Spotlight On ANONYMOUS: Shakespeare's Top 5 Leading Women

 

Today we continue our special series consisting of five entries total, each of which highlight a different facet of the rich and wonderful world of William Shakespeare and all with a particular emphasis on the controversial new feature film that explores the time, place, politics and goings-on of the Elizabethan era and focuses on the possibility that the true author of the esteemed plays we now know may very well have been someone else entirely - Edward de Vere - and how the question of the canon's true creation then comes into play - ANONYMOUS.

"All the world's a stage," after all, so it should come as no surprise that acts of lust, bloodshed and betrayal would exist in the actual life - or even the supposed one - of the man who created the most bloody and thought-provoking tragedies in the history of literature - whoever he may have actually been. Perhaps some brief analysis of the finest leading players, most memorable lines and moments, as well as an exploration of other notable acts of grand betrayal in Shakespeare's plays will aid us on the journey to understanding the thesis of ANONYMOUS and bring us into a closer relationship with the individual who penned the greatest plays in the English language.

Now, with the second entry in the five days of Top 5s, here is a look at the best leading ladies to have done Shakespeare onstage and onscreen this century and last - featuring Dame Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Dame Helen Mirren, and, an ANONYMOUS star herself, Vanessa Redgrave!

Be sure to check out the introductory essay in this special SPOTLIGHT ON ANONYMOUS series here!

A little bit AMADEUS, with a touch of TIMON OF ATHENS; a dash of DANGEROUS LIASONS and a heaping of HENRY IV: Parts 1 and 2; a generous helping of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE with a wink to MERCHANT OF VENICE; a bit of BARRY LYNDON and a hint at HAMLET; romance and jealousy ala Romeo & Juliet; Iago-ian sexual intrigue evocative of OTHELLO; maybe even a malicious, macabre moment of murderous violence or two reminiscent of MACBETH; then, all of it collectively taken, shaken, stirred and whipped up into a visual feast only the man behind THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW could possibly conjure up - like THE TEMPEST's Trinculo himself. That is only some of what ANONYMOUS can and could very well turn out to be. Find out for yourself on October 28!

Thy Name Is Woman

After having sampled some of the very best performances by leading men in our last entry, focusing on the leading ladies of the Bard proves to be an even more enjoyable and entertaining delight thanks to the wide range of performances on display - as well as and the starry assembled cast. From the rollicking, bitchy barbs of Katharina in TAMING OF THE SHREW to the cold reserve of Volumnia in CORIOLANUS and treacherousness of Tamora in TITUS ANRONICUS all the way to the outright macabre madness of Lady MacBeth, and, even, a female take on THE TEMPEST's Prospero courtesy of Julie Taymor - today we are taking a wide swath and exploring the multitude of charms in some of the most unforgettable scenes from the dramas, comedies, histories and latter plays of William Shakespeare with an emphasis on the most memorable female characters and the accomplished assortment of actors to have essayed them.

#5 Vanessa Redgrave

Acting alongside her real-life daughter, Joely Richardson, who plays the younger Queen Elizabeth I to her older embodiment in ANONYMOUS, Vanessa Redgrave returns to familiar ground with a role in an Elizabethan era drama. Yet, believe it or not, ANONYMOUS is the first of two Shakespeare-related entities the vaunted Ms. Redgrave will appear in this winter, with the forthcoming Ralph Fiennes-directed CORIOLANUS starring Fiennes and Gerard Butler roaring into theaters soon, as well. See Redgrave deliver the ominously foreboding "And then men die" line here in the trailer of this modern-day adaptation of the tragic war thriller before we get to enjoy the entire experience. One thing is clear: between this and ANONYMOUS, Ms. Redgrave is destined to create even more unforgettable film moments this awards season to go along with the plethora already on her resume.

#4 Dame Helen Mirren

Despite the controversial gender-bending of the role of Prospero into Prospera to secure her participation in the imaginative film entity, Dame Helen Mirren brings a focused, fiery passion and immutable drive to her newly created role in Julie Taymor's recent adaptation of one of Shakespeare's genre-breaking latter plays, THE TEMPEST. Watch Mirren's interaction with the mystical character of Ariel in this mysteriously moving and visually mesmerizing scene - conjured up in a way that only Julie Taymor can do and proving yet again that she is one of the great Shakespearean film directors (with both THE TEMPEST and our next featured clip, which is taken from her tremendous 1999 adaptation of TITUS ANDRONICUS).

#3 Jessica Lange

Tackling the ferocious and nefarious role of the dethroned Tamora in Julie Taymor's towering achievement of a Shakespearean film adaptation, TITUS, before our very eyes Jessica Lange creates a monster of a mother to go with the cinematic greats who delectably chews up all in her way with the treacherous machinations of her malicious actions - cannibalistic meat pies included (long before SWEENEY TODD). Watch her conniving and alluring manipulations in full force here as she sets in motion her malicious revenge on the king and kingdom which spelled her downfall and sealed her doom. Clearly, Tamora certainly is not a character to take anything - and that means anything - lying down.

#2 Meryl Streep

Mining the comedic goldmine of possibilities implicit in Shakespeare's hilarious historical Italianate comedy TAMING OF THE SHREW in this shrewd and seemingly stupendous 1981 Shakespeare In The Park staging, Meryl Streep takes on one of Shakespeare's finest female comic roles in the spunky Katharina - a role made famous by Elizabeth Taylor, as well - and even finds the time to comment on her character in this revealing and fascinating clip from a PBS documentary. Opposite one of the great Shakespearean leading men of recent times, Raul Julia, witness Streep imbue the "Kiss me, Petruchio," moment with deep love and affection as only she can - along with some guffaw-inducing physical comedy, to boot.

#1 Dame Judi Dench

A force of nature. A cold, bracing, brusque wind. A titan. That is the Oscar-winning stage and screen superstar Judi Dench wrapped up in nutshell insofar as nearly any role she deigns to take on. Yet, it was her peerless performance as Lady Macbeth in Trevor Nunn's terrifying BBC TV adaptation co-starring Ian McKellen in the 1970s that cemented her place in the great pantheon of Shakespearean leading ladies. The combination of actress and text and production has perhaps never quite been so absolutely riveting and just plain scary to witness as it is captured here in this grim, sparse, magical black-box video masterpiece. This is as good as Shakespeare gets, onstage or onscreen - and as well-acted as you will ever see it. So, just in time for Halloween, take in the nightmare-inducing and nightmare-depicting sleepwalking scene from MACBETH - complete with the famous "Out, damn spot" moment - here.

So, what performance by a Shakespearean leading lady presents itself foremost in your mind and memory at the top of the list? Surely, this list could have easily included performances by a number of younger, somewhat less accomplished actresses as well as the legends honored - Kate Winslet's moving Ophelia in Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET and his Gertrude, Julie Christie, nearly made the list, to name but two. Who knows what current starlet will rise to the top of the ranks and take her place with these legends someday soon - time will tell.

Be sure to stay tuned to BroadwayWorld for all things ANONYMOUS as we anticipate its release in movie theaters on October 28. Also, check back for our next Top 5 features, highlighting all of the Bard's most memorable scenes and most quotable lines.