First act 

                                                       SCENE I 

 

 

 

                                                      Prologue

 

 

After the sound of three clarion calls, a jester emerges on the stage where there is only a stack of books and decor of  a white timbered wall. He leaves when the drummer on the balcony starts to beat in three-quarter time and the curtains open.

I am beckoned to come up in my taffeta costume with the crisp, clean collar and white stockings. I stomp on the boards with my heels to the rhythm of the drums and stare into the gaping maw of the audience. Then I take off my hat, spread my arms wide and to the fast beat of the drummer I call out in a loud voice:

'My name is William Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564'. I bow, walk stately backwards and disappear behind the scenery on the right.

After a daring silence I come out on the left and sit upon the stack of books.

I now let my voice lift an octave higher: 'My name is William Flut, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.'

My own laughter rolls through the room and reverberates against a rock of incomprehension.

'My pieces are performed all over the world and they seem to know everything about me, where and when I was born, where and when I would die. To die or not ot die, that’s the mystery.

I bow again and with a jaunty wave I leave the stage.

The drumming fades while in the background, a large stage set of the Globe Theatre is pushed forward by one of the Kings Men.

                                     

 

                                                     Scene II 

In 1609 the Plague is sweeping through London again. Outside the Globe Theatre on the south bank of the Thames stands only one horse drawn vehicle.

My co-actor Richard helps me to close the big doors of the theatre, all by order of the government. We carry my travel chest to the carriage where the coachman has his face half covered with a black cloth.

I shout to him, ‘To the Docks please!’

When the whip cracks, I turn once more to look back at the large wooden amphitheater that has recently been covered with plaster and a thatched roof. On this summer’s day we drive past the flowering rose gardens and further on, the stench from the soap factories and the tanneries is quite unbearable. I give my colleague a fragrant sprig of thyme to hold in front of his face and I tie my own scarf across my nose.

The arenas where bears and bulls are bitten by dogs for cheap entertainment are completely deserted. So are the brothels.

The horse’s hooves clatter loudly as we cross London Bridge. We turn left onto Lower Thames Street and the stench seems to get even worse.

'William, look, corpses on the street and even dead children in the porch doorways!'

The whip flicks and the horse goes from trot to canter.

'Yes, let’s get out of here, this is horrible!’

After some time, the carriage stops at a busy intersection. Here I get off and Richard will travel on to join 'The King's Men', our theatre company. By boat, the group will sail along the coastal towns to give performances in taverns and in covered courtyards. We say farewell and I step into a larger carriage with several other passengers, heading towards Gateway. Everyone looks straight ahead and keeps the nose and mouth covered. Im lucky for in the harbour I am told that a large galleon, the 'Cedo Nulli' will sail today.

I fear the officials for I have hidden gold nuggets in the hollow heels of my boots. My father, the glove maker, did this invention very ingeniously. Only by tapping sideways, you can loosen the heels.

If inspectors discover that you are carrying out a lot of money, it will certainly be taken from you. This happened to my hero Erasmus, the best friend of Thomas More.

I stay calm and pretend to converse with the person behind me but I can hardly suppress the shaking and sweating of my body.

‘Name?’

‘William Shakespeare.’

'Destination?'

'Tergouw in the Netherlands, via Delfshaven and Rotterdam.'

By answering extensively, I hope to give the impression of not hiding anything.

This time I have to take off my doublet and I put my hat on the shafts of my boots. The officials not only inspect my purse, but also the books, goose feathers, rolls of paper, ink pots do not remain untouched. I pretend that I don't care about the rummaging through my belongings, standing half turned with my back towards the inspectors. I talk to a fellow traveler about contemporary theatre performances. Suddenly one of the men is pounding with my wooden pipe molds on the table.

'Are these weapon flasks?' 'No gentlemen, I use these wooden moulds to make pipes. In that leather rag you will find some clay, and wait, I'll put a white-baked pipe in half a mold for you to see.' They shake their heads disinterested and one asks, if there is gunpowder in those bags.

I can’t help to laugh. 'Hemp seed gentlemen!'

They look at me sharply and are probably judging me as an average peddler. Finally I am allowed to go on board and drag my old sailor's travel chest towards the ship. A porter helps me onto the gangway and I walk further along the deck to descend in the hold. I lower myself exhausted into a hammock and whistle between my teeth with relief.

Through a porthole I see against an almost blue sky, some flags of boats fluttering cheerfully. They indicate a perfect favorable westerly wind.

Finally, it is possible to travel to the continent now the war with Spain has ended. This spring the Habsburgs signed a truce with the Dutch in Antwerp. They say, it will be the end of piracy.

I am longing for Tergouw, the town where Erasmus was born and which is also known for its tolerance. Since the last century, this city has been opening its gates wide to refugees from England and Flanders. On the galleon a Dutch sailor informed me that there are several potters in Tergouw, but no pipe makers. How nice it would be to relax my mind during manual labor so that I can earn my living until the lockdowns have ended. In my imagination I see sturdy Dutch women appear in my mind and out of habit I fill my pipe.  After requesting for fire in the galley, I look for a spot in the sun on deck at starboard. It strikes me that this new ship has a window in the vaulted opening in front of the mizzenmast. Handy for the helmsman who can now keep an eye on the sails in all weathers. At the foremast and the bowsprit the last sails are hoisted and I breathe in the fresh sea air to the fullest. Seagulls are skimming around the vessel.

Ah, it's not smart that I'm leaving my theatre group now they're going on tour along the coast, but I'm tired of the mutual bickering and the packed travel. From the beginning of the plague, in 1593, many poets and writers died, which caused my breakthrough. In the beginning I survived by writing sonnets and now I only have to write new comedies and tragedies.  Since the new property right is in force, I earn well. Despite the lockdowns, the demand for new plays is growing. I’m longing for a quiet writing place, preferably in the Emmaus Monastery where Erasmus became a priest. The thought inspires me on this beautiful June day. The right words flow and carefully unfold in my head into a sonnet. Thinking of my beloved Anne, I hesitate between the words erotic and serene.  So much has changed in our marriage since the death of our beloved son Hamnet. In the middle of his youth he fell prey to that cursed plague. Since then Anne has become angry with God and tired of life. Our marital sponge has been just a place to sleep ever since. Where we used to play, laugh and make love, now nothing remains but a friendly pat from Anne on my hand or sometimes a cool kiss on my forehead. My allusions  are no longer accepted and after a soft goodnight she invariably turns her back on me. Yet I still have warm feelings of gratitude. What beautiful children she has given me, I write sonnet 18.....

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M.R. Tompot
een jaar geleden

Bericht in de Tidinghe van de Oudheidkundige Kring in Gouda:

Of William Shakespeare ooit in Gouda was, is
voor Thom Griffie geen vraag. Achter dit
pseudoniem gaan twee bekende Gouwenaars
schuil, oud-koster Maurits Tompot en oudstadsdichteres Hanneke Leroux-Griffioen, die
hun bewondering voor de Engelse
toneelschrijver niet willen verhullen. Op 23
april a.s. komt hun boek Shakespeare is hier
uit, ‘een biografisch drieluik’ dat gelezen kan
worden ‘als een historisch stuk, een komedie
of tragedie’ en dat ‘voluit Shakespeareaans’ is.
Het schrijversduo interpreteert een aantal
historische gegevens zo dat de beroemde
dichter een plaats verdient in de viering van
Gouda750. Al in 1609 zien we hem aan de
Veerstal in Tergouw aan wal stappen. Hij
ontvlucht de lockdown in Londen vanwege de
pest. Op Achter de Vismarkt start hij de eerste
Goudse pijpenmakerij, samen met William
Baernelts, de ‘uitvinder’ van de Goudse pijp.
Het tweede bedrijf speelt in Londen en
Stratford upon Avon, waar ‘een morbide en
typisch Shakespeareaans drama ontspruit uit
het brein van de schrijver’. In het laatste
bedrijf blijkt Shakespeare voorgoed in Tergouw te wonen. De vraag rijst of hij in Stratford of in de
Goudse Sint- Janskerk begraven ligt.
Of het allemaal klopt? In zijn voorwoord bij het boek vindt burgemeester Pieter Verhoeve dat de
lezer dat zelf moet beoordelen: ‘Shakespeare zou zeggen: “Don’t shoot the messenger”.’ De liefde
voor zowel de stad Gouda als voor Shakespeare brengt de auteurs ertoe de combinatie te
propageren. Dat blijkt ook uit hun idee om 23 april, de datum waarop Shakespeare (waarschijnlijk)
zowel geboren werd als overleed, uit te roepen tot Goudse of Nederlandse Shakespeare-dag. De
eerste dus op zaterdag 23 april 2022, 20.00 uur in Theaterbakkerheij aan de Gouderaksedijk 24b.
Het wordt een avond met gedichten, rap, muziek en een toneelvoorstelling door Het Voetlicht, als
voorprogramma van de boekpresentatie. Zie verder http://shakespeare-is-hier.nl/.
Het idee dat Shakespeare in Gouda kwam, is eerder geopperd,
maar het was de heer D.A. Goedewaagen, firmant van de
gelijknamige plateelfabriek en jarenlang penningmeester van
de Historische Kring Die Goude, die er handen en voeten aan
gaf. Op 1 april 1964 meldde De Volkskrant dat de televisie
aanwezig zou zijn bij de opening van het graf van Shakespeare
in de Sint-Janskerk. Op de Goudse Glazendag in juni 1964 gaf
Goedewaagen een lezing getiteld ‘Contacten van Shakespeare
met Gouda en de Sint-Janskerk, mogelijkheden en waarschijnlijkheden’. Hij had toen in de
periodieken van Die Goude diverse artikelen geschreven over de Goudse pijpenmakerij, maar daarin
kwam de naam Shakespeare niet voor. In Duizend jaar Gouda wordt melding gemaakt van de poging
‘naam en faam van William Shakespeare op Gouda te doen afstralen’. Het idee bleef enkele jaren
hangen. Sommige lezers herinneren zich dat er in 1971 een aflevering verscheen van de serie
geografische politieromans van Pim Hofdorp, die in Gouda speelde. Gegooi in de glazen heet de
undercover-operatie waarbij de Britse geleerde Blackwell discreet bewaakt moet worden, die het
gebeente van Shakespeare vermoedt in de Sint-Jan. In de halve eeuw daarna kreeg de koppeling van
Shakespeare en Gouda langzamerhand de status van een belegen complottheorie. Wil Thom Griffie
daarin weer verandering brengen, of is het – zoals de burgemeester lijkt te suggereren - bedoeld als
ludieke hefboom om meer aandacht te krijgen voor het werk en de figuur van William Shakespeare?
(GJJ)