Straight-talking Shakespeare

For Barbara Gaines, Criss Henderson, Marilyn Halperin, and all who love the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

O, sing me a story of bright city sky,
A tune full of hope with a go-getting cheer,
Some plain-sailing music that reaches up high
From this show at the end of the pier.

O, bring me some stone from Ohio of old,
Now paint me a twilight and set the stars near;
Suspend me a heaven where stories are told
In our home at the end of the pier.

O, do you recall how our Agincourt played,
On the Red Lion’s roof with our passion and beer?
The bathtub in which Macduff’s baby was laid –
No home’s like the end of the pier.

O, set me a rocking-chair where I can spin
The patterns and plots that I’ve dreamt for King Lear;
We’ll weave night and day, knit our threads, then begin
Our play at the end of the pier.

‘You’ve got to have balls to call Lear “old man”’;
It’s always a case of straight-talking round here.
To speak what we feel, be as clear as we can,
Is our aim at the end of the pier.

With Shakespeare’s entrepreneurial sparks,
We’ll fashion our future and cleverly steer;
Let us tether the moon for our stage in the parks:
Our Dream from the end of the pier.

O, light me a candle that’s burning with good;
Since when did mid-westerners ever know fear?
We’ll dance through the night, as the Great Gatsby would,
In our beams at the end of the pier.

by Paul Edmondson

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Photo Recaps

Images from the Road

THE AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTRE, STAUNTON, VA NASHVILLE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, NASHVILLE, TN ...

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Notes from the Road

'In Shakespeare's Steps'

In posting this last poem from the Road, written while we were towards the...

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What would Shakespeare do?

In this interview with the Co-Founder of the American Shakespeare Center and its Artistic...

10.2.14
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Infectious Enthusiasm

The American Shakespeare Center has a flourishing education programme which is based at the...

9.16.14
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Actor-Centricity!

It was pleasure to meet with Glenn and Sara, Residential and Touring Troupe Managers...

9.12.14
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Actor Insights

Actors’ Voices from the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Greg Vinkler on Falstaff’s self-awareness and on being visited by the fat knight in...

9.11.14
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Life at the Blackfriars

Our time with the last of our fourteen partners, The American Shakespeare Center at...

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Energetic, Connecting Shakespeare

Denice Hicks is the Artistic Director of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival. It was our...

9.8.14
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Eddie George and David Olney among the Stars of Nashville Shakes

Well, we’re back in Stratford-upon-Avon after our Shakespeare road-trip adventure. But in some ways...

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The Song of the Bluegrass Bard

In this land of musician and poet, Through our Country, our Blues, and our...

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Follow our journey across North America in search of Shakespeare