The Winter's Tale

6 November 2022: I saw the Rude Mechanicals' production of The Winter's Tale this afternoon and found myself moved to tears--something I wasn't expecting. When Leontes is so cruel--when he refuses to believe the his wife, his advisors, his friends, and even the oracle, even as everyone begs him to--it was too much: the misogyny, the tyranny, the refusal to admit when you are wrong. It's just too real in our modern moment. I saw a production years and years ago when I was at Oxford, but I sure didn't respond to it this way. It's a strange, strange play...perhaps sadly perfect for right now.