Shakespeare
Up-In-Arms!

TYBALT: I am for you. (Drawing.)
ROMEO: Gentle Mercutio, put thy rapier up.
MERCUTIO: Come, sir, your passado. (They fight.)

Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth...so many of Shakespeare's plays contain duels and references to swordplay that are incomprehensible to most modern readers. To gloss over these sections is like reading a book and skipping the climax. This presentation shows what that climax looks like and really livens up the study of Shakespeare!

Shakespeare lived in turbulent times, and everyone, from highborn to low, went about armed. Duelling throughout England and Europe had become a craze. An artist reflects the times he lives in, and Shakespeare himself was no stranger to the sword.

This presentation is not only a show-and-tell of Elizabethan weaponry, it is also a LIVE DEMONSTRATION OF ELIZABETHAN SWORDPLAY with text, and its application in modern theatre. Shakespeare Up-In-Arms offers an exceptional insight into this very important aspect of Shakespearean drama.