8FOLD/TEB: Annotations for the Compleat History of the Red Hart in Nine Acts

[Adrian J. McClure]

I really enjoyed this, both the story and the annotations. I love this "peak behind the curtain" kind of thing. The level which the themes (free will, humanity and divinity etc.) are developed and articulated are really impressive, and it comes across well in the story.

As soon as I realized Van was Scottish, I started picturing her as Karen Gillan. On the other hand, we don't know she's white. But she definitely strikes me as a readhead.

About staging the Red Hart--I'd also really like to see someone try! I think if it were revised and expanded a bit it could work. In Shakespeare's theater, the costume and set design and special effects were pretty rudimentary, so when there's an impressive scene he relies more on describing them or reporting them secondhand. "Exit pursued by a bear"-type stage directions are notable for their rarity. (In fact, most of the stage directions were added after the fact.) So instead of a stage direction like "Awides the Death Moon farts and destroys an entire galaxy" you would have a bystander describing Awides the Death Moon's cosmic fart. Some of this is present already, like the sequence where Red Hart wakes up after the battle with his father.

Also, if not a staging, it'd be neat to have a Big Finish-style audio recording of this... although given what happened the last time you tried, maybe not.

Adrian (I blame The Silence)