Shakespeare’s little black book
Harris’ play focuses on the scandals surrounding Shakespeare
By Jennifer Richmond
Daily Bruin Staff
Jan Harris strongly believes that every play should have a
one-sentence premise.
The premise for her new play "… And to my Daughter," is
simple: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
Perfectly apt for "Daughter" because the play is all about
Shakespeare. Well, it’s really about his daughter Judith, his wife
Ann and all the scandal that was going on right before his
death.
Shakespeare himself never actually appears on stage. But his
presence is felt throughout the entire production because he’s just
in the next room.
Although Harris was originally going to write a one-woman show
about Shakespeare’s wife, Ann Hathaway, once she started
researching Ann’s background, Harris discovered a whole other
story.
"As I started doing more research, I found that there was a
scandal very close to the time he died, in fact it was within weeks
of his death. I saw the actual will and it had been altered. So,
all those things peaked my interest.
"And of course everybody knows about the second-best bed line
(in the will); you know that it’s an after-thought, ‘… and to my
wife, my second best bed.’
"I thought, here’s the world’s greatest playwright and he can’t
even put ‘to my dear wife my second best bed’? So I figured there
must have been a lot of animosity somewhere in the family and it’s
all there."
Harris hasn’t left any of those elements out of the play. She
went to great lengths to write the drama. Not only did she do
extensive research for the play, she went back to her English
homeland to find the two books on which she based most of her
story.
"I did a lot of research in Charing Cross Road, in dirty
bookshops on my hands and knees and I came up with a book about the
Boddy Courts of Stratford," Harris says as she pulls out the
hardbound book and shows what she found.
In there are the dates and times of Judith’s husband, Tom
Quiney, and how he was excommunicated because of his infidelity
while he was courting Judith.
The entire script is based on the little book and all its
dates.
"I was so pleased to find this book," Harris continues. "It
tells you all the deeds and things that the Boddy Courts brought
people up upon, like for not going to church, for having incontence
they called it, but they mean sex out of wedlock.
"And I found here the actual part where Tom Quiney was brought
up before the court," she says as she shows the page that describes
in detail the charges brought against Quiney.
"So, the story is based on fact. I have taken a little dramatic
license. But I have two storytellers that always correct any
dramatic license I have taken. They say ‘well, nobody really
knows.’ So, I’m pretty factual with it."
Harris has even included Tom’s mistress in her production, just
so the audience will get a full understanding of the situations
going on during and around Shakespeare’s death. But this character
isn’t made up just for intrigue; once again, Harris turned to her
research book and took several reports about Tom’s relationship
with Margaret and incorporated them into the production.
"She’s mentioned in every account. This is from the actual books
from Stratford," Harris says as she points out the place where she
found Tom’s affair listed. "And there you have Tom Quiney for
incontence with Margaret Wheeler. It’s fascinating."
It’s so fascinating in fact, that Harris took five years
researching the play. "I really enjoyed researching this. I could
have gone on forever. I could have been one of those people that
sits and debates who did what to whom because I enjoyed it so
much."
Because she had so much fun writing this work, Harris is heading
back to England to start researching her next play and she’s taking
"Daughter" with her. She says some producers in London have seen
the script and are very interested.
It’s fitting that a play about Shakespeare and his family not
only started in Stratford but ends up back on Shakespeare’s
homeland; and maybe even where Shakespeare himself started. But
that’s some research that has yet to be uncovered.
STAGE: "… And to my Daughter." Written by Jan Harris. Directed
by Remi Aubuchon. Running through May 21 at the Tiffany Theater.
For more info call (310)289-2999.