160430 A note on the "Lost Shakespeare Plays"

Sorry about getting behind and squeezing everything into the last day. Still, 27 Shakespeare jokes for free is more than I managed all last year. If you want to read them in order from the beginning, they start here:

Lost Shakespeare Begins

With the election looming, I may do a spate of political humor, but for now, I'm going to assess my other dormant blogs. If you know an English major, forward this or the above link to them. It might make a boring graduation ceremony pass a little easier.

160429 A Joke : Lost Shakespeare #27

#27) "That Really Blows: The Guy Fawkes Story" (failed attempt at a "contemporary historical" play and, sadly, the last time journalism was attempted in England)

160428 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #26

#26) "Return Of The Son Of The Bride Of Henry"

160427 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #25

#25) "Inch By Inch" (abandoned sequel to "Measure By Measure"; disputed origin of the Three Stooges' "Niagara Falls" routine)

160426 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #24

#24) "Macbeth, I Hear You Calling" (first draft)

160425 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #23

#23) "Ass-- You Like It?" (It's not the one you're thinking of; this was rewritten putting more emphasis on what had been the supporting cast and the result was "Midsummer Night's Dream". The title, however, was too good to throw out, so it was recycled as well.)

160424 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #22

#22) "Tudor?-- I Hardly Know Her !" (rough draft of Henry VIII)

160423 No joke

According to today's customized Google logo, this day is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. His date of birth wasn't recorded, although his baptism was roughly at this time of year as well. Tomorrow, the Lost Shakespeare titles continue.

160422 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #21

#21) "Cleopatra Barges In" (later reworked)

160421 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #20

#20) "The Lighter Side Of The Plague"

160420 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #19

#19) "A Monk. A Juggler and A Palace Guard Walk Into A Public House"
[Never completed, this is largely considered (by the few who have heard of it) as the origin of stand up comedy. It opens with a performing troupe between plays telling each other what WS must have realized in retrospect were increasingly filthy jokes. Ordinarily he would have simply edited the material. However, since the purpose of the scene must have been to introduce the characters and also make theater people more relateable to the general audience, the fact that the first scene, as written, would have lasted more than 90 minutes without getting beyond the first act or even changing scenes must have brought home the suspicion that he didn't have anything better for the characters to do once they had been introduced. No further scenes are known to have been written. The title has been attached to the manuscript retroactively by persons unknown.]

160419 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #18

#18) "Henry VII" (suppressed)

160418 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #17

#17) "No Mistaken Identities, Please, We're British"

160417 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #16

#16) "Pumbaa of Sparta"

160416 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #15

#15) "That's What The Merry Wife Said"

160415 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #14

#14) "Cor, 'E's All Anus" (later rewritten)

160414 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #13

#13) "Walk Like A Venetian"

160413 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #12

#12) "Troilus and Croissants"

160412 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #11

#11) "Fresh Out Of Henrys"

160411 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #10

#10) "Henry III (The Prequel) Part II"

160410 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #9

#9) "Henry III (The Prequel)"

160409 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #8

#8) "Oh, Those Wacky Danes!" (later rewritten)

160408 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #7

#7) "The Marriage Of Falstaff" (no subtitle for this one needed, really)

160407 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #6

#6) "The Tragedie of Atlantis" (or, "That Sinking Feeling")

160406 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #5

#5) Oklathello (The Musical)

160405 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #4

#4) "Poncing About In The Woods"

160404 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #3

#3) "Alfa Romeo and Juliet"

160403 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #2

#2) Titus Homicidicus (subtitled "Thou Willst Need More Buckets")

160402 A joke : Lost Shakespeare #1

Shakespeare was fortunate enough to enjoy a great deal of popularity in his day, so much so that many of his plays ran so long that the plays intended to succeed them were often shelved because he felt they "missed their window of opportunity" or contained topical references too easily dated.
Here, then, are the titles of the Great Lost Shakespeare Plays.

#1) "Two Gentlemen, A Shrew and A Piazza Place"

160401 No joke

Well, it's been a while but I read a news report that the Chinese government's official news agency released an announcement to the effect that April Fool's day is a distinctly Western tradition at odds with Chinese culture and should be shunned by loyal Chinese citizens. It's reception has generally been that people are assuming that the announcement itself is an April Fool's joke. Could be, although the Chinese government are hardly known for their sense of humor. Still, this means one of two things must be possible: either the report was real and humor is being seriously threatened for a big chunk of the world's population; or the report was a joke and the Chinese government has therefore told more jokes than this blog for the calendar year. In either case, I can not allow this to stand. I've got to return to some semblance of productivity and I've got to do it in the form of a grand gesture. Or a hand gesture. No, no, a grand gesture would be better. What I need to do is unearth the great lost plays of William Shakespeare. I'll release their titles, one every day, for the rest of April. All that remains now is to make up 29 unseen Shakespeare plays.