre from diverse international origins.

Won't make it to the show this time? Visit Robinsons Put on a Panto (http://bit.ly/PutOnAPanto) and let the kids do their own panto for you! Thanks to Carrots in Mum's Hair for the site!